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Background: Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, at both the systemic and the central level, are critical early events in atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Purpose: To investigate the oxidative stress-, inflammation-, and Tau-phosphorylation-lowering effects of pomegranate polyphenols (PPs) (punicalagin, ellagic acid, peel, and aril extracts). Methods: We used flow cytometry to quantify the protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory mediators (IL-10) in THP-1 macrophages, as well as M1/M2 cell-specific marker (CD86 and CD163) expression in human microglia HMC3 cells. The IL-10 protein expression was also quantified in U373-MG human astrocytes. The effect of PPs on human amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ1-42)-induced oxidative stress was assessed in the microglia by measuring ROS generation and lipid peroxidation, using 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) tests, respectively. Neuronal viability and cell apoptotic response to Aβ1-42 toxicity were assayed using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and the annexin-V-FITC apoptosis detection kit, respectively. Finally, flow cytometry analysis was also performed to evaluate the ability of PPs to modulate Aβ1-42-induced Tau-181 phosphorylation (pTau-181). Results: Our data indicate that PPs are significantly (p < 0.05) effective in countering Aβ1-42-induced inflammation through increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) in U373-MG astrocytes and THP1 macrophages and decreasing proinflammatory marker (IL-1β) expression in THP1 macrophages. The PPs were also significantly (p < 0.05) effective in inducing the phenotypic transition of THP-1 macrophages and microglial cells from M1 to M2 by decreasing CD86 and increasing CD163 surface receptor expression. Moreover, our treatments have a significant (p < 0.05) beneficial impact on oxidative stress, illustrated in the reduction in TBARS and ROS generation. Our treatments have significant (p < 0.05) cell viability improvement capacities and anti-apoptotic effects on human H4 neurons. Furthermore, our results suggest that Aβ1-42 significantly (p < 0.05) increases pTau-181. This effect is significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated by arils, peels, and punicalagin and drastically reduced by the ellagic acid treatment. Conclusion: Overall, our results attribute to PPs anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-Tau-pathology potential. Future studies should aim to extend our knowledge of the potential role of PPs in Aβ1-42-induced neurodegeneration, particularly concerning its association with the tauopathy involved in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study aimed to explore the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and perceived stress. Material/Methods: We tested 136 first-cycle students at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques (ISPITS) in Béni Mellal. 25.7% male (35 students) and 74.3% female (101 students). 80.14% of students were under 21 years of age, 18.3% were between 21 and23-years-old, and 1.56% were over 24-years-old. This distribution reflects the typical age and gender ratio in nursing programs, where female students often outnumber male students. A descriptive correlational design, through the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), was employed. Results: The results indicate that a significant proportion of nursing students experience high levels of EMS. The most prevalent schemas were emotional inhibition (74.26%), emotional deprivation (63.23%), and abandonment (55.14%). The results indicate significant positive correlations between several EMS and perceived stress levels, particularly the "Abandonment, "Emotional Deprivation", and "Emotional Inhibition" schemas. The regression model explained 42.3% of the variance in perceived stress (R² = 0.423, F[7, 128] = 12.45, p < 0.001), indicating that these EMS significantly predict the level of perceived stress among the students. Abandonment (ß = 0.35, p = 0.004) and emotional inhibition (ß = 0.25, p = 0.035) were the most significant predictors. Conclusions: These findings suggest that addressing EMS is essential for mitigating stress and promoting mental health among nursing students. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions to support students' emotional well-being, ultimately enhancing their academic and professional success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food scientists have studied the many health benefits of polyphenols against pernicious human diseases. Evidence from scientific studies has shown that earlier healthy lifestyle changes, particularly in nutrition patterns, can reduce the burden of age-related diseases. In this context, a large number of plant-derived components belonging to the class of polyphenols have been reported to possess neuroprotective benefits. In this review, we examined studies on the effect of dietary polyphenols, notably from Punica granatum L., on neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, which is symptomatically characterized by impairment of cognitive functions. Clinical trials are in favor of the role of some polyphenols in maintaining neuronal homeostasis and attenuating clinical presentations of the disease. However, discrepancies in study design often bring inconsistent findings on the same component and display differences in their effectiveness due to interindividual variability, bioavailability in the body after administration, molecular structures, cross-blood-brain barrier, and signaling pathways such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Based on preclinical and clinical trials, it appears that pomegranate may prove valuable in treating neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Therefore, due to the lack of information on human clinical trials, future in-depth studies, focusing on human beings, of several bioactive components of pomegranate’s polyphenols and their synergic effects should be carried out to evaluate their curative treatment.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders defined by a lack of social behaviors, repetitive behaviors and nonverbal interactions, such as limited eye contact, facial expression, and body gesturing. It is not a single condition, but rather a multi-factorial disorder caused by hereditary and non-genetic risk factors, as well as their interaction. According to several studies, the gut microbiota may have a role in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder. Various studies have found differences in the composition of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota in children with ASD compared to unaffected siblings and/or healthy unrelated controls. The processes that relate the gut microbiota to brain dysfunctions (the gut-brain axis) in ASD are yet to be fully understood. However, the differences in the gastrointestinal composition might be due to vitamin A deficiency because vitamin A (VA) plays a role in the regulation of the intestinal microbiota. This narrative review discusses the impact of vitamin A deficiency on the gut microbiota composition and tries to understand how this may contribute for the development and severity of ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alkaloid extract of datura stramonium (rich of atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine) is used to evaluate its effect on the central nervous system in rats (locomotion, anxiety). The animals received the alkaloid extract of datura by intraperitoneal injection. However, after the injection a group of rats got an inhibitory treatment contain flavonoids extracted from Rosmarinus officinalis. At the dose of 50 mg/kg/body weight of the alkaloid extract, the female rats have shown a reduction of locomotor activity and an induction of an anxiogenic effect. In the other hand, the mixture of Datura stramonium and Rosmarinus officinalis showed a neuroprotective action with regard to the disorders induced by extracts of Datura stramonium.

Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) is the best example of the implication of chronical infection in carcinogenesis. The World Health Organization recognized it as a class I carcinogen since it triggers the progression of premalignant gastric lesions. The aim of this study is to define the prevalence of H. Pylori infection, related risk factors, and explore the histological features of the chronic gastritis. This is a retrospective study of 248 gastric specimens, examinated and evaluated according Sydney to system. The prevalence of H. Pylori is 67 %, chronic gastritis is observed in all the biopsies (100%). Age and gender were not a risk factors for the H. Pylori infection. Prevalence of H. Pylori was 71.93% in low socio-economic class. The severity of the chronic gastritis increases if the colonization of H. Pylori increases. In 74, 58% of cases chronic gastritis was active. Glandular atrophy presented 10.37% and in 80% was related to H. Pylori infection (p=0,004) and 12 % related to autoimmune diseases. The prevalence of Intestinal metaplasia is 10.53%, and H. Pylori was observed in 42.31% of cases (p=0.001). The dysplasia is detected in one case, in a 72 years old patient. We also observed one case of gastric adenocarcinoma, of an 80 years. Follicular gastritis are in 32% of cases, and they were more frequent in H. Pylori infected slides (82% of subjects) (p< 0.005).According to this study, H. Pylori Chronic Gastritis is very common in our population, and a coherent relationship exists between H. Pylori colonization and pre-cancerous lesions. An early eradicating should be considered as a health goal.

The present study investigated the effect of Lepidium sativum L. on Memory and on Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in different brain structures among cadmium-exposed rats. Animals were divided into three groups: Control group (T): received a distilled water orally, Cadmium group (Cd): received oral administration dose of Cadmium Chloride (CdCl2) at 10 mg/kg, Protective group (Cd/LS): received CdCl2 (10mg/kg) and the aqueous extract of Lepidium sativum L. (20mg/kg) orally. The Novel Object Recognition Memory Test is used to evaluate the short and long term memory. The measure of AchE activity is realized by Ellman’s method. The results showed that subchronic Cadmium Chloride intoxication at a dose of 10 mg/kg caused a neurobehavioral impairments including: A significant decrease in the index of recognition of short-term (p

Context: Many studies have reported that inadequate parental styles can contribute to alexithymic symptoms through maladaptive dysfunctional cognitive styles. Aims: To investigate the relationship of dysfunctional schemas and recalled parenting attitudes with alexithymia and other symptomatology, as well as to evaluate the effect of early maladaptive schema (EMS) and alexithymia such as moderators and mediators in the relationship between the perceived parenting styles (PS) among patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Methods: The study sample consists of 451 Psychoactive Substance (PAS) users, aged between 13 and 67 years of age. The data collection took place in the addictology center of Rabat, Morocco. The Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form, the Young Parenting Inventory, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used. Descriptive statistics tests and hierarchical multiple regression were executed. Results: First, the sample was classified into two groups as "alexithymic" (n=330) and "nonalexithymic" (n=121) according to the scores obtained from TAS. The analysis showed that the alexithymic group perceived both their attitudes of mother and father negatively, possess more severe EMSs, and women face more difficulties in the emotion regulation, experienced greater EMS than the men group, and the association between parenting and alexithymia was moderated by EMS. On the contrary, the results supported meditational models in which PS are associated with the cognitive schemas, and these, in turn, are related to alexithymia. Conclusions: Correlations between childhood experiences and alexithymia in adulthood are mediated by dysfunctional schemas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating evidence proves that children with autism have gastrointestinal problems. However, a significant difference in gut microbiota (GM) exists between autistic and non-autistic children. These changes in the GM may stem from several factors. Recently, researchers focused on nutritional factors, especially vitamin deficiency. Thus, our systematic review investigates the connections among autism, GM alterations, and vitamin A deficiency (VAD), by analyzing studies sourced from PubMed and Embase databases spanning from 2010 to 2022. Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we meticulously selected 19 pertinent studies that established links between autism and GM changes or between autism and VAD. Our findings uniformly point to significant alterations in the GM of individuals with autism, indicating these changes as promising biomarkers for the disorder. Despite the consistent association of GM alterations with autism, our analysis revealed no notable differences in GM composition between individuals with autism and those experiencing VAD. This suggests that VAD, especially when encountered early in life, might play a role in the onset of autism. Furthermore, our review underscores a distinct correlation between reduced levels of retinoic acid in children with autism, a disparity that could relate to the severity of autism symptoms. The implications of our findings are twofold: they not only reinforce the significance of GM alterations as potential diagnostic markers but also spotlight the critical need for further research into nutritional interventions. Specifically, vitamin A supplementation emerges as a promising avenue for alleviating autism symptoms, warranting deeper investigation into its therapeutic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperlipidemia, a condition characterized by elevated levels of lipids in the blood, poses a significant risk factor for various health disorders, notably cardiovascular diseases. Phytochemical compounds are promising alternatives to the current lipid-lowering drugs, which cause many undesirable effects. Based on in vivo and clinical studies, combining phytochemicals with other phytochemicals, prebiotics, and probiotics and their encapsulation in nanoparticles is more safe and effective for managing hyperlipidemia than monotherapy. To this end, the results obtained and the mechanisms of action of these combinations were examined in detail in this review. [Display omitted] • Phytochemicals are a promising approach for the management of hyperlipidemia. • Many phytochemicals-based combinations possess potent hypolipidemic effects. • These combinations act by modulating lipid molecular targets and the gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]