Search results for "Mine"

Acetaldehyde as the first hit of addictive behaviour

2016

Unhealthy alcohol use is common in the Western society, which puts risk of health consequences, causing multiple behavioural injuries. Increasing evidence focuses on acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, as the mediator of the several behavioural actions of alcohol, including its rewarding and motivational effects. In particular, acetaldehyde induces dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens modulating primary alcohol rewarding effect, drug seeking, and relapse behaviour. Recent behavioural studies point at acetaldehyde as a drug of abuse since its oral self-administration is induced and maintained in an operant/conflict paradigm. These findings provide further evidence on the role…

Factors influencing serum 25-hydroxivitamin D levels and other bone metabolism parameters in healthy older women

2016

Objective: Older women have frequently low serum 25-hydroxivitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations, high parathormone (PTH) levels and low bone mineral density (BMD) values. Endogenous synthesis, dietary habits, sunlight exposure and fat-mass-mediated storage may influence 25(OH)D levels and bone metabolism, but the relevance of these factors in the elderly has yet to be fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the influence of dietary vitamin D intake and fat mass on serum 25(OH)D levels and bone metabolism in older women. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Community. Participants: 218 fit older women attending a biweekly mild fitness program. Measurements: Dietary habits was investigated throu…

Consensus Statement on the Use of Bone Turnover Markers for Short-Term Monitoring of Osteoporosis Treatment in the Asia-Pacific Region

2019

Osteoporosis is a major health issue. By 2050, a greater than 2-fold increase in patients number with hip fractures will occur in Asia representing 50% of all hip fractures worldwide. For the Asia-Pacific (AP) region, more efforts on controlling osteoporosis and the subsequent fractures are crucial. Bone mineral density (BMD) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is commonly used to diagnose osteoporosis and monitor osteoporosis treatment. However, the inconvenience, cost, limited availability of DXA and the delay in detection of BMD changes after treatment initiation support an important role for bone turnover markers (BTMs), as short-term tools to monitor therapy. With regards to low …

Pain-induced alterations in the dynorphinergic system within the mesocorticolimbic pathway: Implication for alcohol addiction.

2020

Latest studies have revealed that pain negatively impacts on reward processing and motivation leading to negative affective states and stress. These states not only reduce quality of life of patients by increasing the appearance of psychiatric comorbidities, but also have an important impact on vulnerability to drug abuse, including alcohol. In fact, clinical, epidemiological but also preclinical studies have revealed that the presence of pain is closely related to alcohol use disorders (AUDs). All this evidence suggests that pain is a factor that increases the risk of suffering AUD, predicting heavy drinking behavior and relapse drinking in those patients with a previous history of AUD. Th…

Neurotransmitters and Behavioral Alterations Induced by Nickel Exposure.

2020

Background:: Nickel ions (Ni2+) are a heavy metal with wide industrial uses. Environmental and occupational exposures to Ni are potential risk factors for brain dysfunction and behavioral and neurological symptoms in humans. Methods: We reviewed the current evidence about neurochemical and behavioral alterations associated with Ni exposure in laboratory animals and humans. Results: Ni2+ exposure can alter (both inhibition and stimulation) dopamine release and inhibit glutamate NMDA receptors. Few reports claim an effect of Ni2+ at the level of GBA and serotonin neurotransmission. At behavioral levels, exposure to Ni2+ in rodents alters motor activity, learning and memory as well as anxiety…

Genetic inactivation of the sigma-1 chaperone protein results in decreased expression of the R2 subunit of the GABA-B receptor and increased suscepti…

2021

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the significant involvement of the sigma-1 chaperone protein in the modulation of seizures. Several sigma-1 receptor (Sig1R) ligands have been demonstrated to regulate the seizure threshold in acute and chronic seizure models. However, the mechanism by which Sig1R modulates the excitatory and inhibitory pathways in the brain has not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to compare the susceptibility to seizures of wild type (WT) and Sig1R knockout (Sig1R−/−) mice in intravenous pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and (+)-bicuculline (BIC) infusion-induced acute seizure and Sig1R antagonist NE-100-induced seizure models. To determine pos…

Reflections on the unexpected laboratory finding of hemorheological alterations observed in some haematological disorders

2021

Hyperviscosity syndrome is a clinical condition characterized by the slowing of blood flow through the vessels and it may be associated with several diseases. The nosographic classification of primary hyperviscosity conditions (Wells classification 1970) divided the primary hyperviscosity syndromes in polycythaemic, sclerocytemic and sieric. Recent and personal laboratory observations have highlighted an unexpected behaviour of the erythrocyte deformability observed in some haematological disorders such as polycythemia vera, multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. The interest of this observation depends on the fact that up to now, according to the Wells cla…

2020

As type-I-allergies show an increasing prevalence in the general populace, orthodontic patients may also be affected by histamine release during treatment. Human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLF) are regulators of orthodontic tooth movement. However, the impact of histamine on PDLF in this regard is unknown. Therefore PDLF were incubated without or with an orthodontic compressive force of 2g/cm2 with and without additional histamine. To assess the role of histamine-1-receptor (H1R) H1R-antagonist cetirizine was used. Expression of histamine receptors and important mediators of orthodontic tooth movement were investigated. PDLF expressed histamine receptors H1R, H2R and H4R, but not H3…

A Stage-Based Approach to Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease

2019

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that features progressive, disabling motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor. Nevertheless, some non-motor symptoms, including depression, REM sleep behavior disorder, and olfactive impairment, are even earlier features of PD. At later stages, apathy, impulse control disorder, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and cognitive impairment can present, and they often become a heavy burden for both patients and caregivers. Indeed, PD increasingly compromises activities of daily life, even though a high variability in clinical presentation can be observed among people affected. Nowadays, symptomatic drugs and non-phar…

Current disease modifying approaches to treat Parkinson's disease

2015

Parkinson's disease (PD is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by the degeneration and death of midbrain dopamine and non-dopamine neurons in the brain leading to motor dysfunctions and other symptoms, which seriously influence the quality of life of PD patients. The drug L-dopa can alleviate the motor symptoms in PD, but so far there are no rational therapies targeting the underlying neurodegenerative processes. Despite intensive research, the molecular mechanisms causing neuronal loss are not fully understood which has hampered the development of new drugs and disease-modifying therapies. Neurotrophic factors are by virtue of their survival promoting activities attract candi…