Periodontitis is an oral chronic infection/inflammatory condition, identified as a source of mediators of inflammation into the blood circulation, which may contribute to exacerbate several diseases. There is increasing evidence that inflammation plays a key role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although inflammation is present in both diseases, the exact mechanisms and crosslinks between periodontitis and AD are poorly understood. Therefore, this article aims to review possible comorbidity between periodontitis and AD. Here, the authors discuss the inflammatory aspects of periodontitis, how this oral condition produces a systemic inflammation and, finally, the contribution of this systemic inflammation for worsening neuroinflammation in the progression of AD.

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Health literacy, a more complex concept than knowledge, is a required capacity to obtain, understand, integrate and act on health information [1], in order to enhance individual and community health, which is defined by different levels, according to the autonomy and personal capacitation in decision making [2]. Medium levels of Health literacy in an adolescent population were found in a study conducted in 2013/2014, being higher in sexual and reproductive health and lower in substance use. It was also noticed that the higher levels of health literacy were in the area adolescents refer to have receipt more health information. The health literacy competence with higher scores was communication skills, and the lower scores were in the capacity to analyze factors that influence health. Higher levels were also found in younger teenagers, but in a higher school level, confirming the importance of health education in these age and development stage. Adolescents seek more information in health professionals and parents, being friends more valued as a source information in older adolescents, which enhance the importance of peer education mainly in older adolescents [3]. As a set of competences based on knowledge, health literacy should be developed through education interventions, encompassing the cultural and social context of individuals, since the society, culture and education system where the individual is inserted can define the way the development and enforcement of the health literacy competences [4]. The valued sources of information should be taken into account, as well as needs of information in some topics referred by adolescents in an efficient health education. Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness which has a profound effect on the health and well-being related with the well-known nature of psychotic symptoms. The exercise has the potential to improve the life of people with schizophrenia improving physical health and alleviating psychiatric symptoms. However, most people with schizophrenia remains sedentary and lack of access to exercise programs are barriers to achieve health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of exercise on I) the type of intervention in mental health, II) in salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol and serum levels of S100B and BDNF, and on III) the quality of life and selfperception of the physical domain of people with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 31 females in long-term institutions in the Casa de Saúde Rainha Santa Isabel, with age between 25 and 63, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Physical fitness was assessed by the six-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Biological variables were determined by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Psychological variables were assessed using SF-36, PSPP-SCV, RSES and SWLS tests. Walking exercise has a positive impact on physical fitness (6MWD -p = 0.001) and physical components of the psychological test...

Many studies have shown that deficits in olfactory and cognitive functions precede the classical motor symptoms seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) and that olfactory testing may contribute to the early diagnosis of this disorder. Although the primary cause of PD is still unknown, epidemiological studies have revealed that its incidence is increased in consequence of exposure to certain environmental toxins. In this study, most of the impairments presented by C57BL/6 mice infused with a single intranasal (i.n.) administration of the proneurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) (1 mg/nostril) were similar to those observed during the early phase of PD, when a moderate loss of nigral dopamine neurons results in olfactory and memory deficits with no major motor impairments. Such infusion decreased the levels of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase in the olfactory bulb, striatum, and substantia nigra by means of apoptotic mechanisms, reducing dopamine concentration in different brain structures such as olfactory bulb, striatum, and prefrontal cortex, but not in the hippocampus. These findings reinforce the notion that the olfactory system represents a particularly sensitive route for the transport of neurotoxins into the central nervous system that may be related to the etiology of PD. These results also provide new insights in experimental models of PD, indicating that the i.n. administration of MPTP represents a valuable mouse model for the study of the early stages of PD and for testing new therapeutic strategies to restore sensorial and cognitive processes in PD.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting approximately 1% of the population older than 60 years. Classically, PD is considered to be a motor system disease and its diagnosis is based on the presence of a set of cardinal motor signs that are consequence of a pronounced death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Nowadays there is considerable evidence showing that non-dopaminergic degeneration also occurs in other brain areas which seems to be responsible for the deficits in olfactory, emotional and memory functions that precede the classical motor symptoms in PD. Dopamine-replacement therapy has dominated the treatment of PD and although the currently approved antiparkinsonian agents offer effective relief of the motor deficits, they have not been found to alleviate the non-motor features as well as the underlying dopaminergic neuron degeneration and thus drug efficacy is gradually lost. Another major limitation of chronic dopaminergic therapy is the numerous adverse effects such as dyskinesias, psychosis and behavioral disturbance. The development of new therapies in PD depends on the existence of representative animal models to facilitate the evaluation of new pharmacological agents before they are applied in clinical trials. We have recently proposed a new experimental model of PD consisting of a single intranasal (i.n.) administration of the proneurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, 1 mg/nostril) in rodents. Our findings demonstrated that rats and mice treated intranasally with MPTP suffer impairments in olfactory, cognitive, emotional and motor functions conceivably analogous to those observed during different stages of PD. Such infusion causes time-dependent loss of tyrosine hydroxylase in the olfactory bulb and SNc, resulting in significant dopamine depletion in different brain areas. We have also identified some pathogenic mechanisms possibly involved in the neurodegeneration induced by i.n. administration of MPTP including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, activation of apoptotic cell death mechanisms and glutamatergic excitotoxicity. Therefore, the present review attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of the i.n. MPTP model and to highlight recent findings from our group showing its potential as a valuable rodent model for testing novel drugs that may provide alternative or adjunctive treatment for both motor and non-motor symptoms relief with a reduced side-effect profile as well as the discovery of compounds to modify the course of PD.