Search results for "Autonomic system"

Time dependent expression of the blood biomarkers EIF2D and TOX in patients with schizophrenia

2019

Background During last years, there has been an intensive search for blood biomarkers in schizophrenia to assist in diagnosis, prognosis and clinical management of the disease. Methods In this study, we first conducted a weighted gene coexpression network analysis to address differentially expressed genes in peripheral blood from patients with chronic schizophrenia (n?=?30) and healthy controls (n?=?15). The discriminating performance of the candidate genes was further tested in an independent cohort of patients with first-episode schizophrenia (n?=?124) and healthy controls (n?=?54), and in postmortem brain samples (cingulate and prefrontal cortices) from patients with schizophrenia (n?=?3…

The quality of cortical network function recovery depends on localization and degree of axonal demyelination

2016

AbstractMyelin loss is a severe pathological hallmark common to a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Demyelination in the central nervous system appears in the form of lesions affecting both white and gray matter structures. The functional consequences of demyelination on neuronal network and brain function are not well understood. Current therapeutic strategies for ameliorating the course of such diseases usually focus on promoting remyelination, but the effectiveness of these approaches strongly depends on the timing in relation to the disease state. In this study, we sought to characterize the time course of sensory and behavioral alterations induced…

Hepatic Steatosis Index in Acromegaly: Correlation with Insulin Resistance Regardless of the Disease Control

2018

Objective. In acromegaly, both lipotoxicity secondary to GH excess and insulin resistance have a significant impact on the liver. Ultrasonography has shown poor sensitivity in detecting hepatic steatosis and noninvasive methods have been proposed. We evaluated the hepatic steatosis index (HSI), a validated surrogate index of hepatic steatosis, and we correlated it with disease activity and insulin resistance. Design. Thirty-one patients with newly diagnosed acromegaly were studied at diagnosis and after 12 months of treatment with somatostatin receptor ligands. Methods. Glucose and insulin levels, surrogate estimates of insulin sensitivity, and hepatic steatosis through ultrasonography and …

More Favorable Metabolic Impact of Three-Times-Weekly versus Daily Growth Hormone Treatment in Naïve GH-Deficient Children

2017

Objective. To evaluate whether two different regimens of weekly injections could lead to similar auxological and metabolic effects in children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD).Design. 32 GHD children (25 males, mean age 10.5 ± 2.2 yr) were randomly assigned to receive daily (group A, 16 patients) or TIW (group B, 16 patients) GHT for 12 months.Methods. Auxological parameters, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), glucose and insulin during OGTT, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, the oral disposition index (DIo), the homeostasis model assessment estimate of insulin resistance (Homa-IR), and the insulin sensitivity index (ISI).Results. After 12 months, both groups showed a s…

Smooth muscle and neural dysfunction contribute to different phases of murine postoperative ileus.

2015

Background Postoperative ileus (POI) is characterized by a transient inhibition of gastrointestinal (GI) motility after abdominal surgery mediated by the inflammation of the muscularis externa (ME). The aim of this study was to identify alterations in the enteric nervous system that may contribute to the pathogenesis of POI. Methods Gastrointestinal transit, contractility of isolated smooth muscle strips and inflammatory parameters were evaluated at different time points (1.5 h to 10 days) after intestinal manipulation (IM) in mice. Immune-labeling was used to visualize changes in myenteric neurons. Key Results Intestinal manipulation resulted in an immediate inhibition of GI transit recove…

2019

The cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a key contributor to neuroinflammation and brain injury, yet mechanisms by which IL-1 triggers neuronal injury remain unknown. Here we induced conditional deletion of IL-1R1 in brain endothelial cells, neurons and blood cells to assess site-specific IL-1 actions in a model of cerebral ischaemia in mice. Tamoxifen treatment of IL-1R1 floxed (fl/fl) mice crossed with mice expressing tamoxifen-inducible Cre-recombinase under the Slco1c1 promoter resulted in brain endothelium-specific deletion of IL-1R1 and a significant decrease in infarct size (29%), blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown (53%) and neurological deficit (40%) compared to vehicle-treated or con…

Interaction of calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) in human skin.

2016

Calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) are neuropeptides that are simultaneously released from nociceptive C-fibers. CGRP is a potent vasodilator, inducing a long-lasting increase in superficial skin blood flow, whereas SP induces only a brief vasodilation but a significant plasma extravasation. CGRP and SP may play important roles in the pathophysiology of various pain states but little is known about their interaction. Different concentrations of SP (ranging from 10-5M to 10-9M) were applied to the volar forearm of 24 healthy subjects via dermal microdialysis. SP was applied either alone or in combination with CGRP10-9M and CGRP 10-6M. As expected, SP induced a transi…

Cannabinoid type 1 receptor modulates intestinal propulsion by an attenuation of intestinal motor responses within the myenteric part of the peristal…

2007

Cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptor activation affects gastrointestinal propulsion in vivo. It was our aim to further characterize the involved myenteric mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. In CB1(-/-) mice and wild-type littermates we performed in vivo transit experiments by charcoal feeding and in vitro electrophysiological recordings in mouse small intestinal smooth muscle. Ascending neuronal contraction (ANC) following electrical field stimulation was studied in rat ileum in a partitioned organ bath separating the aboral stimulation site from the oral recording site. The knockout animals displayed an accelerated upper gastrointestinal transit compared to control animals. The CB1 receptor antagoni…

Differential effects of CB1 neutral antagonists and inverse agonists on gastrointestinal motility in mice

2010

Background  Cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors are involved in the regulation of gastrointestinal (GI) motility and secretion. Our aim was to characterize the roles of the CB1 receptor on GI motility and secretion in vitro and in vivo by using different classes of CB1 receptor antagonists. Methods  Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the localization of CB1 receptor in the mouse ileum and colon. Organ bath experiments on mouse ileum and in vivo motility testing comprising upper GI transit, colonic expulsion, and whole gut transit were performed to characterize the effects of the inverse agonist/antagonist AM251 and the neutral antagonist AM4113. As a marker of secretory function we mea…

Acute stress and working memory in older people.

2015

Several studies have shown that acute stress affects working memory (WM) in young adults, but the effect in older people is understudied. As observed in other types of memory, older people may be less sensitive to acute effects of stress on WM. We performed two independent studies with healthy older men and women (from 55 to 77 years old) to investigate the effects of acute stress (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) and cortisol on WM. In study 1 (n = 63), after the TSST women (but not men) improved their performance on Digit Span Forward (a measure of the memory span component of WM) but not on Digit Span Backward (a measure of both memory span and the executive component of WM). Furthermore,…