Efecto del estrés crónico sobre el envejecimientoinfluencia del sexo y de las intervenciones nutricionales perinatales

Resumen

Chronic stress has shown to be able to induce deleterious effects, which include neuropsychological pathologies, such as depressive-spectrum disorders or Alzheimer’s disease. We explored the behavioral alterations induced by different chronic stress protocols in rats, specifically evaluating their impact in the context of aging. We also ruled out the possibility of involvement of DNA damage in the deleterious effects. Finally, the consequences of a perinatal nutritional intervention in the effects of prenatal stress will be evaluated too. Deleterious effects of stress were possible to detect at the moment close to the stress procedure, as prenatal stress alters the sex ratio of the progeny. Early-life stress paradigms, such as prenatal stress, induced a cognitive impairment in aged rats, which showed to be easily influenced by the diet of the dam during pregnancy and lactation. This results pointed out the existence of critical periods along life when stress might be more harmful, and the potential utility of an early-life nutritional intervention.