Superoxide Dismutase 2 Polymorphisms and Osteoporosis in Asian Indians: A Genetic Association Analysis.

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the development of osteoporosis. The present cross-sectional study focuses on mapping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2) gene in Asian Indians. The bone mineral density (BMD) of study subjects was assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry.

Genetic epidemiology of osteoporosis across four microsatellite markers near the VDR gene.

The large amount of positive genetic association data in a number of bone diseases suggests functional consequences of Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism. In the present study, four microsatellite markers viz., D12S1633, D12S1635, D12S347, and D12S96, that lie in the vicinity of the VDR gene on chromosome 12 were selected to assess the allele distribution pattern and diversity among three groups of individuals - normal, osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Some considerations on the kinetics of pathogenic prions formation.

Literature data, respective to kinetics of infectivities due to prion diseases, have been here reconsidered. The autocatalytic phenomenon of prion replication and the process of advancement of the infection are also considered. A model describing the interconversion from "normal" into "pathogenic" prions, and the subsequent growth of the infection, is proposed.

Toxicity testing in environmental monitoring: the role of enzymatic biosensors.

Biological toxicity testing is a rapidly expanding field involving numerous bioanalytical techniques. The enzymatic biosensors are valuable screening tools to identify pollutants and/or toxic agents in the environment and/or in food matrices, thus representing a valid alternative to animal testing in analytical toxicology. Inhibition based biosensors here presented have been proved to represent alternative assays for the toxicity evaluation of warfare agents and endocrine disrupting chemicals as well as algal toxins (phycotoxins) in the contamined sea foods (mainly clams and other mollusks).