Occurrence Of Neurological Diseases Research Articles

Cytotoxicity and DNA Damage Caused from Diazinon Exposure by Inhibiting the PI3K-AKT Pathway in Porcine Ovarian Granulosa Cells.

Organophosphorus insecticide diazinon (DZN) is diffusely used in agriculture, home gardening, and crop peats. Much work so far has focused on the link between DZN exposure and the occurrence of neurological diseases, while little is known on the reproductive toxicological assessment on DZN exposure. This research aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of toxic hazards for DZN exposure on cultured porcine ovarian granulosa cells. We analyzed the oxidative stress, energy metabolism, DNA damage, apoptosis, and autophagy by using high-throughput RNA-seq, immunofluorescence, Western blotting, and real-time PCR. The combined data demonstrated that DZN exposure could cause excessive ROS and DNA damage, which induced apoptosis and autophagy by inhibiting the PI3K-AKT pathway. The down-regulated CYP19A1 protein and granulosa cell deaths increase the risk for developing premature ovarian failure and follicular atresia. In conclusion, DZN exposure has obvious reproductive toxicity by induction of granulosa cell death through pathways connected to DNA damage and oxidative stress by inhibiting the PI3K-AKT pathway.

Neurological Diseases of Small Ruminants in Greece: A Retrospective Study in 114 Flocks

Abstract Although neurological diseases comprise an important part of small ruminant internal medicine, the number of retrospective studies on their epidemiology conducted to date is limited. This study reports an extensive review of epidemiological data on the occurrence of neurological diseases in Greek sheep and goat herds. The survey was based on data retrieved from the records of the Farm Animal Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, A.U.TH from January 2006 to May 2011. Historical information, clinical and neurological examination, clinicopathological and (if available) pathological evaluation were the minimum data recorded in each case. Diseases of the nervous system represented 37.9% and 19.2% of the total evaluated sheep and goat caseload, respectively. The most frequent neurological disorders diagnosed in sheep were chronic coenurosis and Scrapie, which accounted for 72% of cases, followed by less common conditions like ovine lentiviral encephalomyelitis (OLE), listeriosis and acute coenurosis. In goats the frequency of various types of neurological diseases was more evenly distributed, with listeriosis and polioencephalomalacia being the most commonly encountered problems.

CARACTERÍSTICAS FÍSICO-QUÍMICAS E CITOLÓGICAS DO LÍQUOR DE OVINOS SADIOS DA RAÇA SANTA INÊS

The occurrence of neurological disease is widespread in clinical medicine of domestic animal, but there are few studies documenting the normal composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in ovine, especially Santa Ines breed. This study establishes the parameters for normal physiochemical and cytological analysis of cerebrospinal fluid as an aid for diagnosis of neurological disorders in this breed. For this, 40 adult ovine animals, aged between six and 18 months, were used for puncture of lumbosacral CSF. The aspect and color shower a clear and colorless pattern. The average density was 1.006 ± 0.0064, protein concentration was 25.27 ± 6.64 mg/dL and glucose concentration was 46.89 ± 10.99 mg/dL. Enzymes had concentration averages of 116.72 ± 80.79 U/L for creatine kinase; 17.43 ± 11.91 U/L for lactate dehydrogenase and 17.08 ± 3.85 U/L for aspartate aminotransferase. The results for the global cell count were 4.61 ± 4.96 leukocytes/µL (0 to 15 lymphocytes, 0 to 10 monocytes, 1 to 14 neutrophils). Considering the lack of reference data for the physiochemical and cytological CSF analysis of Santa Ines ovine breed, it is recommended that the results obtained in this study are considered normal values for the breed.KEYWORDS: biochemistry; CFS; cytology; small ruminant; standard features.

Positive serum antigliadin antibodies without celiac disease in the elderly population: does it matter?

Objective. Antigliadin antibodies (AGA) show good sensitivity but low specificity for celiac disease and can also be found in healthy individuals. However, data suggest that AGA positivity might be related to distinct disease entities such as allergy and gluten ataxia. Our aim here is to explore the clinical relevance of positive AGA in the elderly population. Material and methods. Serum IgA- and IgG-class AGA and IgA-class tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) were determined in 2815 individuals aged 52–74 years. Equal numbers of AGA- and tTGA-negative participants of similar age and gender, but without known celiac disease, were randomly selected as controls. Information on clinical history was obtained from hospital records in all groups. Results. Altogether 381 persons were positive for IgA/IgG-class AGA; 38 (14%) of them were also positive for tTGA. Out of the biopsied subjects, 34 (100%) in the AGA+ tTGA+ group and five (9%) in AGA+ tTGA− group had celiac disease. Rheumatoid arthritis and depression were found significantly more often in AGA-positives than controls. The significance remained even when tTGA-positive and known celiac disease cases were excluded. No statistical differences were found in the occurrence of neurological diseases, diabetes, allergic and cardiovascular diseases or malignancies. Conclusions. Although AGA positivity is of clinical relevance only in a subset of elderly people, it seems to be related to rheumatoid arthritis and depression, both conditions linked to celiac disease. Further studies are needed to reveal the mechanisms underlying this. The poor specificity of AGA for celiac disease was here once more in evidence.

Estimation of virological and immunological parameters in subjects from South India infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 clade C and correlation of findings with occurrence of neurological disease

Several studies carried out in Western countries have demonstrated that a number of virological and immunological markers such as viral loads, cytokines, beta(2)-microglobulin, neopterin, etc., are elevated in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals with neurological disease. The neurological manifestations of HIV infection noted in Indian patients is different from those reported in Western countries. Moreover, few studies have investigated the role of virological and immunological parameters with respect to the progression of HIV-1 clade C infection in India. In this study, we measured virological (HIV-1 RNA levels) and immunological parameters (CD4 cell count and inflammatory markers) in the plasma and CSF of HIV-1-infected neurologically asymptomatic and symptomatic (with opportunistic infections and/or dementia) subjects. By using clade-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we ascertained that all samples used for the study were infected with HIV-1 clade C. Among the various laboratory parameters evaluated, high viral loads in the CSF, low CD4 counts, and higher levels of interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), beta(2)-microglobulin, and neopterin were noted in HIV-infected subjects with neurological disease as compared to asymptomatic subjects. These data suggest that the markers evaluated in plasma and CSF samples correlated with occurrence of neurological disease in symptomatic individuals as compared to asymptomatic HIV infected subjects.

Neurological Disease in Cattle in Southern Brazil Associated with Bovine Herpesvirus Infection

The occurrence of neurological disease in cattle caused by Bovine herpesvirus in 11 farms from southern Brazil between 1987 and 2007 is described. Twenty-two animals were necropsied. Major clinical signs included excessive salivation, nasal and ocular discharge, circling, recumbency, depression, incoordination, grinding of teeth, and paddling movements. Necropsy findings in 10 of 22 cattle included hyperemia and softening of the rostral portions of the telencephalic cortex, with flattening of gyri, and malacia. Cattle in 10 cases did not show any gross lesions. Histological examination in most cases revealed nonsuppurative and necrotizing meningoencephalitis with acute neuronal necrosis, edema, eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies in astrocytes and neurons, and infiltration of gitter cells. No histologic lesions could be detected in 4 cases. The initial diagnosis was based upon the clinical, epidemiological, and pathological findings. The diagnosis was confirmed by virus isolation in cell culture followed by virus identification by a glycoprotein C-based polymerase chain reaction. Seven isolates were identified as Bovine herpesvirus 5, and 4 were identified as Bovine herpesvirus 1.