Morphometric and quantitative study of the myenteric neurons of the stomach of malnourished aging rats.

In this work, two groups of Wistar rats were fed ad libitum, one with standard chow (22% protein) and the other with hypoproteic chow (8% protein), from the 210th to the 345th day of life. Compared to the animals fed with standard chow, the animals fed with hypoproteic chow exhibited hypophagia (ingestion about 30% lower), mean weight gain 4.46% lower, greater amount of retroperitoneal and peri-epididymal fat (19% on average), lower Lee index, decrease of total plasma proteins and plasma globulins and maintenance of plasma albumin. The quantitative and morphometric analysis of the NADH-diaphorase positive myenteric neurons yielded a larger number of small neurons and a smaller number of medium neurons in the animals subjected to the hypoproteic chow, demonstrating that the neuronal growth was affected by the diet. In the animals fed with hypoproteic chow, a 20% decrease in the NADH-diaphorase positive neurons of the forestomach and a 10% decrease in those of the glandular stomach were observed.

Desired and side effects of the supplementation with l-glutamine and l-glutathione in enteric glia of diabetic rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Enteric neuropathy associated with Diabetes Mellitus causes dysfunction in the digestive system, such as: nausea, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, among others. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of supplementation with 2% l-glutamine and 1% l-glutathione on neurons and enteric glial cells of ileum of diabetic rats. METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats have been used according to these group distributions: Normoglycemic (N), Normoglycemic supplemented with l-glutamine (NG), Normoglycemic supplemented with l-glutathione (NGO), Diabetic (D), Diabetic supplemented with l-glutamine (DG) and Diabetic supplemented with l-glutathione (DGO). After 120days, the ileum was processed for immunohistochemistry of HuC/D and S100ß. Quantitative and morphometric analysis have been performed. RESULTS: Diabetic rats presented a decrease in the number of neurons when compared to normoglycemic animals. However, diabetes was not associated with a change in glial density. l-Glutathione prevented the neuronal death in diabetic rats. l-Glutathione increased a glial proliferation in diabetic rats. The neuronal area in diabetic rats increased in relation to the normoglycemics. The diabetic rats supplemented with l-glutamine and l-glutathione showed a smaller neuronal area in comparison to diabetic group. The glial cell area was a decreased in the diabetics. The diabetic rats supplemented with l-glutamine and l-glutathione did not have significant difference in the glial cell body area when compared to diabetic rats. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the usage of l-glutamine and l-glutathione as supplements presents both desired and side effects that are different for the same substance in considering normoglycemic or diabetic animals.

Atrophy of the nitrergic myenteric neurons in the descending colon rats submitted to protein and vitamin deficiency / Atrofia en neuronas mientéricas nitrérgicas en el colon descendente de ratas sometidas a deficiencia de proteínas y vitaminas

Effects of protein and B-complex vitamin deficiency were assessed with respect to the morphometry of myenteric neurons in the descending colon of adult rats. Sixteen animals were divided into two groups: Control Group (CG, n=8) and Experimental Group (EG, n=8). The CG received 22 percent protein chow and the EG received 4 percent protein chow for 120 days. The descending colon was submitted to NADH- and NADPH-diaphorase technique in order to evidence nervous cells in the whole mounts preparations. In the EG, NADH-d positive neurons presented reduced nuclei, while NADPH-d positive neurons showed atrophy of the soma area (~41.7 percent) inducing an increase of the proportion occupied by the nucleus inside in the soma of these cells.

Esta investigación buscó evaluar los efectos de la desnutrición proteica y vitamínica delcomplexo B sobre aspectos morfométricos del plexo mientérico del colon descendente de ratones adultos. Dieciséis animales fueron distribuidos en dos grupos: control que recibieron ración comercial con 22 por ciento de proteína y experimental alimentados con ración de tenor proteico reducido para 8 por ciento, durante 120 días. Neuronas del plexo mientérico presentes en preparados totales fueron evidenciados a través de la técnica histoquímica de la NADH-diaforasa y de la NADPH-diaforasa. En el grupo experimental, las neuronas NADH-d positivos sufrieron reducción del núcleo celular, ya las neuronas NADPH-d sufrieron atrofia de 41,7 por ciento de la superficie de su pericarion, lo que hizo con que el núcleo celular pasase a ocupar una mayor proporción de la región trófica de las neuronas.

Estudo dos componentes fibrocelulares das granulaçöes aracnóides humanas / Fibrocellular components study of human arachnoid granulations

O estudo microscópico dos elementos fibrocelulares da granulaçao aracnóide de seres humanos revela uma concentraçao de canalículos que cruzam a regiao medular, em direçao a luz do seio sagital superior. As células aracnóides acompanham a disposiçao espacial dos elementos fibrosos, através de seus processos citoplasmáticos alongados. Os feixes de fibras elásticas formam condensaçoes em torno dos espaços extracelulares e ao redor da granulaçao, isto, segundo os autores, forneceria grande maleabilidade a estrutura, capacitando-a a responder a diferentes estados funcionais, quer retraindo quer distendendo.