Promising new pharmacological strategies for the enhancement of cognition target either nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) or N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR). There is also an increasing interest in low-dose combination therapies co-targeting the above neurotransmitter systems to reach greater efficacy over the monotreatments and to reduce possible side effects of high-dose monotreatments. In the present study, we assessed modulatory effects of the α7 nAChR-selective agonist PHA-543613 (PHA), a novel α7 nAChR positive allosteric modulator compound (CompoundX) and the NMDAR antagonist memantine on the firing activity of CA1 pyramidal neurons in the rat hippocampus. Three different test conditions were applied: spontaneous firing activity, NMDA-evoked firing activity and ACh-evoked firing activity. Results showed that high but not low doses of memantine decreased NMDA-evoked firing activity, and low doses increased the spontaneous and ACh-evoked firing activity. Systemically applied PHA robustly potentiated ACh-evoked firing activity with having no effect on NMDA-evoked activity. In addition, CompoundX increased both NMDA- and ACh-evoked firing activity, having no effects on spontaneous firing of the neurons. A combination of low doses of memantine and PHA increased firing activity in all test conditions and similar effects were observed with memantine and CompoundX but without spontaneous firing activity increasing effects. Our present results demonstrate that α7 nAChR agents beneficially interact with Alzheimer's disease medication memantine. Moreover, positive allosteric modulators potentiate memantine effects on the right time and the right place without affecting spontaneous firing activity. All these data confirm previous behavioral evidence for the viability of combination therapies for cognitive enhancement.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17590914.2024.2371160 | DOI Listing |
BMC Public Health
January 2025
Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK.
Background: Workplace health screening rarely includes measures of cardiorespiratory fitness, despite it being a greater predictor of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality than other routinely measured risk factors. This study aimed to determine the comparative acceptability of using a novel seismocardiography device to measure cardiorespiratory fitness via VO max during a workplace health check.
Methods: Participants were invited to participate in workplace health screening sessions where VO max was assessed by both seismocardiography at rest and sub-maximal exercise testing, in order for acceptability of both to be compared across multiple domains.
Trends Genet
January 2025
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Institute of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518132, China. Electronic address:
Neuronal activity, including sensory-evoked and spontaneous firing, regulates the expression of a subset of genes known as activity-dependent genes. A key issue in this process is the activation and accumulation of transcription factors (TFs), which bind to cis-elements at specific enhancers and promoters, ultimately driving RNA synthesis through transcription machinery. Epigenetic factors such as histone modifiers also play a crucial role in facilitating the specific binding of TFs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Rep Med
January 2025
Severance Biomedical Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Yonsei New ΙΙ Han Institute for Integrative Lung Cancer Research, Yonsei University of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:
Uncommon epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) pose therapeutic challenge due to limited response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). This study presents preclinical evidence and mechanistic insights into the combination of lazertinib, a third-generation EGFR-TKI; and amivantamab, an EGFR-MET bispecific antibody, for treating NSCLC with uncommon EGFR mutations. The lazertinib-amivantamab combination demonstrates significant antitumor activity in patient-derived models with uncommon EGFR mutations either before treatment or after progressing on EGFR-TKIs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coronary heart disease (CHD) and depression frequently co-occur, significantly impacting patient outcomes. However, comprehensive health status assessment tools for this complex population are lacking. This study aimed to develop and validate an explainable machine learning model to evaluate overall health status in patients with comorbid CHD and depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
January 2025
Research and Development, Encoll Corporation, Fremont, USA.
The increased cost and morbidity associated with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) place a substantial strain on the entire global healthcare system. In this trial, 24 subjects with a chronic DFU, Wagner grade 1 (University of Texas grade 1A), were treated with Standard of Care (SOC) therapy and randomized, one-half to receive advanced high-purity Type-I collagen-based skin substitute (HPTC; manufactured by Encoll Corp., Fremont, CA, USA), and the other half to receive a dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM) or viable cryopreserved human placental membrane (vCHPM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!