Dietary restriction protects against chronic-ethanol-induced changes in exploratory behavior in Wistar rats

Thiamine deficiency and recovery: impact of recurrent episodes and beneficial effect of treatment with Trolox and dimethyl sulfoxide

At present, thiamine deficiency (TD) is managed with administration of high doses of thiamine. Even so, severe and permanent neurological disorders can occur in recurrent episodes of TD. In this study, we used a murine model to assess the efficacy of TD recovery treatments using thiamine with or without additional administration of the antioxidant Trolox or the anti-inflammatory dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) after a single or recurrent episode of TD. TD was induced for 9 days with deficient chow and pyrithiamine, and the recovery period was 7 days with standard amounts of chow and thiamine, Trolox, and/or DMSO. After these periods, we evaluated behavior, histopathology, and ERK1/2 modulation in the brain. Deficient animals showed reductions in locomotor activity, motor coordination, and spatial memory. Morphologically, after a single episode of TD and recovery, deficient mice showed neuronal vacuolization in the dorsal thalamus and, after two episodes, a reduction in neuronal cell number. These effects were attenuated or reversed by the recovery treatments, mainly in the treatments with thiamine associated with Trolox or DMSO. Deficient animals showed a strong increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the thalamus, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex after one deficiency episode and recovery. Interestingly, after recurrent TD and recovery, ERK1/2 phosphorylation remained high only in the deficient mice treated with thiamine and/or Trolox or thiamine with DMSO. Our data suggest that a protocol for TD treatment with thiamine in conjunction with Trolox or DMSO enhances the recovery of animals and possibly minimizes the late neurological sequelae.

The effects of dietary choline

Food intake can influence neuronal functions through different modulators expressed in the brain. The present review is a report through relevant experimental findings on the effects of choline, a nutritional component found in the diet, to identify a safe and effective dietary solution that can offer some protection against neurotoxicity and neurological disorders and that can be implemented in animals and humans in a very short period of time.

The association between overweight and illegal drug consumption in adolescents: is there an underlying influence of the sociocultural environment?

Background

The aims of the study were to: a) Examine the distribution of gender-stratified body mass index (BMI), eating attitudes and use of addictive substances, under the hypothesis of a confluent prevalence of weight abnormalities, eating disorders and substance abuse. b) Demonstrate the extent to which family, peer-related and psychosocial factors are common elements in categories of compulsive behaviour.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In the present cross-sectional study, data were collected through self reported questionnaires administered to a large sample of 33,185 15–19 years old adolescents (ESPAD®Italia), divided into weight categories based on the BMI percentile distribution. Multinomial analyses were adopted to address the influence of social, family, leisure time factors, Eating Attitude Test (EAT26) on the association between weight categories and drug use.

Recent drugs use was more frequent in overweight and underweight adolescents (p<0.05), especially in females. An EAT26 score ≥20 was more common in overweight adolescents. Multinomial analysis abolished the relationship between overweight and the use of most drugs, implicating self-esteem, parents' educational level, and friendships as mediators of the association. Within the overweight category, adolescents reporting recent drug use, showed greater frequency of having drug-abusing friends (∼80%), and severe problems with parents and school (∼30%) compared to overweight adolescents without recent drug use.

Conclusion

The frequent association of overweight and substance use and the presence of common underlying social factors, highlights the need for an interdisciplinary approach involving individual-focused treatment models as well as public health, social and environmental changes to reduce food- and substances-related problems.

Dose-response effect of black maca (Lepidium meyenii) in mice with memory impairment induced by ethanol

Previous studies have shown that black variety of maca has beneficial effects on learning and memory in experimental animal models. The present study aimed to determine whether the hydroalcoholic extract of black maca (BM) showed a dose-response effect in mice treated with ethanol 20% (EtOH) as a model of memory impairment. Mice were divided in the following groups: control, EtOH, ascorbic acid (AA) and 0.125, 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 g/kg of BM plus EtOH. All treatments were orally administered for 28 days. Open field test was performed to determine locomotor activity and water Morris maze was done to determine spatial memory. Also, total polyphenol content in the hydroalcoholic extract of BM was determined (0.65 g pyrogallol/100 g). Mice treated with EtOH took more time to find the hidden platform than control during escape acquisition trials; meanwhile, AA and BM reversed the effect of EtOH. In addition, AA and BM ameliorated the deleterious effect of EtOH during the probe trial. Correlation analyses showed that the effect of BM a dose-dependent behavior. Finally, BM improved experimental memory impairment induced by ethanol in a dose-response manner due, in part, to its content of polyphenolic compounds.

Lifetime substance abuse, family history of alcohol abuse/dependence and novelty seeking in eating disorders: comparison study of eating disorder subgroups

AIM

To assess lifetime substance abuse, family history of alcohol abuse/dependence, and novelty seeking in three different eating disorder groups (anorexia nervosa-restrictive; anorexia nervosa-binge eating/purging; anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa).

METHOD

A total sample of 371 eating disorder patients participated in the current study. Assessment measures included the prevalence of substance abuse and family history of alcohol abuse/dependence as well as the novelty-seeking subscale of the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised.

RESULTS

Significant differences across groups were detected for lifetime substance abuse, with anorexia nervosa-restrictive individuals exhibiting a significant lower prevalence than the anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa-binge eating/ purging patients (P < 0.01). For family history of alcohol abuse/dependence the same pattern was observed (P = 0.04). Novelty seeking was associated with substance abuse (P = 0.002), with the anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa group exhibiting significantly higher scores on the novelty-seeking scale than the other two groups (P < 0.001). But family history of alcohol abuse/dependence was not related to novelty seeking (P = 0.092).

CONCLUSION

Lifetime substance abuse appears to be more prevalent in anorexia nervosa patients with bulimic features. Higher novelty-seeking scores may be associated with diagnosis cross-over.

Thiamine deficiency during pregnancy leads to cerebellar neuronal death in rat offspring: role of voltage-dependent K+ channels

Oxidative stress, selective neuronal loss, and diminished activity of thiamine-dependent enzymes play a role in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. To further understand the major implications of thiamine deficiency (TD) in neuronal death, we induced TD during pregnancy and evaluated the effects on the offspring. The body and brain weights of pups from thiamine-deficient dams were significantly smaller than normal. Loss of neuronal viability was examined by trypan blue exclusion assay, and demonstrated increased cytotoxicity in primary cultures of TD neurons. Additionally, cerebellar cultures were exposed to thiamine-free cell culture medium to better explore the effects of thiamine withdrawal. Alterations in potassium current has previously been associated with the development of cell death. In this study, we examined the TD effects on delayed rectifier and A-type K+ channels, two well-known voltage-activated K+ channels involved in the regulation of action potential firing in cerebellar granule neurons. Current recordings were performed in cultured rat cerebellar granule neurons at day 7, using the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique. Our data demonstrate that thiamine deficiency provoked a significant decrease in the voltage-dependent K+ membrane conductance. Finally, TD markedly depressed the transient A-type K+ currents.