Infant colic, excessive crying of unknown cause, is a major burden to families and effects about 10-30 % of infants. Despite decades of research, the exact cause and treatment of infant colic has remained elusive. The use of Lactobacillus reuteri (DSM 17938) in infant colic is somewhat controversial and hence, we designed this study to evaluate its efficacy in infantile colic. We recruited predominantly or exclusively breastfed infants, aged less than 4 months in a placebo controlled observational randomized study. Participants' were assigned to receive L. reuteri at a dose 10(8) colony forming units (n = 21) and placebo (n = 21). Placebo was an identical formulation without live micro-organisms. Treatment was given to subjects for 21 days and they were followed for 4 weeks. Treatment success (primary outcome), daily reduction in crying time, parent satisfaction and reduction in maternal depression (secondary outcomes) were assessed at the end of study period. Treatment success was observed in all infants (100 %) of the probiotic group while it was seen in 15.7 % of the placebo group. Mean daily crying time was more significantly reduced to 32.1 ± 8.3 min/day (P < 0.01) from 200.9 ± 6.3 min/day in the probiotic group as compared to the placebo group (120.6 ± 20.0 min/day). Moreover, throughout the study period, parent's satisfaction and improvement in maternal depression (Edinburgh postnatal depression scale) was also significantly higher in the probiotic group. In our study population, reduction in crying time was significant (P < 0.01) even during first week of initiation of therapy. We conclude that L. reuteri (DSM 17938) reduces daily crying time and maternal depression during infantile colic. We suggest L. reuteri may be a safe and efficacious option for reducing infant colic.

Objective Effects of conventional and atypical antipsychotics on bone mineral density (BMD) and serum prolactin levels (PRL) were examined in patients with schizophrenia. Methods One hundred and sixty-three first-episode inpatients with schizophrenia were recruited, to whom one of three conventional antipsychotics (perphenazine, sulpiride, and chlorpromazine) or one of three atypical antipsychotics (clozapine, quetiapine, and aripiprazole) was prescribed for 12 months as appropriate. BMD and PRL were tested before and after treatment. Same measures were conducted in 90 matched healthy controls. Results Baseline BMD of postero-anterior L1-L4 range from 1.04 ± 0.17 to 1.42 ± 1.23, and there was no significant difference between the patients group and healthy control group. However, post-treatment BMD values in patients (ranging from 1.02 ± 0.15 to 1.23 ± 0.10) were significantly lower than that in healthy controls (ranging from 1.15 ± 0.12 to 1.42 ± 1.36). The BMD values after conventional antipsychotics were significantly lower than that after atypical antipsychotics. The PRL level after conventional antipsychotics (53.05 ± 30.25 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that after atypical antipsychotics (32.81 ± 17.42 ng/ml). Conditioned relevance analysis revealed significant negative correlations between the PRL level and the BMD values after conventional antipsychotics. Conclusion The increase of PRL might be an important risk factor leading to a high prevalence of osteoporosis in patients with schizophrenia on long-term conventional antipsychotic medication.

Purpose: To investigate the antidepressant effect of Cyperus rotundus L. extract (CRLE) in rats.

No abstract

The PRL-raising antipsychotic drug amisulpride influenced bone turnover balance very early in the course of treatment, which may require long-term monitoring of bone metabolism. Bone resorption marker changes induced by acute antipsychotic drug treatment are likely related to increased PRL levels.

Neovibsanin type natural products were found to display neurite outgrowth activity in PC12 cells. This suggests that such type of compounds could be promising candidates for the development of novel therapeutic agents to treat neurological diseases. In the present study rats after chronic mild stress (CMS) were treated with tricyclic neovibsanin scaffold (TCNS) to study its effect on depression. The results revealed that 15 mg/kg doses of TCNS reduced the duration of immobility in CMS model of depression. It led to a significant increase in neurite outgrowths which increased the synaptic and structural plasticity of neurons. Treatment with TCNS decreased the levels of MAO-A and caspase-3 expression both of which were found to be higher in CMS. TCNS also led to an increase in expression of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in the hippocampus. These findings suggest that TCNS possesses antidepressant activity in CMS model of depression. Therefore the relief in depression by TCNS may be due to suppression of MAO-A expression and the apoptosis cascade by increased expression of Hsp70.

Background and Purpose: The utilization of doxorubicin (DOX) in clinal trials is also challenging owing to its adverse effects, including low oral bioavailability, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cardiotoxicity, and epithelial barrier damage. Recently, scavenging of ROS reduced the cytotoxicity of DOX, suggesting a new approach for using DOX as an anticancer treatment. Thus, in this study, non-silica and silica redox nanoparticles (denoted as RNPN and siRNP, respectively) with ROS scavenging features have been designed to encapsulate DOX and reduce its cytotoxicity. Experimental Approach: DOX-loaded RNPN (DOX@RNPN) and DOX-loaded siRNP (DOX@siRNP) were prepared by co-dissolving DOX with RNPN and siRNP, respectively. The size and stability of nanoparticles were characterized by the dynamic light scattering system. Additionally, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, and release profile of DOX@RNPN and DOX@siRNP were identified by measuring the absorbance of DOX. Finally, the cytotoxicity of DOX@RNPN and DOX@siRNP against normal murine fibroblast cells (L929), human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2), and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) were also investigated. Key results: The obtained result showed that RNPN exhibited a pH-sensitive character while silanol moieties improved the stability of siRNP in physiological conditions. DOX@RNPN and DOX@siRNP were formed at several tens of nanometers in diameter with narrow distribution. Moreover, DOX@siRNP stabilized under different pH buffers, especially gastric pH, and improved encapsulation of DOX owing to the addition of silanol groups. DOX@RNPN and DOX@siRNP maintained anticancer activity of DOX against HepG2, and MCF-7 cells, while their cytotoxicity on L929 cells was significantly reduced compared to free DOX treatment. Conclusion: DOX@RNPN and DOX@siRNP could effectively suppress the adverse effect of DOX, suggesting the potential to become promising nanomedicines for cancer treatments.