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Sepsis is a severe clinical syndrome in which a system-wide inflammatory response follows initial attempts to eliminate pathogens. It is not novel that in sepsis the brain is one of the first organs affected which causes an increase in morbidity and mortality and its consequences may be exacerbated when associated with a diagnosis of chronic inflammation, such as in obesity. Thus, the aim of the present study is to evaluate the susceptibility to brain damage after sepsis in obese rats. During two months, Wistar rats, 60 days, 250-300g received hypercaloric nutrition to induce obesity. Sepsis was submitted to the cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) procedure and sham-operated rats was considered control group. The experimental groups were divided into Sham + Eutrophic, Sham + Obesity, CLP + Eutrophic and CLP + Obesity. Twelve and twenty four hours after surgery the blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability, nitrite/nitrate concentration, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, oxidative damage to lipids and proteins and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were evaluated in the hippocampus, cortex and prefrontal cortex. The data indicate that in obese rats subjected to sepsis occurs an increase of BBB permeability in different brain regions compared to eutrophic septic rats. This alteration reflected an increase of MPO activity, concentration of nitrite/nitrate, oxidative damage to lipids and proteins and an imbalance of SOD and CAT especially 24 hours after sepsis. It follows that obesity due to its pro-inflammatory phenotype can aggravate or accelerate the sepsis-induced damage in rat brain.

The consumption of palatable high-fat and high-sugar foods have increased dramatically over the past years. Overconsumption of calorically dense food contributes to increasing rates of overweight and obesity that are associated with psychiatry disorders, in particular mood and anxiety disorders. This study evaluated the impact of palatable cafeteria diet (CAF) intake on cognitive and noncognitive behaviors, as well as identified factors related to these behaviors through an evaluation of brain neurotrophic factor (BDNF, NGF, and GDNF) levels in hippocampus of mice. Male Swiss mice received two different diets during 13 weeks: standard chow (STA) and highly CAF. Posteriorly, forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), plus-maze test (PMT), open-field tests (OFT), and object recognition task (ORT) were utilized as behavioral tests. In addition, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and nerve growth factor (NGF) neurotrophins' levels were evaluated in hippocampus of mice. The results demonstrated that mice from the CAF group showed a decrease in the immobility time in the FST and TST. Besides, mice in the CAF group spent more time in the open arms of the PMT. No significant differences were observed in the cognitive behaviors, which were evaluated in the OFT and ORT. In addition, the CAF group showed that BDNF and NGF protein levels increased in the hippocampus of mice. In conclusion, our data suggest that the consumption of palatable high-fat and high-sugar foods induces antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like behaviors, which can be related with BDNF and NGF expression increases in hippocampus of mice in the CAF group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To elucidate the effects of natural dietary components on the inflammatory and metabolic consequences of obesity, we examined the effects of unripe, ripe and industrial acerola juice (Malpighia emarginata DC.) on the relevant inflammatory and lipolysis proteins in the adipose tissue of mice with cafeteria diet-induced obesity. Materials/methods Two groups of male Swiss mice were fed on a standard diet (STA) or a cafeteria diet (CAF) for 13 weeks. Afterwards, the CAF-fed animals were divided into five subgroups, each of which received a different supplement for one further month (water, unripe acerola juice, ripe acerola juice, industrial acerola juice, or vitamin C) by gavage. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, Western blotting, a colorimetric method and histology were utilized to assess the observed data. Results The CAF water (control obese) group showed a significant increase in their adiposity indices and triacylglycerol levels, in addition to a reduced IL-10/TNF-α ratio in the adipose tissue, compared with the control lean group. In contrast, acerola juice and Vitamin C intake ameliorated the weight gain, reducing the TAG levels and increasing the IL-10/TNF-α ratio in adipose tissue. In addition, acerola juice intake led to reductions both in the level of phosphorylated JNK and to increases in the phosphorylation of IKκBα and HSLser660 and in the expression of PeriA in adipose tissue. Conclusion Taken together, these results suggest that acerola juice reduces low-grade inflammation and ameliorates obesity-associated defects in the lipolytic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The importance of trace elements in human health is well known and their main source is daily diet. Nowadays, one of the biggest issues is the presence of these micronutrients in levels much higher than required, leading to potential toxic effects. The aim of this work was to investigate the elemental content in organs of mice fed with cafeteria or standard diet using PIXE. Twelve male Swiss mice were divided into two groups: control group (standard chow) and cafeteria group (high-caloric diet). After 17weeks, samples of different organs (kidney and liver) were collected and prepared for PIXE analysis. The Fe concentration in kidney and liver was statistically higher in animals that received the cafeteria diet (p <0.001). The Al and Si kidney contents were significantly higher for cafeteria diet in relation to standard diet (p <0.05). Moreover, the standard diet showed significant differences for Cl and K (p <0.05) in comparison to cafeteria diet in kidney, and for P, S and Zn (p <0.005) in liver. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]