Search results for "bioinformatics"

Regulatory mechanisms of estrogen on vascular ageing

2019

Women can be considered hemodynamically younger than men of the same age, based on epidemiological studies establishing that the incidence of vascular diseases in women is relatively lower compared to that in aged-matched men. However, after menopause, these numbers increase to values that are close to those found in men. Vascular ageing is associated with structural and functional changes of the vascular wall, including endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffening, and remodelling, as well as impaired angiogenesis, which become major risk factors in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Implementing Precision Medicine in Human Frailty through Epigenetic Biomarkers

2021

The main epigenetic features in aging are: reduced bulk levels of core histones, altered pattern of histone post-translational modifications, changes in the pattern of DNA methylation, replacement of canonical histones with histone variants, and altered expression of non-coding RNA. The identification of epigenetic mechanisms may contribute to the early detection of age-associated subclinical changes or deficits at the molecular and/or cellular level, to predict the development of frailty, or even more interestingly, to improve health trajectories in older adults. Frailty reflects a state of increased vulnerability to stressors as a result of decreased physiologic reserves, and even dysregu…

Mitochondrial Markers in Aging and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

2020

This review focuses on recent progress in understanding the role of mitochondrial markers in the context of mitochondrial dysfunction in glaucoma and discussing new therapeutic approaches to modulate mitochondrial function and potentially lead to improved outcomes in glaucoma.

Genome-wide association studies identify 137 genetic loci for DNA methylation biomarkers of aging

2021

Abstract Background Biological aging estimators derived from DNA methylation data are heritable and correlate with morbidity and mortality. Consequently, identification of genetic and environmental contributors to the variation in these measures in populations has become a major goal in the field. Results Leveraging DNA methylation and SNP data from more than 40,000 individuals, we identify 137 genome-wide significant loci, of which 113 are novel, from genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analyses of four epigenetic clocks and epigenetic surrogate markers for granulocyte proportions and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 levels, respectively. We find evidence for shared genetic loci ass…

Alzheimer’s disease and infections, where we stand and where we go

2014

Editorial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder, which represents the most common form of dementia, one of the major causes of disability in later life. Age is the greatest risk factor for AD, which typically affects people aged 65 years and over, with an age-standardised prevalence of 4.4 [1]. However, AD is not a normal part of ageing and advanced age alone does not justify the disease. Several pathways have been implicated in AD pathophysiology, the most described is the neurodegenerative one, which lead to the brain accumulation of beta-amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles, aggregations of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, macroscopically resulting in brain atrop…

Vascular ageing and the related complications in the brain: New insights on related mechanisms and their translational applications

2021

s consequence of “populations aging phenomenon”, the burden of incessant increase of incidence and prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases (NeuroDegD) is becoming very alarming, as well as it is gaining an important attention the developing of intervention measures, essen-tially preventive. Of consequence, the knowledge of primordial Neuro-DegD causes, and the related mechanisms, appears to be fundamental. Consistent with this, growing evidence reports a close link of the vascular aging, dysfunction and diseases with the onset and progression of NeuroDegD.

Exercise as an Adjuvant Intervention in Opiate Dependence

2013

We read with interest the article by Weinstock et al. in whichthe authors propose exercise as an adjuvant intervention inopiate agonist treatment based on current research findings(1).The use of an opiate agonist, such as buprenorphine, butmainly, methadone, for the treatment of opiate dependenceis currently an effective therapy for this type of addiction.The main benefits of this treatment occur through a relieffrom craving narcotic drugs, a temporally suppression ofwithdrawal symptoms, and by blocking the euphoric effectsof opiates (2). Unfortunately, patients needing treatment foropiatedependenceoftenfaceavarietyofco-occurringissues,suchashepatitisBandCvirusesorhumanimmunodeficiencyvirus (H…

Possible role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the onset of melanoma: preliminary data.

2019

Pitfalls to be considered on the metabolomic analysis of biological samples by HR-MAS

2014

HR-MAS (High-Resolution Magic AngleSpinning) is considered a powerfultechnique for metabolomic studies ofbiological samples that provides “intact”tissue spectra (Cheng et al., 1998; Waterset al., 2000; Sitter et al., 2002; Martinez-Bisbal et al., 2004; Payne et al., 2006;Coen et al., 2007; Bathen et al., 2010).The performance of HR-MAS, fol-lowed by quantitative histopathology hasdemonstrated that, despite some changes,HR-MAS can preserve approximately thetissue histopathologic features producingwell-resolved spectra of cellular metabo-lites (Cheng et al., 2000). Nevertheless,therearesomeaspectsarousedintheliter-ature about the possible biochemical andstructural changes that can occur durin…

Regulation of microRNAs and their role in liver development, regeneration and disease

2013

Abstract Since their discovery more than a decade ago microRNAs have been demonstrated to have profound effects on almost every aspect of biology. Numerous studies in recent years have shown that microRNAs have important roles in development and in the etiology and progression of disease. This review is focused on microRNAs and the roles they play in liver development, regeneration and liver disease; particularly chronic liver diseases such as alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, viral hepatitis and primary liver cancer. The key microRNAs identified in liver development and chronic liver disease will be discussed together with, where pos…