Neighborhood disorder predicts lower serum vitamin D levels in pregnant African American women: A pilot study.

Pregnant African American women are more likely to live in neighborhoods with more disorder (e.g., vacant housing, littler, crime) and to have vitamin D deficiency due to their darker skin pigmentation and poor production of vitamin D [25(OH)D] from ultraviolet rays. However, no study has examined the potential link between neighborhood disorder and 25(OH)D status in African American pregnant women. Forty-one pregnant African American women completed validated questionnaires about perceived neighborhood disorder (6 items; 3-point scale; range 6-18) and with concurrent serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] assessed during pregnancy at 18-24 weeks gestation. Higher levels of perceived neighborhood disorder were associated with lower levels of serum 25(OH)D. Pregnant African American women who report higher disorder in their neighborhood may spend less time outside. Health care providers should include assessment of perceived neighborhood disorder. Future research needs to evaluate the relationships among neighborhood disorder and 25(OH)D levels among pregnant African American women.

Increased oxygen exposure alters collagen expression and tissue architecture during ligature-induced periodontitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of increased oxygen availability on gene expression and on collagen deposition/maturation in the periodontium following disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats had ligatures placed around their molars to induce periodontal disease, and a subset of animals underwent hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment for 2 h twice per day. At 15 and 28 d, tissue gene expression of COL1A1, transforming growth factor-ß1 and alkaline phosphatase was determined; other histological samples were stained with Picrosirius red to evaluate levels of collagen deposition, maturation and thickness. RESULTS: In animals that underwent HBO treatment, type I collagen expression was higher and collagen deposition, maturation and thickness were more robust. Reduced mRNA levels of transforming growth factor-beta1 and alkaline phosphatase in HBO-treated rats on day 28 suggested that a quicker resolution in both soft tissue and bone remodeling occurred following oxygen treatment. No differences in inflammation were observed between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The extracellular matrix regenerated more quickly in the HBO-treated group as evidenced by higher collagen expression, deposition and maturation.

Psychological distress and salivary secretory immunity.

Stress-induced impairments of mucosal immunity may increase susceptibility to infectious diseases. The present study investigated the association of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and loneliness with salivary levels of secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), the subclasses S-IgA1, S-IgA2, and their transporter molecule Secretory Component (SC). S-IgA/SC, IgA1/SC and IgA2/SC ratios were calculated to assess the differential effects of stress on immunoglobulin transport versus availability. This study involved 113 university students, in part selected on high scores on the UCLA Loneliness Scale and/or the Beck Depression Inventory. Stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale. Unstimulated saliva was collected and analysed for total S-IgA and its subclasses, as well as SC and total salivary protein. Multiple linear regression analyses, adjusted for gender, age, health behaviours, and concentration effects (total protein) revealed that higher perceived stress was associated with lower levels of IgA1 but not IgA2. Perceived stress, loneliness and depressive symptoms were all associated with lower IgA1/SC ratios. Surprisingly, higher SC levels were associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms, indicative of enhanced transport activity, which explained a lower IgA1/SC ratio (loneliness and depression) and IgA2/SC ratio (depression). This is the first study to investigate the effects of protracted psychological stress across S-IgA subclasses and its transporter SC. Psychological stress was negatively associated with secretory immunity, specifically IgA1. The lower immunoglobulin/transporter ratio that was associated with higher loneliness and depression suggested a relative immunoglobulin depletion, whereby availability was not keeping up with enhanced transport demand.

Locomotor activity changes following lipopolysaccharide treatment in mice: a multivariate assessment of behavioral tolerance.

To determine the effects of repeated, acute endotoxin exposure on locomotor behavior, male laboratory mice were injected intraperitoneally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS: 50, 100 or 200 microg/kg) or saline vehicle on experimental Days 1, 4 and 7. At 2 h after each treatment, locomotor activity was assessed in a nonnovel, automated open-field apparatus (Digiscan) for 30 min. On Day 1, all horizontal and vertical activity measures were significantly reduced to near zero values by each dose of LPS. Behavioral tolerance to LPS formed rapidly, as locomotor activity of the treated groups did not differ from the control group on Days 4 or 7. In a second study, mice were given LPS (50, 100 or 150 microg/kg ip) or saline vehicle on two test days, 28 days apart. Activity was assessed, 1 h after injection, in a novel open field on the first test day and in a nonnovel open field on the second test day. Significant locomotor activity decrements were readily apparent in LPS-treated mice only in the nonnovel open field. This latter finding indicates that environmental novelty mediates, at least partially, the locomotor-reducing effects of LPS in mice.

Rats show unimpaired learning within minutes after recovery from single bolus propofol anesthesia.

PURPOSE: To examine the learning ability of rats shortly after recovery from a bolus dose of propofol by assessing learning on a swim-to-platform task. Also, muscarinic blockade was used as a pharmacological test of whether learning shortly after propofol anesthesia resembles normal learning. METHODS: Propofol anesthetized rats (15-20 mg x kg(-1) i.v.) were trained on a swim-to-platform task five to seven minutes after recovering from surgical anesthesia and tested two to three hours later In addition, the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine hydrobromide (5 mg x kg(-1) s.c.) was given to a subgroup of rats before testing. During 10 trials, the number of times a given rat took 10 sec or longer to locate and climb onto a visible platform was tabulated and counted as errors. RESULTS: When trained shortly after recovery from the anesthetic, propofol anesthetized rats made 3.2 +/- 0.4 compared with 1.0 +/- 0.1 errors in controls (P < 0.0001). Two to three hours later both groups performed equally well. Rats trained after propofol anesthesia and given scopolamine before testing made 0.7 +/- 0.5 errors and performed as well as normal controls, 1.2 +/- 0.2 errors when subjected to the same procedures without propofol anesthesia, and better than scopolamine-treated untrained rats, 5.5 +/- 0.7 errors, (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Training five to seven minutes after recovery from propofol anesthesia resulted in normal retention of the swim- to-platform task. It also produced the same resistance to the disruptive effects of scopolamine as did training in rats that were not anesthetized. Thus, the ability to learn recovers rapidly after propofol anesthesia induced by a single intravenous bolus dose.