Deep brain stimulation in a rat model of post-traumatic stress disorder modifies forebrain neuronal activity and serum corticosterone

Objective(s): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one of the most devastating kinds of anxiety disorders, is the consequence of a traumatic event followed by intense fear. In rats with contextual fear conditioning (CFC), a model of PTSD caused by CFC (electrical foot shock chamber), deep brain stimulation (DBS) alleviates CFC abnormalities.Materials and Methods: Forty Male Wistar rats (220–250 g) were divided into 5 groups (n=8) and underwent stereotactic surgery to implant electrodes in the right basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLn). After 7 days, some animals received a foot shock, followed by another 7-day treatment schedule (DBS treatment). Next, freezing behavior was measured as a predicted response in the absence of the foot shock (re-exposure time). Blood serum corticosterone levels and amygdala c-Fos protein expression were assessed using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot, respectively. Furthermore, freezing behaviors by re-exposure time test and general anxiety by elevated plus-maze (EPM) were evaluated. Results: PTSD decreased serum corticosterone levels and increased both amygdala c-Fos expression and freezing behaviors. Therefore, DBS treatment significantly (

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell and simvastatin treatment leads to improved functional recovery and modified c-Fos expression levels in the brain following ischemic stroke

Objective(s): The beneficial outcomes of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) treatment on functional recovery following stroke has been well established. Furthermore, 5-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors have also been shown to increase neuronal survival and promote the movement of BMSCs towards the sites of inflammation. However, the precise mechanisms mediating the improved neurological functional recovery in stoke models following a combination treatment of Simvastatin and BMSCs still remained poorly understood. Materials and Methods: Here, an embolic stroke model was used to experimentally induce a focal ischemic brain injury by inserting a preformed clot into the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Following stroke, animals were treated either with an intraperitoneal injection of Simvastatin, an intravenous injection of 3 ×106 BMSCs, or a combination of these two treatments.Results: Seven days after ischemia, the combination of Simvastatin and BMSCs led to a significant increase in BMSC relocation, endogenous neurogenesis, arteriogenesis and astrocyte activation while also reducing neuronal damage when compared to BMSC treatment alone (PConclusion: These results further demonstrate the synergistic benefits of a combination treatment and help to improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms mediating this beneficial effect

Therapeutic Benefits of Saffron in Brain Diseases: New Lights on Possible Pharmacological Mechanisms

Saffron is dried stigmas of Crocus sativus flowers, an extensively used spice and food additive because of its color and taste. Biologically, Saffron belongs to the carotenoid family with major active components such as crocin, safranal, and crocetin. Saffron has widely been used for traditional and herbal medicine. Clinically, Saffron has shown both safety and efficacy in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Saffron has the neuroprotective activity because of its chemical active moieties. Saffron's efficacy has been examined in some brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cerebral ischemia, and depression because of its chemically active moieties. In this chapter, we have explored the pharmacological insight of saffron for its benefits in brain-related diseases. It has been proposed that Saffron and its actives have the modulatory action on acetylcholinesterase activity, dopaminergic signaling, amyloid-β (Aβ), free radical scavenging activity, microglial activation, mitochondrial function, notch signaling pathway, Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway, nuclear dactor. -κ. B activation, mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling, and Aβ. On other hand, Saffron has shown to counteract altered behavioral parameters such as learning and memory, motor function, and seizures in experimental brain diseases. It may be proposed possibly that saffron can serve as therapeutic herbal medicine for various brain-related conditions in humans. The exact mechanisms for the neuroprotection are not explicitly known. This chapter tries to shed a light on possible mechanisms to provide one of the research directions for molecular biologists and pharmacologists