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Accumulating data pointing to the growing use of herbal medicine (HM) among diabetic patients as a complementary treatment. This study aimed to investigate the use of HM among some Moroccan type 2 diabetes patients in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region, and then to identify the plants used, motivations, source of knowledge, and satisfaction with their use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to May 2017, including 1021 diabetes patients. Data on socio-demographic, diabetes-related characteristics, and HM use were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and predictors of HM use were checked using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Overall, 34.8 % of participants reported using HM, and this use was significantly associated with female sex, urban residency, long duration of diabetes, and receiving oral antidiabetics alone or with insulin. Sixty-three species of plants belonging to 32 families were reported by participants, and the most frequent species used were Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and Olea europaea L. The main motivation for using HM was belief in its efficacy (73.24 %). The decision to use HM was mainly based on the recommendations of other patients (56 %), and the majority of the users were satisfied (81 %). One-third of the participants used medicinal plants, and predictors of their use appeared to be consistent with previous findings in Morocco. However, the consumption level was relatively low, which could reflect a change in medication habits favoring the use of pharmaceutical rather than traditional medicines. Finally, HM seemed to be used more for prevention than for treatment. In this sense, further investigations to assess the impact of HM on the biological and clinical parameters of diabetes and patient quality of life are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developmental exposure to corn and soybean oils alters body weight in offspring mice. • It impaired locomotor activity, motor coordination and spatial memory. • It induced depression-like and anxiety-like behavior in exposed mice. • It disrupted brain antioxidant enzyme activities in both sexes. Corn and soybean oils are among the most frequently used vehicles for water-insoluble compounds in toxicological studies. These two vegetable oils are nutrients and may induce some biological effects on animals that might interfere with the experimental results. However, their chronic effects on a developing brain have not been reported. This study aims to evaluate the neurobehavioral and brain biochemical effects of both oils on male and female Swiss albino mice. Pregnant female mice were exposed to 1 µl/g/d of either tap water, corn oil (CO), or soybean oil (SO) from early gestation (GD1) until weaning then offspring mice were exposed to the same treatment regimen until adulthood (PND70). Our results showed that developmental exposure to both oils induced body weight changes in offspring mice. In addition, we detected some behavioral abnormalities where both oil-treated groups showed a significant decrease in locomotor activity and greater levels of anxiety behavior. Moreover, our results suggest that continuous exposure to these oils may alter motor coordination, spatial memory and induce depression-like behavior in adult mice. These alterations were accompanied by increased malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activities in specific brain regions. Together, these data suggest that exposure to CO and SO as vehicles in developmental studies may interfere with the behavioral response and brain redox homeostasis in offspring mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Students' consumption of PSA is strongly associated to the use of inhalants with a very high risk. • Overall prevalence are found among students aged between 15 and 17 years (14,17%). • Among students whose fathers are illiterate (5,13%). The objective of this work is to take stock of the current state of addiction at a psychoactive substance (PAS) in the region of Béni Mellal, Morocco, among adolescents enrolled at school. The results showed that the highest usage frequencies in our study related to males. The highest consumption for both genders concerns tobacco and related products (13.2% for Tobacco, 11.6% Shisha, 9.2% Nafha and 7.9% for Kala). In second position, we found alcohol followed by inhalants and cannabis.48.2% of students started using PAS are likely to be influenced by their peers, 15.9% because of family problems, 11.6% used the PAS to overcome school problems, 10.4% for dealing with personal issues, while 9.1% stated they experienced use under the influence of a family member. In sum, this study shows that students' consumption of PSA is strongly associated to the use of inhalants with a very high risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of the present investigation was to determine a detailed mapping of neurotensin (NT) in the human hypothalamus, the brain region involved in neuroendocrine control. For this, we investigated the presence and the distribution of neurotensin binding sites in the human hypothalamus, using an in vitro quantitative autoradiography technique and the selective radioligand monoiodo-Tyr3-neurotensin (2000Ci/mM). This study was performed on nine adult human postmortem hypothalami. We first determined the biochemical kinetics of the binding and found that binding affinity constants were of high affinity and do not differ significantly between all cases investigated. Our analysis of the autoradiographic distribution shows that NT binding sites are widely distributed throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the hypothalamus. However, the distribution of NT binding sites is not homogenous and regional variations exist. In general, the highest densities are mainly present in the anterior hypothalamic level, particularly in the preoptic region and the anterior boarding limit (i.e. the diagonal band of Broca). Important NT binding site densities are also present at the mediobasal hypothalamic level, particularly in the paraventricular, parafornical and dorsomedial nuclei. At the posterior level, relatively moderate densities could be observed in the mammillary complex subdivisions, apart from the supramammillary nucleus and the posterior hypothalamic area. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates the occurrence of high concentrations of NT binding sites in various structures in many regions in the human adult hypothalamus, involved in the control of neuroendocrine and/or neurovegetative functions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]