Hypoxia is one of the major pathological factors affecting brain function. The aim of the present study was to describe the effect of neonatal hypobaric hypoxia on the behavior of rats and to analyze its effect on hippocampal neurodegeneration. Hypobaric hypoxia at a simulated altitude of 9000 m was induced for one hour in neonatal rat pups (PND7 and PND9) of both sexes. Subsequently, the rats underwent behavioral testing on PND25 and PND35 using a LABORAS apparatus to assess spontaneous behavior. Hypoxia did not cause any morphological damage in the hippocampus of rats. However, hypoxia on PND7 led to less horizontal locomotor activity both in males (on PND25) and females (on PND35). Hypoxia on PND9 led to higher rearing in females on PND25. Hypoxic males exhibited higher grooming activity, while females lower grooming activity on PND35 following hypoxia induced on PND7. In females, hypoxia on PND9 resulted in higher grooming activity on PND25. Sex differences in the effect of hypoxia were observed on PND35, when hypoxic males compared to hypoxic females displayed more locomotor, rearing and grooming activity. Our data suggest that hypoxia on PND7 versus PND9 differently affects locomotion and grooming later in adolescence and these effects are sex-dependent.
The study examined the morphological and long-term behavioral impacts of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in a mouse model. We investigated the modification of different behavioral domains, such as spontaneous climbing, which represents fine motor skills. We also focused on sex-dependent differences during hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The Rice-Vannucci model of hypoxia-ischemia was used, adjusted and adapted to 7-day-old C57BL/6NTac mice. The effects of induced hypoxia and ischemia were also studied separately. At postnatal day 60, mice underwent behavioral testing using the LABORAS apparatus. The perfusion for histological evaluation was performed one day after the behavioral analyses. In groups with separately induced hypoxia or ischemia, the observed alterations in behavior were not accompanied by morphological changes in the cortex or hippocampal formation. Female mice naturally climbed significantly more and hypoxic females reared less than hypoxic males (p<0.05). Male mice postnatally exposed to hypoxiaischemia exhibited significantly lower vertical activity and higher horizontal activity (p<0.05). Mild hypoxic damage may not be morphologically detectable but may induce substantial behavioral changes in adult mice. There were significant differences between horizontal and vertical activity in reaction to hypoxiaischemia. Our study indicates that the importance of behavioral testing is irreplaceable and may be reflected in neonatal medicine.
Danaus stěhovavý neboli monarcha (Danaus plexippus) původně obýval ve dvou poddruzích Severní i Jižní Ameriku. Poddruh D. p. plexippus je proslulý svými rozsáhlými migracemi, při nichž se příležitostně zatoulal i na některé ostrovy v Tichém a Atlantském oceánu. Některé z nových populací se už stabilně rozmnožují. Autoři studují podobné malé populace v jižním Španělsku a Portugalsku. and Two subspecies of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) originally inhabited both North and South America. The subspecies D. p. plexippus is well-known due to its extensive migrations, during which it has occasionally reached some islands in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Some of the new populations have been regularly reproducing. The authors have examined small Monarch Butterfly populations in southern Spain and Portugal.
Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a disorder with heterogeneous manifestation due to asphyxia during perinatal period. It affects approximately 3-12 children per 1000 live births and cause death of 1 million neonates worldwide per year. Besides, motor disabilities, seizures, impaired muscle tone and epilepsy are few of the consequences of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Despite an extensive research effort regarding various treatment strategies, therapeutic hypothermia with intensive care unit supportive treatment remains the only approved method for neonates who have suffered from moderate to severe hypoxicischemic encephalopathy. However, these protocols are only partially effective given that many infants still suffer from severe brain damage. Thus, further research to systematically test promising neuroprotective treatments in combination with hypothermia is essential. In this review, we discussed the pathophysiology of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and delved into different promising treatment modalities, such as melatonin and erythropoietin. However, preclinical studies and clinical trials are still needed to further elucidate the mechanisms of action of these modalities.
Oblast Soutok v sevření řek Dyje a Moravy představuje jeden z nejzachovalejších zbytků lužní krajiny ve střední Evropě. Soustavné studium přírodních hodnot zde bylo zahájeno až po roce 1990 (dříve uzavřené pohraniční pásmo). Fauna motýlů je tu velmi pestrá, žije zde řada druhů ohrožených, některé tu mají jediné známé místo výskytu v České republice, dosahují nejseverněji v rámci svého areálu nebo zde žijí v nejpočetnějších populacích. and The confluence of the Dyje and Morava Rivers area is one of the best preserved remnants of the Central European floodplain landscape. Because previously the area was an inaccessible military zone along the Iron Curtain, systematic studies in natural values began there only after 1990. Within the area, butterfly fauna is diverse. A lot of threatened butterfly species occur there, for some of them the area being the only site where they can be found in the Czech Republic. Some others reach their northernmost distribution limit there or have established the most numerous populations in the country.