Almond intake during pregnancy in rats improved the cognitive performance of adult male offspring.

Background: Based on evidence there are accepted links among early nutrition, epigenetic processes, and cognitive performance. Almond as a nutritious food could exert neuroprotective effects and improve anxiety, learning, and memory.Methods: In the current study, female rats were fed with a diet containing 5% (w/w) almonds during the mating period (two days) and gestation period (21 consecutive days). Then, the effect of the almond diet on short-term memory (Y maze), anxiety (elevated plus maze), and stress adaptation (forced swimming test) were investigated in the adult male offspring. The hippocampus (HIP), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and amygdala (AMY) of offspring were collected, and the level of cyclic AMP response element-binding proteins (CREB), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was assessed by western blotting. Also, Monoamine oxidases (MAO)-A and B activity were evaluated via enzymatic assays.Results: Our results indicated that prenatal almond consumption improved memory, made a modest reduction in anxiety-like behavior, and increased stress adaptation in adult male offspring. Also, molecular assessments showed an increased level of CREB phosphorylation and BDNF in the HIP and PFC of the almond group, while the activity of MAO-A and MAO-B was inhibited by almond consumption in mentioned areas.Discussion: These findings introduce almonds as a beneficial diet during pregnancy, for improving short-term memory, stress adaptation, and cognitive performance in adult offspring.

Potentially inappropriate brain CT-scan requesting in the emergency department: A retrospective study in patients with neurologic complaints.

BACKGROUND: Potentially inappropriate brain CT scan requesting in the emergency department imposes extra charges to the healthcare system and patients. Besides, the unnecessary radiation exposure may cause irreparable damage to the patient. In this study we investigated the percentage of potentially inappropriately conducted brain CT scan for different chief complaints in non-traumatic patients presented to our emergency department.  Material and methods: 160 patients aged over 18 years old with chief complaints other than trauma, referred to the emergency department of Imam Hossein Hospital (Tehran, Iran), were enrolled in this study. Data were collected from medical records; the inclusion criteria was patients older than 18 years with chief complaint other than trauma.  Results: 160 people aged 18 to 100 years old enrolled in this study, 83 (51.87%) were male and 77 (48.13%) were female. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of potentially inappropriate brain CT between different age groups. Percentage of potentially inappropriate CT according to chief complaints were as follows: 4.8% for dysarthria, 0% for right and left hemiplegia, 9.1% for decreased level of consciousness, 30% for nausea and vomiting, 41.7% for generalized weaknesses, 0% for seizures, 55.6% for vertigo, 25% for headache, and 57.7% for other complaints. There was a statistically significant association between chief complaints and potentially inappropriate brain CT scan requests (p-value = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Considering the significant percentage of potentially inappropriate brain CT scan requests for non-traumatic patients in the setting of emergency department, it is critical for healthcare policymakers to propose practical guidelines and supervise their application.

Interval aerobic training improves bioenergetics state and mitochondrial dynamics of different brain regions in restraint stressed rats.

Evidence has validated the prophylactic effects of exercising on different aspects of health. On the opposite side, immobilization may lead to various destructive effects causing neurodegeneration. Here, we investigated the association between exercising and mitochondrial quality for preventing the destructive effects of restraint stress in different rat brain regions. Twenty-four male Wistar rats, were randomized into four groups (n = 6), exercise, stress, exercise + stress, and control. The exercise procedure consisted of running on a rodent treadmill for 8 weeks, and rats in the stress group were immobilized for 6 h. Rats were then euthanized by decapitation and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzyme activity, antioxidant levels, and mitochondrial biogenesis factors were assessed in the frontal, hippocampus, parietal and temporal regions using spectrophotometer and western blot technique. Based on our results, increased activity of TCA cycle enzymes in the exercised and exercise-stressed groups was detected, except for malate dehydrogenase which was decreased in exercise-stressed group, and fumarase that did not change. Furthermore, the level of antioxidant agents (superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione), mitochondrial biogenesis factors (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha and mitochondrial transcription factor A), and dynamics markers (Mitofusin 2, dynamic related protein 1, PTEN induced putative kinase-1, and parkin) increased in both mentioned groups. Interestingly our results also revealed that the majority of the mitochondrial factors increased in the frontal and parietal lobes, which may be in relation with the location of motor and sensory areas. Exercise can be used as a prophylactic approach against bioenergetics and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and seizure: An insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms.

Based on previous studies, seizure has been reported to accompany coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Underlying mechanisms are those leading to the direct central nervous system (CNS) invasion through hematogenous spread or trans-synaptic retrograde invasion, causing meningoencephalitis. On the other hand, there are pathophysiologic mechanisms that seizure would be one of their early consequences, such as cytokine storm, hypoxemia, metabolic derangement, and structural brain lesions. Herein, we focused on available evidence to provide an insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms that link seizure and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, as a better understanding of pathophysiology would lead to better diagnosis and treatment.

Prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with epilepsy: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is a frequent finding in patients with epilepsy. As evaluation of sleep disorders and quality of sleep in patients with epilepsy may provide better management of these patients, we aimed to assess the prevalence of common sleep disorders in patients with epilepsy. METHODS: Patients with epilepsy referred to an outpatient epilepsy clinic in Tehran during one year were included. Validated Persian questionnaires were used by an interviewer to assess Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), Restless leg syndrome (RLS), and insomnia. Also, patients' demographic features and clinical seizure-related characteristics were recorded. RESULTS: Seventy patients (35 males) aged between 18 and 75 were enrolled. Among patients, 61.4, 35.7, and 28.6% suffered from insomnia, EDS, and RLS, respectively (mild to severe). When considering seizure characteristics, there was no significant correlation between either seizure frequency or its type and the prevalence of sleep disturbance (although sleep disturbance was more common among patients with higher seizure frequency and patients with generalized seizure). Interestingly, age had a positive correlation with EDS. CONCLUSION: This study showed that sleep disturbance is a common finding in patients with epilepsy, which may become severe in some cases. Taking this into consideration, we suggest that routine evaluation of sleep disorders may help physicians to boost patients' sleep quality.

Subchronic metformin pretreatment enhances novel object recognition memory task in forebrain ischemia: behavioural, molecular, and electrophysiological studies.

Metformin exerts its effect via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a key sensor for energy homeostasis that regulates different intracellular pathways. Metformin attenuates oxidative stress and cognitive impairment. In our experiment, rats were divided into 8 groups; some were pretreated with metformin (Met, 200 mg/kg) and (or) the AMPK inhibitor Compound C (CC) for 14 days. On day 14, rats underwent transient forebrain global ischemia. Data indicated that pretreatment of ischemic rats with metformin reduced working memory deficits in a novel object recognition test compared to group with ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) (P < 0.01). Pretreatment of the I-R animals with metformin increased phosphorylated cyclic-AMP response element-binding protein (pCREB) and c-fos levels compared to the I-R group (P < 0.001 for both). The level of CREB and c-fos was significantly lower in ischemic rats pretreated with Met + CC compared to the Met + I-R group. Field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) amplitude and slope was significantly lower in the I-R group compared to the sham operation group (P < 0.001). Data showed that fEPSP amplitude and slope was significantly higher in the Met + I-R group compared to the I-R group (P < 0.001). Treatment of ischemic animals with Met + CC increased fEPSP amplitude and slope compared to the Met + I-R group (P < 0.01). We unravelled new aspects of the protective role of AMPK activation by metformin, further emphasizing the potency of metformin pretreatment against cerebral ischemia.