Publications by authors named "Fernandez-Villalba E"

After its introduction in the ICD-10-CM in 2016, sarcopenia is a condition widely considered to be a medical disease with important consequences for the elderly. Considering its high prevalence in older adults and its detrimental effects on health, it is essential to identify its risk factors to inform targeted interventions. Taking data from wave 2 of the ELSA, using ML-based methods, this study investigates which factors are significantly associated with sarcopenia.

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Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder featured by progressive cognitive decline, which manifests in severe impairment of memory, attention, emotional processing and daily activities, leading to significant disability and social burden. Investigation on Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), the prodromal and transitional stage between normal aging and AD, serves as a key in diagnosing and slowing down the progression of AD. Numerous effects have been made up to date, however, the attentional mechanisms under different external emotion stimuli in MCI and AD are still unexplored in deep.

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Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and age is an important risk factor. Preclinical models provide supportive evidence toward age-related cardiac changes, as well as allow for the study of pathological aspects of the disease. In the present work, we evaluated the electrocardiogram (ECG) recording in the during the aging process in both females and males.

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Nitric oxide (NO) plays a pivotal role in integrating dopamine transmission in the basal ganglia and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease (PD). The objective of this study was to ascertain whether the NO synthase inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), is able to reduce L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias (LIDs) in a non-human primate model of PD chronically intoxicated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Six Parkinsonian macaques were treated daily with L-DOPA for 3-4 months until they developed LIDs.

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Magnesium (Mg) has a vital role in the human body, and the kidney is a key organ in the metabolism and excretion of this cation. The objective of this work is to compile the available evidence regarding the role that Mg plays in health and disease, with a special focus on the elderly population with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the eventual sex differences. A narrative review was carried out by executing an exhaustive search in the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Urolithins, substances produced from certain dietary polyphenols by gut bacteria, may indicate the composition and functionality of gut microbiota and were studied in relation to Parkinson's disease severity.
  • * The study found that patients with advanced Parkinson's showed an increase in urolithin non-producers and had altered gut bacteria, highlighting the potential for using urolithin levels in urine to assess gut health and inflammation in Parkinson's patients.
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  • Dysautonomia, a common issue in Parkinson's disease (PD), affects the autonomic nervous system, leading to various cardiovascular problems due to nerve degeneration.
  • Symptoms include orthostatic hypotension, altered heart rate, and imbalances between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, which increase the risk of cardiac damage.
  • PD treatments like L-DOPA can exacerbate cardiovascular issues, highlighting the need for careful monitoring and potential alternative therapies, especially for older patients.
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The impact of age-associated disorders is increasing as the life expectancy of the population increments. Cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, have the highest social and economic burden and increasing evidence show interrelations between them. Particularly, dysfunction of the cardiovascular nervous system is part of the dysautonomic symptoms of Parkinson's disease, although more studies are needed to elucidate the role of cardiac function on it.

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World's population is exponentially aging as people reaching 100 years old has increased. The number of areas with the highest centennial population rates (Blue Zones), are significantly higher. Are there any determinant factors that favor this situation in Spain? The goal of this study was to determine the possible influence of sex, rurality and socioeconomic factors (Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) on the prevalence of the centennial population of the Spanish society.

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The diurnal rodent () is considered an attractive natural model for Alzheimer's disease and other human age-related features. However, it has not been explored so far if the could be used as a model to study Parkinson's disease. To test this idea, 10 adult male were divided into control group and MPTP-intoxicated animals.

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It has been more than 200 years since James Parkinson made the first descriptions of the disease that bears his name. Since then, knowledge about Parkinson's disease has been improved, and its pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatments are well described in the scientific and medical literature. However, there is no way to prevent the disease from its progressive nature yet and only its symptoms can be minimized.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder marked primarily by motor symptoms such as rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability and resting tremor associated with dopaminergic neuronal loss in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and deficit of dopamine in the basal ganglia. These motor symptoms can be preceded by pre-motor symptoms whose recognition can be useful to apply different strategies to evaluate risk, early diagnosis and prevention of PD progression. Although clinical characteristics of PD are well defined, its pathogenesis is still not completely known, what makes discoveries of therapies capable of curing patients difficult to be reached.

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Integrating the multifactorial processes co-occurring in both physiological and pathological human conditions still remains one of the main challenges in translational investigation. Moreover, the impact of age-associated disorders has increased, which underlines the urgent need to find a feasible model that could help in the development of successful therapies. In this sense, the Octodon degus has been indicated as a 'natural' model in many biomedical areas, especially in ageing.

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Article Synopsis
  • Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder primarily studied in younger animal models, which may overlook age-related decline processes and their effects on disease development.
  • Research focuses on the role of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in PD, suggesting they could be potential therapeutic targets for treatment.
  • A study conducted on older mice showed that neuronal death and glial response are linked, revealing significant changes over time after MPTP injections, with implications for understanding neurodegeneration in aging and potential approaches to slowing PD progression.
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Different cellular mechanisms have been described as being potentially involved in the progression of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, although their role is still unclear. The present study aimed to identify in detail, through differentially expressed genes analysis by bioinformatics approaches, the molecular mechanisms triggered after a systemic insult in parkinsonian mice. To address this objective, we combined a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis experimental mice model with an acute 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetradropyridine (MPTP) intoxication.

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Inflammation is a predominant aspect of neurodegenerative diseases and experimental studies performed in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) suggesting that a sustained neuroinflammation exacerbates the nigrostriatal degeneration pathway. The central role of microglia in neuroinflammation has been studied as a target for potential neuroprotective drugs for PD, for example nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) inhibitors that regulates microglial activation and migration. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective response of the iminosugar 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ) and compare its effect with a combined treatment with ibuprofen.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on the nursing homes for dependent older people. The difficulty of management of this crisis is aggravated by the frailty of the people served and by the specific characteristics of the care  area, mainly the fact of not being integrated into the health system. The  objective of this work is to describe the pharmaceutical care developed by a  hospital pharmacy service established in a nursing home and, from a more  global perspective, analyze the strengths and weaknesses found from the  various experiences of hospital pharmacy in all spanish autonomous  communities to deal with this pandemic.

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Objective: To describe the current situation regarding the specialized pharmaceutical service provision in nursing homes in Spain,  from a healthcare perspective reflecting activity, care and services  provided.

Method: Observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted between February-June 2018 through a survey aimed at all  Hospital Pharmacy Units in Spain. Once the initial version was assessed  by twelve evaluators whose healthcare assistance work were related to  nursing homes, an electronic form was designed, consisting on 10  dimensions and 66 questions.

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Background: Autonomic dysfunction is a well-known dominant symptom in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. However, the role of cardiac sympathetic nerves still needs to be elucidated.

Objectives: To evaluate cardiac sympathetic response in Parkinsonian and dyskinetic monkeys.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sleep deprivation leads to memory issues similar to those seen in dementia and is associated with stress-induced hormone changes, like elevated cortisol levels.
  • The study used the Octodon degus rodent model to explore how stress, exercise, and age affect memory after sleep deprivation.
  • Findings showed that while sleep deprivation impaired memory in both young and aged rodents, voluntary exercise improved cognitive performance and reduced cortisol levels regardless of age.
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  • Recent studies suggest brain and peripheral inflammation contribute to the progression of Parkinson's disease, but the exact causes remain unclear.
  • This research examines how acute inflammation in the colon affects dopaminergic neuron death and glial responses in mice exposed to a neurotoxin (MPTP).
  • Findings indicate that colonic inflammation exacerbates neuron loss and activates glial cells, highlighting a potential link between gastrointestinal issues and the worsening of Parkinson's symptoms.
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  • The study explores the potential of using a combination of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drugs to slow down neurodegenerative disorders, particularly focusing on Parkinson's disease (PD) in older mice.
  • Researchers found that the combination of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and HA-1077 led to increased neuronal death and heightened neuroinflammatory responses in the brains of aged mice exposed to a Parkinson's disease model.
  • These unexpected toxic effects emphasize the need for caution when prescribing drug combinations to elderly patients with Parkinson's, as they may worsen the disease rather than help it.
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After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent and incidental neurodegenerative disorder, affecting more than 2% of the population older than 65 years old. Since it was first described 200 years ago by Dr James Parkinson, great steps have been made in the understanding of the pathology. However, the cause(s) that initiates and perpetuates the neurodegenerative process is (are) still not clear.

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  • This study investigates the combined effects of physical activity and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) on dopaminergic cell death and inflammation in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease induced by MPTP.
  • The research involved 48 male mice, which were monitored for voluntary physical activity over 30 days and divided into four groups: control, NAC, MPTP, and MPTP+NAC.
  • Results showed that while physical activity was generally increased, it did not protect dopaminergic neurons, as marked reductions in neuron numbers were found in all MPTP-treated groups, indicating that the combination of PA and NAC failed to mitigate neurodegenerative effects.
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Objective: To carry out an approach for the development of a frailty index in  nursing homes and to analize its potential use in order to individualize the  pharmacological treatment.

Method: The frailty index was constructed from the information included in the  comprehensive geriatric assessment established in nursing homes. The index  has been retrospectively applied to the patients of two centers using the last  comprehensive geriatric assessment of each one.

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