The perceived parental rearing practices and attitudes of agoraphobics, social phobics and non-patient normal controls were investigated, employing the EMBU, an inventory for assessing memories of upbringing. Findings obtained previously with out-patients were replicated with in-patients as subjects. Compared with the controls, agoraphobics rated both their parents as having been less emotionally warm but only their mothers as having been rejective. Socially phobic in-patients rated both their parents as having been rejective, as having lacked emotional warmth, and as having been over-protective. Comparisons between agoraphobics and social phobics showed differences in certain aspects of parental rearing, with the socially phobic in-patients assigning ratings more negatively than the agoraphobic group.

No abstract

Interest in organoselenide chemistry and biochemistry has increased in the past three decades, mainly due to their chemical and biological activities. Here, we investigated the protective effect of the organic selenium compound diphenyl diselenide (PhSe)2 (5 μmol/kg), in a mouse model of methylmercury (MeHg)-induced brain toxicity. Our group has previously demonstrated that the oral and repeated administration (21 days) of MeHg (40 mg/L) induced MeHg brain accumulation at toxic concentrations, and a pattern of severe cortical and cerebellar biochemical and behavioral. In order to assess neurotoxicity, the neurochemical parameters, namely, mitochondrial complexes I, II, II-III and IV, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities, the content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as well as, metal deposition were investigated in mouse cerebral cortex. Cortical neurotoxicity induced by brain MeHg deposition was characterized by the reduction of complexes I, II, and IV activities, reduction of GPx and increased GR activities, increased TBA-RS and 8-OHdG content, and reduced BDNF levels. The daily treatment with (PhSe)2 was able to counteract the inhibitory effect of MeHg on mitochondrial activities, the increased oxidative stress parameters, TBA-RS and 8-OHdG levels, and the reduction of BDNF content. The observed protective (PhSe)2 effect could be linked to its antioxidant properties and/or its ability to reduce MeHg deposition in brain, which was here histochemically corroborated. Altogether, these data indicate that (PhSe)2 could be consider as a neuroprotectant compound to be tested under neurotoxicity.

Esta revisão procura reunir diversos estudos que avaliam os fatores que influenciam a biodisponibilidade do licopeno, bem como os alimentos fontes e a recomendação de ingestão desse carotenóide. Para tanto, foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico, mediante consulta às bases de dados Medline (National Library of Medicine, USA) e Lilacs (Bireme, Brasil) nas quais foram selecionadas publicações científicas em português e inglês, nos últimos quinze anos, que utilizaram os temas: licopeno, carotenóides e/ou biosponibilidade. O licopeno é um carotenóide sem atividade de pró-vitamina A, mas um potente antioxidante, sendo essa função possivelmente associada à redução do risco da ocorrência do câncer e certas doenças crônicas. Esse nutriente é encontrado em um número limitado de alimentos, e, além disso, o organismo não é capaz de sintetizá-lo; dessa forma, o licopeno é obtido exclusivamente por meio da dieta alimentar. A quantidade sugerida de ingestão de licopeno varia de 4 a 35mg/dia. Estudos mostram que existem vários fatores que podem interferir na biodisponibilidade do licopeno, tais como absorção intestinal, quantidade de licopeno no alimento fonte, formas de apresentação (isômeros e sintéticos), presença da matriz alimentar, presença de outros nutrientes na refeição (como gordura, fibra, outros carotenóides, entre outros), ingestão de drogas, processamento do alimento, além da individualidade biológica e do estado nutricional do indivíduo. Estudos da biodisponibilidade do licopeno têm sido desenvolvidos a partir do tomate e seus produtos, por esse ser a fonte mais comumente consumida. O desenvolvimento do estudo enfatizou a importância da melhor forma de absorção desse nutriente, relevante que é para a prevenção de inúmeras doenças.Termos de indexação: disponibilidade biológica; licopeno; lycopersicon esculentum.

Objective Given that the literature data indicates that ascorbic acid may have an anxiolytic effect, we hypothesized that a single oral administration of ascorbic acid could acutely affect emotional states. Methods The effects of acid ascorbic supplementation on anxiety and other emotional states were evaluated by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS). Immediately before, and 2 hours after receiving a single ascorbic acid dose (1000 mg) or placebo, 142 graduate students were evaluated by the STAI and VAMS in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Results No changes from basal levels were observed in the STAI state-anxiety or VAMS scores. However, the ingestion of ascorbic acid by the 25% more anxious healthy subjects (women; 14 control and 23 ascorbic acid), as defined by the STAI trait-anxiety scale, produced a significant reduction from baseline anxiety scores in the STAI state-anxiety scale and VAMS anxiety subscale. The study evaluated a small sample with narrow sociodemographic characteristics, composed mainly of healthy young females (> 94%) enrolled in post-graduation courses, without controlling diet, physical activity, and formal psychiatric diagnosis. Conclusions: Despite the sample size limitation, this study provides the first evidence of an acute anxiolytic effect of ascorbic acid. Broader population studies are required to evaluate the clinical relevance of presented data.