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The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of chronic stress of obese or non-obese female rats on the cognitive function of animals. The animals were distributed in the following groups: standard diet (Std), Std+stress, cafeteria diet (Cafe) and Cafe+stress. The animals in the Std groups were fed standard rodent diet. The animals in the Cafe groups received palatable processed high-calorie foods, cola-type beverages, water and water with sucrose ad libitum, in addition to the standard diet. From the eighth experimental week on, the Std+stress and Cafe+stress groups were subjected to restraint-induced chronic stress model (50 days). Next, the animals were subjected to the object recognition test. The animals in the Std, Std+stress and Cafe+stress groups showed higher new object recognition rate in comparison to that of the familiar object (square Lego toys used during the training session of the object recognition test). Our data also shows memory improvement in the stressed animals (obese and non-obese). We observed higher N object recognition index in the Std+stress and Cafe+stress groups, in comparison to their respective controls. The study supports the hypothesis that moderate and repeated stress improves the memory of obese female Wistar rats.

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is a rare disease characterized by renal inability to respond properly to arginine vasopressin due to mutations in the vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2(R)) gene in affected kindreds. In most kindreds thus far reported, the mode of inheritance follows an X chromosome-linked recessive pattern although autosomal-dominant and autosomal-recessive modes of inheritance have also been described. Studies demonstrating mutations in the V2(R) gene in affected kindreds that modify the receptor structure, resulting in a dys- or nonfunctional receptor have been described, but phenotypically indistinguishable NDI patients with a structurally normal V2(R) gene have also been reported. In the present study, we analyzed exon 3 of the V2(R) gene in 20 unrelated individuals by direct sequencing. A C®T alteration in the third position of codon 331 (AGC®AGT), which did not alter the encoded amino acid, was found in nine individuals, including two unrelated patients with NDI. Taken together, these observations emphasize the molecular heterogeneity of a phenotypically homogeneous syndrome

Trypanosoma cruzi; Benznidazol; Estratègies terapèutiques Trypanosoma cruzi; Benznidazol; Estrategias terapéuticas Trypanosoma cruzi; Benznidazole; Therapeutic strategies As the development of new drugs for Chagas disease is not a priority due to its neglected disease status, an option for increasing treatment adherence is to explore alternative treatment regimens, which may decrease the incidence of side effects. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy of different therapeutic schemes with benznidazole (BNZ) on the acute and chronic phases of the disease, using mice infected with strains that have different BNZ susceptibilities. Our results show that the groups of animals infected by VL-10 strain, when treated in the chronic phase with a lower dose of BNZ for a longer period of time (40 mg/kg/day for 40 days) presented better treatment efficacy than with the standard protocol (100 mg/kg/day for 20 days) although the best result in the treatment of the animals infected by the VL-10 strain was with100 mg/kg/day for 40 days. In the acute infection by the Y and VL-10 strains of T. cruzi, the treatment with a standard dose, but with a longer time of treatment (100 mg/kg/day for 40 days) presented the best results. Given these data, our results indicate that for BNZ, the theory of dose and time proportionality does not apply to the phases of infection. Funding was provided by the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), research fellowships from CNPq (Carneiro CM, Correa-Oliveira R), CAPES—Science Without Borders and Senior Research Visitor (Molina I, Correa-Oliveira R), and BERENICE (Collaborative Project supported by the European Commission under the Health Innovation Work Programme of the 7th Framework Programme). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.