Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“In fetal sheep, circulating androgens influence fetal stress responsiveness and the timing of parturition. Nevertheless, little is known about the presence and development of androgen receptors (ARs) in the fetal brain. The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that expression of androgen receptor this website occurs in fetal brain and pituitary, and that the abundance of the AR is ontogenetically regulated. We isolated mRNA from pituitary, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and brainstem in fetal sheep that were 80, 100, 120, 130, and 145-day gestation, and I and

7 days postnatal (n=4-5 per group). Using real-time RT-PCR, we measured mRNA expression levels of the receptor in these brain regions and pituitary. In a separate study, we isolated protein Selleckchem LGK974 from the same brain regions in fetal sheep

that were 80 (n = 3), 120 (n = 4), and 145 (n = 4) days. AR mRNA expression in hypothalamus increased in late gestation, starting at 145 days, and increasing progressively after birth. A trend of increasing AR protein in hypothalamus was not significant. AR mRNA expression in pituitary was elevated after 80 days gestation, but with no further increases or decreases in late gestation, while AR protein increased significantly at the end of gestation. In hippocampus and brainstem AR mRNA was constant throughout the latter half of gestation, and AR protein was below the sensitivity of our Western blot assay. We conclude that the fetal brain and pituitary are target sites for circulating androgens or androgen precursors in fetal plasma, and we speculate that the increase in hypothalamic action of androgens immediately prior to birth might be integral to the timing of parturition. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“There is a growing body of evidence implicating the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathogenesis of

schizophrenia. As circulating BDNF levels may reflect the tuclazepam BDNF levels in the brain, we assessed serum BDNF in 40 institutionalized schizophrenic patients and 20 healthy controls. Serum BNDF levels were significantly increased in schizophrenic patients when compared to control subjects (p < 0.001). Interestingly, serum BDNF correlated positively with the clinical scores at the negative subscale of the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) (r= 0.41; p < 0.01). Our results confirm the emergent literature on the involvement of BDNF in schizophrenia. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Bis(7)-tacrine, a promising anti-Alzheimer’s dimer, has been shown to have multiple neuroprotective activities in vitro. Here, we investigate whether bis(7)-tacrine attenuates focal cerebral ischemic impairment in vivo. Cerebral ischemia was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by transient (2 h) middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 24h of reperfusion.