saprophyticus.”
“Pregnancy is accompanied by dramatic hormonal changes, which are essential for the display of maternal behaviors. Reproductive hormones have been shown

to find more remodel the neuronal structure and function of the female brain. However, most previous studies have examined the structural and functional changes elicited by transient fluctuations in reproductive hormones. The impact of naturally elevated and more sustained hormonal alterations during pregnancy and lactation are not fully understood. Further alterations in neurochemistry, which may result in substantial changes in the structure and function of neurons that are associated with behavioral modifications in the maternal female, are difficult to capture in a longitudinal and non-invasive manner. In this study, neurobiological alterations during pregnancy and motherhood were investigated longitudinally using non-invasive proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1 MRS) at 7T in regions related to learning and memory, such as the hippocampus, and in structures involved in alertness and attention, such as the thalamus. Pregnant primiparous rats (N

= 15) were studied at three days before mating, gestational day 17, lactation day 7 and post-weaning day 7. Age-matched nulliparous female rats (N=9) served as non-pregnant controls. Significantly higher N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels were observed in the hippocampus and thalamus of rats at gestational day 17. These increases may be associated with increased

dendritic sprouting, Everolimus mw synaptogenesis or neurogenesis, thereby facilitating supporting behaviors that involve spatial learning and memory and alleviating fear and stress. The H-1 MRS detection of ongoing neurochemical changes induced by pregnancy, especially in the hippocampus, can shed light on the neurochemical underpinnings of behavioral modifications, including the improvement in spatial learning and memory, during pregnancy. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“A gastrointestinal-renal natriuretic signaling axis has been proposed to regulate sodium excretion in response to acute sodium ingestion. Such an axis is thought to be regulated by a gastrointestinal C1GALT1 sodium sensor coupled to the activation/release of a natriuretic signal and could have important clinical and scientific implications. Here we systematically tested for this putative axis and the potential involvement of the gastrointestinal-derived natriuretic prohormones prouroguanylin and proguanylin in 15 healthy volunteers. There was no difference in sodium excretion following equivalent oral or intravenous sodium loads during either high-or low-sodium diets. Furthermore, serum concentrations of prouroguanylin and proguanylin did not increase, did not differ following oral or intravenous sodium, and did not correlate with sodium excretion.