Anxiolytic-like Effects and Quantitative EEG Profile of Palmitone Induces Responses Like Buspirone Rather Than Diazepam as Clinical Drugs.

Anxiety is a mental disorder with a growing worldwide incidence due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic. Pharmacological therapy includes drugs such as benzodiazepines (BDZs) or azapirones like buspirone (BUSP) or analogs, which unfortunately produce severe adverse effects or no immediate response, respectively. Medicinal plants or their bioactive metabolites are a shared global alternative to treat anxiety. Palmitone is one active compound isolated from Annona species due to its tranquilizing activity. However, its influence on neural activity and possible mechanism of action are unknown. In this study, an electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral power analysis was used to corroborate its depressant activity in comparison with the anxiolytic-like effects of reference drugs such as diazepam (DZP, 1 mg/kg) and BUSP (4 mg/kg) or 8-OH-DPAT (1 mg/kg), alone or in the presence of the GABAA (picrotoxin, PTX, 1 mg/kg) or serotonin 5-HT1A receptor antagonists (WAY100634, WAY, 1 mg/kg). The anxiolytic-like activity was assayed using the behavioral response of mice employing open-field, hole-board, and plus-maze tests. EEG activity was registered in both the frontal and parietal cortex, performing a 10 min baseline and 30 min recording after the treatments. As a result, anxiety-like behavior was significantly decreased in mice administered with palmitone, DZP, BUSP, or 8-OH-DPAT. The effect of palmitone was equivalent to that produced by 5-HT1A receptor agonists but 50% less effective than DZP. The presence of PTX and WAY prevented the anxiolytic-like response of DZP and 8-OH-DPAT, respectively. Whereas only the antagonist of the 5-HT1A receptor (WAY) inhibited the palmitone effects. Palmitone and BUSP exhibited similar changes in the relative power bands after the spectral power analysis. This response was different to the changes induced by DZP. In conclusion, brain electrical activity was associated with the anxiolytic-like effects of palmitone implying a serotoninergic rather than a GABAergic mechanism of action.

Demographic and clinical characterization of pediatric group patients with inborn errors of the immune system in a Colombian tertiary hospital.

INTRODUCTION: In recent decades, there has been a growing increase in the diagnosis of patients with inborn errors of the immune system, formerly known as primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs). Timely diagnosis remains a challenge due to low clinical suspicion and poor education on the subject. It is estimated that between 70% and 90% of these pathologies remain underdiagnosed in our environment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to characterize the demographic and clinical presentation of pediatric group patients with inborn errors of the immune system in a Colombian tertiary hospital. METHODS: Retrospective descriptive study of 306 patients with a diagnosis of innate errors of the immune system who consulted the PID clinic between 2011 and 2018 in a high-complexity institution in Cali, Colombia. RESULTS: Three-hundred and six patients were included. The median age was 4 years (IQR 2.3-7.7 years), and 59.5% of the patients were male. According to the International Union of Immunological Societies Expert Committee for Primary Immunodeficiency classification for inborn errors of the immune system, the most common group was antibody deficiency in 74.8% (n˂229), especially in the age group between 1 and 5 years. The least frequent in our population was complement deficiency. Of the warning signs stipulated for these pathologies, the most frequent were the (1) need for intravenous antibiotics (32%), (2) difficulty growing (15.7%), (3) four or more episodes of ear infection (10.8%), and (4) abscesses in organs or cutaneous abscesses (12.7%). No patient reported two or more episodes of pneumonia or sinusitis, and only 5.8% of the patients received a bone marrow transplant. CONCLUSIONS: Innate errors of the immune system require an early diagnosis with follow-up from an early age to ensure adequate management and follow-up in order to reduce morbidity and mortality. It is imperative to sensitize the medical population about the existence of these pathologies so that early intervention can be carried out, which improves the quality of life of patients and their families.

Tabernaemontana arborea and ibogaine induce paroxysmal EEG activity in freely moving mice: Involvement of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors.

Several Apocynaceae species, most notably Tabernanthe iboga, Voacanga africana and many Tabernaemontana species, produce ibogan-type alkaloids. Although a large amount of information exists about the Tabernaemontana genus, knowledge concerning chemistry and biological activity remains lacking for several species, especially related to their effects on the central nervous system (CNS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Tabernaemontana arborea Rose ex J.D.Sm. (T. arborea) hydroalcoholic extract (30, 56.2 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) and two of its main alkaloids (ibogaine and voacangine, 30 mg/kg, i.p.) on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity alone and in the presence of the chemical convulsant agent pentylenetetrazole (PTZ, 85 mg/kg, i.p.) in mice. EEG spectral power analysis showed that T. arborea extract (56.2 and 100 mg/kg) and ibogaine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) promoted a significant increase in the relative power of the delta band and a significant reduction in alpha band values, denoting a CNS depressant effect. Voacangine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) provoked an EEG flattening pattern. The PTZ-induced seizures were not modified in the presence of T. arborea, ibogaine, or voacangine. However, sudden death was observed in mice treated with T. arborea extract at 100 mg/kg, i.p., combined with PTZ. Because T. arborea extract (100 mg/kg, i.p.) and ibogaine (30 mg/kg, i.p.), but not voacangine (30 mg/kg, i.p.), induced paroxysmal activity in the EEG, both were explored in the presence of a serotonin 5-HT1A receptor antagonist (WAY100635, 1 mg/kg, i.p.). The antagonist abolished the paroxysmal activity provoked by T. arborea (100 mg/kg, i.p.) but not that observed with ibogaine, corroborating the participation of serotonin neurotransmission in the T. arborea effects. In conclusion, high doses of the T. arborea extract induced abnormal EEG activity due in part to the presence of ibogaine and involving serotonin 5-HT1A receptor participation. Nevertheless, other possible constituents and mechanisms might participate in this complex excitatory activity that would be interesting to explore in future studies.

Terapia familiar sistémica en contextos de pobreza / Systemic family therapy in contexts of poverty

Sin duda alguna, un par de páginas se han de quedar cortas a la hora de desglosar un poco sobre aquellos enfoques direccionados hacia el ser humano, desde lo individual, hasta su interacción en grupo y sociedad. Aun así, el presente artículo permite dar una mirada estructural y básica de lo que conlleva a la mención del concepto de Terapia Familiar Sistémica, en éste caso desarrollada en contextos de pobreza, básicamente en América Latina, y más específicamente en Colombia. A través de una contextualización estructurada de términos, ubicados en la raíz del tema principal, se pretende hacer un recorrido que vaya desde lo más sencillo, hasta lo más elaborado, para finalmente impregnar al lector, de una forma más clara y globalizada, de la ubicación y el universo que se constituye alrededor de la Terapia Familiar Sistémica, en los contextos de pobreza; su constitución, fundamento e importancia en nuestra sociedad.

Anyway a couple of pages will be short when we want to drill down a bit on those directed towards the human being approaches from the individual to his group interaction and society. Even so, this article can give a structural and basic look of what it takes to mention the concept of Systemic Family Therapy, developed in contexts of poverty, mainly in Latin America and more specifically in Colombia. Through a structured contextualization of terms, located in the root of the main theme it is to make a journey that goes from the simplest to the most elaborated, and finally imbue the reader of a clearer and globalized form of the location and the universe that is around the Systemic Family Therapy in contexts of poverty; its constitution, foundation and importance in our society.