Does severity of Alzheimer's disease contribute to its responsiveness to modifying gut microbiota? A double blind clinical trial

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with cognitive dysfunction. Evidence indicates that gut microbiota is altered in the AD and, hence, modifying the gut flora may affect the disease. In the previous clinical research we evaluated the effect of a probiotic combination on the cognitive abilities of AD patients. Since, in addition to pathological disorders, the AD is associated with changes in oxidant/antioxidant and inflammatory/anti-inflammatory biomarkers, the present work was designed to evaluate responsiveness of the inflammatory and oxidative biomarkers to the probiotic treatment. The control (CON) and probiotic (PRO) AD patients were treated for 12 weeks by the placebo and probiotic supplementation, respectively. The patients were cognitively assessed by Test Your Memory (TYM = 50 scores). Also serum concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxy-2' -deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10) were measured. The cognitive test and the serum biomarkers were assessed pre- and post-treatment. According to TYM test 83.5 of the patients showed severe AD. The CON (12.86 ± 8.33) and PRO (-9.35 ± 16.83) groups not differently scored the cognitive test. Not pronounced change percent was found in the serum level of TNF-α (1.67 ± 1.33 vs. -0.15 ± 0.27), IL-6 (0.35 ± 0.17 vs. 2.18 ± 0.15), IL-10 (0.05 ± 0.10 vs. -0.70 ± 0.73), TAC (0.07 ± 0.07 and -0.06 ± 0.03), GSH (0.08 ± 0.05 and 0.04 ± 0.03) NO (0.11 ± 0.06 and 0.05 ± 0.09), MDA (-0.11 ± 0.03 and -0.17 ± 0.03), 8-OHdG (43.25 ± 3.01 and 42.70 ± 3.27) in the CON and PRO groups, respectively. We concluded that the cognitive and biochemical indications in the patients with severe AD are insensitive to the probiotic supplementation. Therefore, in addition to formulation and dosage of probiotic bacteria, severity of disease and time of administration deeply affects results of treatment. © 2018 Agahi, Hamidi, Daneshvar, Hamdieh, Soheili, Alinaghipour, Esmaeili Taba and Salami

Research Paper: Introducing Transthyretin as a differentially expressed protein in washing subtype of Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder

Introduction: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as one of the important mental problems is valuable topic for proteomic research studies to better understand the underlying mechanisms of this disorder. Methods: In this paper, gel-based proteomic was used to investigate the proteome profile of 16 female patients with OCD, washing subtype before and after treatment with fluoxetine and comparing them with 20 healthy female controls. Results: One of the abnormally expressed protein spots in this study was introduced and examined for protein-protein interaction network analysis via Cytoscape and its plug-ins. Transthyretin (TTR) protein showed significant expression changes (fold change=1.7, P < 0.05). While the expression level of TTR is significantly decreased in OCD patients before any treatments, the trend is partially normalized after treatment with fluoxetine in positive responders. Furthermore, TTR interaction profile shows that the proteins interacting with this protein may get affected as this protein expression trend changes in OCD patients. Conclusion: TTR can be considered for further studies to be validated as a potential biomarker for OCD. © The Author(s)

The effect of aromatherapy with Rosa damascena essential oil on sleep quality in children

Background and objectives: Sleep disorder is one of the main problems in children. Poor sleep quality can lead to adverse effects on their growth and development. Aromatherapy is a kind of method for improving sleep. In Iranian traditional medicine, inhaling Rosa damascena has been recommended for treating sleep disorder. Due to the side effects of chemical drugs and trend to alternative medicine due to less complication, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy with Rosa damascena essential oil on sleep quality in children. Methods: This study was an experimental before and after study that conducted in 30 children with sleep disorder. Children inhaled 5 drops of Rosa damascena essential oil on a cotton ball before sleep for 20 min (2 weeks). Before and after intervention, BEARS questionnaire was asked. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparisons by SPSS software. Results: The results of this study showed that resistance to sleep, difficulty waking in the morning, nightmare and waking up during the night in children decreased (