Publications by authors named "Gohar Azhar"

Duloxetine, a Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI), is frequently used to treat diabetic peripheral neuropathy, depression, and fibromyalgia. However, its long-term cardiovascular implications in older individuals remain underexplored, particularly in those with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases. This medical record assessment aimed to evaluate the potential cardiovascular risks of duloxetine use in older persons after prolonged use.

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Background: Reduced meal frequency patterns have become popular for weight loss, maintenance, and improving cardiometabolic health. The extended fasting windows with these dietary patterns could lead to greater protein breakdown, which is a concern for middle-age and older adults who may need higher protein intakes to maintain or increase net protein balance.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify muscle and whole-body protein kinetic responses to three different daily protein intakes within a two-meal eating pattern.

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This retrospective study focused on the role of Dopamine Transporter (DAT) scans in diagnosing Parkinson's Disease (PD) in older adults with cognitive impairment (CI). We retrospectively analyzed brain imaging of 6483 individuals aged 60 and above with CI. Among these, 297 underwent a DAT scan, with 189 testing positive and 89 starting dopamine therapy.

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Doxorubicin (DOX), a commonly used anticancer agent, causes cardiotoxicity that begins with the first dose and may progress to heart failure years after treatment. An inflammatory response associated with neutrophil recruitment has been recognized as a mechanism of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. This study aimed to validate mRNA expression of the previously identified biomarkers of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, PGLYRP1, CAMP, MMP9, and CEACAM8, and to assay their protein expression in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients.

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Background: Soy-based meat alternatives (SBMA) are becoming increasingly popular, but it is unclear if they have the same anabolic effect on skeletal muscle as animal meat.

Objectives: We aimed to compare the stimulation of skeletal muscle protein synthesis by consumption of 1 or two 4 oz patties of SBMA with 4 oz (80% protein/20% fat) beef.

Methods: The study design was a randomized controlled trial.

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The sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) gene contains multiple exons that usually undergo alternative splicing. The exclusion of one or more exons causes domain loss in the alternatively spliced isoforms and may change their functions. However, it is not completely established to what extent the loss of a non-catalytic domain could affect its regulatory function.

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Falls pose a significant threat to older adults, resulting in injuries and mortality. Concurrently prescribed opioids and gabapentin for pain management may increase fall risks in older patients. This study aimed to estimate fall risks associated with the concurrent use of gabapentin and opioids, comparing them to opioid monotherapy in older adults.

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Gene expression of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue may serve for molecular studies on cardiovascular diseases. Chemotherapeutics, such as doxorubicin (DOX) may cause heart injury, but the mechanisms of these side effects of DOX are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate whether DOX-induced gene expression in archival FFPE heart tissue in experimental rats would correlate with the gene expression in fresh-frozen heart tissue by applying RNA sequencing technology.

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Interleukin-1β converting enzyme (ICE, caspase-1) is a thiol protease that cleaves the pro-inflammatory cytokine precursors of IL-1β and IL-18 into active forms. Given the association between caspase-1 and cardiovascular pathology, we analyzed the hearts of ICE knockout (ICE KO) mice to test the hypothesis that caspase-1 plays a significant role in cardiac morphology and function. We characterized the histological and functional changes in the hearts of ICE KO mice compared to the Wild type.

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Chronic periodontitis and its keystone pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis, have increasingly been linked with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, P.gingivalis-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mediated release of neuroinflammatory proteins contributes to AD remains underexplored.

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RhoA-regulated gene transcription by serum response factor (SRF) and its transcriptional cofactor myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTFs) signaling pathway has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for pharmacological intervention in multiple diseases. Altered mitochondrial metabolism is one of the major hallmarks of cancer, therefore, this upregulation is a vulnerability that can be targeted with Rho/MRTF/SRF inhibitors. Recent advances identified a novel series of oxadiazole-thioether compounds that disrupt the SRF transcription, however, the direct molecular target of these compounds is unclear.

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Scope: Dietary proteins and essential amino acids (EAAs) are the major nutritional supplements that support the growth and activity of gut microbes contributing to the wellbeing of their host. This study hypothesizes that daily supplementation of the diet with either EAAs or whey protein for 12 weeks would improve the gut microbiome of older adults.

Methods And Results: The stool samples are processed and subjected to Illumina-based 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing.

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Among the branched-chain amino acids, leucine and isoleucine have been well studied for their roles in improving mitochondrial function and reducing oxidative stress. However, role of valine in mitochondrial function regulation and oxidative stress management remains elusive. This study investigated valine effect on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress in vitro.

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BACKGROUND Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common cause of dementia. Given the similarities between the symptoms of DLB and non-DLB Alzheimer disease (AD) and related dementias, patients can sometimes be misdiagnosed with AD. To increase the sensitivity of current DLB guidelines, the DLB Consortium published its fourth revised report in 2017 with increased diagnostic weight given to dopamine transporter (DAT) uptake in the basal ganglia, demonstrated by single-photon emission computed tomography or positron emission tomography imaging.

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Article Synopsis
  • A recent clinical trial found that a dietary supplement of essential amino acids (EAAs) is more effective than whey protein in improving physical function among older adults with low physical function.
  • The study identified 20 proteins that were differentially expressed between the EAA and whey groups, with five proteins in the EAA group showing significantly higher expression linked to increased energy for muscle and cardiac strength.
  • Overall, the research suggests that EAAs could enhance muscle strength and physical performance in older adults, highlighting their potential benefits over traditional whey protein.
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a key pathogen in periodontitis, is associated with neuroinflammation. Periodontal disease increases with age; 70.1% of adults 65 years and older have periodontal problems.

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Background: Delirium is a common medical condition that is highly prevalent in older adults who are at increased risk for its development with any illness, post-surgery or during hospitalization. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the health literacy of older adult patients and their caregivers about delirium, offer a brief educational intervention, and reevaluate their knowledge post intervention.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a quality improvement project, focused on delirium health literacy in older adult patients ≥60 years and their caregivers.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Treatment with CCG-1423 leads to a dose-dependent reduction in oxidative phosphorylation while increasing glycolysis, indicating a shift in how the cells generate energy.
  • * The drug also causes hyperacetylation of histone 4 and alters both the actin cytoskeleton and mitochondrial structure, ultimately resulting in decreased mitochondrial gene expression and ATP production.
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Healthcare is currently struggling to provide access and coverage for an increasingly diverse aging population who frequently have multiple co-morbid conditions complicating their care and medical management. This retrospective study analyzed the prevalence and distribution of common co-morbid conditions (hypertension, dyslipidemia, dementia, and diabetes mellitus) in 316 elderly heart failure patients (age range 80-103; mean 87 ±4.9).

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Introduction: Public health achievements throughout the last century have resulted in a steady increase in life expectancy. An emergent subset has distinguished themselves, living well beyond the ninth decade by avoiding or delaying the onset of most age-related diseases, including bone diseases and fractures. In this study, we evaluated the bone health of the oldest community-dwelling individuals living in rural Arkansas.

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Millions of Americans live with dementia. Caregivers of this population provide countless hours of multifaceted, complex care that frequently cause unrelenting stress which can result in immense burden. However, it is not fully understood what efforts can be made to reduce the stress among caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD).

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Cardiovascular disease is a common comorbidity associated with an aging population. However, there is a unique group of individuals whose age-defying qualities are still being investigated. This retrospective chart review analyzed various cardiac and metabolic health parameters to characterize the prevalence of heart failure and metabolic derangements in individuals aged 90 years old or older in central Arkansas.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The Dietary Guidelines for Americans introduced "ounce equivalents" to help people meet their protein needs but the metabolic impact of different protein sources isn't well defined
  • - A study with 56 healthy young adults revealed that animal-based proteins (like beef and eggs) led to better muscle protein synthesis compared to plant-based proteins (like tofu and nuts), indicating that not all protein sources have the same nutritional value
  • - The effectiveness of protein sources in promoting muscle growth is closely linked to their essential amino acid (EAA) content, suggesting that the guidelines should account for these differences to promote healthier eating patterns
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