Publications by authors named "Maria Carmen Gomez-Cabrera"

Function declines throughout life although phenotypical manifestations in terms of frailty or disability are only seen in the later periods of our life. The causes underlying lifelong function decline are the aging process "per se", chronic diseases, and lifestyle factors. These three etiological causes result in the deterioration of several organs and systems which act synergistically to finally produce frailty and disability.

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Article Synopsis
  • Exercise is important for staying healthy and can help prevent diseases as we age.
  • When we exercise, our bodies learn to handle stress better, which can lead to positive long-term changes.
  • Scientists are studying how our muscles remember exercise to help athletes train better and help people recover from injuries more effectively.
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Cancer-associated cachexia represents a multifactorial syndrome mainly characterized by muscle mass loss, which causes both a decrease in quality of life and anti-cancer therapy failure, among other consequences. The definition and diagnostic criteria of cachexia have changed and improved over time, including three different stages (pre-cachexia, cachexia, and refractory cachexia) and objective diagnostic markers. This metabolic wasting syndrome is characterized by a negative protein balance, and anti-cancer drugs like chemotherapy or immunotherapy exacerbate it through relatively unknown mechanisms.

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Most of the studies on physical exercise in older adults have been conducted through randomized clinical trials performed under tight experimental conditions. Data regarding Real-Life physical exercise intervention programs in older adults with different conditions and in different settings, are lacking. This is an interventional, prospective and pragmatic Real-Life study in which fifty sedentary and frail individuals were enrolled.

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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed enormous pressure on intensive care units (ICUs) and on healthcare systems in general. A deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of the most severe forms of COVID-19 would help guide the development of more effective interventions. Herein, we characterized the inflammatory state of patients with COVID-19 of varying degrees of severity to identify admission biomarkers for predicting COVID-19 worsening.

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  • Marine environments, especially the inshore Great Barrier Reef, have faced significant ecological shifts due to human impacts, notably the decline of dominant coral species like Acropora following European colonization.
  • This study utilized DNA metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing of ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA) from sediment cores to track changes in reef communities over the last 750 years and incorporated previously overlooked soft-bodied organisms like macroalgae.
  • Findings revealed complex correlations between the presence of various macroalgae and dominant coral species, suggesting that sediment cores contain crucial historical data to understand reef ecosystem changes over time when combined with traditional fossil records.
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The inflammatory response to exercise-induced muscle damage has been extensively described. Exercise has important modulatory effects on immune function. These effects are mediated by diverse factors including pro-inflammatory cytokines, classical stress hormones, and hemodynamic effects leading to cell redistribution.

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Muscle contraction results in generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) at a rate determined by the intensity, frequency, and duration of the exercise protocols. Strenuous exercise causes oxidation of protein, lipid, and DNA, release of cytosolic enzymes, and other signs of cell damage; however, only exhaustive exercise is detrimental. Indeed, the regulation of vascular tone, the excitation-contraction coupling, growth, and differentiation in skeletal muscle, are governed in part by RONS.

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Skeletal muscle contraction, growth, differentiation and adaptation are governed by complicated biological mechanisms still being studied intensively. Generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RS) is one of the most prominent events during contractile activity that could influence muscle function and health. While RS generation is known to cause oxidative stress, activate certain pathogenic pathways and aging, they also serve as useful signaling molecules to regulate gene expression of proteins and enzymes that play a vital role in the normal muscle function and defense against detrimental effects of RS.

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Activation of nuclear factor (NF) kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in skeletal muscle has been shown to enhance the gene expression of several enzymes that play an important role in maintaining oxidant-antioxidant homeostasis, such as mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). While an acute bout of exercise activates NF kappaB and MAPK signaling and upregulates MnSOD and iNOS, administration of chemical agents that suppress reactive oxygen species (ROS) production can cause attenuation of exercise-induced MnSOD and iNOS expression. Thus, ROS generation during exercise may have duel effects: the infliction of oxidative stress and damage, and the stimulation of adaptive responses favoring long-term protection.

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Contraction-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been shown to cause oxidative stress to skeletal muscle. As an adaptive response, muscle antioxidant defense systems are upregulated after heavy exercise. Nuclear factor (NF) kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are the major oxidative stress-sensitive signal transduction pathways in mammalian tissues.

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