ABSTRACT Objectives The determinants of an increased risk of an organic pathology underlying central precocious puberty (CPP) in girls remain contentious. The present study aimed to determine the clinical and hormonal findings that can be used to differentiate organic and idiopathic CPP in girls as a screening method so that only those considered likely to have organic CPP undergo cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subjects and methods The medical records of 286 girls that received GnRH agonist (GnRHa) therapy for […]

Objective The diabetic state induced by streptozotocin injection is known to impair oligodendroglial remyelination in the rat brainstem following intracisternal injection with the gliotoxic agent ethidium bromide (EB). In such experimental model, propentofylline (PPF) recently showed to improve myelin repair, probably due to its neuroprotective, antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PPF administration in diabetic rats submitted to the EB-demyelinating model. Materials and methods Adult male rats, diabetic or not, received […]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of diabetic hyperglycemia on astrocyte function, estimated by means of glial fibrillary acidic protein – GFAP – immunohistochemical expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult male rats received a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) and were submitted 10 days later to a single injection of 10 microlitres 0.1% EB solution or 0.9% saline solution into the cisterna pontis. Ten microliters of 0.1% EB or 0.9% saline solution were also […]

Obesity, defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair life quality, is one of the major public health problems worldwide. It results from an imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure. The control of energy balance in animals and humans is performed by the central nervous system (CNS) by means of neuroendocrine connections, in which circulating peripheral hormones, such as leptin and insulin, provide signals to specialized neurons of the hypothalamus reflecting body fat stores, and induce appropriate […]

It has become clear that a sexual brain dimorphism exists between males and females and animal studies have shown specific circuits developing depending on the sex. Since the first studies by Gorski, in rats, characterizing a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the pre optic area (SDN-POA) it has been accepted that the male sex imprint is done by estradiol, locally converted from testosterone through the action of a local aromatase. The presence of estradiol inhibits the apoptosis of the cells of […]