Glycation in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Glycation is a spontaneous age-dependent posttranslational modification that can impact the structure and function of several proteins. Interestingly, glycation can be detected at the periphery of Lewy bodies in the brain in Parkinson's disease. Moreover, α-synuclein can be glycated, at least under experimental conditions.

αB-Crystallin overexpression in astrocytes modulates the phenotype of the BACHD mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by an expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in the huntingtin (htt) protein. The polyQ expansion increases the propensity of htt to aggregate and accumulate, and manipulations that mitigate protein misfolding or facilitate the clearance of misfolded proteins are predicted to slow disease progression in HD models. αB-crystallin (αBc) or HspB5 is a well-characterized member of the small heat shock protein (sHsp) family that reduces mutant htt (mhtt) aggregation and toxicity in vitro and in Drosophila models of HD.

Yeast reveals similar molecular mechanisms underlying alpha- and beta-synuclein toxicity.

Synucleins belong to a family of intrinsically unstructured proteins that includes alpha-synuclein (aSyn), beta-synuclein (bSyn) and gamma-synuclein (gSyn). aSyn is the most studied member of the synuclein family due to its central role in genetic and sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleionopathies. In contrast, bSyn and gSyn have been less studied, but recent reports also suggest that, unexpectedly, these proteins may also cause neurotoxicity.

Iron overload in a murine model of hereditary hemochromatosis is associated with accelerated progression of osteoarthritis under mechanical stress.

Objective: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a disease caused by mutations in the Hfe gene characterised by systemic iron overload and associated with an increased prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) but the role of iron overload in the development of OA is still undefined. To further understand the molecular mechanisms involved we have used a murine model of HH and studied the progression of experimental OA under mechanical stress.

Design: OA was surgically induced in the knee joints of 10-week-old C57BL6 (wild-type) mice and Hfe-KO mice.

First Incidence and Progression Study for Diabetic Retinopathy in Portugal, the RETINODIAB Study: Evaluation of the Screening Program for Lisbon Region.

Purpose: To estimate the 5-year incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

Design: Population-based, prospective, cohort study.

Participants: The RETINODIAB (Study Group for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening) program was implemented in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley area between July 2009 and December 2014.

Immune-mediated necrotising myopathy associated with antibodies to the signal recognition particle treated with a combination of rituximab and cyclophosphamide.

A 50-year-old man presented with dysphagia and proximal muscle weakness. He was diagnosed with immune-mediated necrotising myopathy associated with antibodies to the signal recognition particle. After an initial response following treatment with high-dose steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin and methotrexate, there was a relapse of the immune condition.

From the baker to the bedside: yeast models of Parkinson's disease.

The baker's yeast has been extensively explored for our understanding of fundamental cell biology processes highly conserved in the eukaryotic kingdom. In this context, they have proven invaluable in the study of complex mechanisms such as those involved in a variety of human disorders. Here, we first provide a brief historical perspective on the emergence of yeast as an experimental model and on how the field evolved to exploit the potential of the model for tackling the intricacies of various human diseases.

Gap geometry dictates epithelial closure efficiency.

Closure of wounds and gaps in tissues is fundamental for the correct development and physiology of multicellular organisms and, when misregulated, may lead to inflammation and tumorigenesis. To re-establish tissue integrity, epithelial cells exhibit coordinated motion into the void by active crawling on the substrate and by constricting a supracellular actomyosin cable. Coexistence of these two mechanisms strongly depends on the environment.

Orolingual angiodema associated with alteplase treatment of acute stroke: a reappraisal.

Background: Orolingual angioedema has been increasingly recognized as a potentially life-threatening complication associated with alteplase treatment of stroke. Concomitant treatment with an angiotension converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) and localization of infarction in the territory of middle cerebral artery seem to be associated with a higher risk of this complication.

Methods: We report the cases of orolingual angioedema among the patients undergoing alteplase treatment in our Stroke Unit.

Targeted inactivation of Cerberus like-2 leads to left ventricular cardiac hyperplasia and systolic dysfunction in the mouse.

Previous analysis of the Cerberus like 2 knockout (Cerl2-/-) mouse revealed a significant mortality during the first day after birth, mostly due to cardiac defects apparently associated with randomization of the left-right axis. We have however, identified Cerl2-associated cardiac defects, particularly a large increase in the left ventricular myocardial wall in neonates that cannot be explained by laterality abnormalities. Therefore, in order to access the endogenous role of Cerl2 in cardiogenesis, we analyzed the embryonic and neonatal hearts of Cerl2 null mutants that did not display a laterality phenotype.

Dermic diffusion and stratum corneum: a state of the art review of mathematical models.

Transdermal biotechnologies are an ever increasing field of interest, due to the medical and pharmaceutical applications that they underlie. There are several mathematical models at use that permit a more inclusive vision of pure experimental data and even allow practical extrapolation for new dermal diffusion methodologies. However, they grasp a complex variety of theories and assumptions that allocate their use for specific situations.

Effective radiation dose of three diagnostic tests in cardiology: single photon emission computed tomography, invasive coronary angiography and cardiac computed tomography angiography.

Introduction: Diagnostic tests that use ionizing radiation play a central role in cardiology and their use has grown in recent years, leading to increasing concerns about their potential stochastic effects. The aims of this study were to compare the radiation dose of three diagnostic tests: single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and cardiac computed tomography (cardiac CT) and their evolution over time, and to assess the influence of body mass index on radiation dose.

Methods: We assessed consecutive patients included in three prospective registries (SPECT, ICA and cardiac CT) over a period of two years.

Effects of anaesthesia on insulin sensitivity and metabolic parameters in Wistar rats.

We compared the effects of two different anaesthetics, sodium pentobarbital (65 mg/kg) and ketamine (30 mg/kg) plus xylazine (4 mg/kg) (KX) on insulin sensitivity, fasting glycaemia, insulinaemia and free fatty acids (FFA). Four groups of Wistar rats were used: KX group (n=6), pentobarbital group (n=6), high-sucrose diet group (n=6) and the conscious group (n=6). The insulin tolerance test (ITT) was used to measure insulin sensitivity, and metabolic biomarkers were determined using commercial kits.