The role of carotenoids from red mamey fruit () against amyloid-β monomers in Alzheimer's disease: Computational analysis and ADMET prediction.

Background: Carotenoids, potent antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, have recently garnered attention for their potential therapeutic effects against neurodegenerative diseases. This study focuses on the interaction and anti-aggregation properties of conventional and unconventional carotenoids found in red mamey fruit, a nutraceutical fruit that is a rich source of these compounds.

Objective: To assess computational the interaction between of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide with a set of carotenoids and three carotenoids previously explored in experimental assays as well as to assess ADMET prediction of carotenoids selected by computational analysis results.

Depression and Plasma pTau Levels Are Associated with Frailty Status in Hispanic Community-Dwelling Older Women.

The population of Hispanic older adults is growing along with the burden of chronic diseases. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the factors associated with frailty among community-dwelling Hispanic women aged ≥60 years ( = 357) enrolled in the Panama Aging Research Initiative-Health Disparities study of cognitive-functional health of older persons in Panama. Cognitive function was assessed with a neuropsychological test battery.

Predictors of cognitive change in cognitively healthy older women in Panama: the PARI-HD study.

Background: Evidence suggests that a combination of biological and social factors influence risk of dementia differently for women and men. In healthy older women, several factors may contribute to changes in cognition.

Objective: Describe the characteristics associated with variation in cognition in a sample of cognitively healthy older Panamanian women.

Polypharmacy and Associated Health Outcomes in the PARI-HD Study.

Background: A growing body of evidence points to potential risks associated with polypharmacy (using ≥5 medications) in older adults, but most evidence is derived from studies where racial and ethnic minorities remain underrepresented among research participants.

Objective: Investigate the association between polypharmacy and cognitive function, subjective health state, frailty, and falls in Hispanic older adults.

Methods: Panama Aging Research Initiative-Health Disparities (PARI-HD) is a community-based cohort study of older adults free of dementia at baseline.

Digital phenotyping: An equal opportunity approach to reducing disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia research.

A rapidly aging world population is fueling a concomitant increase in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD). Scientific inquiry, however, has largely focused on White populations in Australia, the European Union, and North America. As such, there is an incomplete understanding of AD in other populations.

Depression Mediates the Association Between Occupational Complexity and Late-Life Cognition in Hispanics.

There is a dearth of research in Latin America regarding risk and protective factors affecting older adults' cognition. This study aimed to investigate the factors mediating the association between occupational complexity and late-life cognition and daily function in a sample of Hispanic older adults. Participants ( = 588) aged 65 years and older underwent clinical, functional, and cognitive assessments.

Post-training intra-basolateral complex of the amygdala infusions of clenbuterol enhance memory for conditioned place preference and increase ARC protein expression in dorsal hippocampal synaptic fractions.

The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) is critically involved in modulation of memory by stress hormones. Noradrenergic activation of the BLA enhances memory consolidation and plays a necessary role in the enhancing or impairing effects of stress hormones on memory. The BLA is not only involved in the consolidation of aversive memories but can regulate appetitive memory formation as well.

Critical Review of the Alzheimer's Disease Non-Transgenic Models: Can They Contribute to Disease Treatment?

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a growing neurodegenerative disease without effective treatments or therapies. Despite the use of different approaches and an extensive variety of genetic amyloid based models, therapeutic strategies remain elusive. AD is characterized by three main pathological hallmarks that include amyloid-β plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuroinflammatory processes; however, many other pathological mechanisms have been described in the literature.

Apolipoprotein ɛ4 Affects Multiple Domains of Neuropsychological Functioning in a Sample of Elderly Hispanics.

Apolipoprotein ɛ4 allele (APOEɛ4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), but inconsistencies have arisen in studies with Hispanics. The objective of this study was to explore APOEɛ4 expression and cognitive function in a sample of Panamanian older adults, including healthy controls, mild cognitive impairment, and AD. Participants with at least one copy of APOEɛ4 had a significantly lower performance in global cognition, verbal memory, executive functions, visuospatial abilities, regardless of diagnosis.

Hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-]indole Compounds as Potential Therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among the elderly and has become a leading public health concern worldwide. It represents a huge economic and psychological burden to caregivers and families. The presence of extracellular amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques is one of the hallmarks of this neurodegenerative disorder.

The Panama Aging Research Initiative Longitudinal Study.

The Panama Aging Research Initiative is a cohort study of 423 adults aged ≥65 years recruited from an outpatient geriatric department of Panama's largest public hospital, the Social Security Fund's Dr Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex (Complejo Hospitalario Dr Arnulfo Arias Madrid de la Caja de Seguro Social). The study provides the first reports of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors of cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as various health conditions common among older adults in Panama, including chronic illnesses, polypharmacy and rates of comorbidity. The initial study, conducted September 2012-May 2016, included a clinical interview; physical assessments of body mass index and handgrip strength; and cognitive testing, plus non-fasting blood draws for measurements of genetic (Apolipoprotein E genotype) and blood-based biological markers.

Inflammatory Biomarkers, Depressive Symptoms and Falls Among the elderly in Panama.

Background: Falls are common among elderly adults, and are predictors of hospitalization, institutionalization and mortality.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between blood-based markers of inflammation and fall events in a sample of elderly Hispanic adults.

Method: Data were collected from 190 participants enrolled in the Panama Aging Research Initiative study who completed baseline clinical and cognitive assessments.

Vascular biomarkers and ApoE4 expression in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Vascular pathology and genetic markers such as apolipoprotein E allele ε4 (ApoE ε4) are risk factors for the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). In Panama, a high prevalence of vascular risk factors and an increase in the aging population, generate the need to investigate biomarkers using specific, sensitive, non-invasive and cost-efficient methods that could be used in primary care. The main objective of this study was to explore the association between vascular biomarkers such as intima-media thickness (IMT) and stenosis, ApoΕ ε4 and cognitive function in a sample of older adults, including healthy controls ( = 41), MCI ( = 33), and AD ( = 12).

Inactivation of NMDA Receptors in the Ventral Tegmental Area during Cocaine Self-Administration Prevents GluA1 Upregulation but with Paradoxical Increases in Cocaine-Seeking Behavior.

Cocaine self-administration increases expression of GluA1 subunits in ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons, which subsequently enhance the motivation for cocaine. This increase in GluA1 may be dependent on concomitant NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation during self-administration, similar to cocaine-induced long-term potentiation in the VTA. In this study, we used viral-mediated expression of a dominant-negative GluN1 subunit (HSV-dnGluN1) in VTA neurons to study the effect of transient NMDAR inactivation on the GluA1 increases induced by chronic cocaine self-administration in male rats.

HDAC5 and Its Target Gene, Npas4, Function in the Nucleus Accumbens to Regulate Cocaine-Conditioned Behaviors.

Individuals suffering from substance-use disorders develop strong associations between the drug's rewarding effects and environmental cues, creating powerful, enduring triggers for relapse. We found that dephosphorylated, nuclear histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) reduced cocaine reward-context associations and relapse-like behaviors in a cocaine self-administration model. We also discovered that HDAC5 associates with an activity-sensitive enhancer of the Npas4 gene and negatively regulates NPAS4 expression.

Novel role and regulation of HDAC4 in cocaine-related behaviors.

Epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed to contribute to persistent aspects of addiction-related behaviors. One family of epigenetic molecules that may regulate maladaptive behavioral changes produced by cocaine use are the histone deacetylases (HDACs)-key regulators of chromatin and gene expression. In particular, the class IIa HDACs (HDAC4, HDAC5, HDAC7 and HDAC9) respond to changes in neuronal activity by modulating their distribution between the nucleus and cytoplasm-a process controlled in large part by changes in phosphorylation of conserved residues.

Individual and sex differences in high and low responder phenotypes.

Individual differences in responses to a novel environment are an important tool to predict predisposition to neuropsychiatric disorders. One way to examine individual differences involves classifying animals based on locomotion in a novel context. In this study we focused on individual and sex differences by categorizing female and male mice as high (HR) or low responders (LR) on the basis of open field locomotion.

Histone deacetylase 5 limits cocaine reward through cAMP-induced nuclear import.

Chromatin remodeling by histone deacetylases (HDACs) is a key mechanism regulating behavioral adaptations to cocaine use. We report here that cocaine and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling induce the transient nuclear accumulation of HDAC5 in rodent striatum. We show that cAMP-stimulated nuclear import of HDAC5 requires a signaling mechanism that involves transient, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-dependent dephosphorylation of a Cdk5 site (S279) found within the HDAC5 nuclear localization sequence.