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Behavioral and Inflammatory Response in Animals Exposed to a Low‐Pressure Blast Wave and Supplemented with β‐Alanine
Author(s) -
Hoffman Jay R,
Zuckerman Amitai,
Ram Omri,
Sadot Oren,
Stout Jeffrey R,
Ostfeld Ishay,
Cohen Hagit
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.693.9
Subject(s) - glial fibrillary acidic protein , hippocampus , carnosine , neurotrophic factors , medicine , brain derived neurotrophic factor , traumatic brain injury , endocrinology , blast wave , psychology , amygdala , immunohistochemistry , psychiatry , receptor , engineering , shock wave , aerospace engineering
This study investigated the benefit of β‐alanine (BA) supplementation on reducing behavioral and cognitive responses relating to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in rats exposed to a low‐pressure blast‐wave. In addition, inflammatory, neurotrophin and tau protein expression in the hippocampus was also examined. Animals were fed a normal diet with or without (PL) BA supplementation (100mg·kg −1 ) for 30‐days, prior to being exposed to a low‐pressure blast‐wave. Diets were maintained until the end of the study. A third group of animals served as a control (CTL). These animals were fed a normal diet, but were not exposed to the blast. Validated cognitive‐behavioral paradigms were used to assess both mTBI and PTSD‐like behavior on days 7–14 following the blast. Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neuropeptide Y, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and tau protein expressions were analyzed a day later. In addition, brain carnosine and histidine content was assessed as well. The prevalence of animals exhibiting mTBI‐like behavior was significantly lower (p=0.044) in BA than PL (26.5% and 46%, respectively), but no difference (p=0.930) was noted in PTSD‐like behavior between the groups (10.2% and 12.0%, respectively). Carnosine content in the cerebral cortex was higher (p=0.048) for BA compared to PL, while a trend towards a difference was seen in the hippocampus (p=0.058) and amygdala (p=0.061). BDNF expression in the CA1 subregion of PL was lower than BA (p = 0.009) and CTL (p<0.001), while GFAP expression in CA1 (p=0.003) and CA3 (p=0.040) subregions were higher in PL than other groups. Results indicated that BA supplementation for 30‐days increased resiliency to mTBI in animals exposed to a low‐pressure blast‐wave. Support or Funding Information Natural Alternatives International (Carlsbad, CA, USA)