Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Epidemiological studies indicate that the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is higher in women than in men. There is evidence that changes in metabolites in the brain associated with the development of AD are present earlier than structural brain changes. The effect of sex on the metabolic profile during the development of AD has not yet been studied. ⋯ The decline in NAA with age was more apparent in female mice. The level of taurine was higher in female mice and showed a faster decline over time. In conclusion, our study is the first to suggest that changes in the metabolic profile during AD development are influenced by sex.
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Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been identified as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have previously shown that glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) analogues that originally have been developed to treat diabetes have neuroprotective effects in the brains of the APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mouse model of AD. In a previous study, the analogue D-Ala2GIP intraperitoneally (i.p.) in 12 months old animals, an age that represents early phase AD, D-Ala2GIP improved memory in wild type (WT) mice and rescued the cognitive decline of 12 months old AβPP/PS1 mice. ⋯ D-Ala2GIP facilitated synaptic plasticity in AβPP/PS1 and WT mice and reduced the number of amyloid plaques and activated microglia in the cortex of AβPP/PS1 mice. The results show that D-Ala2GIP not only has protective but also regenerative properties in the brain of aged WT mice, and on key biomarkers found in AD in AβPP/PS1 mice. This suggests that novel GIP analogues may have beneficial effects in non-demented aged people and perhaps even in AD patients even when the disease is further progressed.
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Sortilin-related receptor with A-type repeats (SorLA, also known as LR11) has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, genetic studies associated SorLA gene variants with the risk of sporadic AD. Also, in vitro and in vivo studies showed that SorLA impairs processing of the amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) to amyloid-β. ⋯ We found that the loss of SorLA not only exacerbates early amyloid pathology but, at the same time, protects from cholinergic deficit and from early phospho-tau mislocalization. The results show that in the AD10 anti-NGF mouse model the AβPP processing-related aspects of neurodegeneration can be dissociated from those related to tau posttranslational processing and to cholinergic phenotypic maintenance by modulation of SorLA expression. We suggest that SorLA regulates different aspects of neurodegeneration in a complex way, supporting the hypothesis that SorLA expression might be critical not only for amyloid-related pathology but also for other cellular processes altered in AD.
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Tetrahydrohyperforin (IDN5706), a semi-synthetic derivative of hyperforin, has shown neuroprotective properties preventing the impairment of synaptic plasticity and cognitive decline in an in vivo model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Considering the reported role of adult neurogenesis in the plasticity of the hippocampal network, we investigated whether IDN5706 affects adult neurogenesis and hippocampal function. In hippocampal progenitors cultured from adult rats, IDN5706 increased proliferation. ⋯ In addition, IDN5706 treatment improved long-term memory in a hippocampal-dependent spatial memory task. Finally, IDN5706 treatment increased cell proliferation and neural commitment in the SGZ of the double transgenic APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mouse model of AD. These results indicate that IDN5706 increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis and may have therapeutic value in neurological disorders in which adult neurogenesis is impaired.
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β-Asarone, an active component of the Acori graminei rhizome that has been used as traditional Chinese herb, has been reported to be capable of inhibiting neuronal apoptosis. However, the signaling mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of β-asarone has remained elusive. This study was aimed to investigate whether the CaMKII signaling pathway is involved in the β-asarone mediated neuroprotection. ⋯ A significant increase in CaMKII/CREB/Bcl-2 expression was observed in the cortex of the AβPP/PS1 mice treated with β-asarone. In summary, our observations demonstrated that β-asarone can inhibit neuronal apoptosis via the CaMKII/CREB/Bcl-2 signaling pathway in in vitro models and in AβPP/PS1 mice. Therefore, β-asarone can be used as a potential therapeutic agent in the long-term treatment of Alzheimer's disease.