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Neurobiol Aging 2021 Feb 2;101:221-223. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Berlin, Germany.

Serum BDNF concentrations in 2053 participants of the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II; 1572 individuals from the older age group [60-85 years], 481 individuals from the younger-age reference group [22-37 years]) were studied. There was no effect of age, sex, body mass index, self-reported depression, or BDNF Val66Met variant on serum BDNF concentrations. Multiple linear regression analysis failed to detect significant relationships of Digit Symbol Substitution Test score and Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease memory score to BDNF levels. Read More

Neurobiol Dis 2021 Feb 23:105311. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Sorbonne Université, ICM (Paris Brain Institute), AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; APHP Department of Genetics, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France. Electronic address:

Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a marker of brain atrophy and predictor of disease progression in rare diseases such as Huntington Disease, but also in more common neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this study was to measure NfL longitudinally in autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and establish correlation with clinical and imaging parameters. We enrolled 62 pathological expansions carriers (17 SCA1, 13 SCA2, 19 SCA3, and 13 SCA7) and 19 age-matched controls in a prospective biomarker study between 2011 and 2015 and followed for 24 months at the Paris Brain Institute. Read More

Pharmacol Res 2021 Feb 23:105515. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Biostatistic Unit, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy; Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.

Objective: To evaluate the association of all RAAS inhibitors, ACE inhibithors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) on dementia onset (any dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia) using a meta-analytic approach.

Methods: A systematic MEDLINE search was carried out to identify all observational studies published up to the 30 September 2020 evaluating the association between RAAS inhibitors and risk of dementia. Studies were included if original investigations considering incident dementia cases, with ACEIs and/or ARBs as exposure and other antihypertensives (AHs) use as reference, and if reporting association estimates and relative variability measures. Read More

Life Sci 2021 Feb 23:119252. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center, Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Campinas, UNICAMP, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address:

Bear bile has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years due to its therapeutic potential and clinical applications. The tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), one of the acids found in bear bile, is a hydrophilic bile acid and naturally produced in the liver by conjugation of taurine to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Several studies have shown that TUDCA has neuroprotective action in several models of neurodegenerative disorders (ND), including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, based on its potent ability to inhibit apoptosis, attenuate oxidative stress, and reduce endoplasmic reticulum stress in different experimental models of these illnesses. Read More

Stem Cell Reports 2021 Feb 11. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Center for Translational Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Center on the Biology of Aging, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Electronic address:

Cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) severely impact daily life for the millions of affected individuals. Progressive memory impairment in AD patients is associated with degeneration of the hippocampus. The dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, a region critical for learning and memory functions, is a site of adult neurogenesis in mammals. Read More