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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious condition that is associated with an increased risk of severe, long-term psychiatric consequences. Drugs that target the glutamatergic system have proven successful in treating both TBI and many of its psychiatric sequelae. Blood glutamate scavengers (BGS) cause a decrease in blood glutamate levels, leading to a reduction in glutamate’s concentration gradient from the brain to the blood and decreased levels of brain glutamate. This study evaluated the BGS pyruvate as a treatment for TBI-related neuropsychiatric conditions in a rat model. 213 rats were divided into four groups in a 2 × 2 design: Sham or TBI rats treated with pyruvate or control treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging, neurological status, brain glutamate and blood glutamate levels were assessed following the injury. Four weeks after the start of treatment, all rats underwent behavioral tests to assess anxious behavior and social impairment (aggressive and hierarchical behavior). Rats responded positively to pyruvate in several tasks, lowering brain glutamate levels and reducing anxiety and depression, as well as modulating TBI-related changes in social behavior. Glutamate scavenging with pyruvate may be an effective therapeutic option for post-TBI behavioral changes by reducing associated elevations in brain glutamate levels.

Background A common experimental rodent model for stroke includes induction by a technique in which middle cerebral artery is transiently (MCAO-t) or permanently (MCAO-p) occluded by catheterization. However, this model has prominent disadvantages which consist of the high variability of localization and size of the ischemic area, cases of intracranial hemorrhage and high mortality. Furthermore, the duration of a single MCAO operation takes about thirty minutes and requires highly trained staff. In this article, we propose an alternative method, which is based on laser-induced stroke in the motor cortex. In our research, we compared the original MCAO-p and MCAO-t models and a novel laser model. Results Compared with the impact of original MCAO-p and MCAO-t technique on brain tissue, the minimally invasive laser model demonstrated a decrease in: variability in body temperature, percent of infarcted volume, blood brain barrier breakdown and brain edema, as well as a prominent decrease of mortality and intracranial hemorrhage. Among other findings of this article, it can be noted that damage to the brain tissue in laser groups occurred only in the region of the motor cortex, without involving the striatal area. Conclusions The data presented in this paper show that the model of laser irradiation can serve as an effective method of inducible brain cortical infarction and may lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke and the future development of new drugs and other neuro-protective agents.

The current active development of the city of St. Petersburg in Russia has led to high growth rates in both industrial and housing areas, causing an increased load on geological media. Taking into account the rather unfavourable geological conditions of the city area, such a development can entail to an intensification of environmental risks. Sustainable and cost-effective land-use planning requires information on geological conditions. Stakeholders need general geological information on the area of St. Petersburg, hydrogeological information on groundwater and information on geological risks. Geological risk maps help to identify whether an area under consideration requires special measures for geological risk management. This paper describes a first attempt to analyze potential geological risks in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. The approach is to introduce a methodology for multi-risk assessment to be used in land-use planning. The core of the methodology is a matrix that assigns a certain level of geological risk depending on the combination of land use stipulated by the master plan of St. Petersburg and geological characteristics. Based on the matrix, a map presenting potential integrated geological risk can be created. At the same time, the combination of the integrated geological risk map, single geological risk maps and the matrix allows the retracement of which geological characteristics and which land use types contribute to the resulting risk. Users of the methodology in St. Petersburg were trained and an end-user manual was prepared by the authors. The methodology was introduced to professionals who utilize geological information and assess potential risks related to geology.