β-Glucocerebrosidase (GBA/GCase) mutations leading to misfolded protein cause Gaucher's disease and are a major genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The identification of small molecule pharmacological chaperones that can stabilize the misfolded protein and increase delivery of degradation-prone mutant GCase to the lysosome is a strategy under active investigation. Here, we describe the first use of fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) to identify pharmacological chaperones of GCase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTarget of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) antagonistically modulate metabolism and aging. However, how they coordinate to determine longevity and if they act via separable mechanisms is unclear. Here, we show that neuronal AMPK is essential for lifespan extension from TORC1 inhibition, and that TORC1 suppression increases lifespan cell non autonomously via distinct mechanisms from global AMPK activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondrial network remodeling between fused and fragmented states facilitates mitophagy, interaction with other organelles, and metabolic flexibility. Aging is associated with a loss of mitochondrial network homeostasis, but cellular processes causally linking these changes to organismal senescence remain unclear. Here, we show that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and dietary restriction (DR) promote longevity in C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECTIVE To assess rates of intraoperative complications and conversion to laparotomy associated with supervised veterinary students performing laparoscopic ovariectomy in dogs. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 161 female shelter dogs for which elective laparoscopic ovariectomy had been performed by supervised senior (fourth-year) veterinary students from 2010 through 2014.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgeing is driven by a loss of transcriptional and protein homeostasis and is the key risk factor for multiple chronic diseases. Interventions that attenuate or reverse systemic dysfunction associated with age therefore have the potential to reduce overall disease risk in the elderly. Precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) splicing is a fundamental link between gene expression and the proteome, and deregulation of the splicing machinery is linked to several age-related chronic illnesses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic, age-associated diseases are already among the leading causes of morbidity and death in the world, a problem exacerbated by the rapidly rising proportion of elderly in the global population. This emergent epidemic represents the next great challenge for biomedical science and public health. Fortunately, decades of studies into the biology of aging have provided a head start by revealing an evolutionarily conserved network of genes that controls the rate and quality of the aging process itself and which can thereby be targeted for protection against age-onset disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCognitive functioning is often compromised with increasing levels of stress and fatigue, both of which are often experienced by veterinarians. Many high-stress fields have implemented checklists to reduce human error. The use of these checklists has been shown to improve the quality of medical care, including adherence to evidence-based best practices and improvement of patient safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAging is characterized by loss of homeostasis across multiple tissues. The nervous system governs whole-body homeostasis by communicating external and internal signals to peripheral tissues. Here, we highlight neuronal mechanisms and downstream outputs that regulate aging and longevity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDistinct methods are required for inducing mucosal versus systemic immunity in mammals for vaccine protection at the tissues most commonly breached by pathogens. Understanding of mucosal immunization in teleost fish is needed to combat aquaculture disease, understand emerging ecological threats, and know how vertebrate adaptive immunity evolved. Here, we quantitatively measured expression levels of IgM as well as the teleost mucosal immunoglobulin, IgZ/IgT, in zebrafish given an antigen systemically via intraperitoneal (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare the NK-1 receptor antagonist maropitant to morphine during and after surgery in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy (OHE).
Methods: 30 healthy female dogs were randomly divided to receive either a pre-anaesthetic dose of morphine (0.5 mg/kg SQ) or maropitant (1 mg/kg, SQ) prior to OHE.
Low energy states delay aging in multiple species, yet mechanisms coordinating energetics and longevity across tissues remain poorly defined. The conserved energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and its corresponding phosphatase calcineurin modulate longevity via the CREB regulated transcriptional coactivator (CRTC)-1 in C. elegans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSIRT3 is a NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase that regulates the function of numerous mitochondrial proteins with roles in metabolism, oxidative stress, and cell survival. It is emerging as an instrumental regulator of the mitochondrial adaptive responses to stress, including metabolic reprogramming and enhancing antioxidant defense mechanisms. Here, we discuss the role that SIRT3 plays at both a cellular and physiological level and consider its involvement in disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProgressive mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to neuronal degeneration in age-mediated disease. An essential regulator of mitochondrial function is the deacetylase, sirtuin 3 (SIRT3). Here we investigate a role for CNS Sirt3 in mitochondrial responses to reactive oxygen species (ROS)- and Alzheimer's disease (AD)-mediated stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidermolysis bullosa (EB) is an inherited disorder causing extensive, painful skin blistering and wounds. Currently, there is no cure and the focus of care is on the clinical management of the skin and other affected body systems, together with supportive care to individuals and families. The wound care for Epidermolysis bullosa (WEB) project is a collaboration with adults with EB, carers, clinical nurse specialists, a designer and manufacturers to develop novel products for EB wound care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the effects of infiltration of the incision site with bupivacaine hydrochloride as part of a multimodal analgesia protocol (incisional block) on postoperative analgesia and incisional healing.
Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial.
Animals: 92 shelter-owned female dogs undergoing routine ovariohysterectomy.
Background: User engagement has become a central tenet of health-care policy. This paper reports on a case study in progress that highlights user engagement in the research process in relation to medical device development.
Objectives: To work with a specific group of medical device users to uncover unmet needs, translating these into design concepts, novel technologies and products.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address three topical themes: user involvement in health services research; determining the value of new medical technologies in patient care pathways, furthering knowledge related to quality in health and social care; and knowledge exchange between manufacturers, health service supply chain networks and device users. The model is being validated in a case study in progress. The latter is a "proving ground" study for a translational research company.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNurses are in an ideal position to use their clinical observations to highlight unmet needs in relation to device use. This paper explores issues that relate to medical devices. An overview is given of the medical device field and examples are given from a survey of the healthcare literature to determine the level of user involvement in device development.
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