Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Tetrahydrohyperforin (IDN5706), a semi-synthetic derivative of hyperforin, has shown neuroprotective properties preventing the impairment of synaptic plasticity and cognitive decline in an in vivo model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Considering the reported role of adult neurogenesis in the plasticity of the hippocampal network, we investigated whether IDN5706 affects adult neurogenesis and hippocampal function. In hippocampal progenitors cultured from adult rats, IDN5706 increased proliferation. ⋯ In addition, IDN5706 treatment improved long-term memory in a hippocampal-dependent spatial memory task. Finally, IDN5706 treatment increased cell proliferation and neural commitment in the SGZ of the double transgenic APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mouse model of AD. These results indicate that IDN5706 increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis and may have therapeutic value in neurological disorders in which adult neurogenesis is impaired.
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Recent studies have suggested that memory circuits can be modulated by deep brain stimulation (DBS). This propriety might be used to slow down cognitive decline in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the feasibility and safety of DBS in AD patients with mild cognitive decline. ⋯ After one year of stimulation, the memory scores (MMSE, ADAS-Cog, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test) were stabilized compared to baseline, and mesial temporal lobes metabolism increased. This pilot study provides new data about the safety of fornix DBS in the hypothalamus. However, it suggests that only a small proportion of AD patients might be interested in this approach and that the acceptance of DBS by AD patients was low, raising questions about the relevance of this approach to meet the expectations of these patients.
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Biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on non-invasive methods are highly desirable for diagnosis, disease progression, and monitoring therapeutics. We aimed to study the use of hippocampal volume, entorhinal cortex (ERC) thickness, and whole brain volume (WBV) as predictors of cognitive change in patients with AD. 120 AD subjects, 106 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 99 non demented controls (NDC) from the multi-center pan-European AddNeuroMed study underwent MRI scanning at baseline and clinical evaluations at quarterly follow-up up to 1 year. The rate of cognitive decline was estimated using cognitive outcomes, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer disease assessment scale-cognitive (ADAS-cog) by fitting a random intercept and slope model. ⋯ Therefore, the rate of atrophy in this structure is expected to be higher since neurodegeneration begins earlier. Focusing on structural analyses that predict decline can identify those individuals at greatest risk for future cognitive loss. This may have potential for increasing the efficacy of early intervention.
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Activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis occurs in response to the organism's innate need for homeostasis. The glucocorticoids (GCs) that are released into the circulation upon acute activation of the HPA axis perform stress-adaptive functions and provide negative feedback to turn off the HPA axis, but can be detrimental when in excess. Long-term activation of the HPA axis (such as with chronic stress) enhances susceptibility to neuronal dysfunction and death, and increases vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease (AD). ⋯ Basal GC levels and mRNA expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), and corticotropic releasing hormone (CRH) in several stress- and emotionality-related brain regions were measured in 3-4-month-old 3xTg-AD mice. Despite normal GC levels, young 3xTg-AD mice exhibit an activated central HPA axis, with altered mRNA levels of MR and GR in the hippocampus, GR and CRH in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, GR and CRH in the central nucleus of the amygdala, and CRH in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. This HPA axis activation is present during early-stage neuropathology when 3xTg-AD mice show mild behavioral changes, suggesting an ongoing neuroendocrine regulation that precedes the onset of severe AD-like pathology and behavioral deficits.
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Sortilin-related receptor with A-type repeats (SorLA, also known as LR11) has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, genetic studies associated SorLA gene variants with the risk of sporadic AD. Also, in vitro and in vivo studies showed that SorLA impairs processing of the amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) to amyloid-β. ⋯ We found that the loss of SorLA not only exacerbates early amyloid pathology but, at the same time, protects from cholinergic deficit and from early phospho-tau mislocalization. The results show that in the AD10 anti-NGF mouse model the AβPP processing-related aspects of neurodegeneration can be dissociated from those related to tau posttranslational processing and to cholinergic phenotypic maintenance by modulation of SorLA expression. We suggest that SorLA regulates different aspects of neurodegeneration in a complex way, supporting the hypothesis that SorLA expression might be critical not only for amyloid-related pathology but also for other cellular processes altered in AD.