Nutrition and AGE-ing: Focusing on Alzheimer’s Disease

Recently, the role of food and nutrition in preventing or delaying chronic disability in the elderly population has received great attention. Thanks to their ability to influence biochemical and biological processes, bioactive nutrients are considered modifiable factors capable of preserving a healthy brain status. A diet rich in vitamins and polyphenols and poor in saturated fatty acids has been recommended. In the prospective of a healthy diet, cooking methods should be also considered. In fact, cooking procedures can modify the original dietary content, contributing not only to the loss of healthy nutrients, but also to the formation of toxins, including advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These harmful compounds are adsorbed at intestinal levels and can contribute to the ageing process. The accumulation of AGEs in ageing (“AGE-ing”) is further involved in the exacerbation of neurodegenerative and many other chronic diseases. In this review, we discuss food’s dual role as both source of bioactive nutrients and reservoir for potential toxic compounds—paying particular attention to the importance of proper nutrition in preventing/delaying Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, we focus on the importance of a good education in processing food in order to benefit from the nutritional properties of an optimal diet

Nutrition and AGE-ing: Focusing on Alzheimer’s Disease

Recently, the role of food and nutrition in preventing or delaying chronic disability in the elderly population has received great attention. Thanks to their ability to influence biochemical and biological processes, bioactive nutrients are considered modifiable factors capable of preserving a healthy brain status. A diet rich in vitamins and polyphenols and poor in saturated fatty acids has been recommended. In the prospective of a healthy diet, cooking methods should be also considered. In fact, cooking procedures can modify the original dietary content, contributing not only to the loss of healthy nutrients, but also to the formation of toxins, including advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These harmful compounds are adsorbed at intestinal levels and can contribute to the ageing process. The accumulation of AGEs in ageing (“AGE-ing”) is further involved in the exacerbation of neurodegenerative and many other chronic diseases. In this review, we discuss food’s dual role as both source of bioactive nutrients and reservoir for potential toxic compounds—paying particular attention to the importance of proper nutrition in preventing/delaying Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, we focus on the importance of a good education in processing food in order to benefit from the nutritional properties of an optimal diet

An overview of data integration in neuroscience with focus on Alzheimer's Disease

: This work represents the first attempt to provide an overview of how to face data integration as the result of a dialogue between neuroscientists and computer scientists. Indeed, data integration is fundamental for studying complex multifactorial diseases, such as the neurodegenerative diseases. This work aims at warning the readers of common pitfalls and critical issues in both medical and data science fields. In this context, we define a road map for data scientists when they first approach the issue of data integration in the biomedical domain, highlighting the challenges that inevitably emerge when dealing with heterogeneous, large-scale and noisy data and proposing possible solutions. Here, we discuss data collection and statistical analysis usually seen as parallel and independent processes, as cross-disciplinary activities. Finally, we provide an exemplary application of data integration to address Alzheimer's Disease (AD), which is the most common multifactorial form of dementia worldwide. We critically discuss the largest and most widely used datasets in AD, and demonstrate how the emergence of machine learning and deep learning methods has had a significant impact on disease's knowledge particularly in the perspective of an early AD diagnosis

Advanced Glycation end products (AGEs) in food: focusing on Mediterranean pasta

5Advanced glycation end products, also known as glycotoxins, are a diverse group of highly oxidant compounds with pathogenic significance in aged-chronic disease, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease. They are produced physiologically in the body when reducing sugar binds to a free amino acid group of macromolecules. Thus conditions such as hyperglycemia and/or oxidative stress can favor AGE product formation, contributing to ageing processes and the exacerbation of pathological states. Beside endogenous AGEs, dietary AGE intake contributes significantly to the body AGE pool. It assumes that if dietary AGE intake gets lower, any chronic disease, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease can be ameliorated, and even cured. For this reason, recently great attention has been made on the identification and quantification of AGE products in the consumed foods. Here we reviewed some knowledge, found in literature, concerning the formation of AGEs in food, their gastrointestinal absorption, and their toxic effects. In addition original data on AGE content in the Mediterranean pasta was discussed in relation to their production processes and cooking time.openopenAbate, G.; Delbarba, A.; Marziano, M.; Memo, M.; Uberti, D.Abate, Giulia; Delbarba, Andrea; Marziano, Mariagrazia; Memo, Maurizio; Uberti, Daniela Letizi

A novel framework for chimeric transcript detection based on accurate gene fusion model

Next generation sequencing plays a key role in the detection of structural variations. Chimeric transcripts are relevant examples of such variations, as they are involved in several diseases. In this work, we propose an effective methodology for the detection of fused transcripts in RNA-Seq paired-end data. The proposed methodology is based on an accurate fusion model implemented by a set of filters reducing the impact of artifacts. Moreover, the methodology accounts for transcripts consistently expressing in the sample under study even if they are not annotated. The effectiveness of the proposed solution has been experimentally validated on of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) samples, providing both the genes involved in the fusion and the exact chimeric sequence. \ua9 2011 IEEE

Wireless Point-of-Care Platform With Screen-Printed Sensors for Biomarkers Detection

Measurement systems for early and reliable detection of degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), are extremely important in clinical diagnosis. Among these, biochemical assays represent a commonly used method to distinguish patients from healthy population thanks to the sensitive recognition of specific biomarkers in biological fluids. In order to overcome actual limitations of these techniques in term of cost, standardization, and sensitivity, this study aimed to realize a low-cost highly sensitive portable point-of-care (PoC) testing system based on screen-printed electrochemical sensors. The development of the platform specifically included both the design of the sensing probe and the electronic circuit devoted to condition and acquires the transduced electric signal. The designed circuit was implemented in a printed circuit board and interfaced to a wireless system based on bluetooth data transmission in order to improve the portability of the proposed solution. Preliminary results were obtained by using controlled concentrations of electrolytic solutions and calibrating the sensors for antibodies and for a well-known protein (i.e., interleukin 8) quantified by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). Findings from ASV measurements showed a sensitivity of 38 μA/(ng/ml) with a tested range from 1.25 to 20 ng/ml, with a limit of detection of 2 ng/ml. Further investigation will include the validation of this PoC device by testing the concentration of a specific p53 protein isoform, which was recently identified to early correlate to AD development

Use of T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve sheath to detect raised intracranial pressure.

INTRODUCTION: The dural sheath surrounding the optic nerve communicates with the subarachnoid space, and distends when intracranial pressure is elevated. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often performed in patients at risk for raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and can be used to measure precisely the diameter of optic nerve and its sheath. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), as measured using MRI, and ICP. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective blinded analysis of brain MRI images in a prospective cohort of 38 patients requiring ICP monitoring after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and in 36 healthy volunteers. ONSD was measured on T2-weighted turbo spin-echo fat-suppressed sequence obtained at 3 Tesla MRI. ICP was measured invasively during the MRI scan via a parenchymal sensor in the TBI patients. RESULTS: Measurement of ONSD was possible in 95% of cases. The ONSD was significantly greater in TBI patients with raised ICP (>20 mmHg; 6.31 +/- 0.50 mm, 19 measures) than in those with ICP of 20 mmHg or less (5.29 +/- 0.48 mm, 26 measures; P < 0.0001) or in healthy volunteers (5.08 +/- 0.52 mm; P < 0.0001). There was a significant relationship between ONSD and ICP (r = 0.71, P < 0.0001). Enlarged ONSD was a robust predictor of raised ICP (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.94), with a best cut-off of 5.82 mm, corresponding to a negative predictive value of 92%, and to a value of 100% when ONSD was less than 5.30 mm. CONCLUSIONS: When brain MRI is indicated, ONSD measurement on images obtained using routine sequences can provide a quantitative estimate of the likelihood of significant intracranial hypertension