Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health

There is a robust and compelling body of evidence supporting the ergogenic and therapeutic role of creatine supplementation in muscle. Beyond these well-described effects and mechanisms, there is literature to suggest that creatine may also be beneficial to brain health (e.g., cognitive processing, brain function, and recovery from trauma). This is a growing field of research, and the purpose of this short review is to provide an update on the effects of creatine supplementation on brain health in humans. There is a potential for creatine supplementation to improve cognitive processing, especially in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, which could be induced by acute stressors (e.g., exercise, sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (e.g., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mild traumatic brain injury, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, depression). Despite this, the optimal creatine protocol able to increase brain creatine levels is still to be determined. Similarly, supplementation studies concomitantly assessing brain creatine and cognitive function are needed. Collectively, data available are promising and future research in the area is warranted.     

Smoking is an independent risk factor for oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infections but not for high-grade CIN

Background Recent evidence implicates smoking as a risk factor for cervical cancer (CC), but the confounding from high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections is not clear. Objectives To analyse the role of smoking as an independent predictor of CIN2+ and HR-HPV infections in a population-based prospective (NIS, New Independent States of former Soviet Union) cohort study. Study design and Methods A cohort of 3,187 women was stratified into three groups according to their smoking status: (i) women who never smoked; (ii) those smoking in the past; and (iii) women who are current smokers. These groups were analysed for predictors of (a) HR-HPV; (b) high-grade CIN, and (c) outcome of HR-HPV infections and cytological abnormalities during prospective follow-up (n = 854). Results The three groups were significantly different in all major indicators or risk sexual behaviour (or history) implicating strong confounding. There was no increase in HSIL/LSIL/ASC-US cytology or CIN1+/CIN2+/CIN3+ among current smokers. Only few predictors of HR-HPV and CIN2+ were common to all three groups, indicating strong interference of the smoking status. There was no difference in outcomes of cervical disease or HR-HPV infections between the three groups. In multivariate model, being current smoker was one of the five independent predictors of HR-HPV (P = 0.014), with adjusted OR = 1.52 (95%CI 1.09–2.14). In addition to age, HR-HPV was the only independent predictor of CIN2+ in multivariate model (OR = 14.8; 95%CI 1.72–127.31). Conclusions These data indicate that cigarette smoking is not an independent risk factor of CIN2+, but the increased risk ascribed to smoking is mediated by acquisition of HR-HPV, of which current smoking was an independent predictor in multivariate model.     

Coronary microembolization: the role of TNF-alpha in contractile dysfunction.

Coronary microembolization is a frequent complication of atherosclerotic plaque rupture in acute coronary syndromes and during coronary interventions. Experimental coronary microembolization results in progressive contractile dysfunction associated with a local inflammation. We studied the causal role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the progressive contractile dysfunction resulting from coronary microembolization. Anesthetized dogs were subjected to either coronary microembolization with infusion of 3.000 microspheres (42 microm diameter) per ml coronary inflow into the left circumflex coronary artery (n=9), or to intracoronary infusion of recombinant human TNF-alpha without microembolization (n=4), or to treatment with anti-murine TNF-alpha sheep antibodies prior to microembolization (n=4). Posterior systolic wall thickening (PWT; sonomicrometry) decreased from 21.1+/-5.3% (s.d.) at baseline to 5.5+/-2.2% (P<0.05) at 8 h after microembolization. Infarct size (1.8+/-1.9%; TTC and histology) and the amount of apoptosis (<0.1%; TUNEL and DNA-laddering) were small. TNF-alpha at the protein level (WEHI cytolytic assay) was increased and localized to leukocytes (immunostaining), which were increased in number (quantitative histology). In situ hybridization for TNF-alpha mRNA identified viable cardiomyocytes surrounding the microinfarcts as the major source of TNF-alpha. Supporting the role of TNF-alpha, infusion of TNF-alpha without microembolization decreased PWT from 27.3+/-6.9% at baseline to 10.1+/-4.9% after 8 h (P<0.05); in contrast, in the presence of TNF-alpha antibodies, microembolization no longer reduced PWT (19.3+/-7.0% at baseline v 16.9+/-5.0% at 8 h). In conclusion, TNF-alpha is the mediator responsible for the profound contractile dysfunction following coronary microembolization.     

Effect of Periodic Water Clusters on AISI 304 Welded Surfaces

This study compared the effect of the interaction time of periodic water clusters on the surface integrity of AISI 304 tungsten inert gas (TIG) welded joints at different excitation frequencies, as the effect of the technological parameters of pulsating water jet (PWJ) on the mechanical properties of TIG welded joints are under-researched. The TIG welded joints were subjected to different frequencies (20 and 40 kHz) and traverse speeds (1–4 mm/s) at a water pressure of 40 MPa and a standoff distance of 70 mm. The effect of the interaction of the pulsating jet on the material and the enhancement in its mechanical properties were compared through residual stress measurements, surface roughness, and sub-surface microhardness. A maximum enhancement in the residual stress values of up to 480 MPa was observed in the heat-affected zone, along with a maximum roughness of 6.03 µm and a maximum hardness of 551 HV using a frequency of 40 kHz. The improvement in the surface characteristics of the welded joints shows the potential of utilizing pulsed water jet technology with an appropriate selection of process parameters in the treatment of welded structures.     

The atypical antipsychotic,aripiprazole, blocks phencyclidine-induced disruption of prepulse inhibition in mice

Rationale The psychotomimetic drug, phencyclidine, induces schizophrenia-like behavioural changes in both humans and animals. Phencyclidine-induced disruption of sensory motor gating mechanisms, as assessed by prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle, is widely used in research animals as a screening model for antipsychotic properties in general and may predict effects on negative and cognitive deficits in particular. Dopamine (DA) stabilizers comprise a new generation of antipsychotics characterized by a partial DA receptor agonist or antagonist action and have been suggested to have a more favourable clinical profile. Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of first, second and third generation antipsychotics to interfere with the disruptive effect of phencyclidine on prepulse inhibition in mice. Results Aripiprazole blocked the phencyclidine-induced disruption of prepulse inhibition. The atypical antipsychotic clozapine was less effective, whereas olanzapine, and the typical antipsychotic haloperidol, failed to alter the effects of phencyclidine on prepulse inhibition. Conclusions The somewhat superior efficacy of clozapine compared to haloperidol may be explained by its lower affinity and faster dissociation rate for DA D2 receptors possibly combined with an interaction with other receptor systems. Aripiprazole was found to be more effective than clozapine or olanzapine, which may be explained by a partial agonist activity of aripiprazole at DA D2 receptors. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that partial DA agonism leading to DA stabilizing properties may have favourable effects on sensorimotor gating and thus tentatively on cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia.