Niacinamide, BDNF, Progesterone, Etc

[allblues]

Been coming across some cool studies lately i can't help but post;

Nicotinamide improves motor deficits and upregulates PGC-1α and BDNF gene expression in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease
First one here is on niacinamide (NAM) at a HED of ca 1500 mg/day for 2 weeks treating a mouse model of Huntington's disease. (HD) The 1500 mg/day dose has been cited before on the forum;
Niacinamide Is Androgenic And Increases Dht Effects/signaling

A really cool thing was NAM restored mRNA and actual protein levels of BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which were lowered in the HD-type mice, back to essentially normal levels.
Those of you interested in psychopharmacology will be familiar with BDNF.
From Wikipedia regarding BDNF, with a Peaty angle;

... BDNF expression is significantly enhanced by environmental enrichment and appears to be the primary source of environmental enrichments ability to enhance cognitive processes. Environmental enrichment enhances synaptogenesis, dendridogenesis, and neurogenesis, leading to improved performance on various learning and memory tasks. BDNF mediates more pathways involved in these enrichment-induced processes than any other molecule and is strongly regulated by calcium activity making it incredibly sensitive to neuronal activity.

BDNF mRNA was unaffected by NAM in controls, but the ability of NAM to restore it in the HD-type
animals is very interesting.

NAM also restored exploratory activity in HD-mice to control levels, and showed significant improvement in motor dysfunction vs the untreated HD-mice. From the study;

Increased exploratory behavior, as measured by total distance traveled, was apparent by 14 weeks of age in NAM-treated HD animals; by the end of testing, their exploratory activity did not differ significantly from wt animals... Animals receiving NAM also improved their rotarod performance, starting at 14 weeks of age... NAM-treated symptomatic animals crossed the beam faster and exhibited fewer falls... Based on three behavioral tasks, we conclude that NAM significantly improves motor function of B6.R6/1 mice.

NAM-treated wild-type mice consistently outperformed the other groups in the tests.

Interestingly, NAM had these positive effects without affecting the HD-phenotype of aggregated brain proteins;

We therefore conclude that, despite the statistically significant improvement of motor behaviors and BDNF and PGC-1α mRNAs, NAM did not reduce observable aggregation.

More BDNF stuff, here with progesterone again showing benefits to cell function and viability,
and finasteride(!) posing a danger; Progesterone pretreatment enhances serotonin-stimulated BDNF gene expression in rat c6 glioma cells through production of 5alpha-reduced neurostero... - PubMed - NCBI

In the present study, to evaluate BDNF expression in differentiated glial cells, the glioma cells were pretreated with progesterone, and the effect of serotonin on BDNF messenger RNA levels in these cells was examined. Progesterone pretreatment enhanced the stimulatory action of serotonin on BDNF gene expression, and the enhancement of serotonin action observed in the cells pretreated with progesterone was almost completely abolished by finasteride, an inhibitor of the enzyme involved in the production of 5alpha-reduced neurosteroids. These findings propose the possibility that neurosteroid-mediated glial cell differentiation may result in the enhancement of serotonin-stimulated BDNF gene expression, which is considered to contribute to the survival, regeneration, and plasticity of neuronal cells in the brain, and hence, leading to the improvement of mood disorders and other symptoms in depressive patients.

Another study on BDNF with some of the same authors, and HDAC inhibitors which according to the study seem to enhance enhance 5AR, which would rhyme with the study posted by haidut; Histone deacetylase inhibitors promote neurosteroid-mediated cell differentiation and enhance serotonin-stimulated brain-derived neurotrophic facto... - PubMed - NCBI

Based on these previous observations, the effects on glial cells of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which are known as agents promoting cell differentiation, were examined using rat C6 glioma cells as a model for in vitro studies... their [HDAC-inhibitors] stimulatory effects on GFAP gene expression were inhibited by treatment of these cells with finasteride, an inhibitor of the enzyme producing 5alpha-reduced neurosteroids. In addition, HDAC inhibitors enhanced serotonin-stimulated BDNF gene expression, the enhancement of which could be abolished by the inhibition of 5alpha-reduced neurosteroid production in the glioma cells. These results suggest that HDAC inhibitors may be able to promote the differentiation of rat C6 glioma cells through the production of 5alpha-reduced neurosteroids, resulting in the enhancement of serotonin-stimulated BDNF gene expression as a consequence of promoting their differentiation, indicating the possibility that differentiated glial cells may be implicated in preserving the integrity of neural networks as well as improving the function of neuronal cells in the brain.

Could we go so far as to call finasteride an inhibitor of cell differentiation? Although this particular study didn't use niacinamide, it being a HDAC inhibitor makes it seem like a good idea to use especially for post-finasteride sufferers.

Last one, on estrogen and BDNF; Influence of estradiol, stress, and 5-HT2A agonist treatment on brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in female rats. - PubMed - NCBI

BDNF mRNA levels in the dentate gyrus and the medial prefrontal cortex were decreased during estrus, when estradiol levels are highest...

Alright, that's enough of that, Merry Christmas!

 

[ImprovingDaily]

Been coming across some cool studies lately i can't help but post;

Nicotinamide improves motor deficits and upregulates PGC-1α and BDNF gene expression in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease
First one here is on niacinamide (NAM) at a HED of ca 1500 mg/day for 2 weeks treating a mouse model of Huntington's disease. (HD) The 1500 mg/day dose has been cited before on the forum;
Niacinamide Is Androgenic And Increases Dht Effects/signaling

A really cool thing was NAM restored mRNA and actual protein levels of BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which were lowered in the HD-type mice, back to essentially normal levels.
Those of you interested in psychopharmacology will be familiar with BDNF.
From Wikipedia regarding BDNF, with a Peaty angle;

BDNF mRNA was unaffected by NAM in controls, but the ability of NAM to restore it in the HD-type
animals is very interesting.

NAM also restored exploratory activity in HD-mice to control levels, and showed significant improvement in motor dysfunction vs the untreated HD-mice. From the study;

NAM-treated wild-type mice consistently outperformed the other groups in the tests.

Interestingly, NAM had these positive effects without affecting the HD-phenotype of aggregated brain proteins;


More BDNF stuff, here with progesterone again showing benefits to cell function and viability,
and finasteride(!) posing a danger; Progesterone pretreatment enhances serotonin-stimulated BDNF gene expression in rat c6 glioma cells through production of 5alpha-reduced neurostero... - PubMed - NCBI


Another study on BDNF with some of the same authors, and HDAC inhibitors which according to the study seem to enhance enhance 5AR, which would rhyme with the study posted by haidut; Histone deacetylase inhibitors promote neurosteroid-mediated cell differentiation and enhance serotonin-stimulated brain-derived neurotrophic facto... - PubMed - NCBI

Could we go so far as to call finasteride an inhibitor of cell differentiation? Although this particular study didn't use niacinamide, it being a HDAC inhibitor makes it seem like a good idea to use especially for post-finasteride sufferers.

Last one, on estrogen and BDNF; Influence of estradiol, stress, and 5-HT2A agonist treatment on brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in female rats. - PubMed - NCBI


Alright, that's enough of that, Merry Christmas!

Been messing with niacinamide lately and I come across this little gem. Thanks for the post. More differentiation seems to be one of the keys to good health.