Multimodal exercise intervention improves frontal cognitive functions and gait in Alzheimer's disease: A controlled trial

Aim: The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of a multimodal exercise intervention on frontal cognitive functions and kinematic gait parameters in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Methods: A sample of elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease (n=27) were assigned to a training group (n=14; aged 78.0±7.3years) and a control group (n=13; aged 77.1±7.4years). Multimodal exercise intervention includes motor activities and cognitive tasks simultaneously. The participants attended a 1-h session three times a week for 16weeks, and the control participants maintained their regular daily activities during the same period. The frontal cognitive functions were evaluated using the Frontal Assessment Battery, the Clock Drawing Test and the Symbol Search Subtest. The kinematic parameters of gait-cadence, stride length and stride speed were analyzed under two conditions: (i) free gait (single task); and (ii) gait with frontal cognitive task (walking and counting down from 20 - dual task). Results and discussion: The patients in the intervention group significantly increased the scores in frontal cognitive variables, Frontal Assessment Battery (P<0.001) and Symbol Search Subtest (P<0.001) after the 16-week period. The control group decreased the scores in the Clock Drawing Test (P=0.001) and increased the number of counting errors during the dual task (P=0.008) after the same period. Conclusion: The multimodal exercise intervention improved the frontal cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer's disease. © 2012 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Dragon's blood Croton palanostigma induces genotoxic effects in mice

Ethnopharmacological relevance Dragon's blood is a dark-red sap produced by species from the genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae), which has been used as a famous traditional medicine since ancient times in many countries, with scarce data about its safe use in humans. In this research, we studied genotoxicity and clastogenicity of Croton palanostigma sap using the comet assay and micronucleus test in cells of mice submitted to acute treatment. Material and methods HPLC analysis was performed to identify the main components of the sap. The sap was administered by oral gavage at doses of 300 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg. For the analysis, the comet assay was performed on the leukocytes and liver cells collected 24 h after treatment, and the micronucleus test (MN) on bone marrow cells. Cytotoxicity was assessed by scoring 200 consecutive polychromatic (PCE) and normochromatic (NCE) erythrocytes (PCE/NCE ratio). Results and conclusion The alkaloid taspine was the main compound indentified in the crude sap of Croton palanostigma. The results of the genotoxicity assessment show that all sap doses tested produced genotoxic effects in leukocytes and liver cells and also produced clastogenic/aneugenic effects in bone marrow cells of mice at the two higher doses tested. The PCE/NCE ratio indicated no cytotoxicity. The data obtained suggest caution in the use of Croton palanostigma sap by humans considering its risk of carcinogenesis. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a propolis water extract using a reliable RP-HPLC methodology and in vitro and in vivo efficacy and safety characterisation

Since the beginning of propolis research, several groups have studied its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. However, most of these studies have only employed propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) leading to little knowledge about the biological activities of propolis water extract (PWE). Based on this, in a previous study, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of PWE. In order to better understand the equilibrium between effectiveness and toxicity, which is essential for a new medicine, the characteristics of PWE were analyzed. We developed and validated an RP-HPLC method to chemically characterize PWE and PEE and evaluated the in vitro antioxidant/antimicrobial activity for both extracts and the safety of PWE via determining genotoxic potential using in vitro and in vivo mammalian micronucleus assays. We have concluded that the proposed analytical methodology was reliable, and both extracts showed similar chemical composition. The extracts presented antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, while PWE demonstrated higher antioxidant activity and more efficacious for the most of the microorganisms tested than PEE. Finally, PWE was shown to be safe using micronucleus assays. © 2013 Bruno Alves Rocha et al.

Comparison between the six-minute walk test and the six-minute step test in post stroke patients

Background: The Stroke remains one of the major chronic diseases worldwide, and is considered a major cause of disability, which results not only in persistent neurological deficits, but also in the high physical deconditioning, nevertheless there are not many forms of assessing functional capacity in this population. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of the Six Minute Walk Teste and the Six-Minute Step Test (6MST) in post-stroke patients and compare the behavior of physiological variables during the 6MST and the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), by correlating the functional performance obtained in both tests. Method. The 6MWT was carried out according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the 6MST was performed in six minutes in order to compare it to the 6MWT in a 20 cm step. Was included post-stroke individuals able to walk without aid. All of them did the 6MWT and the 6MST. Results: 12 patients participated in the study. There was no statistical difference in the parameters analyzed when tests were compared. There was poor correlation between the functional performance in both tests. Conclusion: The 6MWT and the 6MST is feasible for post-stroke patients and physiological responses are equal during the performance of both tests. However, there was no correlation with respect to functional performance, which was assessed by the distance walked in the 6MWT and by the number of steps climbed in the 6MST. © 2013 da Silva et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Glutathione and glutathione peroxidase expression in breast cancer: An immunohistochemical and molecular study

The use of prognostic markers for breast cancer allows therapeutic strategies to be defined more efficiently. The expression of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in tumor cells has been evaluated as a predictor of prognosis and response to cytotoxic treatments. Its immunoexpression was assessed in 63 women diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in a retrospective study. The results showed that high GSH expression was associated with tumors negative for the estrogen receptor (ER) (P<0.05), and GPX expression was associated with tumors negative for the progesterone receptor (PR) and patient mortality. Focusing on the 37 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy/radiotherapy (Group I), high expression of GPX was associated with a high rate of patient mortality (P<0.05). The 19 patients who received only adjuvant chemotherapy (Group II) showed high expression of GSH in relation to metastasis (P<0.05). In addition, high levels of GPX expression were significantly associated with a shorter overall survival (P<0.05). To confirm this, the expression of precursor genes of GSH [glutamate cysteine ligase (GCLC) and glutathione synthetase (GSS)] and the GPX gene was analyzed using quantitative PCR in cultured neoplastic mammary cells treated with doxorubicin. Doxorubicin treatment was able to eliminate tumor cells without alterations in the gene expression of GSS, but led to underexpression of the GCLC and GPX genes. Our results suggest that high levels of GPX may be related to the development of resistance to chemotherapy in these tumors, response to treatment and the clinical course of the breast cancer patients.

Ictiofauna de riachos formadores do rio Teles Pires, drenagem do rio Tapajós, bacia Amazônica

Pós-graduação em Aquicultura - FCAV

Florística e fitossociologia do estrato arbustivo de área de transição savana-floresta no Parque Estadual de Porto Ferreira, SP

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Vegetal) - IBRC

Flora vascular não-arbórea do Parque Estadual de Porto Ferreira, SP, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Vegetal) - IBRC

Relação entre a taxa de vacinação contra brucelose bovina, frente à classificação de risco para febre aftosa np Estado do Pará: Andréa Ferreira Nobre. -

Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal - FMVA

Fistulização temporária do ceco em equinos: estudo experimental da técnica cirúrgica e da viabilidade desta via para a administração de fluído enteral

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Um breve histórico da Escola Industrial de Porto Ferreira: avaliação, bússola do processo educacional

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Avaliação temporal do processo de introdução da espécie Cichla monoculus (Kullander & Ferreira, 2006) no reservatório de UHE Escola Mackenzie (Capivara) Rio Paranapanema

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Balada da praia dos cães: o desafiante romance policial de Cardoso Pires

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O bestiário humano: a ironia en A república do corvos de José Cardoso Pires

Pós-graduação em Letras - IBILCE

Competitividade e território: uma análise do arranjo produtivo local potencial de cerâmica artística do município de Porto Ferreira - SP

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE