Almost 50 million people in the world are affected by dementia; the most prevalent form of which is Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although aging is considered to be the main risk factor for AD, growing evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) increases the risk of dementia including AD. Defective brain insulin signaling has been suggested as an early event in AD and other tauopathies but the mechanisms that link these diseases are largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlood borne virus (BBV) infection in adults involved in high risk behaviour is well recognized. There are limited reported data on young people involved in high risk behaviour. A descriptive questionnaire was used to ascertain risk behaviour at the Young People's Substance Misuse Service (Birmingham).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a critical cytoprotective enzyme that limits oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular injury within the central nervous system (CNS) and other tissues. We previously demonstrated that HO-1 protein expression is decreased within the brains of HIV+ subjects and that this HO-1 reduction correlates with CNS immune activation and neurocognitive dysfunction. To define a potential CNS protective role for HO-1 against HIV, we analyzed a well-characterized HIV autopsy cohort for two common HO-1 promoter region polymorphisms that are implicated in regulating HO-1 promoter transcriptional activity, a (GT)n dinucleotide repeat polymorphism and a single nucleotide polymorphism (A(-413)T).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Induction of the detoxifying enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a critical protective host response to cellular injury associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. We previously found that HO-1 protein expression is reduced in brains of HIV-infected individuals with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) and in HIV-infected macrophages, where this reduction associates with enhanced glutamate release and neurotoxicity. Because HIV-infected macrophages are a small component of the cellular content of the brain, the reduction of macrophage HO-1 expression likely accounts for a small portion of brain HO-1 loss in HIV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Family interventions appear to be effective at treating young people's substance misuse. However, implementation of family approaches in UK services is low. This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting young people to an intervention based on an adaptation of adult social behaviour and network therapy.
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