3-acetylpyridine induced behavioral dysfunction and neuronal loss in the striatum and hippocampus of adult male rats.

3-acetylpyridine (3-AP) is a neurotoxin that is known to mainly affect the inferior olivary nucleus (ION) in the brain stem. Although several studies have explored the effect of this neurotoxin, still further investigation is required to understand the impact of this toxin on different parts of the brain. In this research, two groups of rats were studied, the 3-AP-treated and the control groups. Behavioral, stereological, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. The locomotor activity of the 3-AP-treated rats decreased whereas their anxiety levels were higher than in normal controls. Also, memory performance was impaired in animals in the 3-AP group. Microscopic observations showed a decline in the numerical density of neurons in the hippocampus and striatum along with gliosis. Although this toxin is used to affect the ION, it exerts a neurotoxic effect on different brain regions.

Hypertension prevalence in Iran's elderly according to new criteria: the Tehran Geriatric Eye Study.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of hypertension in a population above 60 years of age and its relationship with demographic and anthropometric factors. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted in 2019. Using a multistage random cluster sampling, 160 clusters were selected from 22 districts of Tehran. All participants were interviewed to collect demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic information. Then, systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures were measured under standard conditions twice, 10 min apart. A third measurement was performed if the two measurements showed a difference of ≥ 10 mmHg in SBP or ≥ 5 mmHg in DBP. Hypertension was defined as a SBP > 130 mmHg or a DBP > 80 mmHg (new criteria), being a known case of hypertension, or use of blood pressure lowering medications. Results: Of 3791 invitees, 3310 participated in the study (87.3%). The mean age of the participants was 68.25 ± 6.54 years (60-97 years). The prevalence of hypertension was 81.08% (95% CI: 79.57-82.59) in the whole sample; 82.96% (95% CI: 81.02-84.91) in females, and 79.15% (95% CI: 76.6 -81.69) in males. The prevalence of hypertension ranged from 75.47% (95% CI: 72.65-78.29) in the age group 60-64 years to 88.40% (95% CI: 83.71-93.08) in the age group ≥ 80 years. The prevalence of hypertension unawareness was 32.84% (95% CI: 30.82-34.86). The highest and lowest prevalence of hypertension was seen in illiterate subjects (89.41%) and those with a university education (77.14%), respectively. According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, older age, lower education level, obesity and overweight, neck circumference, and diabetes were significantly associated with the prevalence of hypertension. Conclusion: A significant percentage of Iranian elderly have hypertension and one of every 3 affected individuals is unaware of their disease. Considering the population aging in Iran, urgent and special attention should be paid to the elderly population. Caring for the elderly, informing families, and using non-traditional screening methods are recommended by families at the first level and policymakers at the macro level.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of elderberry diet in the rat model of seizure: a behavioral and histological investigation on the hippocampus.

The present study was designed to evaluate whether elderberry (EB) effectively reduces inflammation and oxidative stress in hippocampal cells to modify seizure damage. Seizure was induced in rats by the injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). In the Seizure + EB group, EB powder was added to the rats' routine diet for eight consecutive weeks. The study included several behavioral tests, immunohistopathology, Voronoi tessellation (to estimate the spatial distribution of cells in the hippocampus), and Sholl analysis. The results in the Seizure + EB group showed an improvement in the behavioral aspects of the study, a reduction in astrogliosis, astrocyte process length, number of branches, and intersections distal to the soma in the hippocampus of rats compared to controls. Further analysis showed that EB diet increased nuclear factor-like 2 expression and decreased caspase-3 expression in the hippocampus in the Seizure + EB group. In addition, EB protected hippocampal pyramidal neurons from PTZ toxicity and improved the spatial distribution of hippocampal neurons in the pyramidal layer and dentate gyrus. The results of the present study suggest that EB can be considered a potent modifier of astrocyte reactivation and inflammatory responses.

High prevalence of diabetes in elderly of Iran: an urgent public health issue.

Purpose: To determine the distribution of blood glucose and prevalence of diabetes in people above 60 years living in Tehran and their relationship with some variables. Methods: In this cross-sectional population-based study, multistage cluster sampling was performed in the over 60-year-old population of Tehran. Blood samples were collected from all participants and the data of the history of diabetes and the use of blood glucose lowering agents or other drugs were collected using interviews. Results: Of 3791 selected subjects, 3310 participated in the study (response rate = 87.3%). The mean blood Sugar (BS) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of the patients was 118.11(95% CI: 115.34 -120.88) and 6.12(95% CI: 6.05-6.2) respectively. The prevalence of diabetes was 29.03%(95% CI: 27.12-30.94) in all subjects, 26.83%(95% CI: 24.58-29.07) in men, and 31.2%(95% CI: 28.24-34.16) in women. Odds of diabetes was significantly worse in women. systolic blood pressure, diasstolic blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, wrist circumference, hip circumference, neck circumference and body mass Index were significantly higher in diabetic after adjusting for the effect of sex and age. The odds of blindness was 2.69 (95% CI: 1.10-6.59) times higher in diabetic than in non-diabetics. Conclusions: On average, one in every three persons above 60 years of age was diabetic. Therefore, attention should be paid to this age group, especially women, due the higher prevalence of diabetes. All anthropometric measurements except height had a strong correlation with diabetes. Blindness was significantly more in diabetics.

Elderberry diet ameliorates motor function and prevents oxidative stress-induced cell death in rat models of Huntington disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder which begins in the striatum and then spreads to other neural areas. Known as a progressive movement cognitive disorder, HD has no efficient therapy. Although the exact mechanism of HD is still unknown, several different etiological processes such as oxidative stress have been shown to play critical roles. Also, the current evidence indicates a strong correlation between immune activation and neural damage induced by neuroinflammatory and apoptotic agents in neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, natural products like Elderberry (EB) could be considered as a novel and potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of this disease. In this study EB was added to the daily ration of ordinary rats for two months in order to ameliorate inflammatory and oxidative responses in rats injected with 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) in an experimental model of HD. Using Rotarod and electromyography setups, we showed that EB diet significantly recovered motor failure and muscle incoordination in 3-NP injected rats compared to the control group. Also, the molecular findings implied that EB diet led to a significant drop in 3-NP induced growth in caspase-3 and TNF-α concentration. The treatment also improved striatal antioxidative capacity by a significant reduction in ROS and a remarkable rise in GSH, which might be correlated with motor recovery in the tests. In sum, the findings demonstrate the advantages of EB treatment in the HD rat model with a score of beneficial anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.

Chronic administration of methylphenidate did not affect memory and GDNF levels but increase astrogliosis in adult male rat's hippocampus.

BACKGROUND: ADHD is the most common developmental disorder affecting approximately three to seven percent of school-aged children and 2.5 percent of adults worldwide. The drug of choice for the pharmacotherapy of ADHD is Methylphenidate (MPH). However, there is growing concerns about side effects resulting from its potential interference with brain anatomical and behavioral development. AIM: This article focuses on the adverse effects of MPH on the rat's hippocampus. METHODS: The animals received an oral dose of 5 mg/kg MPH or normal saline, as the vehicle, on a daily basis for 30 days. Y-maze test, passive avoidance, Barnes maze and field potential recording were conducted. Western blot for detecting the neurotrophic factor of GDNF and immunohistochemistry of astrogliosis were performed. RESULTS: Our results revealed that MPH treatment suppressed the willingness of rats to explore new environments. Also, it had no effect on improving long-term potentiation, long-term memory and spatial memory in the MPH group as opposed to the control group. There was also a significant increase of astrogliosis in the treated rats' hippocampi. On the other hand, there was not a significant relationship between MPH administration and the decrement of the GDNF level. CONCLUSION: We encourage the need to conduct more research on the adverse effects of MPH on the brain.