As neurons age, they show a decrease in their ability to degrade proteins and membranes. Because undegraded material is a source of toxic products, defects in degradation are associated with reduced cell function and survival. However, there are very few dead neurons in the aging brain, suggesting the action of compensatory mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn humans, a considerable number of the autopsy samples of cognitively normal individuals aged between 57 and 102 years have revealed the presence of amyloid plaques, one of the typical signs of AD, indicating that many of us use mechanisms that defend ourselves from the toxic consequences of Aß. The human APP NL/F (hAPP NL/F) knockin mouse appears as the ideal mouse model to identify these mechanisms, since they have high Aß42 levels at an early age and moderate signs of disease when old. Here we show that in these mice, the brain levels of the hemoprotein Neuroglobin (Ngb) increase with age, in parallel with the increase in Aß42.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo determine whether a p38 MAPK inhibitor incorporated into nanoemulsion-based chitosan nanocapsules can reduce the activity of this kinase in the brain through their nasal administration in mice. We selected the p38 MAPK inhibitor PH797804, an ATP-competitive inhibitor of p38α encapsulated in nanoemulsion-based chitosan nanocapsules. Biological effect was evaluated in microglial and neuronal cells and in and systems, in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the brain, insulin plays an important role in cognitive processes. During aging, these faculties decline, as does insulin signaling. The mechanism behind this last phenomenon is unclear.
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