Specific synbiotics in early life protect against diet-induced obesity in adult mice

Aims: The metabolic state of human adults is associated with their gut microbiome. The symbiosis between host and microbiome is initiated at birth, and early life microbiome perturbation can disturb health throughout life. Here, we determined how beneficial microbiome interventions in early life affect metabolic health in adulthood. Methods: Postnatal diets were supplemented with either prebiotics (scGOS/lcFOS) or synbiotics (scGOS/lcFOS with Bifidobacterium breve M-16V) until post-natal (PN) day 42 in a well-established rodent model for nutritional programming. Mice were subsequently challenged with a high-fat Western-style diet (WSD) for 8 weeks. Body weight and composition were monitored, as was gut microbiota composition at PN21, 42 and 98. Markers of glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism and host transcriptomics of 6 target tissues were determined in adulthood (PN98). Results: Early life synbiotics protected mice against WSD-induced excessive fat accumulation throughout life, replicable in 2 independent European animal facilities. Adult insulin sensitivity and dyslipidaemia were improved and most pronounced changes in gene expression were observed in the ileum. We observed subtle changes in faecal microbiota composition, both in early life and in adulthood, including increased abundance of Bifidobacterium. Microbiota transplantation using samples collected from synbiotics-supplemented adolescent mice at PN42 to age-matched germ-free recipients did not transfer the beneficial phenotype, indicating that synbiotics-modified microbiota at PN42 is not sufficient to transfer long-lasting protection of metabolic health status. Conclusion: Together, these findings show the potential and importance of timing of synbiotic interventions in early life during crucial microbiota development as a preventive measure to lower the risk of obesity and improve metabolic health throughout life

Нове видання з історії становлення кодикографії та бібліографії стародруків України

Розглядається монографічне видання, яке вперше комплексно представ-ляє загальний стан колекційних рукописних та книжкових фондів бібліотек і музеїв в Україні в другій половині ХІХ – 30-х роках ХХ ст.; формування та діяльність наукових центрів з вивчення історії книги в Україні у період, коли археографічна діяльність досягла найвищого рівня свого розвитку.Рассматривается монографическое издание, которое впервые комплексно представляет общее состояние коллекционных рукописных и книжных фондов библиотек и музеев в Украине во второй половине ХіХ – 30-х годах ХХ ст.; формирование и деятельность научных центров по изучению истории книги в Украине в период, когда археографическая деятельность достигла наивысшего уровня своего развития.The consideration of the monographic edition which for the firs time represents in complex the general condition of collection hand-written and book funds of libraries and museums in Ukraine in the second half of ХIХ–30-th years of ХХ century, the formation and activity of scientific centres on studying book history in Ukraine at the period of the highest level of the archaeographic activity development

Milk fat globule membrane coating of large lipid droplets in the diet of young mice prevents body fat accumulation in adulthood

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated protective effects of breast-feeding on childhood obesity. Differences between human milk and infant milk formula (IMF) in dietary lipid structure may contribute to this effect. In our mouse model, feeding a diet containing large lipid droplets coated with phospholipids (PL) (Nuturis (R); PL of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) fraction origin) in early life protected against excessive body fat accumulation following a diet challenge in adult life. We now set out to determine the relevance of increased droplet size and/or MFGM lipid droplet coating to the observed anti-obesogenic effects in adult life. From day 16 to 42, male mouse pups were exposed to diets with small (S) or large (L) lipid droplets (0.3 nu. 2.9 mu m average mode diameter, respectively), either without MFGM or with MFGM coating around the lipid droplet, resulting in four groups: S (control diet), L, S-coating and L-coating (Nuturis (R) IMF diet). Mice were subsequently challenged with a Western-style diet until dissection at postnatal day 98. A non-challenged group served as reference (REF). We repeatedly determined body composition between postnatal day 42 and 98. At day 98 plasma and gene expression measurements were performed. Only the Nuturis (R) IMF diet (L-coating) in early life containing MFGM-coated large lipid droplets reduced body fat mass to a level comparable with the REF group. These data support the notion that the structural aspects of lipids in human milk, for example, both lipid droplet size as well as the MFGM coating, may contribute to its reported protective effect against obesity in later life

The Effectiveness of Art Therapy for Anxiety in Adult Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ObjectivesArt therapy (AT) as a treatment option for anxiety is regularly employed in clinical practice, but scientific evidence for its effectiveness is lacking, since this intervention has hardly been studied. The aim was to study the effectiveness of AT on anxiety in adult women. The specific type of AT studied was anthroposophic AT.MethodsA RCT comparing AT versus a waiting list (WL) condition on anxiety symptom severity, quality of life, and emotion regulation. Factors influencing treatment outcome were additionally explored. Participants were women, aged 18–65 years, diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder or panic disorder, with moderate to severe anxiety symptoms. The trial was registered in the Dutch Trial Registration (NTR28143).ResultsFifty-nine women were included, of which 47 completed the trial. Both per-protocol and intention-to treat analyses demonstrated effectiveness of AT compared to WL, showing a reduction in anxiety, an increase in subjective quality of life (both with large effects) and an improvement in accessibility of emotion regulation strategies (medium effect). Treatment effects remained after 3 months follow-up. Improved acceptance of emotions and improved goal-oriented action are aspects of emotion regulation that are associated with the decrease in anxiety level.ConclusionAT is effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, improving quality of life and aspects of emotion regulation. Future RCTs should use active controls (treatment as usual) and study cost-effectiveness

Individual Variations in Maternal Care Early in Life Correlate with Later Life Decision-Making and c-Fos Expression in Prefrontal Subregions of Rats

Early life adversity affects hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, alters cognitive functioning and in humans is thought to increase the vulnerability to psychopathology–e.g. depression, anxiety and schizophrenia- later in life. Here we investigated whether subtle natural variations among individual rat pups in the amount of maternal care received, i.e. differences in the amount of licking and grooming (LG), correlate with anxiety and prefrontal cortex-dependent behavior in young adulthood. Therefore, we examined the correlation between LG received during the first postnatal week and later behavior in the elevated plus maze and in decision-making processes using a rodent version of the Iowa Gambling Task (rIGT). In our cohort of male and female animals a high degree of LG correlated with less anxiety in the elevated plus maze and more advantageous choices during the last 10 trials of the rIGT. In tissue collected 2 hrs after completion of the task, the correlation between LG and c-fos expression (a marker of neuronal activity) was established in structures important for IGT performance. Negative correlations existed between rIGT performance and c-fos expression in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, prelimbic cortex, infralimbic cortex and insular cortex. The insular cortex correlations between c-fos expression and decision-making performance depended on LG background; this was also true for the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in female rats. Dendritic complexity of insular or infralimbic pyramidal neurons did not or weakly correlate with LG background. We conclude that natural variations in maternal care received by pups may significantly contribute to later-life decision-making and activity of underlying brain structures

The Gut Microbiota as a Therapeutic Target in IBD and Metabolic Disease: A Role for the Bile Acid Receptors FXR and TGR5.

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in regulating many physiological systems of the host, including the metabolic and immune system. Disturbances in microbiota composition are increasingly correlated with disease; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Recent evidence suggests that changes in microbiota composition directly affect the metabolism of bile salts. Next to their role in digestion of dietary fats, bile salts function as signaling molecules for bile salt receptors such as Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and G protein-coupled bile acid receptor (TGR5). Complementary to their role in metabolism, FXR and TGR5 are shown to play a role in intestinal homeostasis and immune regulation. This review presents an overview of evidence showing that changes in bile salt pool and composition due to changes in gut microbial composition contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic disease, possibly through altered activation of TGR5 and FXR. We further discuss how dietary interventions, such as pro- and synbiotics, may be used to treat metabolic disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through normalization of bile acid dysregulation directly or indirectly through normalization of the intestinal microbiota