Immobilization and disuse of a body part is quite common in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from injuries or diseases. There are a number of deleterious effects, including systems and organs such as the respiratory, cardiac and skeletal muscle. The clinical and physiological principal aspects revised in this short review are: muscular atrophy, general metabolic alterations, increase of...

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a stress-related mental disorder caused by traumatic experience, with symptoms such as intrusive memories, hyperarousal, and avoidance, which endure for years. Single-Prolonged Stress (SPS) is an animal model proposed for PTSD. Rats exposed to SPS showed enhanced Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis inhibition, which has been reliably reproduced in ...

  Since the stress influences the biological processes, in the present study the effect of prenatal immobilization stress on the sexual activity of male rats was studied. Adult male and female Wistar rats (Pasteur Institute, Tehran) were copulated. After observing the vaginal plugs, pregnant rats were divided into control and two experimental groups. All groups were kept under the laboratory co...

Background: The oxidant-antioxidants balance in the living organism is constantly challenged by internal and external pressures. Maidenhair or Adiantum capillus-veneris (Acv) is rich in bioactive compounds with antioxidant effects.  Objectives: The present study aimed at investigating the effect of Acv hydroalcoholic extract on the oxidative stress rate of blood and brain of mice in the depres...

We previously reported the elevation of plasma interleukin (IL)-6 activity in response to immobilization stress in rats. To investigate the role of peripheral corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in this response, we examined the effects of CRF antagonists on immobilization-induced IL-6 response. Intravenous pretreatment with either [D-Phe12,Nle21,38,CalphaMeLeu37]-anti-human rat (h/r) CRF12-41...

Background. The leaves of Pandanus odoratissimus Linn have been widely used in Ayurveda to treat a variety of common and stress related disorders. In the present investigation, hydroethanol extract of leaves of Pandanus odoratissimus Linn (LEPO) were evaluated for antistress activity in normal and stress induced mice. Furthermore, the extract was studied for nootropic (adaptogenic) activity in ...

Stress worsens certain disorders such as migraines or asthma, and has also been implicated in sudden myocardial arrest. It was previously shown that acute psychological stress by immobilization results in dura mast cell degranulation, an effect blocked by pretreatment with antiserum against corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). Moreover, CRH was recently shown to induce skin mast cell degranul...

To test the hypothesis that stress alters the performance of the respiratory control system, we compared the acute (20 min) responses to moderate hypoxia and hypercapnia of rats previously subjected to immobilization stress (90 min/day) with responses of control animals. Ventilatory measurements were performed on awake rats using whole body plethysmography. Under baseline conditions, there were...