scholarly journals How Your Blood Knows Your Brain Is Sick

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Loudjani ◽  
Sridar Narayanan ◽  
Arsalan S. Haqqani ◽  
AmanPreet Badhwar
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Complex Disease ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex disease that attacks the brain that mostly affects people 65 years and older. AD affects more and more people each year. A major problem with AD is that it is diagnosed too late. A big goal is to find ways to help doctors identify the disease early, so they can better help AD patients. Biomarkers are something that can tell you if a part of the body is feeling healthy or is being attacked by a disease. This article will describe one exciting new category of biomarkers that carry information from the brain into the blood. These biomarkers can be used to see how healthy the brain is feeling or if it is getting hurt by a disease like AD.

Alzheimer’s disease and its related Dementia types: A review on their management via nanotechnology based therapeutic strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panoraia I. Siafaka ◽  
Gökce Mutlu ◽  
Neslihan Üstündağ Okur
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Drug Delivery ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Drug Delivery Systems ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
The Body ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Mixed Dementia ◽  
The Brain

Background: Dementia and its related types such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and mixed dementia belong to brain associated diseases, resulting in long-term progressive memory loss. These diseases are so severe that can affect a person's daily routine. Up to date, treatment of de- mentias is still an unmet challenge due to their complex pathophysiology and unavailable efficient pharmacological approaches. The use of nanotechnology based pharmaceutical products could possibly improve the management of dementia given that nanocarriers could more efficiently deliver drugs to the brain. Objective: The objective of this study is to provide the current nanotechnology based drug delivery systems for the treatment of various dementia types. In addition, the current diagnosis biomarkers for the mentioned dementia types along with their available pharmacological treatment are being dis- cussed. Method: An extensive review of the current nanosystems such as brain drug delivery systems against Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and mixed dementia was performed. Moreover, nan- otheranostics as possible imaging markers for such dementias were also reported. Results: The field of nanotechnology is quite advantageous for targeting dementia given that nanoscale drug delivery systems easily penetrate the blood brain barrier and circulate in the body for prolonged time. These nanoformulations consist of polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostruc- tured lipid carriers, microemulsions, nanoemulsions, and liquid crystals. The delivery of the nan- otherapeutics can be achieved via various administration routes such as transdermal, injectable, oral, and more importantly, through the intranasal route. Nonetheless, the nanocarriers are mostly limited to Alzheimer’s disease targeting; thus, nanocarriers for other types of dementia should be developed. Conclusion: To conclude, understanding the mechanism of neurodegeneration and reviewing the cur- rent drug delivery systems for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia types are significant for medical and pharmaceutical society to produce efficient therapeutic choices and novel strategies based on mul- tifunctional and biocompatible nanocarriers, which can deliver the drug sufficiently into the brain.

scholarly journals Influencia del estrés en la Enfermedad de Alzheimer. // Stress influence in Alzheimer’s disease

Ciencia Unemi ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (25) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Maria Alejandra Vallejo-Johnson ◽  
Patricia Marcial-Velastegui
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
The Body ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Stress Influences ◽  
The Brain

Existen diversos estudios que proponen las causas de la Enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA), las cuales pueden ser: biológicas, genéticas, cronológicas y ambientales, dentro de ésta última se encuentra el estrés como una influencia para el inicio de dicha patología. Según las distintas teorías del estrés, el sujeto, al encontrarse frente a una situación estresante, sufre diversos cambios en su cuerpo para sobrellevar dicho acontecimiento. El cerebro es el encargado de poner al cuerpo en alerta y en marcha para actuar frente a dicho cambio. El estrés prolongado conlleva a alteraciones en las vías cerebrales, específicamente un daño neuronal del hipocampo, el cual es el encargado de los recuerdos y memoria. Éste al verse afectado, repercute en la memoria del sujeto y por lo tanto empieza a fallar; el sujeto se ve en la incapacidad para recordar y realizar distintas actividades rutinarias. Mediante la investigación documental y encuestas a profesionales de la salud, se obtuvo información tanto del estrés como de la Enfermedad de Alzheimer para luego concluir en la influencia del mismo en el origen de la enfermedad. Se concluye que el estrés perenne repercute en la muerte de neuronas del hipocampo lo que conlleva a la EA. AbstractThere are different studies that propose that the causes of Alzheimer might be biological, genetic, chronological and environmental. Within the environmental aspects, the stress influences the beginning of this pathology. There are several studies that propose the causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which can be: biological, genetic, chronological and environmental, within the latter is the stress that influences the beginning of this pathology. According to different theories of stress, the individual, while facing a stressful situation, experiences many changes in the body in order to deal with this situation. The brain is in charge of alerting the body to protect itself against that change. The long-term stress alters the brain pathways, producing specifically a neuronal damage in the hippocampus that is responsible for memories and memory. This affects memory and therefore individual begins to fail, and then, the person cannot remember how to do the daily routine. Through bibliographical research and surveys applied to healthcare professionals, information was obtained on both stress and Alzheimer's disease to establish the influence of that condition on the disease. The study concludes that long-term stress affects the death of neurons in the hippocampus, which leads to AD.

scholarly journals Evidence on Integrating Pharmacokinetics to Find Truly Therapeutic Agent for Alzheimer’s Disease: Comparative Pharmacokinetics and Disposition Kinetics Profiles of Stereoisomers Isorhynchophylline and Rhynchophylline in Rats

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyuan Zhang ◽  
Xu Wu ◽  
Yanfang Xian ◽  
Lin Zhu ◽  
Ge Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Oral Administration ◽  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Systemic Exposure ◽  
The Body ◽  
Chinese Medicinal Herb ◽  
Disposition Kinetics ◽  
The Brain

Isorhynchophylline (IRN) and rhynchophylline (RN), a pair of stereoisomers, are tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids isolated from Uncaria rhynchophylla, a commonly used Chinese medicinal herb. These two compounds have drawn extensive attention due to their potent neuroprotective effects with promising therapeutic potential for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, IRN and RN can interconvert into each other in vivo after oral administration. The present study aimed to elucidate the pharmacokinetic profiles and disposition kinetics of the administered and generated stereoisomers in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after oral administration of equal dose of IRN or RN to rats. Our study demonstrated that after oral administration, RN showed significantly higher systemic exposure (6.5 folds of IRN, p < 0.001) and disposition in the brain (2.5 folds of IRN, p < 0.01) and CSF (3 folds of IRN, p < 0.001) than IRN. The results indicated that interconversion between IRN and RN occurred. Notably, regardless of the orally administered IRN or RN, RN would always be one of the major or predominant forms present in the body. Our results provided sound evidence supporting further development of RN as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of AD. Moreover, the present study sets a solid example that integrating pharmacokinetics is crucial to identify the truly therapeutic agent.

scholarly journals Cell Type Specific Expression of Toll-Like Receptors in Human Brains and Implications in Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette R. Frederiksen ◽  
Henriette Haukedal ◽  
Kristine Freude
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cellular Damage ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Toll Like Receptors ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
The Brain

Toll-like receptors mediate important cellular immune responses upon activation via various pathogenic stimuli such as bacterial or viral components. The activation and subsequent secretion of cytokines and proinflammatory factors occurs in the whole body including the brain. The subsequent inflammatory response is crucial for the immune system to clear the pathogen(s) from the body via the innate and adaptive immune response. Within the brain, astrocytes, neurons, microglia, and oligodendrocytes all bear unique compositions of Toll-like receptors. Besides pathogens, cellular damage and abnormally folded protein aggregates, such as tau and Amyloid beta peptides, have been shown to activate Toll-like receptors in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. This review provides an overview of the different cell type-specific Toll-like receptors of the human brain, their activation mode, and subsequent cellular response, as well as their activation in Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, we critically evaluate the therapeutic potential of targeting Toll-like receptors for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease as well as discussing the limitation of mouse models in understanding Toll-like receptor function in general and in Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Biomarker of the Future?

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Simon M. Bell ◽  
Katy Barnes ◽  
Matteo De Marco ◽  
Pamela J. Shaw ◽  
Laura Ferraiuolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Mitochondrial Function ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
The Body ◽  
Atp Production ◽  
Disease Modifying Therapies ◽  
Mitochondrial Functions ◽  
Species Production ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide and is characterised pathologically by the accumulation of amyloid beta and tau protein aggregates. Currently, there are no approved disease modifying therapies for clearance of either of these proteins from the brain of people with AD. As well as abnormalities in protein aggregation, other pathological changes are seen in this condition. The function of mitochondria in both the nervous system and rest of the body is altered early in this disease, and both amyloid and tau have detrimental effects on mitochondrial function. In this review article, we describe how the function and structure of mitochondria change in AD. This review summarises current imaging techniques that use surrogate markers of mitochondrial function in both research and clinical practice, but also how mitochondrial functions such as ATP production, calcium homeostasis, mitophagy and reactive oxygen species production are affected in AD mitochondria. The evidence reviewed suggests that the measurement of mitochondrial function may be developed into a future biomarker for early AD. Further work with larger cohorts of patients is needed before mitochondrial functional biomarkers are ready for clinical use.

scholarly journals Intracellular ways of development of Alzheimer's disease against the background of herpes viral infections (literature review)

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-46
Author(s):  
S.S. Ostrovska ◽  
V.F. Shatorna ◽  
E.O. Liholetov
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
The Body ◽  
Tau Proteins ◽  
Postmortem Brain ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Brain

The concept of the viral etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was first proposed in 1982. Its author MJ Ball suggested that the herpes simplex virus (HSV1) may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD, finding that the areas of the brain damaged in acute herpetic encephalitis are the same as those that are affected in AD, and those who survived usually suffer from memory loss and other cognitive impairment typical of AD. Subsequently, in all postmortem brain samples (temporal, frontal, and hippocampal) viral sequences of the viral thymidinekinase gene were found in a high proportion (70-100%) both in AD and in elderly people without it, while in young people and children the virus was found in very low proportions, so it was suggested that HSV1 comes from the peripheral ganglia, where the virus can remain inactive for many years, then enters the brain at an older age due to a decrease in the activity of the immune system. The increased risk of AD is associated with the presence of HSV1 in the brain and the carriage of a specific genetic factor – allele-ε4 of the apolipoprotein E4 gene (APOE-ε4). By themselves, neither HSV1 nor the APOE-ɛ4 allele were found as risk factors for the development of AD but their combination increased the risk of AD development by 12 times and made up 60% in patients with AD. The phenomena involved in the pathophysiology of AD are neurodegenerative changes that occur as a result of fibrillation and deposition of amyloid-β-peptide (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles – accumulations of aggregated phosphorylated tau-proteins (P-tau), leading to brain atrophy due to neuronal death. Traditionally, Aβ has been characterized as a catabolic by-product. However, it has recently been shown that Aβ-peptide has antiviral activity and protective effects against HSV infections in the brain. А 16-year study in Thailand with more than 33,000 patients showed that long-term use of antiherpetic drugs reduces the risk of dementia, including AD patients infected with HSV1. Patients with HSV1 infection who received antiherpetic drugs showed a lower risk of all types of dementia compared with the group without these drugs. Their positive effect on stopping the accumulation of amyloid beta and tau protein in the body has been confirmed. In this regard, it is assumed that vaccination against HSV1 may be useful not only for treatment, but also for the prevention of AD.

Inflammation: major denominator of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology?

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-570
Author(s):  
Miroslava Kacířová ◽  
Anna Zmeškalová ◽  
Lucia Kořínková ◽  
Blanka Železná ◽  
Jaroslav Kuneš ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
The Body ◽  
Peripheral Inflammation ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Adipose tissue is an active metabolic organ that contributes to processes such as energy storage and utilization and to the production of a number of metabolic agents, such as adipokines, which play a role in inflammation. In this review, we try to elucidate the connections between peripheral inflammation at obesity and Type 2 diabetes and the central inflammatory process. Multiple lines of evidence highlight the importance of peripheral inflammation and its link to neuroinflammation, which can lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease. In addition to the accumulation of misfolded amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide and the formation of the neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein in the brain, activated microglia and reactive astrocytes are the main indicators of AD progression. They were found close to Aβ plaques in the brains of both AD patients and rodent models of Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology. Cytokines are key players in pro- and anti-inflammatory processes and are also produced by microglia and astrocytes. The interplay of seemingly unrelated pathways between the periphery and the brain could, in fact, have a common denominator, with inflammation in general being a key factor affecting neuronal processes in the brain. An increased amount of white adipose tissue throughout the body seems to be an important player in pro-inflammatory processes. Nevertheless, other important factors should be studied to elucidate the pathological processes of and the relationship among obesity, Type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

The Sleep-Wake System and Alzheimer's Disease

2015 ◽  
pp. 339-365
Author(s):  
Denise Sharon
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
The Body ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Wake Time ◽  
Normal Sleep ◽  
The Brain

The goal of this chapter is to raise awareness about the sleep-wake changes experienced by persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) through a comprehensive review of the literature. The sleep-wake cycle is vital to our existence. Normal sleep is essential for restoration of the body and the brain. Sleep and wake states follow a circadian rhythm that regulates the body's internal processes. Sleep plays an important role in learning and memory consolidation, affecting wake-time cognitive functioning. The sleep-wake system is subject to aging and affected by a variety of disorders, including AD. The effect of AD on the sleep-wake cycle is magnified by comorbidities and situational factors. Disturbances of the sleep-wake cycle in AD are associated with increased caregiver burden and institutionalization and can significantly impact the affected individual's quality of life and subjective experience. Behavioral interventions designed to stabilize the sleep-wake cycle can be easily implemented.

scholarly journals An Overview of Experimental and Clinical Spinal Cord Findings in Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Xie ◽  
Wei-Jiang Zhao ◽  
Guan-Yong Ou ◽  
Wei-Kang Xue
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Body ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that occurs mainly in the elderly and presenile life stages. It is estimated that by the year 2050, 135 million people will be affected by AD worldwide, representing a huge burden to society. The pathological hallmarks of AD mainly include intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) caused by hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, formation of extracellular amyloid plaques, and massive neural cell death in the affected nervous system. The pathogenesis of AD is very complicated, and recent scientific research on AD is mainly concentrated on the cortex and hippocampus. Although the spinal cord is a pivotal part of the central nervous system, there are a limited number of studies focusing on the spinal cord. As an extension of the brain, the spinal cord functions as the bridge between the brain and various parts of the body. However, pathological changes in the spinal cord in AD have not been comprehensively and systematically studied at present. We here review the existing progress on the pathological features of AD in the spinal cord.

Oxidative challenge in Alzheimer's disease: state of knowledge and future needs

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Cervellati ◽  
Paul L Wood ◽  
Arianna Romani ◽  
Giuseppe Valacchi ◽  
Monica Squerzanti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Large Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Successful Development ◽  
Effective Antioxidant ◽  
Oxidative Challenge ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

A large body of experimental and postmortem findings indicate that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with increased oxidative stress (OxS) levels in the brain. Despite the current limitations of OxS assessment in living subjects, recent data suggest that oxidative challenge might increase early both in the central nervous system and peripheral fluids. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the existing literature linking systemic OxS to brain OxS in AD. We firmly believe that continued research aimed at overcoming the methodological and design issues affecting the body of studies in this field is mandatory for successful development of an effective antioxidant-based treatment of AD.

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