Neuroscience
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Radiation-induced cognitive dysfunction is a common complication associated with cranial radiation therapy. Inhibition of hippocampal neurogenesis and proliferation plays a critical role in this complication. Relieving hippocampal apoptosis may significantly protect hippocampal neurogenesis and proliferation. ⋯ Additionally, this treatment suppressed the expression of cleaved caspase-3. We further demonstrated that p5-TAT treatment reduced hippocampal dysfunction and improved behavioral performance. Therefore, Cdk5 inhibition by the small peptide p5-TAT is a promising therapeutic strategy for radiation-induced cognitive dysfunction.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease; thus, the search for a cure or causal therapy has become necessary. Despite intense research on this topic in recent decades, there is no curative therapy up today, and also no disease-modifying treatment has been approved. As promising approach passive immunization strategies have thereby come forth. ⋯ Further functional assays predict a protective effect of this antibody. Although, all four recombinant antibodies showed binding to amyloid-β, promising features were only detectable after conversion into a multimeric format. The multimeric scFv-Fc antibody exhibited thereby strong impact on amyloid-β clearance and inhibition of oligomerization.
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Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. PD is caused mainly by depletion of the nigrostriatal pathway. Conventional medications such as levodopa are highly effective in the early stage of PD; however, these medications fail to prevent the underlying neurodegeneration. ⋯ For example, although fetal ventral midbrain is efficacious in some patients, its ethical issues and the existence of graft-induced dyskinesias (GID) have prevented its use in large-scale clinical applications. ESCs have reliable isolation protocols and the potential to differentiate into dopaminergic progenitors. iPSCs and induced neural cells are suitable for autologous grafting. Here we review milestone improvements and emerging sources for cell-based PD therapy to serve as a framework for clinicians and a key reference to develop replacement therapy for other neurological disorders.
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Ensuring stability of the human vertical posture is a complex task requiring both anticipatory and compensatory postural strategies when a standing person performs fast actions and interacts with the environment, which can include other persons. How people adjust their preparatory and compensatory postural adjustments in situations when they interact with an active partner is still poorly understood. In this study we investigated the postural adjustments while two healthy persons played a traditional childhood game. ⋯ Results showed higher indices of muscle co-activation during EPAs during the game compared to the control conditions. We found that postural preparation strategies defined whether a participant kept or lost balance during the game. Our results highlight the importance of muscle co-activation, the role of anticipation, and the difference in strategies while interacting with an active partner as compared to interactions with passive objects.
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Adverse experiences that occur during the early stages of life can have permanent repercussions in adulthood. Among these experiences, early weaning is one that can alter the molecular, cellular, and behavior patterns in later life. Centered on this fact, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of early weaning at 15 days of life of Wistar rats on their feeding behavior and if the opioidergic system blockade would cause a reversal of these outcomes. ⋯ Those weaned at 15 days of age exhibited higher depressive-like behavior, lesser reactivity time to sucrose, and higher intake of palatable food than the control group. The Naltrexone administration was observed to reverse some outcomes, such as increasing the reactivity time to sucrose and decreasing the quantity of palatable food consumed, to levels similar to those of the control group. Together, the findings of the present study are indicative of the vital role played by the opioidergic system in inducing the changes noted in the eating behavior patterns during adulthood, post early weaning.