The Role of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Balance in Pregnancy.

It has been widely known that oxidative stress disrupts the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the antioxidant system in the body. During pregnancy, the physiological generation of ROS is involved in a variety of developmental processes ranging from oocyte maturation to luteolysis and embryo implantation. While abnormal overproduction of ROS disrupts these processes resulting in reproductive failure. In addition, excessive oxidative stress impairs maternal and placental functions and eventually results in fetal loss, IUGR, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Although some oxidative stress is inevitable during pregnancy, a balancing act between oxidant and antioxidant production is necessary at different stages of the pregnancy. The review aims to highlight the importance of maintaining oxidative and antioxidant balance throughout pregnancy. Furthermore, we highlight the role of oxidative stress in pregnancy-related diseases.

The Role of Polyphenols in Regulation of Heat Shock Proteins and Gut Microbiota in Weaning Stress.

Gut microbiota is the natural residents of the intestinal ecosystem which display multiple functions that provide beneficial effects on host physiology. Disturbances in gut microbiota in weaning stress are regulated by the immune system and oxidative stress-related protein pathways. Weaning stress also alters gut microbiota response, limits digestibility, and influences animal productive performance through the production of inflammatory molecules. Heat shock proteins are the molecular chaperones that perform array functions from physiological to pathological point of view and remodeling cellular stress response. As it is involved in the defense mechanism, polyphenols ensure cellular tolerance against enormous stimuli. Polyphenols are nature-blessed compounds that show their existence in plenty of amounts. Due to their wider availability and popularity, they can exert strong immunomodulatory, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory activities. Their promising health-promoting effects have been demonstrated in different cellular and animal studies. Dietary interventions with polyphenols may alter the gut microbiome response and attenuate the weaning stress related to inflammation. Further, polyphenols elicit health-favored effects through ameliorating inflammatory processes to improve digestibility and thereby exert a protective effect on animal production. Here, in this article, we will expand the role of dietary polyphenol intervention strategies in weaning stress which perturbs gut microbiota function and also paid emphasis to heat shock proteins in gut health. This review article gives new direction to the feed industry to formulate diet containing polyphenols which would have a significant impact on animal health.

The prevalence and correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the Iraq Mental Health Survey (IMHS).

Data on the prevalence and correlates of anxiety, mood, behavioral, and substance disorders are presented from a 2007-8 national survey of the Iraq population, the Iraq Mental Health Survey (IMHS). The IMHS was carried out by the Iraq Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Iraq Ministry of Planning and the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. Interviews were administered to a probability sample of Iraqi household residents by trained lay interviewers. The WHO Composite International Diagnostic interview (CIDI) was used to assess DSM-IV disorders. The response rate was 95.2%. The estimated lifetime prevalence of any disorder was 18.8%. Cohort analysis documented significantly increasing lifetime prevalence of most disorders across generations. This was most pronounced for panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, with lifetime-to-date prevalence 5.4-5.3 times as high at comparable ages in the youngest (ages 18-34) as oldest (ages 65+) cohorts. Anxiety disorders were the most common class of disorders (13.8%) and major depressive disorder (MDD) the most common disorder (7.2%). Twelve-month prevalence of any disorder was 13.6%, with 42.1% of cases classified mild, 36.0% moderate, and 21.9% serious. The disorders most often classified serious were bipolar disorder (76.9%) and substance-related disorders (54.9%). Socio-demographic correlates were generally consistent with international epidemiological surveys, with the two exceptions of no significant gender differences in mood disorders and positive correlations of anxiety and mood disorders with education. Only 2.2% of IMHS respondents reported receiving treatment for emotional problems in the 12 months before interview, including 23.7% of those with serious, 9.2% with moderate, and 5.3% with mild disorders and 0.9% of other respondents. Most healthcare treatment, which was roughly equally distributed between the general medical and specialty sectors, was of low intensity. Further analyses of barriers to seeking treatment are needed to inform government efforts to expand the detection and treatment of mental disorders.