BACKGROUND Benfluorex was withdrawn from European markets in June 2010 after reports of an association with heart valve lesions. The link between benfluorex and valve regurgitations was based on small observational studies and retrospective estimations. We therefore designed an echocardiography-based multicenter study to compare the frequency of left heart valve regurgitations in diabetic patie...

Material and methods. A total of 24 Sprague-Dawley adult rats were divided into 4 groups of naive control (n = 6), sham-operated (n = 6), ICV-STZ + saline (n = 6) and ICV-STZ + rhEPO (n = 6). Twelve rats with Alzheimer’s disease, induced by STZ injection (3 mg/kg) into both lateral ventricles using a stereotaxic frame (bilaterally ICV-STZ), were divided into 2 groups 5 days after the STZ inject...

Background: Feeding behavior is regulated via a complex network which interacts through diverse signals from central and peripheral tissues. OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of the current study was to determine the role of central cannabinoidergic (CBergic) system on ghrelin-induced hypophagia in 3-h food deprived (FD3) neonatal chicken. METHODS: In experiment 1, chicks were ICV injected with cont...

Systemic or hindbrain administration of MK-801, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, increases meal size. To examine whether MK-801 enhances intake by increasing gastric emptying, we administered MK-801 (2.0 microg/3.0 microl) into the fourth ventricle [intracerebroventricular (ICV)] and measured feeding and gastric emptying of 5-ml NaCl or 15% sucrose loads. In a parallel...

Angiotensin (Ang) II plays an important role in the brain as a neurotransmitter and is involved in psychological stress reactions, for example through activation of the sympatho-adrenomedullary system. We investigated the effects of centrally administered Ang II on the micturition reflex, which is potentially affected by the sympatho-adrenomedullary system, and brain Ang II receptors in urethan...

Hypertension induced by chronic administration of angiotensin II (AngII) is exacerbated by high-salt intake. Previous studies have demonstrated that this salt-sensitive component is due to increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, suggesting an interaction of plasma AngII with sodium-sensitive regions of the brain. This study tested the hypothesis that the salt-sensitive component o...

Tumor necrosis factor(TNF ) is a crucial neuromodulator in the brain. TNF is involved in many physiological events including pain response and sleep. However, the interactions between TNF and anesthetics have not been elucidated yet. In the present study, we investigated the effects of four intracerebroventricular (ICV) doses (1, 10, and 100 pg, and 1 ng) and two intraperitoneal (IP) doses (10 ...

We investigated the impact of short-formmindfulness training (MT) vs. relaxation training (RT) programs on sustained attention and emotional well-being in college football players (N = 100) during their high-demand pre-season training interval. Participants received 4 weeks of MT (n = 56) or RT (n = 44) and completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and questionnaires assessing e...