248 research outputs found
Trasmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
No full textProtein folding and misfolding, relevance to disease and function / Massimi Stefani --
Alzheimer's disease / Charlotte E. Teunissen and Tischa M. van der Cammen --
Improving Cholinergic Transmission --
Cholinergic transmission and acetylcholine release enhancers / Pierre Francotte, Pascal de Tullio and Bernard Pirotte --
AChE and its inhibition / Jure Stojan --
AChE inhibitors and their clinical assessment / Pierre Francotte, Pascal de Tullio and Bernard Pirotte --
Reduction in plaque formation / Christian Czech, Helmut Jacobsen and Celine Adessi --
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) / Bruno P. Imbimbo and Francesca Speroni --
3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme reductase inhibitors / Dario Cattaneo --
A' polymerization reduction / Harry LeVine III and Corrine E. Augelli-Szafran --
Carbonic anhydrase activators as potential anti-Alzheimer's disease agents / Claudiu T. Supuran and Andrea Scozzafava --
Detection and reduction of neurofibrillary lesions / Jeff Kuret --
Protein misfolding in Alzheimer disease : pathogenic or protective? / Rudy J. Castellani ... [et al.] --
Enhancement of brain retinoic acid levels / Ann B. Goodman ... [et al.] --
Parkinson's disease : what is it? what causes it? and how can it be cured? / Tom Foltynie, Andrew W. Michell and Roger A. Barker --
Restoring dopamine levels / Nuno Palma .. [et al.] --
Huntington's disease / Claire-Anne Gutekunst and Fran Norflus --
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (motor neuron disease) / Teresa Sanelli ... [et al.] --
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) / Michael D. Geschwind and Giuseppe Legname --
Overview / H. John Smith, Claire Simons and Robert D.E. Sewell
Solution of St.-Venant's and Almansi-Michell's Problems
No full textWe use the semi-inverse method to solve a St. Venant and an Almansi-Michell problem for a prismatic body made of a homogeneous and isotropic elastic material that is stress free in the reference configuration. In the St. Venant problem, only the end faces of the prismatic body are loaded by a set of self-equilibrated forces. In the Almansi-Michell problem self equilibrated surface tractions are also applied on the mantle of the body. The St. Venant problem is also analyzed for the following two cases: (i) the reference configuration is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure, and (ii) stress-strain relations contain terms that are quadratic in displacement gradients. The Signorini method is also used to analyze the St. Venant problem. Both for the St. Venant and the Almansi-Michell problems, the solution of the three dimensional problem is reduced to that of solving a sequence of two dimensional problems. For the St. Venant problem involving a second-order elastic material, the first order deformation is assumed to be an infinitesimal twist. In the solution of the Almansi-Michell problem, surface tractions on the mantle of the cylindrical body are expressed as a polynomial in the axial coordinate. When solving the problem by the semi-inverse method, displacements are also expressed as a polynomial in the axial coordinate. An explicit solution is obtained for a hollow circular cylindrical body with surface tractions on the mantle given by an affine function of the axial coordinateMaster of Scienc
Inositol derivatives:evolution and functions
No full textCurrent research on inositols mainly focuses on myo-inositol (Ins) derivatives in eukaryotic cells, and in particular on the many roles of Ins phospholipids and polyphosphorylated Ins derivatives. However, inositols and their derivatives are more versatile than this--they have acquired diverse functions over the course of evolution. Given the central involvement of primordial bacteria and archaea in the emergence of eukaryotes, what is the status of inositol derivatives in these groups of organisms, and how might inositol, inositol lipids and inositol phosphates have become ubiquitous constituents of eukaryotes? And how, later, might the multifarious functions of inositol derivatives have emerged during eukaryote diversification
Inositol Phosphates: A Remarkably Versatile Enzyme
No full textAbstractIns(3,4,5,6)P4 is an inhibitor of Ca2+-activated Cl— channels, but further understanding has been hindered by ignorance of how it is made in cells. It now transpires that one protein with ATP-dependent kinase and phosphatase activities interconverts Ins(3,4,5,6)P4 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5, as well as several other inositol polyphosphates
The reliability of biomedical science::A case history of a maturing experimental field
No full textThere is much discussion in the media and some of the scientific literature of how many of the conclusions from scientific research should be doubted. These critiques often focus on studies – typically in non-experimental spheres of biomedical and social sciences – that search large datasets for novel correlations, with a risk that inappropriate statistical evaluations might yield dubious conclusions. By contrast, results from experimental biological research can often be interpreted largely without statistical analysis. Typically: novel observation(s) are reported, and an explanatory hypothesis is offered; multiple labs undertake experiments to test the hypothesis; interpretation of the results may refute the hypothesis, support it or provoke its modification; the test/revise sequence is reiterated many times; and the field moves forward. I illustrate this experimental/non-experimental dichotomy by examining the contrasting recent histories of: (a) our remarkable and growing understanding of how several inositol-containing phospholipids contribute to the lives of eukaryote cells; and (b) the difficulty of achieving any agreed mechanistic understanding of why consuming dietary supplements of inositol is clinically beneficial in some metabolic diseases
Do inositol supplements enhance phosphatidylinositol supply and thus support endoplasmic reticulum function?
No full textThis review attempts to explain why consuming extra myoinositol (Ins), an essential component of membrane phospholipids, is often beneficial for patients with conditions characterised by insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. For decades we assumed that most human diets provide an adequate Ins supply, but newer evidence suggests that increasing Ins intake ameliorates several disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome, gestational diabetes, metabolic syndrome, poor sperm development and retinopathy of prematurity. Proposed explanations often suggest functional enhancement of minor facets of Ins Biology such as insulin signalling through putative inositol-containing ‘mediators’, but offer no explanation for this selectivity. It is more likely that eating extra Ins corrects a deficiency of an abundant Ins-containing cell constituent, probably phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). Much of a cell’s PtdIns is in ER membranes, and an increase in ER membrane synthesis, enhancing the ER’s functional capacity, is often an important part of cell responses to ER stress. This review: (a) reinterprets historical information on Ins deficiency as describing a set of events involving a failure of cells adequately to adapt to ER stress; (b) proposes that in the conditions that respond to dietary Ins there is an overstretching of Ins reserves that limits the stressed ER’s ability to make the ‘extra’ PtdIns needed for ER membrane expansion; and (c) suggests that eating Ins supplements increases the Ins supply to Ins-deficient and ER-stressed cells, allowing them to make more PtdIns and to expand the ER membrane system and sustain ER functions.</p
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