4 research outputs found
King Cobras, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor 1836), from Lumding, Hojai District, Assam, India
No full textFirst confirmed record of the Bengalese Kukri Snake, Oligodon dorsalis (Gray 1834), from Assam, India
No full textEarly onset frontotermporal dementia and alzheimers disease: diagnosis, treatment and care
No full textThis research investigated two groups of patients diagnosed with dementia before the age of sixty-five. The patients were diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD, n = 25) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD, n = 37). Patients were assessed for approximately 3 years. The study found that FTD is a valid and useful diagnostic category, and can be reliably differentiated from AD. A combination of behavioural, neurological, and neuropsychological assessments were found to be complementary in the early and accurate diagnosis of early-onset dementia, and the differential diagnosis of FTD from AD. FTD patients were found to have relatively preserved visuo-spatial abilities compared to the AD patients. Problems associated with administering neuropsychological tests to early-onset dementia patients were highlighted. FTD patients were found to deteriorate more rapidly than AD patients, and to have significantly increased behavioural disturbances throughout the course of the illness in comparison with the AD patients. Practical guidelines to assist with care and management of early-onset dementia patients were presented. A strengths-based model of care was outlined. Individualised assessments and care plans were recommended for the development and provision of humane services to early-onset dementia patients. Issues surrounding providing palliative care were discussed
Characterisation of DJ1 (PARK7) in human brain: possible involvement in idiopathic Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
No full textMutations in the DJ‐1 gene can induce the development of early‐onset Parkinson's disease
(PD) through a loss of protein function. Currently any possible role for DJ‐1 in sporadic PD
remains undetermined. To address this, we have studied the characteristics and activities of
DJ‐1 in post‐mortem human brain tissue in order to gain insights into its contribution to the
development of PD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Western blotting revealed DJ‐1 protein expression to be reduced in several brain regions
associated with PD pathology including nigra, striatum and frontal cortex. Similarly levels of
DJ‐1 mRNA were also shown to also be lower in PD striatum and frontal cortex suggesting a
transcriptional regulation of protein expression in human brain. Further analysis of DJ‐1
gene expression showed PD related changes to be variable throughout the brain, with
regions like the amygdala and entorhinal cortex displaying an up‐regulation. DJ‐1 protein
was also shown to undergo increased oxidation in PD cases, highlighting the elevated
oxidative stress conditions in PD. By using immunoprecipitation to investigate a possible role for DJ‐1 as an in vivo regulator
of translation, we found DJ‐1 protein associates with RNA transcripts for selenoproteins,
PTEN/Akt pathway components and mitochondrial subunits of complex 1. Protein levels for
a number of these transcripts were altered in PD tissue without any parallel change in
mRNA levels. DJ‐1 is reportedly involved in a diverse range of cellular activities and its
proclivity to associate with multiple RNA species provides a simple biochemical mechanism
for this. Moreover it demonstrates that under conditions of elevated oxidative stress, DJ‐1
can instigate a rapid and compartmentalised up‐regulation of pro‐survival proteins in a
transcriptionally independent manner.
Analysis of DJ‐1 in tauopathies showed co‐localisation with 3R and 4R tau, implicating a
possible chaperone function for DJ‐1. Unlike in PD, no altered expression of DJ‐1 mRNA and
protein was observed
