Amimia is one of the most typical features of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, its significance and correlation with motor and nonmotor symptoms is unknown. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ...association between amimia and motor and nonmotor symptoms, including cognitive status, depression, and quality of life in PD patients. We also tested the blink rate as a potential tool for objectively measuring upper facial bradykinesia.
We prospectively studied amimia in PD patients. Clinical evaluation was performed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and timed tests. Cognitive status, depression, and quality of life were assessed using the Parkinson's Disease Cognitive Rating Scale (PD-CRS), the 16-Item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR16), and the PDQ-39, respectively. Amimia was clinically evaluated according to item 19 of UPDRS III. Finally, we studied upper facial amimia by measuring resting blink frequency and blink rate during spontaneous conversation.
We included 75 patients. Amimia (item 19 UPDRS III) correlated with motor and total UPDRS (r: 0.529 and 0.551 Spearman), and its rigidity, distal bradykinesia, and motor axial subscores (r: 0.472; r: 0.252, and r: 0.508, respectively); Hoehn and Yahr scale (r: 0.392), timed tests, gait freezing, cognitive status (r: 0.29), and quality of life (r: 0.268) correlated with amimia. Blinking frequency correlated with amimia (measured with item 19 UPDRS), motor and total UPDRS.
Amimia correlates with motor (especially axial symptoms) and cognitive situations in PD. Amimia could be a useful global marker of overall disease severity, including cognitive decline.
The physiology of Prunus fruit ripening is a complex and not completely understood process. To improve this knowledge, postharvest behavior during the shelf-life period at the transcriptomic level ...has been studied using high-throughput sequencing analysis (RNA-Seq). Monitoring of fruits has been analyzed after different ethylene regulator treatments, including 1-MCP (ethylene-inhibitor) and Ethrel (ethylene-precursor) in two contrasting selected apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) and Japanese plum (P. salicina L.) cultivars, ‘Goldrich’ and ‘Santa Rosa’. KEEG and protein–protein interaction network analysis unveiled that the most significant metabolic pathways involved in the ripening process were photosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction. In addition, previously discovered genes linked to fruit ripening, such as pectinesterase or auxin-responsive protein, have been confirmed as the main genes involved in this process. Genes encoding pectinesterase in the pentose and glucuronate interconversions pathway were the most overexpressed in both species, being upregulated by Ethrel. On the other hand, auxin-responsive protein IAA and aquaporin PIP were both upregulated by 1-MCP in ‘Goldrich’ and ‘Santa Rosa’, respectively. Results also showed the upregulation of chitinase and glutaredoxin 3 after Ethrel treatment in ‘Goldrich’ and ‘Santa Rosa’, respectively, while photosystem I subunit V psaG (photosynthesis) was upregulated after 1-MCP in both species. Furthermore, the overexpression of genes encoding GDP-L-galactose and ferredoxin in the ascorbate and aldarate metabolism and photosynthesis pathways caused by 1-MCP favored antioxidant activity and therefore slowed down the fruit senescence process.
SARS-CoV-2 vaccines currently in use have contributed to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding, the high mutation rate, fundamentally in the spike glycoprotein (S), is causing the ...emergence of new variants. Solely utilizing this antigen is a drawback that may reduce the efficacy of these vaccines. Herein we present a DNA vaccine candidate that contains the genes encoding the S and the nucleocapsid (N) proteins implemented into the non-replicative mammalian expression plasmid vector, pPAL. This plasmid lacks antibiotic resistance genes and contains an alternative selectable marker for production. The S gene sequence was modified to avoid furin cleavage (Sfs). Potent humoral and cellular immune responses were observed in C57BL/6J mice vaccinated with pPAL-Sfs + pPAL-N following a prime/boost regimen by the intramuscular route applying
in vivo
electroporation. The immunogen fully protected K18-hACE2 mice against a lethal dose (10
5
PFU) of SARS-CoV-2. Viral replication was completely controlled in the lungs, brain, and heart of vaccinated mice. Therefore, pPAL-Sfs + pPAL-N is a promising DNA vaccine candidate for protection from COVID-19.
The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of perampanel in patients with refractory essential tremor (ET).
We recruited patients from our movement disorders clinic with the ...diagnosis of severe refractory ET, and perampanel 4 mg at night was initiated.Assessments were conducted at baseline and after 1 month of treatment with perampanel 4 mg/d. Details about tolerance and effectiveness were collected. Clinical evaluation was conducted with the Fahn-Tolosa-Marín scale, and statistical analysis was carried out with Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test.
This study included 18 patients with severe ET (11 females, 7 males; mean age: 75.1 ± 12.03 years; mean duration of ET: 17.4 ± 17.03 years). Perampanel significantly improved patients' average score with refractory ET ( P ≤ 0.0001). This improvement has been occasionally quite relevant. However, a proportion of patients did not tolerate perampanel because of several adverse effects including dizziness, ataxia, irritability, and instability.
Perampanel had a markedly positive antitremor effect in patients with ET and could be an alternative treatment. However, this drug is not devoid of adverse effects.
This work investigates the influence of the interfacial properties of whey protein (WPH) and blue whiting protein (BPH) hydrolysates on the physical stability of fish oil-in-water emulsions ...stabilized with these hydrolysates at pH 2 or 8. Measurements of interfacial tension and dilatational rheology confirmed that pH is a key factor affecting these interfacial properties of WPH and BPH. WPH, when tested at 1 and 10 mg/mL, showed a higher interfacial activity at pH 8 when compared to pH 2 or to BPH at pH 8 or 2, despite having a lower protein content. Moreover, when tested at 0.1 and 1 mg/mL, the dilatational modulus of WPH was significantly higher at pH 8 than at pH 2. These findings correlate with the formation of smaller oil droplets and a more resistant interfacial peptide layer for WPH at pH 8, hence explaining the improved physical stability of the 5% fish oil-in-water emulsion stabilized with WPH at pH 8. BPH did not show significant differences in interfacial activity with pH but exhibited significantly higher dilatational elasticity and viscosity at pH 2 compared to pH 8 (when measured at 0.1 mg/mL and 0.01 or 0.1 Hz). This correlates with the formation of stable 5% fish oil-in-water emulsions with BPH at pH 2 but not at pH 8.
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•Blue whiting (BPH) and whey protein (WPH) hydrolysates emulsified fish oil.•WPH and BPH provided different physical stability to fish oil-in-water emulsions.•pH influenced differently the interfacial properties of WPH and BPH.•WPH showed higher interfacial adsorption and dilatational elasticity at pH 8.•BPH showed higher interfacial dilatational elasticity and viscosity at pH 2.
Abstract Extensive published evidence supports the use of subcutaneously-administered apomorphine as an effective therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) but to date no consensus recommendations have ...been available to guide healthcare professionals in the optimal application of apomorphine therapy in clinical practice. This document outlines best-practice recommendations for selecting appropriate candidates for apomorphine intermittent injection (the pen-injection formulation) or apomorphine continuous infusion (the pump formulation), for initiating patients onto therapy and for managing their ongoing treatment. Apomorphine is a suitable therapeutic option for PD patients who experience troublesome ‘off’ periods despite optimized treatment with oral PD medications. Due to its speed of onset, apomorphine injection is particularly suited to those patients requiring rapid, reliable relief of both unpredictable and predictable ‘off’ periods, those who require reliable and fast relief when anticipating an ‘off’, those with levodopa absorption or gastric emptying problems resulting in delayed or failed ‘on’, or for rapid relief of early morning dystonia or akinesia. Apomorphine infusion is suited for patients whose ‘off’ periods can no longer be adequately controlled by standard oral PD treatment or for those in whom rescue doses of apomorphine injection are effective but either needed too frequently (more than 4–6 times per day), or are associated with increasing dyskinesia. In addition to treating motor fluctuations, there is evidence that apomorphine infusion may be effective for the management of specific non-motor symptoms of PD associated with ‘off’ periods. Apomorphine infusion is less invasive than other non-oral treatment options for advancing disease, intrajejunal levodopa infusion and deep-brain stimulation.
AIEgens have emerged as a promising alternative to molecular rotors in bioimaging applications. However, transferring the concept of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) from solution to living systems ...remains a challenge. Given the highly heterogeneous nature and the compartmentalization of the cell, different approaches are needed to control the self-assembly within the crowded intricate cellular environment. Herein, we report for the first time the self-assembly mechanism of an anthracene-guanidine derivative (AG) forming the rare and highly emissive T-shaped dimer in breast cancer cell lines as a proof of concept. This process is highly sensitive to the local environment in terms of polarity, viscosity, and/or water quantity that should enable the use of the AG as a fluorescence lifetime imaging biosensor for intracellular imaging of cellular structures and the monitoring of intracellular state parameters. Different populations of the monomer and T-shaped and π–π dimers were observed in the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleoplasm, related to the local viscosity and presence of water. The T-shaped dimer is formed preferentially in the nucleus because of the higher density and viscosity compared to the cytoplasm. The present results should serve as a precursor for the development of new design strategies for molecular systems for a wide range of applications such as cell viscosity, density, or temperature sensing and imaging.
To describe the prevalence of sarcopenia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients aged ≥65 years and identify the risk factors associated with sarcopenia.
This is a multicenter, controlled, ...cross-sectional study of 76 RA patients and 76 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Sarcopenia was defined according to the revised criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2). Whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed. Binary regression was used to assess the relationship between sarcopenia and sex, age, duration of RA, Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) score, and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score in patients with RA.
Nearly 80% of participants were female, and the average age was >70 years. Patients with RA had lower muscle mass and greater adiposity (fat-to-muscle ratio mean SD 0.9 0.2 vs. 0.8 0.2;
= 0.017) than controls, mainly in the central area (android/gynoid ratio, median p25-p75: 1.0 0.9-1.2 vs. 0.9 0.8-1.1;
< 0.001). Twelve patients (15.8%) and three controls (3.9%) had confirmed sarcopenia (
= 0.014). Sarcopenic obesity was observed in 8/76 patients with RA (10.5%) and in 1/76 controls (1.3%) (
= 0.016). The factors associated with sarcopenia were male sex (OR 95% CI: 9.3 1.1-80.4;
= 0.042), disease duration (OR 95% CI: 1.1 1.0-1.2;
= 0.012), and nutritional status according to the MNA (OR 95% CI: 0.7 0.5-0.9;
= 0.042).
Our results suggest that patients with RA aged ≥65 years may be at increased risk for sarcopenia, adiposity, and malnutrition (especially male patients with long-standing disease) and have poor nutritional status.
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