Memory Recovery Effect of a New Bioactive Innovative Combination in Rats with Experimental Dementia.

Alzheimer's disease manifests as a complex pathological condition, with neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and cholinergic dysfunction being a few of the many pathological changes. Due to the complexity of the disease, current therapeutic strategies aim at a multitargeted approach, often relying on a combination of substances with versatile and complementary effects. In the present study, a unique combination of α-lipoic acid, citicoline, extracts of leaves from olive tree and green tea, vitamin D3, selenium and an immune-supporting complex was tested in scopolamine-induced dementia in rats. Using behavioral and biochemical methods, we assessed the effects of the combination on learning and memory, and elucidated the mechanisms of these effects. Our results showed that, compared to its components, the experimental combination was most efficient in improving short- and long-term memory as assessed by the step-through method as well as spatial memory as assessed by T-maze and Barnes maze underlined by decreases in AChE activity (p < 0.05) and LPO (p < 0.001), increases in SOD activity in the cortex (p < 0.05) and increases in catalase (p < 0.05) and GPx (p < 0.01) activities and BDNF (p < 0.001) and pCREB (p < 0.05) levels in the hippocampus. No significant histopathological changes or blood parameter changes were detected, making the experimental combination an effective and safe candidate in a multitargeted treatment of AD.

Beneficial Effects of Snail Helix aspersa Extract in an Experimental Model of Alzheimer's Type Dementia.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with multifactorial etiology, unsatisfactory treatment, and a necessity for broad-spectrum active substances for cure. The mucus from Helix aspersa snail is a mixture of bioactive molecules with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic effects. So far there are no data concerning the capacity of snail extract (SE) to affect neurodegenerative disorders. OBJECTIVE: The effects of SE from Helix aspersa on learning and memory deficits in Alzheimer's type dementia (ATD) induced by scopolamine (Sco) in male Wistar rats were examined and some mechanisms of action underlying these effects were evaluated. METHODS: SE (0.5 mL/100 g) was applied orally through a food tube for 16 consecutive days: 5 days before and 11 days simultaneously with Sco (2 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). At the end of Sco treatment, using behavioral methods, we evaluated memory performance. Additionally, in cortex and hippocampus the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, acetylcholine and monoamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin) content, levels of main oxidative stress markers, and expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) were determined. RESULTS: We demonstrated that, according to all behavioral tests used, SE significantly improved the cognitive deficits induced by Sco. Furthermore, SE possessed AChE inhibitory activity, moderate antioxidant properties and the ability to modulate monoamines content in two brain structures. Moreover, multiple SE applications not only restored the depressed by Sco expression of CREB and BDNF, but significantly upregulated it. CONCLUSION: Summarizing results, we conclude that complex mechanisms underlie the beneficial effects of SE on impaired memory in Alzheimer's type dementia.

Culturable and Non-Culturable Blood Microbiota of Healthy Individuals.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and metagenomics revolutionized our capacity for analysis and identification of the microbial communities in complex samples. The existence of a blood microbiome in healthy individuals has been confirmed by sequencing, but some researchers suspect that this is a cell-free circulating DNA in blood, while others have had isolated a limited number of bacterial and fungal species by culture. It is not clear what part of the blood microbiota could be resuscitated and cultured. Here, we quantitatively measured the culturable part of blood microbiota of healthy individuals by testing a medium supplemented with a high concentration of vitamin K (1 mg/mL) and culturing at 43 °C for 24 h. We applied targeted sequencing of 16S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) markers on cultured and non-cultured blood samples from 28 healthy individuals. Dominant bacterial phyla among non-cultured samples were Proteobacteria 92.97%, Firmicutes 2.18%, Actinobacteria 1.74% and Planctomycetes 1.55%, while among cultured samples Proteobacteria were 47.83%, Firmicutes 25.85%, Actinobacteria 16.42%, Bacteroidetes 3.48%, Cyanobacteria 2.74%, and Fusobacteria 1.53%. Fungi phyla Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and unidentified fungi were 65.08%, 17.72%, and 17.2% respectively among non-cultured samples, while among cultured samples they were 58.08%, 21.72%, and 20.2% respectively. In cultured and non-cultured samples we identified 241 OTUs belonging to 40 bacterial orders comprising 66 families and 105 genera. Fungal biodiversity accounted for 272 OTUs distributed in 61 orders, 105 families, and 133 genera. Bacterial orders that remained non-cultured, compared to blood microbiota isolated from fresh blood collection, were Sphingomonadales, Rhizobiales, and Rhodospirillales. Species of orders Bacillales, Lactobacillales, and Corynebacteriales showed the best cultivability. Fungi orders Tremellales, Polyporales, and Filobasidiales were mostly unculturable. Species of fungi orders Pleosporales, Saccharomycetales, and Helotiales were among the culturable ones. In this study, we quantified the capacity of a specific medium applied for culturing of blood microbiota in healthy individuals. Other culturing conditions and media should be tested for optimization and better characterization of blood microbiota in healthy and diseased individuals.