| 1. |
- Heyman Lindén, Lovisa, et al.
(författare)
-
Lingonberries alter the gut microbiota and prevent low-grade inflammation in high-fat diet fed mice
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Food & Nutrition Research. - : SNF Swedish Nutrition Foundation. - 1654-6628 .- 1654-661X. ; 60
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of obesity and obesity-associated impairments such as low-grade inflammation. Lingonberries have been shown to prevent diet-induced obesity and low-grade inflammation. However, it is not known whether the effect of lingonberry supplementation is related to modifications of the gut microbiota. The aim of the present study was to describe whether consumption of different batches of lingonberries alters the composition of the gut microbiota, which could be relevant for the protective effect against high fat (HF)-induced metabolic alterations. Methods: Three groups of C57BL/6J mice were fed HF diet with or without a supplement of 20% lingonberries from two different batches (Lingon1 and Lingon2) during 11 weeks. The composition and functionality of the cecal microbiota were assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing and PICRUSt. In addition, parameters related to obesity, insulin sensitivity, hepatic steatosis, inflammation and gut barrier function were examined. Results: HF-induced obesity was only prevented by the Lingon1 diet, whereas both batches of lingonberries reduced plasma levels of markers of inflammation and endotoxemia (SAA and LBP) as well as modified the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota, compared to the HF control group. The relative abundance of Akkermansia and Faecalibacterium, genera associated with healthy gut mucosa and antiinflammation, was found to increase in response to lingonberry intake. Conclusions: Our results show that supplementation with lingonberries to an HF diet prevents low-grade inflammation and is associated with significant changes of the microbiota composition. Notably, the antiinflammatory properties of lingonberries seem to be independent of effects on body weight gain.
|
|
| 2. |
- Huang, Fang, et al.
(författare)
-
Identification of Nordic Berries with Beneficial Effects on Cognitive Outcomes and Gut Microbiota in High-Fat-Fed Middle-Aged C57BL/6J Mice
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Nutrients. - : MDPI AG. - 2072-6643. ; 14:13
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-fat diets are associated with neuronal and memory dysfunction. Berries may be useful in improving age-related memory deficits in humans, as well as in mice receiving high-fat diets. Emerging research has also demonstrated that brain health and cognitive function may be related to the dynamic changes in the gut microbiota. In this study, the impact of Nordic berries on the brain and the gut microbiota was investigated in middle-aged C57BL/6J mice. The mice were fed high-fat diets (60%E fat) supplemented with freeze-dried powder (6% dwb) of bilberry, lingonberry, cloudberry, blueberry, blackcurrant, and sea buckthorn for 4 months. The results suggest that supplementation with bilberry, blackcurrant, blueberry, lingonberry, and (to some extent) cloudberry has beneficial effects on spatial cognition, as seen by the enhanced performance following the T-maze alternation test, as well as a greater proportion of DCX-expressing cells with prolongation in hippocampus. Furthermore, the proportion of the mucosa-associated symbiotic bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila increased by 4-14 times in the cecal microbiota of mice fed diets supplemented with lingonberry, bilberry, sea buckthorn, and blueberry. These findings demonstrate the potential of Nordic berries to preserve memory and cognitive function, and to induce alterations of the gut microbiota composition.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Malesevic, Nebojsa, et al.
(författare)
-
Exploration of sensations evoked during electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist level
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Journal of Neural Engineering. - 1741-2560 .- 1741-2552. ; 20:6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. Nerve rehabilitation following nerve injury or surgery at the wrist level is a lengthy process during which not only peripheral nerves regrow towards receptors and muscles, but also the brain undergoes plastic changes. As a result, at the time when nerves reach their targets, the brain might have already allocated some of the areas within the somatosensory cortex that originally processed hand signals to some other regions of the body. The aim of this study is to show that it is possible to evoke a variety of somatotopic sensations related to the hand while stimulating proximally to the injury, therefore, providing the brain with the relevant inputs from the hand regions affected by the nerve damage. Approach. This study included electrical stimulation of 28 able-bodied participants where an electrode that acted as a cathode was placed above the Median nerve at the wrist level. The parameters of electrical stimulation, amplitude, frequency, and pulse shape, were modulated within predefined ranges to evaluate their influence on the evoked sensations. Main results. Using this methodology, the participants reported a wide variety of somatotopic sensations from the hand regions distal to the stimulation electrode. Significance. Furthermore, to propose an accelerated stimulation tuning procedure that could be implemented in a clinical protocol and/or standalone device for providing meaningful sensations to the somatosensory cortex during nerve regeneration, we trained machine-learning techniques using the gathered data to predict the location/area, naturalness, and sensation type of the evoked sensations following different stimulation patterns.
|
|
