Background:Despite the emerging evidence on beneficial effects of probiotics on the cardiovascular system, their impact on the management of ischemic heart diseases and the possible mechanism(s) have not been elucidated.Methods:Four viable probiotics bacterial strains, including Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus, at the concentrations of 2×106 colony-forming units/ml, were orally administered to the rats daily for 14 days before the induction of infarct-like myocardial injury using isoproterenol. Subsequently, 24 h after myocardial injury, the right carotid artery and the left ventricle were catheterized for recording blood pressure and cardiac parameters. At the end of the experiment, the heart was removed for the evaluation of histopathological and biochemical parameters, as well as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) assay.Results:The induction of acute myocardial injury resulted in significant (P≤0.01) left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, as shown by an increase in LV end-diastolic pressure and a decrease in LV dp/dt max, LV dp/dt min, LV systolic pressure, and blood pressure, as compared with normal rats. Pretreatment with viable probiotics significantly reduced lipid peroxidation and TNF-α level and improved cardiac function (P<0.01).Conclusion:This study shows that viable probiotics have a cardioprotective effect on infarct-like myocardial injury through suppressing TNF-α and oxidative stress damage in a rat model. Probiotic supplements may be used as a new option for prophylaxis in patients at the risk of ischemic heart disease in future.
Tau protein plays a crucial role in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases. However, the assay employed to detect tau protein on a nanoscale is a great challenge for the early diagnosis of diseases. ELISA, western-blotting, and molecular-based methods such as PCR and Real-time PCR are the most widely used methods for detecting tau protein. Such methods are subject to certain limitations: the need for advanced equipment, low sensitivity, and specificity, to name a few. Accordingly, the necessity of discovering advanced and novel methods for monitoring tau protein becomes highlighted. Biosensors are one of the remarkable methods considered by researchers that can largely eliminate the problems and limitations associated with routine methods. The main objective of the present study was to review the latest biosensors developed to detect the tau protein. Further, the problems and limitations of routine diagnosis methods were discussed in detail.
Introduction:Enriched Environment (EE), a complex novel environment, has been demonstrated to improve synaptic plasticity in both injured and intact animals. The present study investigated the capacity of an early environmental intervention to normalize the impairment of passive avoidance memory and Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) induced by transient bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2-vessel occlusion, 2VO) in rats.Methods:After weaning, young Wistar rats (22 days old) were housed in EE or Standard Environment (SE) for 40 days. Transient (30-min) incomplete forebrain ischemia was induced 4 days before the passive avoidance memory test and LTP induction.Results:The transient forebrain ischemia led to impairment of passive avoidance memory and LTP induction in the Perforant Path-Dentate Gyrus (PP-DG) synapses. Interestingly, housing and growing in EE prior to 2VO was found to significantly reverse 2VO-induced cognitive and LTP impairments.Conclusion:Our results suggest that early housing and growing in EE exhibits therapeutic potential to normalize cognitive and LTP abnormalities induced by 2VO ischemic model in rats.
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