Aim: Datura stramonium (DS) is a known hallucinogen and depressant of the central nervous system, but it is commonly used in alcoholic beverages to increase intoxication. Pharmacological, physiological and ultra-structural studies have demonstrated the neurotoxicity of this drug inanimals and humans at high doses. The present study investigated the histological patterns of neurodegeneration of frontal cortex (FC) neurons in Wistar rats treated with high doses of DS seed extract. Materials and methods: Ethanolic extract of DS dried seeds was diluted in normal saline and administered to male and female Wistar rats weighing 200 g-250 g. The animals were first placed in three groups which were further subdivided into four subgroups. The treated subgroups received intraperitoneal administration (i.p.) of 750 mg/kg of diluted DS seed extract once daily in group 1, twice daily (1500 mg/kg/day) in group 2 and thrice daily (2250 mg/kg/day) in group 3. The treatment was carried out for 4 weeks while the control groups received normal saline during the same period. The rats were euthanized and sections of the frontal cortices of the brain were histologically processed from all groups. Silver impregnation stain for degenerating axons and neurons was used to elucidate the pattern of degeneration induced by DS seed extract on the neurons of the FC. Results: The results of intraperitoneal administration of DS extract showed no changes in groups 1 & 2 treated rats while group 3 showed a significant pattern of histological changes like axonal atrophy, vacuolization and neuronal deaths in the frontal cortices neurons compared to the controls. Conclusion: DS may have a specific pattern of neurodegeneration at higher doses of administration. This could provide a useful model in understanding how DS intoxication can affect frontal cortex neurons with an implication of neurological disorders, mental diseases and behavioural deficits.
Background: cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is one of the cellular transcription factors found in neurons. CREB is also important for the survival of neurons, and has an important role in the development of drug addiction. Datura stramonium (DS) is a tropical ubiquitous plant commonly used to increase the intoxication of certain beverages for recreational purposes. The seeds of this plant are very toxic and may produce addiction on prolong usage. This research investigated the effects of administration of high doses of DS seeds on the expression of CREB protein in both male and female rats' frontal cortices and its implication in addiction and neurodegeneration. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with a total of 24 male and female Wistar rats weighing 200 g -250 g. The rats were divided into three groups of 8 rats each. Each group was further divided into four sub-groups of 2 rats each. Ethanolic dried seed extract of DS was diluted in normal saline and administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) to the treatment groups. The treated sub-groups received 750 mg/kg of DS extract once in group 1, twice in group 2 and thrice in group 3 daily for 4 weeks respectively, while the control sub-groups received i.p. normal saline concurrently for the same duration of time. The rats were euthanized and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed to detect a significant main difference of DS effect on CREB expression for each group, while post hoc Bonferroni Test compared CREB protein expression between male and female groups. Result: There were significant differences in the expression of CREB protein between the sub-groups and between the male and female rats of treated sub-group (p < 0.05) compared to the controls. There was a decrease in the female treated sub-groups and an increase in the male treated sub-groups compared to the respective controls. Conclusion: High * Corresponding author. P. E. Ekanem et al. 210doses of DS administration for a prolong time may affect the expressions of CREB protein differently in male and female treated rats which may consequently lead to addiction and neurodegeneration affecting frontal cortex neurons.
Health effects of Radio frequency waves have been raised because of the gradual increase in usage of cell phones, and this Usage of cellular phones is associated with alterations in various body systems including the central nervous system. The impact of radiation emitted from mobile phone on experimental animals still unclear and contradictory and there is limited reviewed work of Mobile phones radiation effect on blood-brain barrier and therefore; the purpose of this work was to review the possible effects of mobile phone radiation on blood-brain barrier from findings in the literature on tissues in human and experimental animals. This review is grounded on the various scientific published articles, journals and textbooks accessed on line from January 2010-November, 2011 and summarize the main results of studies of mobile phone radiation impact on blood-brain barrier permeability published until 2009. Accordingly, number of studies relating to electromagnetic field emitted by cell phones over a wide range of frequency is used, depending on a number of electromagnetic field parameters, duration of exposure and Specific absorption rate values.Several authors have reported that electromagnetic exposure alters blood-brain barrier permeability. On the contrarily; other authors have reported differently in confirming these findings and more over it is also reported that mobile phone radiation-induced activation of cellular stress response might affect blood-brain barrier permeability . Generally, the results of different studies conducted in experimental animals have revealed that long term exposure to cell phone radiation and at high or low Specific absorption rate value enhances increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier.
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