Vidosava Radonjić

Volumetric Analysis of Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Prefrontal Cortex in Therapy-Naive PTSD Participants

Objective. In our study we have hypothesized that volume changes of amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex are more pronounced in male posttraumatic stress disorder participants. Material and Methods. We have conducted a study of 79 male participants who underwent MRI brain scanning. PTSD diagnosis was confirmed in 49 participants. After MRI was taken all scans were software based volume computed and statistically processed. Results. We found that left amygdala is the most significant parameter for distinction between PTSD participants and participants without PTSD. There were no significant differences in volumes of hippocampi and prefrontal cortices. Roc curve method outlined left amygdala AUC = 0.898 (95% CI = 0.830–0.967) and right amygdala AUC = 0.882 (95% CI = 0.810–0.954) in the group of PTSD participants which makes both variables highly statistically significant. Conclusion. The present investigation revealed significant volume decrease of left amygdala in PTSD patients. Concerning important functions of the amygdala and her neuroanatomical connections with other brain structures, we need to increase number of participants to clarify the correlation between impared amygdala and possible other different brain structures in participants with PTSD.

Long-Term Effects of Maternal Deprivation on the Neuronal Soma Area in the Rat Neocortex

Early separation of rat pups from their mothers (separatio a matrem) is considered and accepted as an animal model of perinatal stress. Adult rats, separated early postnatally from their mothers, are developing long-lasting changes in the brain and neuroendocrine system, corresponding to the findings observed in schizophrenia and affective disorders. With the aim to investigate the morphological changes in this animal model we exposed 9-day-old (P9) Wistar rats to a 24 h maternal deprivation (MD). At young adult age rats were sacrificed for morphometric analysis and their brains were compared with the control group bred under the same conditions, but without MD. Rats exposed to MD had a 28% smaller cell soma area in the prefrontal cortex (PFCX), 30% in retrosplenial cortex (RSCX), and 15% in motor cortex (MCX) compared to the controls. No difference was observed in the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in the neocortex of MD rats compared to the control group. The results of this study demonstrate that stress in early life has a long-term effect on neuronal soma size in cingulate and retrosplenial cortex and is potentially interesting as these structures play an important role in cognition.

Long-Term Effects of Maternal Deprivation on Redox Regulation in Rat Brain: Involvement of NADPH Oxidase

Maternal deprivation (MD) causes perinatal stress, with subsequent behavioral changes which resemble the symptoms of schizophrenia. The NADPH oxidase is one of the major generators of reactive oxygen species, known to play a role in stress response in different tissues. The aim of this study was to elucidate the long-term effects of MD on the expression of NADPH oxidase subunits (gp91phox, p22phox, p67phox, p47phox, and p40phox). Activities of cytochrome C oxidase and respiratory chain Complex I, as well as the oxidative stress parameters using appropriate spectrophotometric techniques were analyzed. Nine-day-old Wistar rats were exposed to a 24 h maternal deprivation and sacrificed at young adult age. The structures affected by perinatal stress, cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, and caudate nuclei were investigated. The most prominent findings were increased expressions of gp91phox in the cortex and hippocampus, increased expression of p22phox and p40phox, and decreased expression of gp91phox, p22phox, and p47phox in the caudate nuclei. Complex I activity was increased in all structures except cortex. Content of reduced glutathione was decreased in all sections while region-specific changes of other oxidative stress parameters were found. Our results indicate the presence of long-term redox alterations in MD rats.

Thermomineral water promotes axonal sprouting but does not reduce glial scar formation in a mouse model of spinal cord injury

Thermomineral water from the Atomic Spa Gornja Trepča has been used for a century in the treatment of neurologic disease. The thermomineral water contains microelements, including lithium and magnesium, which show neural regeneration-promoting effects after central nervous system injury. In this study, we investigated the effects of oral intake of thermomineral water from the Atomic Spa Gornja Trepča on nerve regeneration in a 3-month-old mouse model of spinal cord injury. The mice receiving oral intake of thermomineral water showed better locomotor recovery than those without administration of thermomineral water at 8 and 12 weeks after lower thoracic spinal cord compression. At 12 weeks after injury, sprouting of catecholaminergic axons was better in mice that drank thermomineral water than in those without administration of thermomineral water, but there was no difference in glial reaction to injury between mice with and without administration of thermomineral water. These findings suggest that thermomineral water can promote the nerve regeneration but cannot reduce glial scar formation in a mouse model of spinal cord injury.

Phenotype of blood lymphocytes in correlation with histological picture in thyroid gland of rats treated with potassium iodide.

Having in mind the former results which confirmed the functional relationship between the thyroid and the immune system, and the administration of potassium iodide (KI) in the therapy of auto-immune diseases, we considered it of interest to investigate the pathogenesis of KI induced experimental thyroiditis, by studying the morphology of thymus, thyroid gland and spleen, as well as the phenotype of lymphocytes in the thymus and peripheral blood in relation to the expression of CD4 and CD8 molecules. The experiments have been carried out on 30 male Wistar rats, divided in 3 groups. The first group (n=10) received KI (225 μg/g, i.p.), the second group (n=10) received KI (675 μg/g, i.p.), while the third group (n=10) received sodium chloride (0.9%, i.p.). The intensity of histological lesions in the thyroid gland, was statistically significant (p<0.01) in KI treated groups, compared to the controls. KI also significantly decreased rat body mass, and increased masses of thymus and thyroid gland (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in thymocyte and peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulation numbers between the groups. Our experiments suggest that KI, at least in some doses could induce mild lymphocytic thyroiditis in rats, and that this simple, practical and non-expensive model of experimental thyroiditis could be of importance for further research.

Large cava septi pellucidi in schizophrenic patients, alcoholics, head-traumatized, and normal individuals: morpholgical features and forensic implications. A postmortem study

Background: The enlarged cava septi pellucidi (CSP = 6 mm in length) have been reported as a reliable marker of an underlying neuropsychiatric disease or disorder. Differences in the dimensions of cava longer than 6 mm associated with a neuropsychiatric impairment could be of possible clinical and forensic significance. Methods: We obtained 479 brains from autopsied persons (310 males and 169 females, aged 22–89 years) and observed that 110 brains (75 males and 35 females) had CSP, of which the length of CSP was equal to or longer than 6 mm on 69 (49 males and 20 females) of them. These cava were classified into four groups depending on the past medical histories of the autopsied person: five without neuropsychiatric history (asymptomatic CSP), 25 schizophrenic patients, 22 alcoholics, and 17 with a past head trauma (symptomatic CSP). Results: The linear parameters of CSP (i.e. length, width) of the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were measured and were statistically analyzed. Analysis revealed that the cava in the group of schizophrenic patients were significantly longer and wider. Conclusions: Discriminant function analysis was used to derive a mathematical formula to classify CSP into one of the groups obtained based on width measurements of the cavum.