Efficacy of a Four-Week Diagonal Pattern Exercise Program on Trunk and Lower Limb Function in Patients With Stroke-Induced Hemiplegia.

Objective The intended effect of this investigation is to quantify the efficacy of a four-week program of diagonal pattern exercises in managing trunk impairments and improving gait difficulties in hemiplegic stroke subjects. The study aims to measure changes in trunk stability and gait parameters post-intervention, providing insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of these exercises for stroke rehabilitation. Methodology This experimentation approach encompassing before and the follow-up test evaluations was implemented in this investigation.

Enhancing Dynamic Balance and Postural Stability in Stroke Patients: The Impact of Immersive Virtual Reality Training.

Introduction Stroke is a major neurological event resulting from reduced or blocked blood flow to the brain, leading to significant morbidity. Immediate medical attention is essential to minimize brain damage and improve outcomes since it leads to many clinical deficits like locomotor impairment, instability in postural control, tonic alterations of the affected musculature, and an array of neurological dysfunctions if left unnoticed. Immersive virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a novel therapeutic tool in stroke rehabilitation, offering engaging and realistic environments for therapy.

Tenascin C promotes cancer cell plasticity in mesenchymal glioblastoma.

Interconversion of transformed non-stem cells to cancer stem cells, termed cancer cell plasticity, contributes to intra-tumor heterogeneity and its molecular mechanisms are currently unknown. Here, we have identified Tenascin C (TNC) to be upregulated and secreted in mesenchymal glioblastoma (MES GBM) subtype with high NF-κB signaling activity. Silencing TNC decreases proliferation, migration and suppresses self-renewal of glioma stem cells.

Organelle-Targeted BODIPY Photocages: Visible-Light-Mediated Subcellular Photorelease.

Photocaging facilitates non-invasive and precise spatio-temporal control over the release of biologically relevant small- and macro-molecules using light. However, sub-cellular organelles are dispersed in cells in a manner that renders selective light-irradiation of a complete organelle impractical. Organelle-specific photocages could provide a powerful method for releasing bioactive molecules in sub-cellular locations.

When Pain Brings Gain: Soccer Players Behavior and Admissions Suggest Feigning Injury to Maintain a Favorable Scoreline.

The rules of soccer dictate that play, once halted, cannot continue if a player is injured. Players may take advantage of this rule by feigning injury to preserve beneficial match positions. Thirty Euro 2008 matches, 90 Premier League matches and 63 World Cup 2010 matches were reviewed for the timing and severity of injuries.

TVP1022: A Novel Cardioprotective Drug Attenuates Left Ventricular Remodeling After Ischemia/Reperfusion in Pigs.

Background: The current cornerstone treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) is restoration of coronary blood flow by means of thrombolytic therapy or primary percutaneous coronary intervention. However, reperfusion of ischemic myocardium can actually provoke tissue damage, defined as "ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury." TVP1022 [the S-isomer of rasagiline (Azilect), FDA-approved anti-Parkinson's drug] was found to exert cardioprotective activities against various cardiac insults, such as chronic heart failure and I/R, in rat models.

Comparative effectiveness of vildagliptin in combination with other oral anti-diabetes agents in usual-care conditions: the EDGE-Latin America study.

Objective: To assess the proportion of patients on vildagliptin add-on dual therapy who respond to treatment over a 12 month follow-up, relative to comparator oral anti-diabetes dual therapy, in a usual care setting.

Research Design And Methods: Participants were patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) aged 18 years and older from 311 centers in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela. Patients were taking monotherapy with an oral anti-diabetes drug (OAD), and were prescribed a new add-on OAD based on the judgment of their personal physician.

Combating diabetes complications by 1-Fe, a corrole-based catalytic antioxidant.

The potent corrole-based ROS/RNS decomposition catalyst 1-Fe was examined regarding its effect on the development of diabetes complications, in parallel with studies that addressed safety and toxicity issues that are crucial for forwarding the compound towards clinical trials. Cardiotoxicity and mutagenic potential were addressed by applying the hERG and AMES tests on 1-Fe, revealing that it is safe enough for further development. General toxicity studies in rats disclosed the appearance of mild adverse effect only at a dose of 300 mg/kg/day.

I1 imidazoline receptor: novel potential cytoprotective target of TVP1022, the S-enantiomer of rasagiline.

TVP1022, the S-enantiomer of rasagiline (Azilect®) (N-propargyl-1R-aminoindan), exerts cyto/cardio-protective effects in a variety of experimental cardiac and neuronal models. Previous studies have demonstrated that the protective activity of TVP1022 and other propargyl derivatives involve the activation of p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. In the current study, we further investigated the molecular mechanism of action and signaling pathways of TVP1022 which may account for the cyto/cardio-protective efficacy of the drug.

The E3 ubiquitin-ligase Bmi1/Ring1A controls the proteasomal degradation of Top2alpha cleavage complex - a potentially new drug target.

Background: The topoisomerases Top1, Top2alpha and Top2beta are important molecular targets for antitumor drugs, which specifically poison Top1 or Top2 isomers. While it was previously demonstrated that poisoned Top1 and Top2beta are subject to proteasomal degradation, this phenomena was not demonstrated for Top2alpha.

Methodology/principal Findings: We show here that Top2alpha is subject to drug induced proteasomal degradation as well, although at a lower rate than Top2beta.

A novel phospholipid derivative of indomethacin, DP-155 [mixture of 1-steroyl and 1-palmitoyl-2-{6-[1-(p-chlorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methyl-3-indolyl acetamido]hexanoyl}-sn-glycero-3-phosophatidyl [corrected] choline], shows superior safety and similar efficacy in reducing brain amyloid beta in an Alzheimer's disease model.

Indomethacin has been suggested for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its use is limited by gastrointestinal and renal toxicity. To overcome this limitation, D-Pharm Ltd. (Rehovot, Israel) developed DP-155 (mixture of 1-steroyl and 1-palmitoyl-2-{6-[1-(p-chlorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methyl-3-indolyl acetamido] hexanoyl}-Sn-glycero-3-phosophatidyl [corrected] choline), a lecithin derivative of indomethacin.

Familial clustering of autoimmune diseases in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

We investigated the familial aggregation of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) among first-degree relatives (FDR) of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Relatives of 98 T1D patients defined according to the guidelines diagnosis of the American Diabetes Association and 113 matched controls without any AID, were interviewed using a questionnaire that sought information about demographic and medical characteristics including a list of 18 AIDs. Genetic analysis was performed using the program ASSOC and by calculating recurrent risk ratios.

Clinical and immunological characteristics of type 1 diabetes mellitus in a northwestern Colombian population.

We underwent a project aimed to define the clinical and immunological characteristics of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a Colombian population. This was a multicenter and cross-sectional study. Patients were systematically interviewed and their medical records reviewed, using a questionnaire that sought information about demographic, clinical and immunological characteristics.

Membrane interactions and metal ion effects on bilayer permeation of the lipophilic ion modulator DP-109.

DP-109, a lipophilic bivalent metal ion modulator currently under preclinical development for neurodegenerative disorders, was designed to have membrane-associated activity, thereby restricting its action to the vicinity of cell membranes. We describe the application of a colorimetric phospholipid/polydiacetylene (PDA) biomimetic membrane assay in elucidating DP-109 membrane interactions and penetration into lipid bilayers. In this membrane model, visible quantifiable color changes were monitored in studying membrane interactions.

Clinical pharmacology of DP-b99 in healthy volunteers: first administration to humans.

Aims: To investigate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of DP-b99 in healthy volunteers. DP-b99 is a newly developed lipophilic, cell permeable derivative of BAPTA (1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid), which selectively modulates the distribution of metal ions in hydrophobic milieu, and is in clinical development as a neuroprotectant for cerebral ischaemic stroke. To our knowledge no BAPTA derivative has ever been administered to man.

Genetic linkage of prostate cancer risk to the chromosome 3 region bearing FHIT.

We conducted linkage analysis of 80 candidate genes in 201 brother pairs affected with prostatic adenocarcinoma. Markers representing two adjacent candidate genes on chromosome 3p, CDC25A and FHIT, showed suggestive evidence for linkage with single-point identity-by-descent allele-sharing statistics. Fine-structure multipoint linkage analysis yielded a maximum LOD score of 3.

The lipophilic metal chelator DP-109 reduces amyloid pathology in brains of human beta-amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice.

Metals such as zinc, copper and iron contribute to aggregation of amyloid-beta (Abeta) protein and deposition of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We examined whether the lipophilic metal chelator DP-109 inhibited these events in aged female hAbetaPP-transgenic Tg2576 mice. Daily gavage administration of DP-109 for 3 months markedly reduced the burden of amyloid plaques and the degree of cerebral amyloid angiopathy in brains, compared to animals receiving vehicle treatment.

Bioactive lipids and their receptors.

Recent studies show that several, if not all, degradative products of glycerol- and sphingosine-based lipids are active molecules that play important roles in different signal transduction pathways. The functions and actions of lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine 1-phosphate, the degradation products of phospholipids and sphingolipids, respectively, have received a great deal of attention during the past few years. These lipid mediators are active through several abundant G protein-coupled receptors that were recently identified and characterized.

Effectiveness of the Charleston bending brace in the treatment of single-curve idiopathic scoliosis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Charleston bending brace when compared with the thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO or Boston) brace in the treatment of single-curve adolescent-type idiopathic scoliosis. The Charleston and TLSO braces were applied for approximately 8 nighttime hours and 18 to 22 hours per day, respectively. Treatment success was defined as improvement of curve deterioration with <5 degrees progression from the start of brace therapy until the conclusion of treatment, as well as the absence for the need to perform corrective surgery.

Mechanism of tachykinin NK3 receptor-mediated colonic ion transport in the guinea pig.

The guinea pig colon was used to elucidate the mechanism of tachykinin-induced secretion. Increased short-circuit current was observed in response to natural and synthetic tachykinins with rank orders of potency of substance P > neurokinin A = neuropeptide K>> neuropeptide gamma; and senktide (tachykinin NK3 receptor agonist)> Sar-substance P (tachykinin NK1 receptor agonist)> betaAlaneurokinin A (tachykinin NK2 receptor agonist)). A functional role of tachykinin NK1 receptors was confirmed as substance P and neurokinin A responsiveness was blocked by the tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonist GR82334.

The response of rat colonic mucosa to 5-hydroxytryptamine in health and following restraint stress.

The present study characterized the rat colonic secretory response to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and determined alterations in this response following stress. 5-HT stimulated rat colonic short-circuit current in a concentration-dependent fashion (pD2 = 5.19).

Relationship between the effects of alfuzosin on rat urethral and blood pressures and its tissue concentrations.

This study was undertaken in order to establish the alpha1-antagonist effects of alfuzosin on phenylephrine-induced increases in urethral and arterial blood pressures at 1 and 6 hours post dosing (10 mg/kg, p.o.).

The adrenergic, cholinergic and NANC nerve-mediated contractions of the female rabbit bladder neck and proximal, medial and distal urethra.

1. The nerve-mediated contraction of the female rabbit bladder neck and different portions of the urethra (proximal, medial and distal) was studied in vitro by electrical stimulation (50 V, 30 Hz, 0.05 ms width, trains of 5 s every 5 min) by use of a superfusion system.