Search results for "Filament"
showing 10 items of 405 documents
Common variation in PHACTR1 is associated with susceptibility to cervical artery dissection
2014
Item does not contain fulltext Cervical artery dissection (CeAD), a mural hematoma in a carotid or vertebral artery, is a major cause of ischemic stroke in young adults although relatively uncommon in the general population (incidence of 2.6/100,000 per year). Minor cervical traumas, infection, migraine and hypertension are putative risk factors, and inverse associations with obesity and hypercholesterolemia are described. No confirmed genetic susceptibility factors have been identified using candidate gene approaches. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 1,393 CeAD cases and 14,416 controls. The rs9349379[G] allele (PHACTR1) was associated with lower CeAD risk (odds ratio…
Serum autoantibodies to alpha-fodrin are present in glaucoma patients from Germany and the United States.
2006
PURPOSE Glaucoma is characterized by a progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells that results in a characteristic optic neuropathy associated with visual field loss. In previous studies, changes in the antibody profiles have been shown in the sera of patients with glaucoma, and these findings suggest a role for autoimmune involvement in the pathogenesis of glaucoma in some patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the antibody profiles against optic nerve antigens in patients with glaucoma in two different study populations from Germany and the United States. METHODS One hundred twenty patients were included in the study, 60 from Germany and 60 from the United States: a control gr…
Nasal tactile sensitivity in elderly
2010
Conclusion: Although older people varied widely in tactile sensitivity, our results show that tactile thresholds increased with age. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aging on nasal tactile sensitivity. Methods: A total of 160 healthy patients aged between 50 and 90 years were included. According to their age, patients were divided into groups (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H). From the age of 50, each group included subjects with an age range of 5 years (i.e. group A, 50-55 years; group B, 56-60 years, etc.). Each patient's outcome was assessed through the nasal monofilament test: a set of 20 Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments was used to detect nasal sensitivity for …
Nicotine-induced fibroblast growth factor-2 restores the age-related decline of precursor cell proliferation in the subventricular zone of rat brain.
2007
Precursor cell proliferation is present in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of adult rat and persists during aging although at reduced levels. Previous studies have shown that acute intermittent nicotine treatment significantly increases fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) expression in several brain regions of aged rats. The aim of the present investigation was to test the hypothesis that nicotine-induced expression of FGF-2 may restore the age-related decline of precursor cell proliferation. It was first demonstrated that nicotine treatment increases both mRNA and protein FGF-2 in the SVZ of aged …
Hydralazine is a powerful inhibitor of peroxynitrite formation as a possible explanation for its beneficial effects on prognosis in patients with con…
2005
The hemodynamic and anti-ischemic effects of nitroglycerin (GTN) are rapidly blunted as a result of the development of nitrate tolerance. Hydralazine has been shown to prevent tolerance in experimental and clinical studies, all of which may be at least in part secondary to antioxidant properties of this compound. The antioxidant effects of hydralazine were tested in cell free systems, cultured smooth muscle cells, isolated mitochondria, and isolated vessels. Inhibitory effects on the formation of superoxide and/or peroxynitrite formation were tested using lucigenin and L-012 enhanced chemiluminescence as well as DHE-fluorescence. The peroxynitrite scavenging properties were also assessed by…
Neuronal markers in the rodent pineal gland ? an immunohistochemical investigation
1990
Although some embryological and morphological features speak in favour of a neuronal character of rodent pinealocytes, histochemistry and ultrastructure let this issue appear controversial. Using antibodies to different neurofilaments, the neural adhesion molecule L1, synaptophysin and tubulin as neuronal markers, the pineal glands of rat and guinea-pig were studied by means of immunofluorescence. Neurofilament-immunoreactivity was present in some rat pineal nerve fibers and in the majority of guinea-pig pinealocytes, L1 decorated rat intrapineal nerve fibers, synaptophysin was almost ubiquitously distributed in the pineal of both species, while tubulin-immunofluorescence was seen in nerve …
Short-term ischemia usually used for ischemic preconditioning causes loss of dendritic integrity after long-term survival in the gerbil hippocampus
2006
Ischemic preconditioning has been established as a powerful experimental neuroprotective strategy, both after global and focal cerebral ischemia. Little is known, however, about the structural and functional long-term outcome. Therefore, our present study was designed to check for potential subtle alterations in the hippocampus after long-term survival. Gerbils were subjected either to short-term ischemia of 2.5 min duration usually used for ischemic preconditioning (n=8) or to sham operation (n=6) and allowed to survive for 6 weeks. Hippocampi with neuronal densities comparable to those of sham-operated control animals were analyzed for dendritic marker proteins MAP2, MAP1B and synaptopodi…
The disruption of myofibre structures in rat skeletal muscle after forced lengthening contractions.
1998
Specific antibodies against structural proteins (actin, desmin, dystrophin, fibronectin) of muscle fibres were used to study the effect of forced lengthening contractions on muscle microarchitecture. Tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of male Wistar rats were subjected to 240 forced lengthening contractions. At consecutive time points (0, and 6 h, 2, 4, and 7 days) after stimulation, the TA muscle was excised for biochemical and histological assays. Beta-Glucuronidase activity, a quantitative indicator of muscle damage, showed increased values 2-7 days after the lengthening, peaking on day 4 (11.7-fold increase). A typical course of histopathological changes (myofibre swelling, necrosis and rege…
Effect of high-caloric nutrition on serum neurofilament light chain levels in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
2020
Recent publications showed that circulating neurofilaments (Nfs) may be used as a diagnostic biomarker distinguishing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from ALS mimics with high sensitivity and specificity.1–3 Furthermore, it has been shown that patients with higher Nf levels show faster disease progression1 and shorter survival.2 3 Nf levels remain rather stable during the course of disease.2 Current literature suggests that the diagnostic value of neurofilament light chains (NfL) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chains in cerebrospinal fluid is about equal, whereas in blood NfL seems to be superior.4 In this study, we investigated the effect of a high-caloric fatty diet (HCFD) on …
Mechanisms underlying recoupling of eNOS by HMG-CoA reductase inhibition in a rat model of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus
2007
Abstract Objective HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors have been shown to upregulate GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH-I), the key enzyme for tetrahydrobiopterin de novo synthesis and to normalize tetrahydrobiopterin levels in hyperglycemic endothelial cells. We sought to determine whether in vivo treatment with the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor atorvastatin is able to upregulate the GTPCH-I, to recouple eNOS and to normalize endothelial dysfunction in an experimental model of diabetes mellitus. Methods and results In male Wistar rats, diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ, 60mg/kg). In STZ rats, atorvastatin feeding (20mg/kg/d, 7 weeks), normalized vascular dysfunction as analyzed by isometric tens…