Delays in diagnosing dementia may have clinical and social implications for people with dementia and their families, according to new research published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA).
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Fibromyalgia patients may finally havesome answers as to what causes their disease.
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Abstract: Background: This work sought to determine the effects of hypothalamic proline-rich peptide (PRP)-1 in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease.Methods: Complex histochemical, electrophysiologic, and behavioral analyses were performed on intact or diseased Wistar rats (n = 28). Pathologic conditions were induced by bilateral intracerebroventricular injection of amyloid peptide A?25–35. The diseased rats received systemic administration of PRP-1 or placebo control.Results: A?25–35 caused cellular neurodegeneration with marked glial reaction in the hippocampal complex and almost full destruction of the dentate fascia, which was not observed in conditions of PRP-1 administration after A?25–35 injection. Hippocampal neurons of intact animals responded to high-frequency (tetanic) stimulation of entorhinal cortex of ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere by tetanic and posttetanic potentiation of a different intensity and duration, which was accompanied by posttetanic depression. A?25–35 led to significant changes in the level and pattern of hippocampal neuronal activity, indicating the absence of both tetanic and posttetanic activity. Poststimulus activity manifestations rarely occurred and rapidly decreased after repeated trials. This indicated the focal character of lesion. Regular administration of PRP-1 for 4 weeks resulted in optimal restoration of electrophysiologic parameters. PRP-1 maintained the initial learning level achieved in a behavioral study in a Morris water maze.Conclusions: Systemic administration of PRP-1 possesses neuroprotective effects and can prevent the neurodegeneration in hippocampus induced by A?25–35. This suggests that PRP-1 could be a potential therapeutic agent for specific neurodegenerative diseases.
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1. Stimulating Growth Hormone Increases Muscle Mass in Elderly Healthy Adults As people age, the decline of growth hormone secretion in the body may play a role in the development of frailty, the debilitating loss of fat and muscle tissue. Researchers sought to determine if stimulating growth hormone release in healthy older adults could alter body composition.
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Elderly residents with gastroenteritis must be tested as soon as possible to minimise the effects of outbreaks in aged care facilities (ACFs), say senior government medical advisors in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA). A single case of gastroenteritis in an elderly resident of an ACF may signal the beginning of an outbreak, say Mr Martyn Kirk and colleagues of the Department of Health and Ageing.
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Rates of cardiogenic shock have fallen in the past decade in Swiss patients with acute coronary syndrome, and increased rates of percutaneous coronary intervention during this period are associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality and development of cardiogenic shock, researchers report in the Nov. 4 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Avineuro Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the completion of preclinical studies of AVN-101, a potent small molecule for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. These studies demonstrate that AVN-101 is safe and well tolerated, and that it has a favorable pharmacokinetic profile. Based on these and other results, Avineuro Pharmaceuticals, Inc. plans to advance AVN-101 into clinical trials in Q1 2009.
Studies show the average lifespan of aperson diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is between three and nineyears, but new research shows having diabetes or high bloodpressure may subtract years from that time frame.
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People with Alzheimer’s disease who also have diabetes or high blood pressure may die sooner than people without such disorders, according to a study published in the November 4, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved 323 people who had no memory problems when first tested but later developed dementia. Memory tests and physical exams were then given every 18 months.
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The brains behind the UK’s first i-House have accessed more than £1.5million of government investment and industry backing to create a fast track for assisted living products, in a bid to improve the lives of more than 17.5 million people living with long-term conditions in the UK today.