Nutritional strategies cause memory damage and alter biochemical parameters without causing neuroinflammation.

Obesity results from an energy imbalance and has been considered an epidemic due to its increasing rates worldwide. It is classified as a low-grade chronic inflammatory disease and has associated comorbidities. Different nutritional strategies are used for the purpose of weight loss, highlighting low-carbohydrate (LC) diets, ketogenic diets, and intermittent fasting (IF). These strategies can lead to metabolic and behavioral changes as they stimulate different biochemical pathways. Therefore, this study evaluated memory, energy metabolism, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and antioxidant defense parameters in mice subjected to an LC diet, ketogenic diet (KD), or IF. Eighty male Swiss mice, 60 days old, were divided into 4 groups: control, LC, KD, or IF. Body weight was measured weekly, and food intake every 48 h. After 15 days of nutritional interventions, the animals were subjected to the behavioral object recognition test and subsequently euthanized. Then, visceral fat was removed and weighed, and the brain was isolated for inflammatory and biochemical analysis. We concluded from this study that the LC and KD strategies could damage memory, IF improves the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and the LC, KD, and IF strategies do not lead to neuroinflammatory damage but present damage at the level of oxidative stress.

Characterization of membranes based on cellulose acetate butyrate/poly(caprolactone)triol/doxycycline and their potential for guided bone regeneration application.

This paper discusses the feasibility of using membranes based on cellulose acetate butyrate/poly(caprolactone)triol loaded with doxycycline for guided bone regeneration. Those membranes were obtained by solvent casting varying the cellulose acetate butyrate: poly(caprolactone)triol:doxycycline (CAB:PCL-T:DOX) mass ratios and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamical mechanical analysis, swelling and weight loss, drug release, in vitro antimicrobial activity and in vivo inflammatory response. Neat CAB and CAB:PCL-T:DOX membranes exhibited inner porous structure, which has a pore-size reduced with increasing of the PCL-T ratio. DSC results demonstrated that the molecular dispersion of the DOX into the CAB:PCL-T membrane was conditioned by PCL-T amount. Elastic modulus reduced noticeably with increased of the PCL-T ratio in the membrane from 2 to 3, while the strain at failure showed an increase of ca. 10-fold on the same condition. The DOX release mechanism from the membranes was found to be Fickian or quasi-Fickian diffusion. Membranes assessed immediately after the preparation, and even as the membranes immersed in synthetic saliva during 7 days, demonstrated significant inhibition in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Subcutaneous implant test on rat in vivo showed that the CAB:PCL-T:DOX membrane (7:3:1) did not trigger chronic inflammatory responses. These results suggest the feasibility in applying the CAB:PCL-T:DOX membrane as a barrier for guided bone regeneration.

Increased oxidative stress after repeated amphetamine exposure: possible relevance as a model of mania.

BACKGROUND: Acute mania can be modeled in animals using D-amphetamine (AMPH). Acute AMPH injections are associated with monoamine depletion, loss of neurofilaments and neurite degeneration. However, the precise mechanisms underlying AMPH-induced neurotoxicity are still unclear. Several studies have demonstrated that oxidative stress may play a role in the behavioral and neurochemical changes observed after AMPH administration. METHODS: The effects of a single and repeated injections (seven daily injections) of AMPH administered intraperitonially on locomotion and the production of lipid and protein oxidative markers in rat cortex, striatum and hippocampus were assessed. Locomotion was assessed in an open-field task and markers of oxidative stress were assessed in brain tissue. RESULTS: Both single and repeated injections of AMPH increased protein carbonyl formation in rat brain. Repeated exposure to AMPH induced an additional increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive species in brain tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Longer periods of exposure to AMPH were associated with increased oxidative stress in rat brain. This adds to the notion that repeated manic episodes may be associated with greater brain damage and, therefore, poorer outcomes.