Apoptotic cell death induced by kainic acid (KA) in cultures of rat cerebellar granule cells (CGC) and in different brain regions of Wistar rat pups on postnatal day 21 (P21) was studied. In vitro, KA (100–500 μM) induced a concentration‐dependent loss of cell viability in MTT assay and cell death had apoptotic morphology as studied by chromatin staining with propidium iodide (PI). In vivo, twenty‐four hours after induction of status epilepticus (SE) by an intraperitoneal KA injection (5 mg/kg) we quantified apoptotic cells in hippocampus (CA1 and CA3), parietal cortex and cerebellum using PI staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique. We report that dantrolene, a specific ryanodine receptor antagonist, was able to significantly reduce the apoptotic cell death in CGC cultures and in hyppocampal CA1 and parietal cortex regions. Our finding can be valuable for neuroprotective therapy strategies in patients with repeated generalized seizures or status epilepticus.

We analysed the spatial and temporal distribution of apoptosis in human cerebellum development, during embryonic and fetal periods. Cerebella excised from two human embryos (8 weeks old) and eight fetuses (12-22 weeks old), were paraffin embedded and serially sectioned. Apoptotic cells were identified by propidium iodide staining, and TUNEL. In addition, immunohistochemistry for suicide receptor Fas(APO-1/CD95) was performed. We determined the distribution and percentage of apoptotic cells as well as Fas(APO-1/CD95)-positive cells in different regions and stages of development. Apoptotic cells were seen in both proliferative zones and postmitotic regions along the migratory pathways as well as in the developing cerebellar cortex in all examined stages. The Fas(APO-1/CD95) immunoreactivity was present in all examined stages in a small population of apoptotic cells: either neuroblasts or differentiated cells in postmitotic zones. These findings suggest that apoptosis drives the selection of the cells which are committed to differentiate during the early stages of cerebellar development. The differences between apoptotic cells distribution and Fas receptor expression suggest that cell selection is driven by different apoptotic pathways.

Phosphatidic acid, the main product of lipid breakdown through phospholipase D activation, has been implicated in important signal transduction pathways able to influence cell fate in many ways. The purpose of this work was to determine possible effects of phosphatidic acid on neuronal cell death pathways. Here we used cerebellar granular cell cultures and cell death was triggered with either staurosporine or H2O2. Cell viability was quantified by spectrophotometry, using the 3‐ (4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐y1)‐2, 5‐diphenyl‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test. Staurosporine (1‐3 μM) or H2O2 (50‐800 μM) induced cell death in a dose‐dependent manner. Using fluorescent staining (propidium iodide or annexin V‐Cy3/6‐carboxyfluorescein) we showed that cell death was mostly apoptotic in staurosporine treated cells and mostly non‐apoptotic (necrotic) in H2O2 treated cells. Phosphatidic acid was able to increase cell viability in staurosporine‐, but not in H2O2 ‐ treated cells. We therefore conclude that phosphatidic acid has neuroprotective potential in neurons exposed to stimuli that trigger apoptosis.

The problems that have arisen in recent years in Romania (the financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the accelerated growth of inflation and unemployment) have led many people to give less and less importance to dental hygiene, which has led to an increase in the number of people with dental medical problems. In addition, poor information about the need for regular visits to the dentist, the low importance given to this field, and insufficient financial resources led people to turn to dental medical services less often. Moreover, the two-month closure of medical practices during the COVID-19 pandemic made individuals more reluctant to make appointments with dentists for fear of coming into contact with a person infected with the new SARS-CoV-2 virus. All this led to the occurrence of dental complications among patients, which made the number of dental implants increase. Patients suffering from diabetes mellitus present a series of particularities due to a series of risks generated by this condition that may appear in their case. The aim of this research is to identify the main factors that can influence the decision of patients with diabetes mellitus to have a dental implant. The data collection was performed with the help of a questionnaire, and the analysis of the database was performed with the help of IBM SPSS software. Following the analysis, it was noted that this decision is largely influenced by the reputation of the medical practice, the perceived risks, the quality of the materials used, the warranty of the dental implant, the quality of the services provided, and the costs.

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