ABSTRACT
Aluminum chloride (AlCl(3); 4 mg/kg) was injected into the cerebrospinal fluid of adult rats as a one time dose. Rapid Golgi stained sections of hippocampus were examined for detailed histology of neurons in CA1, CA2, and CA3 areas. The axonal length and number of dendritic branches were seen reduced 30 days later in aluminum (Al)-injected group when compared to vehicle-injected controls. Of these perturbations, dendritic branches were seen reduced significantly. Al toxicity apparently affects neuronal connectivity in hippocampus. These perturbations are reversed by supplementing the feed with pyridoxine (8 mg/kg) for 30 days. As the loss of synaptic connectivity is a predominant feature of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease, this study may have implications in such disorders. Pyridoxine may be considered as a potent antidote to Al toxicity and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease.
Subject(s)
Aluminum Compounds/toxicity , Antidotes/pharmacology , Chlorides/toxicity , Dendrites/drug effects , Hippocampus/drug effects , Pyridoxine/pharmacology , Aluminum Chloride , Animals , Cell Size/drug effects , Cell Survival/drug effects , Cells, Cultured , Dendrites/pathology , Hippocampus/pathology , Male , Neural Pathways , Neurons/drug effects , Neurons/pathology , Neurons/ultrastructure , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Silver StainingABSTRACT
The long-term effects of early postnatal exposure to aluminium on acetyl choline esterase (AChE) activity and on biogenic amines were studied in different brain regions. The subjects were eight days old male Wistar rat pups. They were grouped into normal control and aluminium exposed groups. For aluminium exposure, the pups were gastric intubated with aluminium chloride (40 mg/Kg body weight) for two weeks. Control rats were given equal volumes of distilled water. After the treatment, they were rehabilitated for forty days. On the sixtieth day, the rats from both the groups were sacrificed and AChE activity, levels of dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin were estimated in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, septum, brainstem and striatum. In the aluminium exposed group: the AChE activity was significantly decreased in the hippocampus, septum, striatum and brainstem; serotonin levels were reduced by 20% in the cortex, hippocampus, septum and striatum; in brain stem, the serotonin level was decreased by 40%. A 60% reduction in noradrenaline levels was observed in the striatum whereas it was reduced by 25% in other regions except in hippocampus. Though dopamine levels were not altered in the cortex, septum and brainstem, they were reduced by 40% in the striatum. The study documents the long-term consequences of exposure to aluminium during the developmental periods.
Subject(s)
Acetylcholinesterase/drug effects , Aluminum/pharmacology , Biogenic Monoamines/metabolism , Brain/drug effects , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Acetylcholinesterase/metabolism , Animals , Brain/metabolism , Female , Male , Pregnancy , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Glycaemic index (GI) was determined in 36 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients. The subjects were fed 50g carbohydrate portions of six foods consumed widely in India including Varagu (Plaspalum scorbiculatum) alone and in combination with whole and dehusked greengram (Phaseolus aureus Roxb), Bajra (Penniseteum typhoideum), Jowar (Sorghum vulgare) and Ragi (Eleusine coracana). The GI of Varagu alone, Varagu in combination with whole greengram and Bajra was significantly lower than that of Ragi which produced a glycaemic response equivalent to that of the glucose load.
