Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Mechanisms and Possible Treatments

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental condition occurring after a tragedy or a traumatic experience, such as rape, assault, natural disasters, war, car or plane accidents, etc. PSTD can cause a number of symptoms, such as fear, high anxiety, hyperarousal, bad dreams, night mares, etc., existing for a long time after the traumatic event. Within recent years, the spread of PTSD has been increased in the whole world, especially in Asia (Middle East), particularly among soldiers who have taken part in military conflicts. This situation confirms the importance of understanding the way of PTSD development and of the improvement of its treatment. This paper is a review of the literature related to the respective topics. Like other anxiety disorders, PTSD is related to disruption of the endocrine system, particularly disintegration of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA). People suffering from PTSD are characterized by elevated levels of corticotropinreleasing hormone, low basal cortisol levels, and enhanced negative feedback suppression of the HPAA. At present, certain plant-derived compounds are considered a new important source to treat PTSD. For example, remedies obtained from saffron are such possible means. According to our findings, saffron components may considerably affect some parts of the HPAA for reduction of stress-induced corticosterone release.Посттравматичний стрес-розлад (ПТСР) є психіатричною патологією, що розвивається після трагічної або травматизуючої події – смерті/убивства, згвалтування, природних катастроф, воєнних дій, автомобільних або авіаційних аварій. ПТСР може бути пов’язаний з багатьма симптомами – жахом, сильною тривогою, надмірним збудженням, негативними думками, нічними кошмарами, прояви котрих тривають протягом значного часу після травматизуючої події. Впродовж останніх років розповсюдження випадків ПТСР у світі, особливо на Середньому Сході та в Азії, збільшилося, зокрема серед солдатів, що брали участь у воєнних діях. Така ситуація підкреслює важливість розуміння того, як розвивається ПТСР, та розробки підходів до його лікування. Наша стаття є оглядом даних літератури щодо відповідного кола питань. Як і інші розлади, пов’язані з тривожністю, ПТСР значною мірою базується на дисфункції ендокринної системи, зокрема на дезінтеграції гіпоталамо-гіпофізарно-адреналової осі (ГГАО). Для людей із ПТСР є характерними високі рівні кортикотропін-рілізінг-гормону, низькі базальні рівні кортизолу та посилена супресія функції ГГАО на основі негативного зворотного зв’язку. В наш час певні препарати рослинного походження розглядаються як важливі засоби для лікування ПТСР. Зокрема, такими ліками можуть бути препарати, отримані із шапрану. Згідно з нашими даними, речовини, що містяться в шапрані, взаємодіють із деякими ГГАО та забезпечують зменшення вивільнення кортикостерону, індукованого стресом

Neurotrophic Effects of Silibinin on Differentiation of Hair Follicle Stem Cells to Neurons

AbstractBackground and Objectives: Hair Follicle Bulge region due to its availability and abundance is one of the areas which is easily accessible to Multi-potent stem cells that expresses Nestin marker (neuronal stem cells protein). Stem cells bulge region in hair follicle stem cells has high potency to be differentiated to neuronal cells. Silibinin as an active component of Silybum marianum has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, hepatoprotective, neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neurotrophic effects of silibinin on differentiation of hair follicle stem cells to neurons. Methods: Bulge area of whiskers in Rat was isolated and cultivated three weeks in supplemented DMEM/F12 and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Then the cells were exposed over the concentrations of 0.05μg/ml, 0.1μg/ml, 0.4μg/ml, 0.5µg/ml, 0.7µg/ml Silibinin and Neurotrophin-3. Two weeks after culture, plated bulge cells were immunostained with Nestin and differentiated stem cells were immunostained with β III tubulin by immunocytochemistry techniques. The results were evaluated by T-test student analysis. A Pvalue less than 0.05 was considered significant. Result: The nestin marker was clearly demonstrated in bulge regions during the first week, but after two weeks, parallel to stem cells differentiating neuronal cells, β III tubulin marker was expressed in neuronal cells. The toxic effects of 1μg/ml Silibinin on stem cells were also demonstrated, and it stopped the cell growth at the end of the first week. The maximum differentiation on stem cells in 0.5μg/ml Silibinin was observed to be significant (P<0.05). Silibinin concentration increase led to reduced differentiation. Silibinin with neurotrophin 3 increased the differentiation of stem cells.Conclusion: Silibinin concentrations of 1μg/ml and more have toxic effects on hair follicles stem cell differentiation. Also, silibinin concentrations less than 0.1μg/ml had no effect on proliferation and differentiation hair follicle stem cells. Whereas 0.5μg/ml concentrations had significant effects on the differentiation processes of hair follicle stem cells to neuron.Keywords: Nestin; β III-Tubulin; Silibinin; Hair Follicle

Bulge cells of rat hair follicles: Isolation, cultivation, morphological and biological features

Objective: Transplants of multipotent stem cells have been shown to have a neuroprotective effect after central nervous system injury. The bulge region of the hair follicle has been reported as a putative source of hair follicle stem cells (HFSC) for many years; however, few studies have documented the properties of bulge derived cells in vitro until now. This study was conducted to isolate and culture bulge cells from rat hair follicles and to determine the morphological and biological features of the cultured cells. Materials and Methods: The bulge region of the rat whisker was isolated and cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium: nutrient mixture F-12 (DMEM/F12) supplemented with epidermal growth factor (EGF), cholera toxin. Dissociated bulge stem cells were differentiated on coated substrates together with NT-3. The morphological and biological features of cultured bulge cells were observed by light microscopy and immunocytochemistry methods. Results: Our results showed that newly proliferated cells could be observed on the 4th day after explantation. The expression of a neural progenitor marker, nestin, was seen before differentiation of the bulge cells. The differentiated cells expressed βIII-Tubulin and RIP, which are the markers of neural and glial lineages. Conclusion: The results indicated that the bulge cells cultured from the rat hair follicle had the characteristics of stem cells and could differentiate into neural and glial lineages