Commissural nucleus of the solitary tract lesions reduce food intake and body weight gain in rats

This study investigated the effects of an electrolytic lesion of the commissural subnucleus of the nucleus of the solitary tract (commNTS) on bodyweight, daily food and water intake, and plasma glucose and insulin in rats. In the first 6 days following brain surgery, commNTS lesioned rats reduced daily food intake by 80% compared to rats with sham lesions. After this period rats with lesions of commNTS started recovering food intake, but intake remained significantly reduced until the 12th day after surgery. A reduction in body weight was observed 4 days after surgery and reached a maximum on the 12th day. After this, a partial recovery of body weight was observed, but weight remained significantly reduced compared to weights of rats with sham lesions through the conclusion of the study. Food intake and body weight gain in other rats with partial lesions of the commNTS or with lesions outside the commNTS did not differ from rats with sham lesions with regard to those variables. Daily water intake and plasma glucose and insulin were not changed by the commNTS lesions. These results suggest that commNTS is involved with mechanisms that control food intake and body weight in rats.

Effect of the bone marrow cell transplantation on elevated plus-maze performance in hippocampal-injured mice

Several reports have shown that the hippocampus plays an important role in different aspects of the emotional control. There is evidence that lesions in this structure cause behavioral disinhibition, with reduction of reactions expressing fear and anxiety. Thus, to portray the aptitude of cell therapy to abrogate injuries of hippocampal tissue, we examined the behavioral effects of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) transplantation on C57BL/6 mice that had the hippocampus damaged by electrolytic lesion. For this purpose, mice received, seven days after bilateral electrolytic lesion in the dorsal hippocampus, culture medium or BMMCs expressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgene. One week after transplantation, animals were tested in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). On the whole, three assessment sessions in the EPM were carried out, with seven days separating each trial. Thirty-five days after the induction of injury, mice were sacrificed and their brains removed for immunohistochemistry. The behavioral evaluation showed that the hippocampal lesion caused disinhibition, an effect which was slightly lessened, from the second EPM test, in transplanted subjects. On the other hand, immunohistochemical data revealed an insignificant presence of EGFP+ cells inside the brains of injured mice. In view of such scenario, we hypothesized that the subtle rehabilitation of the altered behavior might be a result from a paracrine effect from the transplanted cells. This might have been caused by the release of bioactive factors capable of boosting endogenous recuperative mechanisms for a partial regaining of the hippocampal functions. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Correlação entre imagens de tomografia computadorizada e cortes anatômicos do encéfalo de cães

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The control of sodium chloride intake: Functional relationship between hypothalamic inhibitory areas and amygdaloid complex stimulating areas

Sodium chloride intake was studied in rats submitted to different neurosurgical procedures. Intake decreased in animals submitted to bilateral destruction of the basolateral amygdaloid complex, and increased after the same animals were submitted to destruction of the anterior lateral hypothalamus, a procedure which is known to cause increased intake in intact rats. In the reverse experiment, where the anterior lateral hypothalamus was destroyed before the basolateral amygdaloid complex, the effect of increased sodium chloride intake induced by destruction of the hypothalamus overcame the decreased expected upon destruction of the amygdaloid complex. These results permit us to conclude that the hypothalamic areas which inhibit sodium chloride intake predominate over the stimulating areas of the amygdaloid complex in the control of sodium chloride intake. © 1981 ANKHO International Inc.

Relação entre início da resposta faríngea e lateralização da lesão cerebral no acidente vascular encefálico

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Traumatic subdural hygromas: Proposed pathogenesis based classification

Background: Traumatic subdural hygroma (TSHy) is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the subdural space after head injury. It appears to be relatively common, but its onset time and natural history are not well defined. Considered a benign epiphenomenon of trauma, the pathogenesis of TSHy is still unclear and many questions remain unanswered. This study adds to the information on TSHy, and proposes a classification based on pathogenesis.Methods: Thirty-four consecutive adult patients with TSHy were analyzed for clinical evolution and serial CT scan, during a period of several months. TSHy diagnosis was based on published CT scan criteria of hypodense subdural collection after trauma, without enhancement and neomembrane, with a minimum distance of 3 mm between the skull and brain. Ventricle size was analyzed by calculating the bicaudate index (BCI). For comparison, the BCI was measured from CT scan at three moments: admission, at time of TSHy diagnosis, and from last CT scan.Results: There were 34 patients, aged between 16 and 85 years (mean 40), half of them were below 40 years. Road traffic crashes were the main cause of head injury. The mean time for hygroma diagnosis was 9 days. Twenty-one patients (61.8%) underwent conservative treatment for TSHy and 13 (38.2%), surgical treatment. TSHy are early lesions and can be detected in the first 24 hours after trauma, usually as small subdural effusion (SSEff). Based on clinical and CT scan findings, we divided the 34 patients into 3 groups, (Ia and Ib) without evident mass effect and (II) with evident mass effect. Group Ia includes patients without ventricle dilation; Ib, patients with associated ventricle dilations.Conclusions: SSEff detected in the first 24 hours posttrauma in our series evolved into TSHy suggesting that this is an early lesion; all THSy were divided in three groups according to the pathophysiologic mechanism. These three groups probably represent a continuum of CSF absorption impairment. Group la represents what most authors consider a simple hygroma, with no impairment on CSF absorption. Group Ib represent the external hydrocephalus form with various degrees of CSF imbalance, and group II were the cases presenting marked mass effect.

Low-intensity laser therapy effect on the recovery of traumatic spinal cord injury

Scientific advances have been made to optimize the healing process in spinal cord injury. Studies have been developed to obtain effective treatments in controlling the secondary injury that occurs after spinal cord injury, which substantially changes the prognosis. Low-intensity laser therapy (LILT) has been applied in neuroscience due to its anti-inflammatory effects on biological tissue in the repairing process. Few studies have been made associating LILT to the spinal cord injury. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the LILT (GaAlAs laser-780 nm) on the locomotor functional recovery, histomorphometric, and histopathological changes of the spinal cord after moderate traumatic injury in rats (spinal cord injury at T9 and T10). Thirty-one adult Wistar rats were used, which were divided into seven groups: control without surgery (n = 3), control surgery (n = 3), laser 6 h after surgery (n = 5), laser 48 h after surgery (n = 5), medullar lesion (n = 5) without phototherapy, medullar lesion + laser 6 h after surgery (n = 5), and medullar lesion + laser 48 h after surgery (n = 5). The assessment of the motor function was performed using Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scale and adapted Sciatic Functional Index (aSFI). The assessment of urinary dysfunction was clinically performed. After 21 days postoperative, the animals were euthanized for histological and histomorphometric analysis of the spinal cord. The results showed faster motor evolution in rats with spinal contusion treated with LILT, maintenance of the effectiveness of the urinary system, and preservation of nerve tissue in the lesion area, with a notorious inflammation control and increased number of nerve cells and connections. In conclusion, positive effects on spinal cord recovery after moderate traumatic spinal cord injury were shown after LILT.

Traumatic surdural hygroma - Five cases with changed density and spontaneous resolution

Thirty-four consecutive adult patients with subdural traumatic hygroma were analysed for clinical evolution, serial computed tomography scan (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a period of several months. Five of the patients presented CT scan and MRI evolution data showing increasing density over a period of 11 days to 6 months post trauma. In these five patients, final clinical and CT scan data were benign, with complete spontaneous resolution. Descriptions in literature of evolving traumatic subdural hygroma have presented CT scan density modifications changing into chronic subdural hematoma. Our patients show another possibility, density transformation, which sometimes show as subdural hematoma in CT scan and MRI, but with final evolution where clinical condition and CT scan return to normal.

Hypoxic-preconditioning induces neuroprotection against hypoxia-ischemia in newborn piglet brain

Preconditioning-induced ischemic tolerance has been documented in the newborn brain, however, the signaling mechanisms of this preconditioning require further elucidation. The aims of this study were to develop a hypoxic-preconditioning (PC) model of ischemic tolerance in the newborn piglet, which emulates important clinical similarities to human situation of birth asphyxia, and to characterize some of the molecular mechanisms shown to be implicated in PC-induced neuroprotection in rodent models. One day old piglets were subjected to PC (8% O(2)/92% N(2)) for 3 h and 24 h later were exposed to hypoxia-ischemia (HI) produced by a combination of hypoxia (5% FiO(2)) for a period of 30 min and ischemia induced by a period of hypotension (10 min of reduced mean arterial blood pressure; 70% of baseline). Neuropathologic analysis and unbiased stereology, conducted at 24 h, 3 and 7 days of recovery following HI, indicated a substantial reduction in the severity of brain damage in PC piglets compared to non-PC piglets (P<0.05). PC significantly increased the mRNA expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) and its target gene, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at 0 h, 6 h, 24 h, 3 and 7 days of recovery. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that PC resulted in HIF-1 alpha protein stabilization and accumulation in nuclear extracts of cerebral cortex of newborn piglet brain compared to normoxic controls. Protein levels of VEGF increased in a time-dependent manner in both cortex and hippocampus following PC. Double-immunolabeling indicated that VEGF is mainly expressed in neurons, endothelial cells and astroglia. Our study demonstrates for the first time the protective efficacy of PC against hypoxic-ischemic injury in newborn piglet model, which recapitulates many pathophysiological features of asphyxiated human neonates. Furthermore, as has been shown in rodent models of preconditioning, our results suggest that PC-induced protection in neonatal piglets may involve upregulation of VEGF. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells Expressing VEGF and its Receptors in the Subventricular Zone of Newborn Piglet Brain

Neural stem/progenitor cell (NSP) biology and neurogenesis in adult central nervous system (CNS) are important both towards potential future therapeutic applications for CNS repair, and for the fundamental function of the CNS. In the present study, we report the characterization of NSP population from subventricular zone (SVZ) of neonatal piglet brain using in vivo and in vitro systems. We show that the nestin and vimentin-positive neural progenitor cells are present in the SVZ of the lateral ventricles of neonatal piglet brain. In vitro, piglet NSPs proliferated as neurospheres, expressed the typical protein of neural progenitors, nestin and a range of well-established neurodevelopmental markers. Upon dissociation and subculture, piglet NSPs differentiated into neurons and glial cells. Clonal analysis demonstrates that piglet NSPs are multi-potent and retain the capacity to generate both glia and neurons. These cells expressed VEGF, VEGFR1, VEGFR2 and Neuropilin-1 and -2 mRNAs. Real time PCR revealed that SVZ NSPs from newborn piglet expressed total VEGF and all VEGF splice variants. These findings show that piglet NSPs may be helpful to more effectively design growth factor based strategies to enhance endogenous precursor cells for cell transplantation studies potentially leading to the application of this strategy in the nervous system disease and injury.

Choledochal cyst: A case associated with traumatic hemobilia

A case of choledochal cyst associated with traumatic hemobilia is presented. The symptomatology appeared only because of bleeding into the biliary tract following an automobile accident. The cyst was resected and a choledochal cystoduodenum anastomosis performed. The early result (12 mth) was very good.

Dental trauma involving root fracture and periodontal ligament injury: A 10-year retrospective study

The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyze the cases of traumatic dental injuries involving root fracture and/or periodontal ligament injury (except avulsion) treated at the Discipline of Integrated Clinic, School of Dentistry of Araçatuba, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil, from January 1992 to December 2002. Clinical and radiographic records from 161 patients with 287 traumatized teeth that had sustained root fracture and/or injuries to the periodontal ligament were examined. The results of this survey revealed that subluxation (25.09%) was the most common type of periodontal ligament injury, followed by extrusive luxation (19.86%). There was a predominance of young male patients and most of them did not present systemic alterations. Among the etiologic factors, the most frequent causes were falls and bicycle accidents. Injuries on extraoral soft tissues were mostly laceration and abrasion, while gingival and lip mucosa lacerations prevailed on intraoral soft tissues injuries. Radiographically, the most common finding was an increase of the periodontal ligament space. The most commonly performed treatment was root canal therapy. Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that traumatic dental injuries occur more frequently in young male individuals, due to falls and bicycle accidents. Subluxation was the most common type of periodontal ligament injury. Root canal therapy was the type of treatment most commonly planned and performed.

Treatment of traumatic dental intrusion by surgical repositioning: clinical case report

The prevalence of dental trauma and its consequences are challenging. This article presents a clinical case of a 9-year-old female who was in a bicycling accident and had a dental intrusion of the left maxillary lateral incisor with extensive dislocation. In the emergency department, surgical repositioning of the intruded tooth and a splinting with steel wire and composite resin was performed and the soft-tissue lesions were sutured. Two weeks after the first visit, pulp necrosis was found and endodontic treatment of the intruded tooth was started with a calcium hydroxide dressing. Despite the traumatic nature of the dental injury, the result of treatment was favorable. After 3 years of follow-up, repair of the resorptions and no signs of ankylosis of the teeth involved were evident. Considering the patient's age and the extent of intrusion, it was concluded that surgical repositioning associated with adequate endodontic therapy was an effective alternative treatment for this case.