Search results for "aging"
showing 10 items of 10496 documents
Review of imaging network activities in developing rodent cerebral cortex in vivo
2016
The combination of voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) with multielectrode array (MEA) recordings in the rodent cerebral cortex in vivo allows the simultaneous analysis of large-scale network interactions and electrophysiological single-unit recordings. Using this approach, distinct patterns of spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity can be recorded in the primary somatosensory (S1) and motor cortex (M1) of newborn rats. Already at the day of birth, gamma oscillations and spindle bursts in the barrel cortex synchronize the activity of a local columnar ensemble, thereby generating an early topographic representation of the sensory periphery. During the first postnatal week, both cortical ac…
Two different pathogenic mechanisms, dying-back axonal neuropathy and pancreatic senescence, are present in the YG8R mouse model of Friedreich ataxia
2016
Frataxin (FXN) deficiency causes Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), a multisystem disorder with neurological and non-neurological symptoms. FRDA pathophysiology combines developmental and degenerative processes of dorsal root ganglia (DRG), sensory nerves, dorsal columns and other central nervous structures. A dying-back mechanism has been proposed to explain the peripheral neuropathy and neuropathology. In addition, affected individuals have non-neuronal symptoms such as diabetes mellitus or glucose intolerance. To go further in the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of neuropathy and diabetes associated with the disease, we have investigated the humanized mouse YG8R model of FRDA. By bio…
Stem Cells and Other Emerging Agents as Innovative "Drugs" in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Benefits and Limitations.
2018
The brain has a limited process of repair/regeneration linked to the restricted and localized activity of neuronal stem cells. Consequently, it shows a reduced capacity to counteract the age-related loss of neural and glial cells and to repair the consequent injuries/lesions of nervous system. This progressively determines nervous dysfunction and onset/progression of neurodegenerative diseases, which represent a serious social (and economic) problem of our populations. Thus, the research of efficient treatments is encouraged. Stem cell therapy might represent a solution. Today, it, indeed, represents the object of intensive research with the hope of using it, in a near future, as effective …
Effects of acetyl-l-carnitine in diabetic neuropathy and other geriatric disorders
2018
A long history of diabetes mellitus and increasing age are associated with the onset of diabetic neuropathy, a painful and highly disabling complication with a prevalence peaking at 50% among elderly diabetic patients. Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) is a molecule derived from the acetylation of carnitine in the mitochondria that has an essential role in energy production. It has recently been proposed as a therapy to improve the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. ALC is widely distributed in mammalian tissues, including the brain, blood–brain barrier, brain neurons, and astrocytes. Aside from its metabolic activity, ALC has demonstrated cytoprotective, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects in the …
Clinical and neuroimaging characterization of two C9orf72-positive siblings with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia
2015
C9orf72 expansion is the main genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and has also been found in a wide spectrum of other neurodegenerative diseases (...
Melanoma-Nevus Discrimination Based on Image Statistics in Few Spectral Channels
2016
The purpose of this paper is to offer a method for discrimination of cutaneous melanoma from benign nevus, founded on analysis of skin lesion image. At the core of method is calculation of mean and standard deviation of pixel optical density values for a few narrow spectral bands. Calculated values are compared with discriminating thresholds derived from a set of images of benign nevi and melanomas with known diagnosis. Classification is done applying weighted majority rule to results of thresholding. Verification against the available multispectral images of 32 melanomas and 94 benign nevi has shown that the method using three spectral bands provided zero false negative and four false posi…
Soft X-Ray Tomography Reveals Gradual Chromatin Compaction and Reorganization during Neurogenesis In Vivo
2016
Summary - The realization that nuclear distribution of DNA, RNA, and proteins differs between cell types and developmental stages suggests that nuclear organization serves regulatory functions. Understanding the logic of nuclear architecture and how it contributes to differentiation and cell fate commitment remains challenging. Here, we use soft X-ray tomography (SXT) to image chromatin organization, distribution, and biophysical properties during neurogenesis in vivo. Our analyses reveal that chromatin with similar biophysical properties forms an elaborate connected network throughout the entire nucleus. Although this interconnectivity is present in every developmental stage, differentiati…
Aurora Kinase A expression predicts platinum-resistance and adverse outcome in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma patients
2016
High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma (HGSOC) is the predominant histotype of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), characterized by advanced stage at diagnosis, frequent TP53 mutation, rapid progression, and high responsiveness to platinum-based-chemotherapy. To date, standard first-line-chemotherapy in advanced EOC includes platinum salts and paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. The major prognostic factor is the response duration from the end of the platinum-based treatment (platinum-free interval) and about 10–0 % of EOC patients bear a platinum-refractory disease or develop early resistance (platinum-free interval shorter than 6 months). On these bases, a careful selection of patients who …
Genetically elevated gamma-glutamyltransferase and Alzheimer's disease
2018
Observational epidemiological evidence supports a linear and independent association between serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) concentrations and the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the causality of this association has not been previously investigated. We sought to assess the causal nature of this association using a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Using inverse-variance weighted MR analysis, we assessed the association between GGT and AD using summary statistics for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-AD associations obtained from the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project of 17,008 individuals with AD and 37,154 controls. We used 26 SNPs significantly associ…
Análisis de biopsias líquidas para el diagnóstico del cáncer: revisión sistemática
2020
The incidence of cancer has increased in recent years, especially in those over 65 years of age, posing a major health problem. Many tumours have a poor prognosis because they are diagnosed at very advanced stages. It is therefore especially important to incorporate liquid biopsy into clinical practice as a method for detecting tumours at very early stages. A systematic review was conducted, with the main objective of analysing the available literature on the use of liquid biopsy in the early diagnosis of cancer, and as a secondary objective, to determine the types of tumours that can be diagnosed early by liquid biopsy and the available biomarkers. The results indicate a lack of agreement …