Physical exercise neuroprotects ovariectomized 3xTg-AD mice through BDNF mechanisms.

Postmenopausal women may be more vulnerable to cognitive loss and Alzheimer's disease (AD) than premenopausal women because of their deficiency in estrogens, in addition to their usually older age. Aerobic physical exercise has been proposed as a therapeutic approach for maintaining health and well-being in postmenopausal women, and for improving brain health and plasticity in populations at high risk for AD. To study the neuroprotective mechanisms of physical exercise in a postmenopausal animal model, we submitted previously ovariectomized, six-month old non-transgenic and 3xTg-AD mice to three months of voluntary exercise in a running wheel.

Serum irisin levels, precocious myocardial infarction, and healthy exceptional longevity.

Background: Skeletal muscles produce irisin. Growing controversy exists on the association between this myokine and chronic disease risk. On the basis of the potential protective effects that irisin could exert on both vascular function and skeletal muscle mass, we hypothesized that an elevated level of this molecule may contribute to successful aging.

Desmoplastic primitive nonneural granular cell tumor of the skin.

Primitive nonneural granular cell tumor of the skin was first described by LeBoit et al in 1991 as "primitive polypoid granular cell tumor." Few cases have been reported to date, all being polypoid or deep well-delimited lesions and formed by large spindle or polygonal granular cells with moderate nuclear atypia and increased mitotic activity. This granular cell population does not have a Schwannian, myogenic, melanocytic, fibroblastic, histiocytic, or epithelial differentiation.

Allopurinol prevents cardiac and skeletal muscle damage in professional soccer players.

Xanthine oxidase (XO), a free radical-generating enzyme, is involved in tissue damage produced during exhaustive exercise. Our aim was to test whether allopurinol, a powerful inhibitor of XO, may be effective in preventing exercise-induced tissue damage in soccer players. Twelve soccer players were randomized into two experimental groups.

p16INK4a, NAD(+) , and sestrins: new targets for combating aging-related chronic illness?

Aging-related chronic illness is a price we have to pay to live longer. Prevalent among the oldest old, the condition limits their functional independence and also aggravates the course of several age-related chronic diseases. Thus, the search is on for efficient therapies that will mitigate age-related pathologies.

Physical activity - an important preanalytical variable.

The concentration of several biochemical and hematological biomarkers is strongly influenced by a number of preanalytical variables. Several lines of evidence attest that short, middle, and long-term exercise, as well as the relative intensity of physical effort (from mild to strenuous), may influence a broad array of laboratory variables. The amount of extracellular release and clearance from blood of most of these biomarkers is markedly influenced by the biological characteristics of the molecule(s), level of training, type, intensity and duration of exercise, and time of recovery after training.

The p38-PGC-1α-irisin-betatrophin axis: Exploring new pathways in insulin resistance.

The discovery of irisin as a novel and promising peptidic hormone has raised hopes regarding the hypothesis that irisin may provide additional benefits, not only for obesity and diabetes, but also for a wide range of pathological conditions since this hormone may prove to be therapeutically and clinically beneficial. In addition, a new hormone, betatrophin, has recently been identified by Yi and coworkers. Both hormones are connected by a new pathway clearly involved in insulin resistance.

Life-long spontaneous exercise does not prolong lifespan but improves health span in mice.

Background: Life expectancy at birth in the first world has increased from 35 years at the beginning of the 20th century to more than 80 years now. The increase in life expectancy has resulted in an increase in age-related diseases and larger numbers of frail and dependent people. The aim of our study was to determine whether life-long spontaneous aerobic exercise affects lifespan and healthspan in mice.

Inconsistency in circulating irisin levels: what is really happening?

The discovery of irisin as a novel and promising peptidic hormone for the treatment of obesity and diabetes has recently been reported. As a result, great hopes have been raised based on this finding, hypothesizing that irisin might provide additional benefits, not only for obesity and diabetes, but also for a wide range of pathological conditions requiring therapeutical and clinical attention. However, controversial results and conclusions on circulating irisin concentrations and correlations with other variables, including its role in metabolism, have recently been reported.

Erythropoietin and the heart: physiological effects and the therapeutic perspective.

Erythropoietin (Epo) has been thought to act exclusively on erythroid progenitor cells. The identification of Epo receptor (EpoR) in non-haematopoietic cells and tissues including neurons, astrocytes, microglia, immune cells, cancer cell lines, endothelial cells, bone marrow stromal cells, as well as cells of myocardium, reproductive system, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, pancreas and skeletal muscle indicates that Epo has pleiotropic actions. Epo shows signals through protein kinases, anti-apoptotic proteins and transcription factors.

Growth hormone replacement therapy prevents sarcopenia by a dual mechanism: improvement of protein balance and of antioxidant defenses.

The aim of our study was to elucidate the role of growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy in three of the main mechanisms involved in sarcopenia: alterations in mitochondrial biogenesis, increase in oxidative stress, and alterations in protein balance. We used young and old Wistar rats that received either placebo or low doses of GH to reach normal insulin-like growth factor-1 values observed in the young group. We found an increase in lean body mass and plasma and hepatic insulin-like growth factor-1 levels in the old animals treated with GH.

PPARgamma agonist pioglitazone does not enhance performance in mice.

Peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) delta and adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinases (AMPKs) regulate the metabolic and contractile characteristics of myofibres. PPAR proteins are nuclear receptors that function as transcription factors and regulate the expression of multiple genes. AMPK has been described as a master metabolic regulator which also controls gene expression through the direct phosphorylation of some nuclear proteins.

Altitude exposure in sports: the Athlete Biological Passport standpoint.

The Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) is principally founded on monitoring an athlete's biological variables over time, to identify abnormal biases on a longitudinal basis. Several factors are known to influence the results of these markers. However, the manner in which the altitude factor is taken into account still needs to be standardized.

Impact of exercise training on neuroplasticity-related growth factors in adolescents.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the effect of exercise training on plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) as well as cAMP response element-binding (CREB) activation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in adolescents.

Methods: Nine trained and seven sedentary male adolescents, matched in age (14.0±2.

Irisinemia: a novel concept to coin in clinical medicine?

Skeletal muscle can express and release substances such as cytokines or other peptides capable of modulating metabolic processes. These cytokines, named 'myokines', function as hormones either locally within the muscle or by targeting distant organs. A novel peptidic myokine named 'irisin' has been recently identified.

The free radical theory of aging revisited: the cell signaling disruption theory of aging.

Significance: The free radical theory of aging has provided a theoretical framework for an enormous amount of work leading to significant advances in our understanding of aging. Up to the turn of the century, the theory received abundant support from observations coming from fields as far apart as comparative physiology or molecular biology.

Recent Advances: Work from many laboratories supports the theory, for instance showing that overexpression of antioxidant enzymes results in increases in life-span.

Reductive stress in young healthy individuals at risk of Alzheimer disease.

Oxidative stress is a hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD) but this has not been studied in young healthy persons at risk of the disease. Carrying an Apo ε4 allele is the major genetic risk factor for AD. We have observed that lymphocytes from young, healthy persons carrying at least one Apo ε4 allele suffer from reductive rather than oxidative stress, i.

[Prevalence of sarcopenia in geriatric outpatients and nursing homes. The ELLI study].

Background: There are few systematic studies on the prevalence of sarcopenia using the new diagnostic criteria in different geriatric care settings.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia, using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria in older subjects living in nursing homes and in those who attend geriatric outpatient clinics.

Material And Methods: A single country multicentre study in two samples of older subjects: patients cared for in outpatient geriatric clinics, and individuals living in nursing homes.

Effects of acute exercise and allopurinol administration on soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR).

Background: Although physical exercise acutely increases the most widely used inflammatory biomarkers, there is no information on its effect on soluble urokinase plasminogen activating receptor (suPAR), a circulating biomarker increasingly used for the assessment of systemic inflammation.

Methods: suPAR was assessed with the quantitative suPARnostic Standard ELISA Assay (Virogates, Birkerød, Denmark) in 12 professional football players before and after a football match. The athletes were divided into two experimental groups.

Sestrins: novel antioxidant and AMPK-modulating functions regulated by exercise?

Oxidative stress results from damage to tissues caused by free radicals and is increased by exercise. Peroxiredoxins (PRXs) maintain the cellular reducing environment by scavenging intracellular hydrogen peroxide. It has been recently noted that physical exercise has a positive effect on the PRX system, exerting a protective effect against oxidative stress-induced damage.