Publications

Human opiorphin protects enkephalins from degradation by human neutral endopeptidase and aminopeptidase-N and inhibits pain perception in various behavioral rodent models of pain via endogenous enkephalin-related activation of opioidergic pathways. In addition to pain control, endogenous opioid pathways are also implicated in the modulation of emotion-related behaviors. Thus, we explored the dose-dependent motivational responses induced by opiorphin using the forced swim test, the standard rat model of depression. In addition, to further understand the endogenous events triggered by opiorphin, we

The acquisition of a conditioned response to a stimulus when it is paired with a reinforcer is retarded if the stimulus has previously been repeatedly pre-exposed in the absence of the reinforcer. This effect, called latent inhibition, has previously been found to be insensitive to lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in rats. Using an on-baseline conditioned emotional response procedure, which is especially sensitive to small variations in the absolute magnitude of latent inhibition, we found increased latent inhibition

Dehydrated extract of the prickly pear fruit Opuntia ficus indica, Cacti-Nea, was evaluated for its chronic diuretic and antioxidant effects in Wistar rats. Cacti-Nea was orally administered daily for seven days at the dose of 240 mg/kg/day. A positive group was orally treated with hydrochlorothiazide at the dose of 10 mg/kg/day and a control group with vehicle. Daily measurements of body weight, urine volume, and concentration of sodium, potassium and uric acid in urine were performed for each rat. At

A new animal model of travelers' diarrhea has been developed by infecting rats orally with a strain of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in order to assess the efficacy of three probiotic formulations for the prevention of travelers' diarrhea. Five groups of six rats were given daily (by oral gavage) either a placebo (negative and positive control groups), the suspension of bacterial probiotics called FF1, the yeast probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii, or a combination of both, called Protecflor(TM). After 14 days of treatment,

In the last ten years, cocoa and bitter chocolate with a high content of cocoa have received much attention due to their significant polyphenol contents, and thus, have been recognized as significant sources of phytochemicals with healthful effects. Increasing evidence from experimental preclinical and clinical studies using cocoa polyphenols extracts or dark chocolate suggest an important role for these high-flavanol-containing products in various human pathologies. In fact, cocoa's polyphenols are susceptible to induce stimulant, relaxant, euphoriant, tonic and antidepressant effects.

In the present study, we report the case of a patient with diabetes mellitus whose glycemic control was disrupted during hospitalization after a nicotine replacement therapy. Dosage adjustments along with a long-acting insulin treatment were used in order to obtain a new glycemic control. A possible explanation is that this metabolic disturbance was provoked by an overestimation of the patient's actual nicotine consumption at the onset of the nicotine withdrawal program. [mkdf_button size="" type="" text="Link to the article" custom_class=""

Numerous methodological-related variables have been demonstrated to influence the baseline anxiety level of rodents exposed to the elevated plus-maze (EPM), raising questions about the sensitivity of this test for the detection of the effects of anxiolytic drugs. Thus, the present study was designed (1) to assess the combined effects of illumination (40-lx red or white light), closed wall type (walls made of translucent or opaque material) and extramaze space size (small or spacious experimental room) on rat behaviour, and (2)

The hippocampus is involved in spatial memory processes, as established in a variety of species such as birds and mammals including humans. In humans, some hippocampal-dependent memory functions may be lateralized, the right hippocampus being predominantly involved in spatial navigation. In rodents, the question of possible lateralization remains open. Therefore, we first microdissected the CA1 subregion of the left and right dorsal hippocampi for analysis of mRNA expression using microarrays in rats having learnt a reference memory task in the

This study describes the effect of bovine alpha-S1 casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH) in a representative sample of day-time workers from the general population of Japan with the occurrence of insomnia during the preceding six months. To investigate this issue, 32 subjects, aged between 25 and 40 years, were examined for the subjective sleep quality using the Japanese Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-J). CTH significantly improves the PSQI total score of the treated subjects. It particularly improves the sleep quality after

The anxiolytic activity and adverse benzodiazepine-like effects of a bovine alpha s1-casein tryptic hydrolysate (CH) were evaluated. The effects of CH orally administered at doses of 5 and 15 mg/kg were compared with those of diazepam (DZ) at 3 mg/kg in the conditioned defensive burying test. Rats treated either with CH at 15 mg/kg or with DZ showed a decrease in anxiety. A drug-related difference was observed in terms of duration, as the anxiolytic-like action of CH was maintained after