Search results for "Amy"
showing 10 items of 1486 documents
Acitretin, an Enhancer of Alpha-Secretase Expression, Crosses the Blood-Brain Barrier and Is Not Eliminated by P-Glycoprotein
2011
<i>Background:</i> ADAM10 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10) has been demonstrated to act as the main physiological α-secretase. Enzymatic activity of the α-secretase on the one hand prevents the formation of toxic Aβ peptides and on the other hand promotes the secretion of a neurotrophic and neuroprotective amyloid precursor protein fragment (APPs-α) by cleaving the amyloid precursor protein within its Aβ sequence. Enhancement of ADAM10’s gene expression may therefore present a valuable therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where Aβ peptides are severely involved in the pathogenesis. <i>Objective:</i> In cell culture and in a tran…
Impact of pathogen burden in patients with coronary artery disease in relation to systemic inflammation and variation in genes encoding cytokines.
2003
The number of infectious pathogens to which an individual has been exposed (pathogen burden) has been linked to the development and the prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). The interaction among infection, genetic host susceptibility, and CAD remains unclear. This study was aimed at evaluating the modulation of the association between CAD and pathogen burden, by serum levels of inflammatory markers and polymorphisms of the interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha genes. Immmunoglobulin (Ig) G or IgA antibodies to 8 pathogens were determined in 991 patients with CAD and 333 control subjects. Serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, IL-6, and TNF…
MARITAL STATUS IS A PROGNOSTIC FACTOR IN AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS
2017
Background and objectives Several variables have been linked to a shorter survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), for example, female sex, older age, site of disease onset, rapid disease progression, and a relatively short diagnostic delay. With regard to marital status, previous studies suggested that living with a partner might be associated to a longer survival and a higher likelihood to proceed to tracheostomy. Therefore, to further strengthen this hypothesis, we investigated the role of marital status as a prognostic variable in a cohort of ALS patients. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis on 501 consecutive ALS patients for which a complete disease's n…
Effects of a preparation containing a standardized ginseng extract combined with trace elements and multivitamins against hepatotoxin-induced chronic…
1987
A preparation containing a standardized ginseng extract which has been shown to exert anti-hepatotoxic activity in vitro, combined with trace elements and multi-vitamins was compared to placebo in 24 elderly out-patients with toxin-induced (alcohol and drugs) chronic liver disease in order to evaluate its effect on liver function. Each patient was blindly treated either with the preparation containing ginseng extract or placebo for 12 weeks. The preparation containing ginseng extract significantly modified bromsulphthalein retention and blood zinc levels when compared to pre-treatment levels and to placebo. Serum bile acids, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase before and after a fatty meal were …
Characterization of the repeat expansion size in C9orf72 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia
2013
Hexanucleotide repeat expansions within the C9orf72 gene are the most important genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The difficulty of developing a precise method to determine the expansion size has hampered the study of possible correlations between the hexanucleotide repeat number and clinical phenotype. Here we characterize, through a new non-radioactive Southern blot protocol, the expansion size range in a series of 38 ALS and 22 FTD heterozygous carriers of >30 copies of the repeat. Maximum, median and modal hexanucleotide repeat number were higher in ALS patients than in FTD patients (P < 0.05 in all comparisons). A higher median numb…
Are Morphological or Functional Changes in the Carotid Artery Wall Associated With Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, Cytomegalovirus, or Her…
2000
Background and Purpose —Chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae , Helicobacter pylori , cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus (HSV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) can be taken to indicate early atherosclerosis, the presence of a carotid stenosis is a marker of a manifest carotid atherosclerosis, and an increase in arterial stiffness is used as marker of structural and functional changes in an atherosclerotic vessel wall. Methods —In 504 patients (75% men; mean age 62.9 [SD 10] years), we measured the IMT and the elastic pressure modulus (EP; n=445) of the common carotid artery and the prevalence of a intern…
Impact of Viral and Bacterial Infectious Burden on Long-Term Prognosis in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease
2001
Background —The number of infectious pathogens to which an individual has been exposed (infectious burden) may correlate with coronary artery disease (CAD). In a prospective study, we evaluated the effect of 8 pathogens and the aggregate pathogen burden on the risk for future fatal cardiac events among patients with angiographically documented CAD. Methods and Results —In 1018 patients, IgG or IgA antibodies to herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Haemophilus influenzae , Chlamydia pneumoniae , Mycoplasma pneumoniae , and Helicobacter pylori were determined. Moreover, highly sensitive C-reactive protein was measured. Follow-up information on cardiovascul…
Acute stress affects free recall and recognition of pictures differently depending on age and sex.
2015
Little is known about age differences in the effects of stress on memory retrieval. Our aim was to perform an in-depth examination of acute psychosocial stress effects on memory retrieval, depending on age and sex. For this purpose, data from 52 older subjects (27 men and 25 women) were reanalyzed along with data from a novel group of 50 young subjects (26 men and 24 women). Participants were exposed to an acute psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control task. After the experimental manipulation, the retrieval of positive, negative and neutral pictures learned the previous day was tested. As expected, there was a significant response to the exposure to the stress task,…
Persistent idiopathic hypoglossal nerve palsy: A motor neuron disease-mimic syndrome?
2014
Unilateral isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy (IHNP) is a condition (1–7) usually symptomatic of a pathology of the skull base (6,8). In rare cases, IHNP remains of unknown aetiology and is classifie...
Efferent connections of the "olfactostriatum": a specialized vomeronasal structure within the basal ganglia of snakes.
2005
Abstract The olfactostriatum is a portion of the basal ganglia of snakes that receives substantial vomeronasal afferents through projections from the nucleus sphericus. In a preceding article, the olfactostriatum of garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) was characterized on the basis of chemoarchitecture (distribution of serotonin, neuropeptide Y and tyrosine hydroxylase) and pattern of afferent connections [Martinez-Marcos, A., Ubeda-Banon, I., Lanuza, E., Halpern, M., 2005. Chemoarchitecture and afferent connections of the “olfactostriatum”: a specialized vomeronasal structure within the basal ganglia of snakes. J. Chem. Neuroanat. 29, 49–69]. In the present study, its efferent connections …