Pathophysiology of vascular dementia.

The concept of Vascular Dementia (VaD) has been recognized for over a century, but its definition and diagnostic criteria remain unclear.Conventional definitions identify the patients too late, miss subjects with cognitive impairment short of dementia, and emphasize consequences rather than causes, the true bases for treatment and prevention. We should throw out current diagnostic categories and describe cognitive impairment clinically and according to commonly agreed instruments that document the demographic data in a standardized manner and undertake a systematic effort to identify the underlying aetiology in each case.Increased effort should be targeted towards the concept of and criteri…

Blood group does not appear to affect longevity a pilot study in centenarians from Western Sicily.

Centenarians are the best example of extreme human longevity, and they represent a selected population in which the appearance of major age-related diseases, such as cancer, and cardiovascular diseases among others, has been consistently delayed or escaped. The study of the long-lived individual genetic profile has the purpose to possibly identify the genes and the allelic variations influencing extended life expectancy, hence considering them as biomarkers of age-related diseases onset and development. The present study shows no significant differences between allelic variations of ABO blood groups among a group of centenarians from Western Sicily.

Inflamm-aging ed immunosenescenza

Nell’anziano sono descritte alterazioni dell’immunità naturale ed acquisita generalmente percepite come una condizione di deterioramento del sistema immune. A questa condizione si affianca anche uno stato infiammatorio cronico, configurando la cosiddetta immunosenescenza, che diventa il principale responsabile dell’insorgenza di patologie a carattere infettivo ed infiammatorio età correlate. Certamente una migliore conoscenza dell’immunosenescenza e lo sviluppo di adeguate strategie per contrastarla sono essenziali per migliorare la qualità della vita degli anziani e per permettere la formulazione di strategie anti-invecchiamento finalizzate non tanto a «ringiovanire» l’individuo, ma a rita…

Immune-Inflammatory Responses and Oxidative Stress in Alzheimers Disease: Therapeutic Implications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a heterogeneous and progressive neurodegenerative disease which in Western society mainly accounts for clinical dementia. AD has been linked to inflammation and oxidative stress. Neuro-pathological hallmarks are senile plaques, resulting from the accumulation of several proteins and an inflammatory reaction around deposits of amyloid, a fibrillar protein, Abeta, product of cleavage of a much larger protein, the beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and neurofibrillary tangles. Inflammation clearly occurs in pathologically vulnerable regions of AD and several inflammatory factors influencing AD development, i.e. environmental factors (pro-inflammatory phenotype) an…

Biomarkers of aging

Aging is a complex process that negatively impacts the development of the different systems and its ability to function. Moreover, the Aging rate in humans is not the same, principally due to genetic heterogeneity and environmental factors. The aging rate is measured as the decline of functional capacity and stress resistance. Therefore, several attempts have been made to analyse the individual age, ( so-called biological age) compared to chronological age. The biomarkers of aging are age-related body function or composition, these markers aim to assess the biological age and predict the onset of age-related diseases and/or residual lifetime. Such biomarkers should help in one hand to chara…

Inflammation, Cytokines, Immune Response, Apolipoprotein E, Cholesterol, and Oxidative Stress in Alzheimer Disease: Therapeutic Implications

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a heterogeneous and progressive neurodegenerative disease, which in Western society mainly accounts for senile dementia. Today many countries have rising aging populations and are facing an increased prevalence of age-related diseases, such as AD, with increasing health-care costs. Understanding the pathophysiology process of AD plays a prominent role in new strategies for extending the health of the elderly population. Considering the future epidemic of AD, prevention and treatment are important goals of ongoing research. However, a better understanding of AD pathophysiology must be accomplished to make this objective feasible. In this paper, we review some hot to…

Biomarkes of aging

Ageing is a complex process that negatively impacts the development of the different systems and its ability to function. On the other hand, the rate of ageing in humans is not uniform, due to genetic heterogeneity and the influence of environmental factors. Thus, the ageing rate, measured as the decline of functional capacity and stress resistance, seems to be different in every individual. Therefore, attempts have been made to analyse this individual age, the so-called biological age, in comparison to chronological age. Age-related changes in body function or composition that could serve as a measure of biological age and predict the onset of age-related diseases and/or residual lifetime …

Association between the polymorphisms of TLR4 and CD14 genes and Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a heterogeneous and progressive neurodegenerative disease which in Western society mainly accounts for clinical dementia. Inflammation plays a key role in AD and dissecting the genetics of inflammation may provide an answer to the possible treatment. Hence, the better understanding of different molecular and cellular inflammatory mechanisms is crucial for complete knowledge of AD pathophysiology, and for its prevention and drug therapy. Accordingly, in the present study we evaluated whether the pro-inflammatory polymorphisms of lipopolysaccaride-receptors, +896A/G Toll-Like Receptor (TLR4) and -260C/T CD14, are risk factors for AD. The study included both 626 AD …

Immune-inflammatory responses in alzheimer's disease: therapeutic implications.