Nutritional Neuroscience

AIM: The study's objective was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D (VD) levels and cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, conducted between March and July 2016, recruited 196 patients with schizophrenia. The Brief Cognitive Rating Scale (BCRS) and the Morningside Rehabilitation Status Scale (MRSS) were used to measure the severity of cognitive impairment and the level of general functioning in psychiatric patients...

OBJECTIVE: Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant and an essential mitochondrial cofactor which has been suggested to improve the clinical features of migraine. Several randomized clinical trials have examined the effects of Coenzyme Q10 on migraine with inconclusive results. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the impact of Coenzyme Q10 supplementation on the frequency, severity, and duration of migraine attacks. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane library and Scopus to identify eligible studies up to April 2018...

Objectives - Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that both ovarian hormones and nutritional condition can affect several brain functions, including those depending on excitability mechanisms. Nutritional deficiency, on the other hand, is capable of disturbing brain structure and function of mammals. We have previously demonstrated that ovariectomy decelerates [Accioly NE, Benevides R, Costa B, Guedes RCA. Ovariectomy in the developing rat decelerates cortical spreading depression in adult brain. Internat J Develop Neurosci...

OBJECTIVES: Proper metabolism of the folate is crucial for maintaining DNA integrity, chromosome structure, methylation, as well as gene expression, and thus, folate is speculated to contribute to the etiology of different disorders. Since the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is believed to be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, we hypothesized that functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting folate metabolic pathway may have a causal role in the etiology of ASD...

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to examine the supplementation of a carotenoid-rich carrot powder, on retina function and carotenoid metabolism in non-diabetic control and type 1 diabetic animals. METHODS: Male Wistar rats (n = 30) were randomly assigned to diets supplemented with (n = 15) or without (n = 15) carrot powder enriched diets (150 g/kg diet). After 3 weeks of diet adaptation, 8 rats in each group were treated with streptozotocin (iv) to induce type 1 diabetes and fed for a further 9 wk...

AIM: Marinobufagenin (MBG), a cardiotonic steroid and a natriuretic hormone, is elevated in response to high salt diet consumption. In animal models salt intake stimulates adrenocortical MBG secretion via increased angiotensin II, sympathetic activity and aldosterone. No evidence in humans exists to suggest the involvement of the angiotensinergic-sympatho-excitatory pathway in MBG production. We investigated whether MBG is related to indices of autonomic activity in men and women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 680 black and white, men and women from the African-PREDICT study (aged 20-30 years)...

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the current evidence on the association between maternal breastfeeding and the occurrence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring. METHODS: We searched for studies published in English before May 2018 using the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases. We included cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies, that focused on the association between maternal breastfeeding and the occurrence of ADHD in offspring...

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to compare the vitamin and mineral levels of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) with those of age-matched typically developing (TD) children and to investigate their effects on the symptoms of autistic children. METHODS: The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) were completed for 274 children diagnosed with ASD. Vitamins and minerals were compared for all ASD children and 97 age-matched TD children...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Major depression has a negative impact on quality of life, increasing the risk of premature death. It imposes social and economic costs on individuals, families and society. Mental illness is now the leading cause globally of disability/lost quality life and premature mortality. Finding cost-effective treatments for depression is a public health priority. We report an economic evaluation of a dietary intervention for treating major depression. METHODS: This economic evaluation drew on the HELFIMED RCT, a 3-month group-based Mediterranean-style diet (MedDiet) intervention (including cooking workshops), against a social group-program for people with major depression...

OBJECTIVES: Creativity requires the ability to combine existing mental representations in new ways and depends, in part, on the hippocampus. Hippocampal function is, in turn, affected by a number of health factors, including aerobic fitness, excess adiposity, and diet. Specifically, in rodent studies, diets high in saturated fatty acids and sugar - hallmarks of a western diet- have been shown to negatively impact hippocampal function and thereby impair performance on cognitive tasks that require the hippocampus...

INTRODUCTION: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by abnormal development of cognitive, social, and communicative skills. Although ASD aetiology and pathophysiology are still unclear, various nutritional factors have been investigated as potential risk factors for ASD development, including omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and vitamin D deficiency. In fact, both omega-3 PUFAs and vitamin D are important for brain development and function...

OBJECTIVE: Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Though the exact mechanisms and clinical implications for this dysfunction are not fully determined, there is a hypothesis that deficiency in coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may contribute to mitochondrial impairments and be reflected in cognitive, affective, and energy disturbances in the disorders. CoQ10 is a critical component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and an essential free radical scavenger, necessary for mitochondrial function...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There is no review in the literature on the effect of nutrition-related factors on peripheral nerve injuries. Therefore, it is aimed to evaluate the effect of nutritional factors on nerve injuries in this compilation. RECENT FINDINGS: Although there are several fundamental mechanisms by which nutrients and nutritional factors influence individuals, their exact impacts on neurogenesis have not been clearly identified. Recently, some studies showed that some nutrients have an important role in nerve injuries due to their neuroprotective properties...

OBJECTIVES: Migraine is a debilitating neurovascular disorder. The relation of diets and migraine is a controversial topic yet. This study assessed the association of dietary patterns of migrainous women with attack frequency. METHODS: In this cross sectional study 285 volunteer migrainous women (25-55 years old) based on the third edition of International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) recruited from neurology clinics of Golestan Hospital in Ahwaz, Iran...

OBJECTIVES: Although safe approaches for improving depression in pregnancy are required and the efficacy of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been suggested, the amount of supplemental omega-3 PUFAs has varied among previous studies and adequate amount might be different among countries. The aim of this pilot study is to explore the feasibility of using 1800 mg of omega-3 PUFAs supplementation for our future double-blind, placebo-control trial, and to clarify the clinical difference and the similarity between two sites of Japan and Taiwan...

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of specially formulated high-fat simple carbohydrate diet (HFSC) on the serotonin metabolic pathway in male C57BL/6J mice. METHODS: Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that specially formulated HFSC induces metabolic syndrome in C57BL/6J mice. In the present investigation, 5-hydroxytryptophan, serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were analyzed in two brain regions (hypothalamus, corpus striatum), urine and plasma of HFSC-fed mice on a monthly basis up to 5 months using high-performance liquid chromatography fitted with electrochemical detector...

Gastrointestinal disturbances, nutritional deficiencies, and food intolerances are frequently observed in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). To reveal possible association of celiac disease risk variants (HLA-DQ), lactose intolerance associated variant (LCT-13910C>T) as well as variant associated with vitamin D function (VDR FokI) with NDD, polymerase chain reaction-based methodology was used. Additionally, intestinal peptide permeability was estimated in NDD patients and healthy children by measuring the level of peptides in urine using high-performance liquid chromatography...

BACKGROUND: Differences in the composition of control diets may confound outcomes in studies investigating dietary effects. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of two control diets commonly used in mice studies, chow (SD) and a purified low-fat diet (LFD), in relation to a chronic high-fat diet (HFD). We hypothesized that SD and LFD will have similar effects on phenotypic, metabolic, and behavioral outcomes. METHODS: Fifty-four 5-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to one of the three dietary interventions (SD, LFD, or HFD) for 18 weeks...

There is a significant body of research undertaken in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as to discover early detection biomarkers and potential therapeutic strategies. One such proposed biomarker is the calcium binding protein S100β, which, depending on its local concentration, is known to exhibit both neurotrophic and neuroinflammatory properties in the central nervous system. At present, relatively little is known regarding the effect of chronic S100β disruption in AD...

BACKGROUND: Overnutrition due to a high-fat diet (HFD) can increase the vulnerability of the metabolic system to maladjustments. Estradiol has an inhibitory role on food intake and this hormone has demonstrated to be a crucial organizer during brain development. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine whether increased levels of estradiol in the early postnatal period modulate the alterations in metabolism and brain metabolic circuits produced by overnutrition. METHODS: Twenty-four male and 24 female Wistar rats were submitted to a HFD (34...