Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Lisdexamfetamine Compared with D-Amphetamine in Healthy Subjects.

Lisdexamfetamine is a prodrug of D-amphetamine used for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Lisdexamfetamine is thought to have a prolonged pharmacokinetic profile compared with oral D-amphetamine, possibly associated with lower drug liking and a lower risk of oral misuse. However, differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of lisdexamfetamine and D-amphetamine have not been directly compared.

Agonist Binding to Chemosensory Receptors: A Systematic Bioinformatics Analysis.

Human G-protein coupled receptors (hGPCRs) constitute a large and highly pharmaceutically relevant membrane receptor superfamily. About half of the hGPCRs' family members are chemosensory receptors, involved in bitter taste and olfaction, along with a variety of other physiological processes. Hence these receptors constitute promising targets for pharmaceutical intervention.

Investigating the Neural Correlates of Emotion-Cognition Interaction Using an Affective Stroop Task.

The human brain has the capacity to integrate various sources of information and continuously adapts our behavior according to situational needs in order to allow a healthy functioning. Emotion-cognition interactions are a key example for such integrative processing. However, the neuronal correlates investigating the effects of emotion on cognition remain to be explored and replication studies are needed.

Apathy in Patients with Parkinson's Disease Correlates with Alteration of Left Fronto-Polar Electroencephalographic Connectivity.

Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) brain frequency and network analyses are known to differentiate between disease stages in Parkinson's disease (PD) and are possible biomarkers. They correlate with cognitive decline. Little is known about changes in brain networks in relation to apathy.

Knowing One's Place: Parental Educational Background Influences Social Identification with Academia, Test Anxiety, and Satisfaction with Studying at University.

First-generation students (i.e., students whose parents did not attend university) often experience difficulties fitting in with the social environment at universities.

Guidelines for Assessment of Gait and Reference Values for Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Older Adults: The Biomathics and Canadian Gait Consortiums Initiative.

Gait disorders, a highly prevalent condition in older adults, are associated with several adverse health consequences. Gait analysis allows qualitative and quantitative assessments of gait that improves the understanding of mechanisms of gait disorders and the choice of interventions. This manuscript aims (1) to give consensus guidance for clinical and spatiotemporal gait analysis based on the recorded footfalls in older adults aged 65 years and over, and (2) to provide reference values for spatiotemporal gait parameters based on the recorded footfalls in healthy older adults free of cognitive impairment and multi-morbidities.

Application of Mycorrhiza and Soil from a Permaculture System Improved Phosphorus Acquisition in Naranjilla.

Naranjilla () is a perennial shrub plant mainly cultivated in Ecuador, Colombia, and Central America where it represents an important cash crop. Current cultivation practices not only cause deforestation and large-scale soil degradation but also make plants highly susceptible to pests and diseases. The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can offer a possibility to overcome these problems.

10-Month-Old Infants Are Sensitive to the Time Course of Perceived Actions: Eye-Tracking and EEG Evidence.

Research has shown that infants are able to track a moving target efficiently - even if it is transiently occluded from sight. This basic ability allows prediction of when and where events happen in everyday life. Yet, it is unclear whether, and how, infants internally represent the of ongoing movements to derive predictions.

A Single Dose of LSD Does Not Alter Gene Expression of the Serotonin 2A Receptor Gene () or Early Growth Response Genes () in Healthy Subjects.

Renewed interest has been seen in the use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in psychiatric research and practice. The repeated use of LSD leads to tolerance that is believed to result from serotonin (5-HT) 5-HT receptor downregulation. In rats, daily LSD administration for 4 days decreased frontal cortex 5-HT receptor binding.

Hepatocellular Toxicity Associated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: Mitochondrial Damage and Inhibition of Glycolysis.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are anticancer drugs with a lesser toxicity than classical chemotherapeutic agents but still with a narrow therapeutic window. While hepatotoxicity is known for most TKIs, underlying mechanisms remain mostly unclear. We therefore aimed at investigating mechanisms of hepatotoxicity for imatinib, sunitinib, lapatinib and erlotinib .

The Long Journey of Pontine Nuclei Neurons: From Rhombic Lip to Cortico-Ponto-Cerebellar Circuitry.

The pontine nuclei (PN) are the largest of the precerebellar nuclei, neuronal assemblies in the hindbrain providing principal input to the cerebellum. The PN are predominantly innervated by the cerebral cortex and project as mossy fibers to the cerebellar hemispheres. Here, we comprehensively review the development of the PN from specification to migration, nucleogenesis and circuit formation.

Prime Time Light Exposures Do Not Seem to Improve Maximal Physical Performance in Male Elite Athletes, but Enhance End-Spurt Performance.

Many sports competitions take place during television prime time, a time of the day when many athletes have already exceeded their time of peak performance. We assessed the effect of different light exposure modalities on physical performance and melatonin levels in athletes during prime time. Seventy-two young, male elite athletes with a median (interquartile range) age of 23 (21; 29) years and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) of 63 (58; 66) ml/kg/min were randomly assigned to three different light exposure groups: bright light (BRIGHT), blue monochromatic light (BLUE), and control light (CONTROL).

Amyloid-β-Induced Changes in Molecular Clock Properties and Cellular Bioenergetics.

Ageing is an inevitable biological process that results in a progressive structural and functional decline, as well as biochemical alterations that altogether lead to reduced ability to adapt to environmental changes. As clock oscillations and clock-controlled rhythms are not resilient to the aging process, aging of the circadian system may also increase susceptibility to age-related pathologies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Besides the amyloid-beta protein (Aβ)-induced metabolic decline and neuronal toxicity in AD, numerous studies have demonstrated that the disruption of sleep and circadian rhythms is one of the common and earliest signs of the disease.

Coarse-Grained Conformational Sampling of Protein Structure Improves the Fit to Experimental Hydrogen-Exchange Data.

Monitoring hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) undergone by a protein in solution produces experimental data that translates into valuable information about the protein's structure. Data produced by HDX experiments is often interpreted using a crystal structure of the protein, when available. However, it has been shown that the correspondence between experimental HDX data and crystal structures is often not satisfactory.

Hippocampal and Amygdala Gray Matter Loss in Elderly Controls with Subtle Cognitive Decline.

In contrast to the idea that hippocampal and amygdala volume loss occur in late phases of neurodegeneration, recent contributions point to the relevance of preexisting structural deficits that are associated with aging and are independent of amyloid deposition in preclinical Alzheimer disease cases. The present work explores GM hippocampal and amygdala volumes in elderly controls displaying the first signs of cognitive decline. 455 subjects (263 females), including 374 controls (228 females) and 81 middle cognitive impairment subjects (35 females), underwent two neuropsychological evaluations (baseline and 18 months follow-up) and a MRI-T1 examination (only baseline).

Quantitative EEG (QEEG) Measures Differentiate Parkinson's Disease (PD) Patients from Healthy Controls (HC).

To find out which Quantitative EEG (QEEG) parameters could best distinguish patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment from healthy individuals and to find an optimal method for feature selection. Certain QEEG parameters have been seen to be associated with dementia in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Studies have also shown some parameters to be dependent on the stage of the disease.

Tracing of Two Strains in the Root and Rhizoplane of Maize, as Related to Their Plant Growth-Promoting Effect in Contrasting Soils.

TaqMan-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were developed to study the persistence of two well-characterized strains of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Pf153 and sp. DSMZ 13134, in the root and rhizoplane of inoculated maize plants. This was performed in pot experiments with three contrasting field soils (Buus, Le Caron and DOK-M).

Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy Reduces Stress and Improves the Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

The aim of this study is to compare a cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBT) with a health enhancement program (HEP) for stress reduction and the impact on quality of life (QoL) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). : Thirty patients with PD participated in the study: 16 received CBT including stress-reducing elements and 14 took part in a HEP. The two groups did not differ significantly in their baseline demographic characteristics.

External validation of the GREAT score to predict relapse risk in Graves' disease: results from a multicenter, retrospective study with 741 patients.

Context: First-line treatment in Graves' disease is often done with antithyroid agents (ATD), but relapse rates remain high making definite treatment necessary. Predictors for relapse risk help guiding initial treatment decisions.

Objective: We aimed to externally validate the prognostic accuracy of the recently proposed Graves' Recurrent Events After Therapy (GREAT) score to predict relapse risk in Graves' disease.

Increase of EEG Spectral Theta Power Indicates Higher Risk of the Development of Severe Cognitive Decline in Parkinson's Disease after 3 Years.

We investigated quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) and clinical parameters as potential risk factors of severe cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease. We prospectively investigated 37 patients with Parkinson's disease at baseline and follow-up (after 3 years). Patients had no severe cognitive impairment at baseline.

Comparison of Liver Cell Models Using the Basel Phenotyping Cocktail.

Currently used hepatocyte cell systems for assessment of drug metabolism include hepatoma cell lines and primary human hepatocyte (PHH) cultures. We investigated the suitability of the validated Basel phenotyping cocktail (caffeine [CYP1A2], efavirenz [CYP2B6], losartan [CYP2C9], omeprazole [CYP2C19], metoprolol [CYP2D6], midazolam [CYP3A4]) and characterized four hepatocyte cell systems (HepG2 cells, HepaRG cells, and primary cryopreserved human hepatocytes in 2-dimensional [2D] culture or in 3D-spheroid co-culture) regarding basal metabolism and CYP inducibility. Under non-induced conditions, all CYP activities could be determined in 3D-PHH, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 in 2D-PHH and HepaRG, and CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 in HepG2 cells.

Immunophenotyping Reveals the Diversity of Human Dental Pulp Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and Their Evolution upon Amplification.

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) from human dental pulp (DP) can be expanded for cell-based and regenerative dentistry therapeutic purposes. However, their heterogeneity may be a hurdle to the achievement of reproducible and predictable therapeutic outcomes. To get a better knowledge about this heterogeneity, we designed a flow cytometric strategy to analyze the phenotype of DP cells and upon expansion with stem cell markers.

Can we predict relapse in Graves' disease? Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Identification of pretreatment risk factors predicting relapse in patients with hyperthyroidism of Graves' disease after stopping anti-thyroid drugs (ATD) is decisive to guide therapeutic options.

Purpose: We performed a systematic search and meta-analysis to study predictors for relapse after stopping ATD in patients with Graves' disease.

Methods: Based on a pre-specified protocol, we searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane in July 2015 for case-control, controlled and randomized-controlled trials reporting risk factors for relapse after stopping ATD.

Altered Value Coding in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Healthy Older Adults.

Previous work suggests that aging is associated with changes in risk taking but less is known about their underlying neural basis, such as the potential age differences in the neural processing of value and risk. The goal of the present study was to investigate adult age differences in functional neural responses in a naturalistic risk-taking task. Twenty-six young adults and 27 healthy older adults completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging.