Bias induced by ignoring double truncation inherent in autopsy‐confirmed survival studies of neurodegenerative diseases

Autophagy and ageing: implications for age-related neurodegenerative diseases

Essays in Biochemistry ◽

10.1042/bse0550119 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 55 ◽

pp. 119-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Bernadette Carroll ◽

Graeme Hewitt ◽

Viktor I. Korolchuk

Keyword(s):

Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽

Energy Availability ◽

Future Studies ◽

Intracellular Degradation ◽

Age Related ◽

Autophagy Induction ◽

Social Importance ◽

Cellular Dysfunction ◽

Autophagy Activity ◽

Intense Research

Autophagy is a process of lysosome-dependent intracellular degradation that participates in the liberation of resources including amino acids and energy to maintain homoeostasis. Autophagy is particularly important in stress conditions such as nutrient starvation and any perturbation in the ability of the cell to activate or regulate autophagy can lead to cellular dysfunction and disease. An area of intense research interest is the role and indeed the fate of autophagy during cellular and organismal ageing. Age-related disorders are associated with increased cellular stress and assault including DNA damage, reduced energy availability, protein aggregation and accumulation of damaged organelles. A reduction in autophagy activity has been observed in a number of ageing models and its up-regulation via pharmacological and genetic methods can alleviate age-related pathologies. In particular, autophagy induction can enhance clearance of toxic intracellular waste associated with neurodegenerative diseases and has been comprehensively demonstrated to improve lifespan in yeast, worms, flies, rodents and primates. The situation, however, has been complicated by the identification that autophagy up-regulation can also occur during ageing. Indeed, in certain situations, reduced autophagosome induction may actually provide benefits to ageing cells. Future studies will undoubtedly improve our understanding of exactly how the multiple signals that are integrated to control appropriate autophagy activity change during ageing, what affect this has on autophagy and to what extent autophagy contributes to age-associated pathologies. Identification of mechanisms that influence a healthy lifespan is of economic, medical and social importance in our ‘ageing’ world.

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Nanotheranostic agents for neurodegenerative diseases

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 645-675

Author(s):

Parasuraman Padmanabhan ◽

Mathangi Palanivel ◽

Ajay Kumar ◽

Domokos Máthé ◽

George K. Radda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Delivery ◽

Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽

Cell Types ◽

Specific Cell ◽

Ageing Population ◽

Target Tissue ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Surface Receptors ◽

Theranostic Agents ◽

Preclinical Animal Models

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), affect the ageing population worldwide and while severely impairing the quality of life of millions, they also cause a massive economic burden to countries with progressively ageing populations. Parallel with the search for biomarkers for early detection and prediction, the pursuit for therapeutic approaches has become growingly intensive in recent years. Various prospective therapeutic approaches have been explored with an emphasis on early prevention and protection, including, but not limited to, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy. Many pharmacological interventions have proved to be promising novel avenues, but successful applications are often hampered by the poor delivery of the therapeutics across the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). To overcome this challenge, nanoparticle (NP)-mediated drug delivery has been considered as a promising option, as NP-based drug delivery systems can be functionalized to target specific cell surface receptors and to achieve controlled and long-term release of therapeutics to the target tissue. The usefulness of NPs for loading and delivering of drugs has been extensively studied in the context of NDDs, and their biological efficacy has been demonstrated in numerous preclinical animal models. Efforts have also been made towards the development of NPs which can be used for targeting the BBB and various cell types in the brain. The main focus of this review is to briefly discuss the advantages of functionalized NPs as promising theranostic agents for the diagnosis and therapy of NDDs. We also summarize the results of diverse studies that specifically investigated the usage of different NPs for the treatment of NDDs, with a specific emphasis on AD and PD, and the associated pathophysiological changes. Finally, we offer perspectives on the existing challenges of using NPs as theranostic agents and possible futuristic approaches to improve them.

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Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Aktuelle Neurologie ◽

10.1055/s-0028-1087003 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 35 (S 01) ◽

Author(s):

T Frank ◽

K Meuer ◽

C Pitzer ◽

J Schulz ◽

M Bähr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽

Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor ◽

Colony Stimulating Factor ◽

Stimulating Factor

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Nutritive modulators of neurodegenerative diseases

Pharmacopsychiatry ◽

10.1055/s-0033-1353302 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 46 (06) ◽

Author(s):

I Denzer ◽

M Pischetsrieder ◽

K Leuner

Keyword(s):

Neurodegenerative Diseases

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The Influence of Ascorbic Acid on Platelet Structure and Function

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1651445 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 34 (01) ◽

pp. 050-062

Author(s):

Dale H Cowan ◽

Richard C Graham ◽

Patricia Shook ◽

Ronda Griffin

Keyword(s):

Ascorbic Acid ◽

Open Channel ◽

Channel System ◽

Short Intervals ◽

Platelet Survival ◽

Artifactual Changes ◽

Survival Studies ◽

And Function ◽

Induced Aggregation ◽

Platelet Structure

SummaryTo determine the effect on platelet behavior of transient exposure of platelets to ascorbic acid, studies of platelet function and ultrastructure were done before exposure to ascorbic acid at pH 6.5, during exposure to pH 6.5, and after restoration of pH to pre-acidifìcation levels. The effect of ascorbic acid (A. A.) was compared to that of HCl and citric acid (C. A.). ADP- and collagen-induced aggregation of normal platelets were significantly impaired by both A. A. and C. A. but were less affected by HCl. The release of 14C-serotonin was significantly reduced by each agent. The ultra-structure of normal platelets brought to pH 6.5 by A.A. was normal. After neutralization, there was marked dilatation of the open channel system and loss of the disc shape. When platelets were brought to pH 6.5 by A. A., then neutralized, the aggregates which formed after stimulation by ADP or collagen were smaller than normal, the platelets were less closely approximated, and degranulation was less complete. The data show that exposure of platelets to ascorbic acid for short intervals impairs their function when measured after restoration of pH to levels compatible with maximal responses. Platelet survival studies using autologous platelets labelled with 51Cr in the presence or absence of ascorbic acid showed that the recovery of normal platelets was unaffected by ascorbic acid, whereas recovery of platelets from patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, idiopathic thrombocythemia, and alcohol-related thrombocytopenia was markedly reduced. The injury resulting from the use of ascorbic acid in preparing platelets for studies of platelet survival in patients with disorders affecting platelets may impair the recovery of the cells, resulting in artifactual changes in the survival studies.

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Role of the Structural Characteristics of Dendrimers in the Manifestation of the Antiamyloid Properties

INEOS OPEN ◽

10.32931/io2018r ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

S. A. Sorokina ◽

◽

Yu. Yu. Stroilova ◽

V. I. Muronets ◽

Z. B. Shifrina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽

Structural Characteristics ◽

Short Review ◽

External Factors ◽

Amyloid Aggregation ◽

Amyloid Proteins ◽

Molecular Parameters ◽

Amyloid Aggregates ◽

Aggregation Processes

Among the compounds able to efficiently inhibit the amyloid aggregation of proteins and decompose the amyloid aggregates that cause neurodegenerative diseases, of particular interest are dendrimers, which represent individual macromolecules with the hypercrosslinked architectures and given molecular parameters. This short review outlines the peculiarities of the antiamyloid activity of dendrimers and discusses the effect of dendrimer structures and external factors on their antiamyloid properties. The potential of application of dendrimers in further investigations on the aggregation processes of amyloid proteins as the compounds that exhibit the remarkable antiamyloid activity is evaluated.

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