Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe psychiatric condition that affects up to 2.7% of the population and is highly linked to functional impairment and suicide. Despite its severity, there is a lack of knowledge about its pathophysiology. Studies show genetic influence and childhood violence as factors that may contribute to the development of BPD; however, the involvement of neuroinflammation in BPD remains poorly investigated. This article aimed to explore the pathophysiology of BPD according to the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress substances that exacerbate neuronal damage. Few articles have been published on this theme. They show that patients with BPD have a lower level of BDNF and a higher level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interleukin (IL)-6 in peripheral blood, associated with increased plasma levels of oxidative stress markers, such as malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine. Therefore, more research on the topic is needed, mainly with a pre-clinical and clinical focus.
Glial cells have been implicated in temporal lobe epilepsy in humans and in its models. Astrocytes are lost in several brain regions after acute seizures induced by pilocarpine and may suffer hyperplasia at subsequent time points. This study investigated the effect of N-methyl-(2S,4R)-trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline (NMP) on astrocytes exposed to cytotoxic concentrations of pilocarpine. Astrocytes were incubated with pilocarpine (half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 )=31.86 mM) for 24 h. Afterwards, they were treated with NMP at concentrations ranging from 3.12 to 100 mg/mL for 24 h. Cell viability was assessed by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cytoplasmic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (DCm) were analyzed by flow cytometry using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and rhodamine-123 (Rho123), respectively. Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and voltagedependent anion channel-1 (VDAC-1) were measured by western blot. Pilocarpine significantly decreased cell viability and mitochondrial potential and increased ROS concentration significantly by 6.7 times compared to the control. NMP concentrations X25 mg/mL protected astrocytes against pilocarpine-induced injury in a concentration-dependent manner. Concomitantly, NMP reduced cytoplasmic ROS accumulation to 27.3, 24.8, and 12.3% in the groups treated with 25, 50, and 100 mg/mL NMP, respectively. NMP also protected mitochondria from pilocarpine-induced depolarization. These effects were associated with improvement of pilocarpine-induced GFAP and VDAC-1 overexpression, which are important biomarkers of astrocyte dysfunction. In conclusion, the improvement of ROS accumulation, VDAC-1 overexpression, and mitochondrial depolarization are possible mechanisms of the NMP protective action on reactive astrocytes.
It was previously demonstrated that the methanol fraction of
Sideroxylon obtusifolium
(MFSOL) promoted anti-inflammatory and healing activity in excisional wounds. Thus, the present work investigated the healing effects of MFSOL on human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) and experimental burn model injuries. HaCaT cells were used to study MFSOL's effect on cell migration and proliferation rates. Female Swiss mice were subjected to a second-degree superficial burn protocol and divided into four treatment groups: Vehicle, 1.0% silver sulfadiazine, and 0.5 or 1.0% MFSOL Cream (CrMFSOL). Samples were collected to quantify the inflammatory mediators, and histological analyses were performed after 3, 7, and 14 days. The results showed that MFSOL (50 μg/mL) stimulated HaCaT cells by increasing proliferation and migration rates. Moreover, 0.5% CrMFSOL attenuated myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and also stimulated the release of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-10 after 3 days of treatment. CrMFSOL (0.5%) also enhanced wound contraction, promoted improvement of tissue remodeling, and increased collagen production after 7 days and VEGF release after 14 days. Therefore, MFSOL stimulated human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells and improved wound healing via modulation of inflammatory mediators of burn injuries.
This work is a literature review, presenting the current state of the use of cannabinoids on neurodegenerative diseases. The emphasis is on Parkinson’s (PD) and Alzheimer’s (AD) diseases, the two most prevalent neurological diseases. The review goes from <i>Cannabis sativa</i> and its hundreds of bioactive compounds to Δ<sup>9</sup>-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and mainly cannabidiol (CBD) and their interactions with the endocannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). CBD molecular targets were also focused on to explain its neuroprotective action mechanism on neurodegenerative diseases. Although THC is the main psychoactive component of <i>C. sativa,</i> and it may induce transient psychosis-like symptoms, growing evidence suggests that CBD may have protective effects against the psychotomimetic effects of THC and therapeutic properties. Furthermore, a great number of recent works on the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory CBD effects and its molecular targets are also reviewed. We analyzed CBD actions in preclinical and in clinical trials, conducted with PD and AD patients. Although the data on preclinical assays are more convincing, the same is not true with the clinical data. Despite the consensus among researchers on the potential of CBD as a neuroprotective agent, larger and well-designed randomized clinical trials will be necessary to gather conclusive results concerning the use of CBD as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of diseases such as PD and AD.
O estudo teve como objetivo realizar análise bacteriológica da água utilizada para consumo humano no Sítio Bela Vista na cidade de Barbalha, Ceará, avaliar a presença de coliformes totais e Escherichia coli nas amostras, bem como as condições higiênico-sanitárias próximas à nascente. Foram realizadas em frasco de vidro borosilicato estéreis três coletas com intervalo de oito dias entre elas, provenientes da nascente, da caixa-d’água de distribuição e de 4 residências aleatórias, totalizando assim 18 amostras. A realização da análise foi feita através do método do substrato cromogênico e fluorogênico que consiste na adição do conteúdo de um flaconete contendo esses substratos nos frascos que foram fechados e em seguida agitados vigorosamente e incubados em estufa a 35°C por 24 horas, realizando a leitura contra luz normal e luz ultravioleta. Foi também aplicado um checklist o qual abordou questões que se relacionam com a contaminação da região próxima à nascente. Os resultados obtidos para coliformes totais não foram satisfatórios, estando presente em 100% das amostras. Em relação a E. coli, esta apresentou-se em 33,3% das amostras analisadas, podendo então esses resultados estarem relacionados com a presença de contaminantes próximo a nascente e a falta de higienização das caixas d’água e das torneiras das residências. Diante destes resultados, de acordo com a portaria nº 2.914 do Ministério da Saúde, a água encontra-se imprópria para consumo humano e por isso é de extrema importância a criação de políticas públicas que reforcem a relevância e necessidade de higienização das caixas d’água e das torneiras nas residências.
Genipa americana, pertencente à família Rubiaceae, árvore de grande porte que é encontrada em várias áreas do Brasil, popularmente conhecida como Jenipapeiro sendo utilizada para no combate à doenças hepáticas e inflamatórias, além de reduzir o colesterol. Este estudo tem como principal objetivo avaliar a prospecção fitoquímica, antibacteriana e modulatória do extrato hidroalcoólico da casca do caule de Genipa americana frente a cepas de bactérias padrões e multirresistentes. Para a análise da atividade antibacteriana do extrato hidroalcoólico, foi realizado o teste de microdiluição em caldo para determinação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM), e a modulação de antimicrobianos por meio de gentamicina, amicacina e clindamicina. Os resultados obtidos da CIM pelas bactérias Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus e Pseudomonas aeruginosa foram ≥ 1024µg/mL. Na modulação modificação da concentração de dois antibióticos para cada cepa bacteriana. Assim, é fato rematar que este extrato tem notável atividade moduladora principalmente quando testados contra bactérias de interesse clínico como a P. aeruginosa, bactérias oportunista, ressaltando que deve-se ser realizados mais estudo sobre o potencial desta espécie, que possui compostos fitoquímicos importantes capazes de reduzir a resistência a antimicrobianos.
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