Brain regulation of hunger and motivation: The case for integrating homeostatic and hedonic concepts and its implications for obesity and addiction.

Obesity and other eating disorders are marked by dysregulations to brain metabolic, hedonic, motivational, and sensory systems that control food intake. Classic approaches in hunger research have distinguished between hedonic and homeostatic processes, and have mostly treated these systems as independent. Hindbrain structures and a complex network of interconnected hypothalamic nuclei control metabolic processes, energy expenditure, and food intake while mesocorticolimbic structures are though to control hedonic and motivational processes associated with food reward. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that hedonic and homeostatic brain systems do not function in isolation, but rather interact as part of a larger network that regulates food intake. Incentive theories of motivation provide a useful route to explore these interactions. Adapting incentive theories of motivation can enable researchers to better understand how motivational systems dysfunction during disease. Obesity and addiction are associated with profound alterations to both hedonic and homeostatic brain systems that result in maladaptive patterns of consumption. A subset of individuals with obesity may experience pathological cravings for food due to incentive sensitization of brain systems that generate excessive 'wanting' to eat. Further progress in understanding how the brain regulates hunger and appetite may depend on merging traditional hedonic and homeostatic concepts of food reward and motivation.

Effects of naltrexone on alcohol, sucrose, and saccharin binge-like drinking in C57BL/6J mice: a study with a multiple bottle choice procedure.

Chronic alcohol (ethyl alcohol, EtOH) binging has been associated with long-term neural adaptations that lead to the development of addiction. Many of the neurobiological features of EtOH abuse are shared with other forms of binging, like pathological feeding. The drinking-in-the-dark (DID) paradigm has been used extensively to study the neurobiology of EtOH binge-like drinking due to its ability to promote high intakes relevant to human behavior. DID can also generate high consumption of other tastants, but this procedure has not been fully adapted to study forms of binging behavior that are not alcohol-driven. In the present study, we used a modified version of DID that uses multiple bottle availability to promote even higher levels of EtOH drinking in male C57BL/6J mice and allows a thorough investigation of tastant preferences. We assessed whether administration of systemic naltrexone could reduce binging on EtOH, sucrose, and saccharin separately as well as in combination. Our multiple bottle DID procedure resulted in heightened levels of consumption compared with previously reported data using this task. We found that administration of the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone reduced intakes of preferred, highly concentrated EtOH, sucrose, and saccharin. We also report that naltrexone was able to reduce overall intakes when animals were allowed to self-administer EtOH, sucrose, or saccharin in combination. Our modified DID procedure provides a novel approach to study binging behavior that extends beyond EtOH to other tastants (i.e. sucrose and artificial sweeteners), and has implications for the study of the neuropharmacology of binge drinking.

[Belief system regarding Cannabis, its use and consequences: Users versus non-users in colombian university students]. / Sistema de creencias en relación al cannabis, su uso y consecuencias: consumidores versus no consumidores de una población de universitarios colombianos.

Descriptive and comparative study of cross-sectional that had as objective to evaluate and compare the beliefs about cannabis, its use and potential consequences between two groups of Colombian university students, matched by gender and age. The frst group consisted of ordinary consumers of cannabis (n=35) the second group consisted of students that have never tried cannabis (n=35). The results showed that the group of consumers presents a moderate risk of abuse and only the 20% fulflled dependence criteria. Furthermore, the non-consumers group was mostly agree about that the marijuana use: damages the memory, deteriorates the cognitive functions, creates dependency, can affect the neurons and mental health. Also, it can lead to legal problems, it is a harmful drug for the health, it affects the academic performance, it creates problems with the family, friends, couple and the like, it reduces the driving ability, and, that the marijuana that is sold in the street is always pure. The consumer group, instead, agreed that smoking tobacco affects the lungs more than smoking marijuana. Marijuana has a positive in?uence on the brain, it increases the creativity, and it is less damaging than alcohol and tobacco. Smart people smoke marijuana and it has medicinal effects. In conclusion, according to the kind of beliefs that they have about this drug, the cannabis consumers would have a decreased perception of risk in relation to the potential risk that the consumption brings from two points of view: a. They minimize the real risks of consuming and, b. They attribute some benefts and virtues to the cannabis. The kind of beliefs that the consumer have are maybe in?uenced, at least, in part, for experiences of family and other consumers and, furthermore, the reinforcement of the same consume.

Pharmacodynamic of Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha-2b Nasal Drops and Effective Prophylaxis Against SARS-COV-2 Infection.

The recombinant human interferon alpha-2b (IFN-α2b) nasal drop formulation (Nasalferon) was studied as prophylaxis for SARS-CoV-2. Healthy volunteers between 19 and 80 years of age received 0.5 million international units of IFN in one drop (0.05 mL ) in each nostril, twice a day, for 10 consecutive days. The nondetection of SARS-CoV-2 by real-time polymerase chain reaction was the primary outcome variable. Several IFN-α biomarkers, including intranasal gene expression and innate immune effector activity, were increased in participants who received intranasal IFN-α2b. The study included 2,930 international travelers and 5,728 persons who were their close contacts. The subjects were treated with Nasalferon in January 2021, and 9,162 untreated travelers were included as controls. COVID-19 rate in treated subjects was significantly lower than in untreated subjects (0.05% vs. 4.84%). The proportion of travelers with COVID-19 decreased from 60.9% to 2.2% between December 2020 and February 2021. Furthermore, 1,719 tourism workers also received Nasalferon, and no cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were detected, whereas 39 COVID-19 cases (10.6%) were reported in 367 untreated subjects. The main adverse events associated with the use of intranasal IFN-α2b were nasal congestion, headache, and rhinorrhea. Our prophylactic health interventions study demonstrates that the daily administration of Nasalferon for 10 days decreases the risk of developing COVID-19 in healthy volunteers. [Figure: see text].

'Liking' and 'wanting' in eating and food reward: Brain mechanisms and clinical implications.

It is becoming clearer how neurobiological mechanisms generate 'liking' and 'wanting' components of food reward. Mesocorticolimbic mechanisms that enhance 'liking' include brain hedonic hotspots, which are specialized subregions that are uniquely able to causally amplify the hedonic impact of palatable tastes. Hedonic hotspots are found in nucleus accumbens medial shell, ventral pallidum, orbitofrontal cortex, insula cortex, and brainstem. In turn, a much larger mesocorticolimbic circuitry generates 'wanting' or incentive motivation to obtain and consume food rewards. Hedonic and motivational circuitry interact together and with hypothalamic homeostatic circuitry, allowing relevant physiological hunger and satiety states to modulate 'liking' and 'wanting' for food rewards. In some conditions such as drug addiction, 'wanting' is known to dramatically detach from 'liking' for the same reward, and this may also occur in over-eating disorders. Via incentive sensitization, 'wanting' selectively becomes higher, especially when triggered by reward cues when encountered in vulnerable states of stress, etc. Emerging evidence suggests that some cases of obesity and binge eating disorders may reflect an incentive-sensitization brain signature of cue hyper-reactivity, causing excessive 'wanting' to eat. Future findings on the neurobiological bases of 'liking' and 'wanting' can continue to improve understanding of both normal food reward and causes of clinical eating disorders.

Opioidergic and dopaminergic modulation of cost/benefit decision-making in Long Evans Rats.

Eating disorders are associated with impaired decision-making and dysfunctional reward-related neurochemistry. The present study examined the potential contributions of dopamine and opioid signaling to these processes using two different decision-making tasks. In one task, Long Evans Rats chose between working for a preferred food (high-carbohydrate banana-flavored sucrose pellets) by lever pressing on a progressive-ratio schedule of reinforcement vs. obtaining less preferred laboratory chow that was concurrently available. In a second (effort-free) task, rats chose between the same two reinforcers when they were both available freely. Rats were trained in these tasks before receiving haloperidol (0.00, 0.05, 0.10mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)) or naloxone (0.0, 1.5, 3.0mg/kg, i.p.). In the first task, haloperidol decreased breakpoint, lever presses, number of reinforcers earned, and increased chow intake, whereas naloxone decreased breakpoint and number of reinforcers earned but had no effect on chow consumption. In the effort-free task, haloperidol reduced intakes of both foods without affecting preference, whereas naloxone selectively reduced the consumption of banana-pellets. The present findings support converging evidence suggesting that DA signaling affects processes more closely related to appetitive motivation, leaving other components of motivation unchanged. By contrast, opioid signaling appears to mediate aspects of hedonic feeding by selectively altering intakes of highly palatable foods. For preferred foods, both appetitive and consummatory aspects of food intake were altered by opioid receptor antagonism. Our findings argue against a general suppression of appetite by either compound, as appetite manipulations have been shown to unselectively alter intakes of both types of food regardless of the task employed.

Cuban medical education: aiming for the six-star doctor.

Profound changes are under way in Cuban medical education. Some aspects of this transformation represent radical shifts, others a deepening of processes already in motion. Together, these changes reflect a progressive sense of urgency over the last four decades to: 1) scale up physician training to meet the needs of the whole population; 2) recruit and train scientifically prepared and socially committed students; and 3) match competencies, knowledge base, and scope of responsibilities to the concrete health needs of people in Cuba and other countries where these future physicians may serve. These three goals have guided successive innovations in Cuban medical education since the early 1960s, when the University of Havana Medical School was left with only 23 of its 161 professors - the rest either emigrating or in disagreement with academic and health care reforms designed to guarantee the right to health care. From a fee-for-service model catering mainly to individual patients, health care was being transformed into a universal public health system. This required decentralization of medical services - first to the rural areas of the country, which had essentially gone without - followed by development of a nationwide primary health care network. Thus, from the beginning, there was an urgent need to train many more physicians and to train physicians prepared for, and committed to, this new vision.

Buenas prácticas docentes / The good teaching practices

Dadas las características de las buenas prácticas docentes, pasan por diferentes momentos que definen su potencialidad e interacción con los procesos de calidad docente, estos son:1. Momento preactivo. Antes de la intervención docente, donde el profesor tendrá en cuenta las características grupales e individuales de los estudiantes, definición de objetivos a alcanzar, recursos educativos a aplicar, estrategia didáctica, evaluación formativa, entre otros aspectos. 2. Intervención docente. Referido al desarrollo flexible de la intervención educativa, adecuaciones al contexto. 3. Momento postáctito. En cuanto a la reflexión del proceso realizado, análisis de los resultados alcanzados, apreciaciones de cambios para próximas ocasiones y trabajo colaborativo del claustro profesoral

Sobrevivencia de microorganismos probióticos en helado batido Lactobacillus acidophilus Y Bifidobacterium lactis en helado batido / Survival of probiotic microorganisms Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis in whipped ice cream

Se determinó el comportamiento de cepas de Bifidobacterium lactis BB-12 y Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5, Chr-Hansen, durante la elaboración y almacenamiento de un helado batido. Además se estudió el efecto de la adición de estos microorganismos en el sabor y el costo del helado. Se inocularon de 2 x 107 a 6 x 107 UFC/g de cada uno de los microorganismos probióticos inmediatamente antes de la operación de batido-congelado (de un proceso estándar). Posteriormente la mezcla fue batida hasta 80-90 por ciento de aireamiento, empacada en recipientes de 70 g, congelada entre -30 ºC y -25 ºC y almacenada a esa temperatura por un periodo de 85 días. Se realizó el recuento de B. lactis BB-12 y L. acidophilus LA-5, después del batido-congelación, así como del endurecimiento y almacenamiento del helado en los días 1, 14, 28, 42 y 85 a partir del primer día de congelado. Se determinaron disminuciones poblacionales significativas (p<0,05) para el L. acidophilus LA-5 durante el batido-congelado y para ambos microorganismos durante las etapas de elaboración (batido-congelado y endurecimiento conjuntamente) y almacenamiento del helado batido. La vida útil funcional (población de microorganismos no menor a 106 UFC/g) del helado, se estableció mediante un análisis de regresión lineal simple, en 90 días. La adición de los microorganismos probióticos B. lactis BB-12 y L. acidophilus LA-5 no produjo un cambio significativo (p>0,05) en el sabor del helado, pero si un cambio importante en los costos variables del producto, con un aumento del 28 por ciento. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, el helado batido adicionado con B. lactis BB-12 y L. acidophilus LA-5 resulta ser un buen vehículo para la introducción de microorganismos probióticos en la dieta del costarricense.

Características clínicas y epidemiológicas de la escabiosis en tres consultorios del médico de la familia / Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of scabies in three family physicias'areas

Resumen: Se estudiaron 67 pacientes con escabiosis de los consultorios 12,21 y 26 del Policlínico ®Héroes del Corinthya¼ y se encontró una incidencia del 5,13 porciento con una frecuencia esperada de 22 casos anuales por consultorio. La enfermedad fue más frecuente entre las mujeres de 45 a 54 años y entre los obreros de nivel medio de escolaridad. Se identificaron lesiones elementales poco comunes y localizaciones no habituales de las lesiones para esta dermatosis. El mayor número de casos mejoró entre los 8 y los 14 días de implantadas las medidas de control para la enfermedad(AU)

Características clínicas y epidemiológicas de la escabiosis en tres consultorios del médico de la familia / Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of scabies in three family physicias'areas

Resumen: Se estudiaron 67 pacientes con escabiosis de los consultorios 12,21 y 26 del Policlínico ®Héroes del Corinthya¼ y se encontró una incidencia del 5,13 porciento con una frecuencia esperada de 22 casos anuales por consultorio. La enfermedad fue más frecuente entre las mujeres de 45 a 54 años y entre los obreros de nivel medio de escolaridad. Se identificaron lesiones elementales poco comunes y localizaciones no habituales de las lesiones para esta dermatosis. El mayor número de casos mejoró entre los 8 y los 14 días de implantadas las medidas de control para la enfermedad