Search results for "ageing"
showing 10 items of 609 documents
Darwinism and pharmacogenomics: from 'one treatment fits all' to 'selection of the richest'?
2004
Pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics are relatively new fields, and have arisen from recent advances in genetic research. They offer new perspectives on the development of pharmaceuticals, allowing drug design to be targeted specifically to the genotype of selected populations. The discussion of who will be considered for the development of these tailored drugs and who will be excluded, in a situation in which both research resources and public expenditure are limited, is provoking and has led to several, still unanswered ethical questions and concerns about fairness and the potential discrimination of fringe groups. Based on the statistical analyses of population averages, patient groups …
Residential Change and Socio-demographic Challenges for Large Housing Estates in Riga, Latvia
2019
Large housing estates from the socialist era are a characteristic feature of the built environment in the cities of Central and Eastern Europe. Many urban researchers are increasingly interested in residential changes in these areas, showing how demographic and socioeconomic processes interact with the decline or upgrading of this distinct type of housing. In Europe, the debate concerning large housing estates is largely related to a declining and ageing population, as well as to housing conditions. In Latvia, the underdeveloped housing market and the massive privatisation of the housing stock to sitting tenants have contributed, since the late-Soviet period, to inherited socio-spatial stru…
Long-Term Effects of Delayed Fatherhood in Mice on Postnatal Development and Behavioral Traits of Offspring1
2009
This study aims to analyze, in mice, the long-term effects of delayed fatherhood on postnatal development, spontaneous motor activity, and learning capacity of offspring. Hybrid parental-generation (F 0 ) males, at the age of 12, 70, 100, and 120 wk, were individually housed with a randomly selected 12wk-old hybrid female. The resulting first-generation (F 1 ) offspring were tested for several developmental and behavioral variables. Cumulative percentage of F 1 pups that attained immediate righting in the 120-wk group was lower than that found in the 12-, 70-, and 100-wk groups. Furthermore, the postnatal day of attaining immediate righting was higher in pups from the 120-wk group when comp…
Delayed Motherhood Decreases Life Expectancy of Mouse Offspring1
2005
Abstract This study analyzes the long-term effects of delayed motherhood on reproductive fitness and life expectancy of offspring in the mouse. Hybrid (C57BL/6JIco × CBA/JIco) first-generation (F1) females, either at the age of 10 or 51 wk, were individually housed with a randomly selected 12- to 14-wk-old hybrid male following a breeding pen system until females reached the end of their reproductive life. Reproductive fitness of second-generation (F2) females was tested from the age of 25 wk until the end of their reproductive life. In F2 males, the testing period ranged from the age of 52 wk until their natural death. Delayed motherhood of hybrid F1 female mice was associated with a decre…
A G613A missense in the Hutchinson's progeria lamin A/C gene causes a lone, autosomal dominant atrioventricular block.
2014
Background LMNA/C mutations have been linked to the premature aging syndrome Hutchinson’s progeria, dilated cardiomyopathy 1A, skeletal myopathies (such as the autosomal dominant variant of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder type 2B1, mandibuloacral dysplasia, autosomal dominant partial lipodystrophy, and axonal neuropathy. Atrioventricular block (AVB) can be associated with several cardiac disorders and it can also be a highly heritable, primitive disease. One of the most common pathologies associated with AVB is dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is characterized by cardiac dilatation and reduced systolic function. In this …
Modulation of Nrf2/ARE pathway by food polyphenols: a nutritional neuroprotective strategy for cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders
2011
In recent years, there has been a growing interest, supported by a large number of experimental and epidemi-ological studies, for the beneficial effects of some phenolic substances, contained in commonly used spices and herbs, in preventing various age-related pathologic conditions, ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. Although the exact mechanisms by which polyphenols promote these effects remain to be elucidated, several reports have shown their ability to stimulate a general xenobiotic response in the target cells, activating multiple defense genes. Data from our and other laboratories have previously demonstrated that curcumin, the yellow pigment of curry, strongly induces…
Correlation of Crystallin Expression and RGC Susceptibility in Experimental Glaucoma Rats of Different Ages.
2018
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide with age being an important risk factor. However, the pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Aim of this study was to focus on age-dependent molecular changes in an experimental animal model of glaucoma.Intraocular pressure was elevated in Sprague-Dawley rats aged 3, 14, and 47 weeks for a period of 7 weeks by episcleral vein cauterization. Ganglion cell loss was monitored by an immunohistochemical staining of the Brain-specific homeobox/POU (Pit-1, Oct-2, Unc-86) domain protein 3A positive cells in retinal flat-mounts and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography measuring the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. Molecular pr…
The bronchodilatory effect of deep inspiration diminishes with aging
2004
AbstractDeep inspirations have the ability to dilate constricted airways. The impairment of this function has been associated with the occurrence of asthmatic symptoms. We evaluated whether the bronchodilatory effect of deep inspiration (DI) is affected by aging. We tested 25 healthy subjects (median age: 54 yrs, range: 25–83 yrs). Single dose methacholine (Mch) provocations were performed in the absence of DI, which induced at least 15% reduction in inspiratory vital capacity (IVC) from baseline. The post-Mch IVC measurement was followed by 4 DIs and by another IVC (post-DI IVC). The fractional difference between post-DI IVC and post-Mch IVC represented the % bronchodilation by DI. The % b…
Effect of age upon airway obstruction and reversibility in adult patients with asthma.
1998
In a cross-sectional study we evaluated the effect of aging (separately from that of duration of disease) on airway obstruction and reversibility by comparing two groups of non-smoker patients with asthma.We compared two groups of patients: group A, which had 50 subjects (8 men and 42 women) aged 59.7+/-4.6 years (mean +/- SD), and group B, comprised of 51 subjects (19 men and 32 women) who were 35.7+/-7.4 years old. The groups were selected because of comparable baseline degree of obstruction (FEV1 % of predicted, 67.8+/-20.3 in group A; 73.0+/-19.6 in group B, NS) and duration of the disease (14.0+/-11.7 years vs 11.2+/-9.1, NS). Spirometric examination, with a bronchodilator test, was pe…
Effect of age and asthma duration upon elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin levels in adult asthmatics
2003
In asthmatic subjects an imbalance between elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin (alpha1-PI) exists. This study aims to evaluate whether ageing per se affects the levels of elastase. Both young and elderly asthmatics with comparable severity and duration of disease, as well as young and elderly healthy subjects, underwent an induced sputum procedure to measure levels of elastase and alpha1-PI. The percentage of sputum neutrophils and eosinophils was higher in young and elderly asthmatics than in young and elderly controls. The levels of both total and active elastase were significantly higher in young and elderly asthmatics than in young and elderly controls, and directly correlated with the perc…