840 research outputs found
Invecchiamento cerebrale: processo inevitabile?
No full textDurante l’intervento verranno illustrati i metodi per combattere l’invecchiamento cerebrale, alla luce di quanto emerge dagli studi sui modelli animali, sulle popolazioni dei soggetti centenari e dagli esperimenti su quel “goccio di sangue giovane” che instilla vitalità nei neuroni anziani. Gabriella Marcon è docente di Neurologia dell’Università di Trieste e dell’Università di Udine. Ha lavorato per molti anni all’Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta di Milano, dove si è occupata di patologie neurodegenerative. Ha identificato nuove mutazioni genetiche associate alla malattia di Alzheimer. All’Università di Trieste coordina un progetto internazionale per lo studio dell’invecchiamento cerebrale nei centenari
DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF PERILIPINS IN HUMAN BRAIN DURING NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL AGING
No full text
Expression pattern of Perilipins in human brain during aging and in Alzheimer’s Disease
No full textAims: Perilipins are conserved proteins that decorate intracellular lipid droplets and are essential for lipid metabolism. To date, there is limited knowledge on their expression in human brain, or their involvement in brain aging and neurodegeneration. The aim of this study was to characterise the expression levels of perilipins (Plin1-5) in different cerebral areas from subjects of different age, with or without signs of neurodegeneration.
Methods: We performed real time RT-PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy analyses in autoptic brain samples of frontal and temporal cortex, cerebellum and hippocampus from subjects ranging from 33 to 104 years of age, with or without histological signs of neurodegeneration. To test the possible relationship between Plins and inflammation, correlation analysis with IL-6 expression was also performed.
Results: Plin2, Plin3 and Plin5, but not Plin1 and Plin4, are expressed in the considered brain areas with different intensities. Plin2 appears to be expressed more in grey matter, particularly in neurons in all the areas analysed, while Plin3 and Plin5 appear to be expressed more in white matter. Plin3 seems to be expressed more in astrocytes. Only Plin2 expression is higher in old subjects and patients with Early Tauopathy or Alzheimer's Disease, and is associated with IL-6 expression.
Conclusions: Perilipins are expressed in human brain but only Plin2 appears to be modulated with age and neurodegeneration, and linked to an inflammatory state. We propose that the accumulation of lipid droplets decorated with Plin2 occurs during brain aging, and that this accumulation may be an early marker and initial step of inflammation and neurodegeneration
Experience with phosphatidylserine treatment of patients with cognitive and behavioral decline
No full textCohort profile: ‘Centenari a Trieste’ (CaT), a study of the health status of centenarians in a small defined area of Italy
No full textPurpose Centenarians, a segment of the population which some 50 years ago comprised only a few individuals, now count thousands in many countries, and demographic projections forecast that this growth will continue. The study of this new population will give us new information on extreme longevity and help prepare for their health
and social needs. The aim of the Centenari a Trieste
study is to describe the health and health service use by centenarians, with speci c focus on cognitive status. Participants This is a population-based study of centenarians living in the province of Trieste (Italy), a small area with a high prevalence of centenarians and a close network of health and social services, which makes it possible to conduct a study. Consenting individuals were visited by a clinician, tested by neuropsychologists and also gave a sample of their blood. Administrative data were retrieved as well.
Findings to date Of the 163 centenarians, 70 could be contacted and participated in the study. The main reasons for non-participation were impossibility to contact the subject (70) and death (20). Centenarians were mostly women (90%), tended to live in a nursing home (60%)
and were generally severely functionally impaired (Barthel Index <50: 61%). Data from the administrative database showed that about one out of ve needed hospitalisation in the preceding year and more than three out of four had at least one drug prescription.
Future plans In 2017, we started a new wave of the study enrolling people who had just become centenarian and reassessing subjects already seen; we hope to extend this recruitment in the next years. Subjects are now examined also by cardiologists and dental specialists. We are collecting further different biological specimens to investigate new hypotheses on the cognitive function of the centenarians
- …
