Nutraceutical Approach to Chronic Osteoarthritis: From Molecular Research to Clinical Evidence

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative inflammatory condition of the joint cartilage that currently affects approximately 58 million adults in the world. It is characterized by pain, stiffness, and a reduced range of motion with regard to the arthritic joints. These symptoms can cause in the long term a greater risk of overweight/obesity, diabetes mellitus, and falls and fractures. Although the current guidelines for the treatment of OA suggest, as the gold standard for this condition, pharmacological treatment characterized by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), opioids, and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-specific drugs, a great interest has been applied to nutraceutical supplements, which include a heterogeneous class of molecules with great potential to reduce inflammation, oxidative stress, pain, and joint stiffness and improve cartilage formation. The purpose of this review is to describe the potential application of nutraceuticals in OA, highlighting its molecular mechanisms of actions and data of efficacy and safety (when available)

Mild behavioral impairment in Parkinson's disease: Data from the Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment study (PACOS)

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) have been frequently described in Parkinson's disease (PD), even in the earliest stages of the disease. Recently the construct of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) has been proposed as an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of MBI in PD. Cross-sectional data from 429 consecutive PD patients enrolled in the PArkinson's disease COgnitive impairment Study (PACOS) were included in the study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment, according to the MDS Level II criteria. NPS were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate clinical and behavioral characteristics, which are associated with PD-MBI. The latter was ascertained in 361 (84.1%) subjects of whom 155 (36.1%) were newly diagnosed patients (disease duration ≥1 year) and 206 (48.0%) had a disease duration <1 year. Furthermore, 68 (15.9%) out of 429 subjects were PDw (without MBI). Across the MBI domains, Impulse Dyscontrol was significantly more prevalent among PD-MBI with disease duration <1 year than newly diagnosed patients. The frequency of Social Inappropriateness and Abnormal Perception significantly increased throughout the entire PD-MBI sample with increasing Hoehn andYahr (H&Y) stages. PD-MBI in newly diagnosed PDwas significantly associated with H&Y stage (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.05-5.24) and marginally with antidepressant drug use (OR 2.94, 95% CI 0.91-9.47), while in patients with a disease duration >1 year was associated with UPDRS-ME (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.41-8.00). The overall MBI frequency in the PACOS sample was 84% and 36% among newly diagnosed patients. The presence of MBI mainly related to motor impairment and disability

Combined action of SAMe, Folate, and Vitamin B12 in the treatment of mood disorders: a review.

Mood disorders affect more than 500 million people around the world. In the last decade, their prevalence has increased, and many people suffer from nervousness, anxiety, and stress at least once in their lives. The incidence of mood disorders and anxiety increases during perimenopause or under stressful conditions. The social restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly increased the normal burden of psychological and psychic disorders. In moderate to severe cases, pharmacological treatment is currently recommended, while in mild disorders, especially in the initial phase, psychological therapy is preferable. It is known that several nutrients are crucial for brain function. Among them, folate (vitamin B9), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) have been shown to influence various neurobiological processes. Overall, the available evidence suggests that dietary supplementation with folic acid, vitamin B12, and SAMe can be beneficial for people with mild mood disorders

Sublingual Delivery of Astaxanthin through a Novel Ascorbyl Palmitate-Based Nanoemulsion: Preliminary Data

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid extracted from several seaweeds with ascertained therapeutic activity. With specific reference, astaxanthin is widely used in clinical practice to improve ocular tissue health and skin protection from UV ray damages. Despite its well-documented pleiotropic actions and demonstrated clinical efficacy, its bioavailability in humans is low and limited because of its hydrophobicity and poor dissolution in enteric fluids. Furthermore, astaxanthin is very unstable molecule and very sensitive to light exposure and thermal stress. Taken together, these pharmacological and chemical\u2013physical features strongly limit pharmaceutical and nutraceutical development of astaxanthin-based products and as a consequence its full clinical usage. This work describes the preliminary in vitro investigation of sublingual absorption of astaxanthin through a novel ascorbyl palmitate (ASP) based nanoemulsion

Tuning the potential drop at graphene/protic ionic liquid interface by molecular structure engineering

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been extensively employed in many applications involving interfaces with carbon-based electrodes, such as energy storage devices (batteries or supercapacitors) or electrocatalytic devices, where the way each ion of the IL interacts with the electrode has a strong impact on the overall performance of the device. For instance, the amount of potential difference between the electrode and the bulk of the IL is highly sensitive to the IL composition and it is directly related to the device capacitance. The selection of the most suited pair of ions often proceeds by time-consuming and costly trial-and-error approaches. It is necessary to understand the atomistic features of the interface to determine the effect of each ion on the potential drop. By classical molecular dynamics simulations, we show that it is possible to quickly infer the interface potential arising at the carbon electrode by carefully inspecting the molecular structure of the IL. The ion orientation at the interface is, in fact, determined by the distribution of charges within the molecules. Depending on where charges are located, ions can either lie flat or perpendicular to the interface to minimize the surface energy. The interface potential is found to be mainly determined by ion-ion interactions dictating the interface energy minimization process, whereas ion-electrode interactions are found to enforce higher ordering and charge layers stacking but not to induce selective adsorption of an ion over the other

Nutraceutical approach to Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): the available clinical evidence.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinical condition characterized by lipid infiltration of the liver, highly prevalent in the general population affecting 25% of adults, with a doubled prevalence in diabetic and obese patients. Almost 1/3 of NAFLD evolves in Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH), and this can lead to fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver. However, the main causes of mortality of patients with NAFLD are cardiovascular diseases. At present, there are no specific drugs approved on the market for the treatment of NAFLD, and the treatment is essentially based on optimization of lifestyle. However, some nutraceuticals could contribute to the improvement of lipid infiltration of the liver and of the related anthropometric, haemodynamic, and/or biochemical parameters. The aim of this paper is to review the available clinical data on the effect of nutraceuticals on NAFLD and NAFLD-related parameters. Relatively few nutraceutical molecules have been adequately studied for their effects on NAFLD. Among these, we have analysed in detail the effects of silymarin, vitamin E, vitamin D, polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega-3 series, astaxanthin, coenzyme Q10, berberine, curcumin, resveratrol, extracts of Salvia milthiorriza, and probiotics. In conclusion, Silymarin, vitamin E and vitamin D, polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega-3 series, coenzyme Q10, berberine and curcumin, if well dosed and administered for medium\u2013long periods, and associated to lifestyle changes, could exert positive effects on NAFLD and NAFLD-related parameters. View Full-Tex

Application of a new processing method to post-LDL-apheresis data.

Our aim was to elaborate a method to optimise treatment intervals for the individual low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-apheresis treated patients. After each treatment, plasma LDL concentrations show a time-related increase with a decreasing speed until a maximum level.We searched to interpret the post- LDL-apheresis experimental data trend as the physical process that produces the observed curve, so that the fitting presupposed theoretical function is a direct consequence of the physic process, because to establish the better time. Applying the proposed fitting method to a succession of 15 samples obtained from the mean of six plasmapheresis executed on five different subjects, small estimate standard error (5 mg/dl) and relative error (1.7%) with a dispersion evidently related to the experimental error were observed. Obviously, applying the same method to a single case, the dispersion is more marked (relative error ,5%), with a SE of 10–13 mg/dl, even though the aspect of a casual phenomenon is conserved. Our physical interpretation appears to be a practical model to predict the LDL-rebound kinetic of the single patient

Incidence of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in Parkinson's disease: The Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment study

Background: Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) includes a spectrum varying from Mild Cognitive Impairment (PD-MCI) to PD Dementia (PDD). The main aim of the present study is to evaluate the incidence of PD-MCI, its rate of progression to dementia, and to identify demographic and clinical characteristics which predict cognitive impairment in PD patients. Methods: PD patients from a large hospital-based cohort who underwent at least two comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations were retrospectively enrolled in the study. PD-MCI and PDD were diagnosed according to the Movement Disorder Society criteria. Incidence rates of PD-MCI and PDD were estimated. Clinical and demographic factors predicting PD-MCI and dementia were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Out of 139 enrolled PD patients, 84 were classified with normal cognition (PD-NC), while 55 (39.6%) fulfilled the diagnosis of PD-MCI at baseline. At follow-up (mean follow-up 23.5 ± 10.3 months) 28 (33.3%) of the 84 PD-NC at baseline developed MCI and 4 (4.8%) converted to PDD. The incidence rate of PD-MCI was 184.0/1000 pyar (95% CI 124.7-262.3). At multivariate analysis a negative association between education and MCI development at follow-up was observed (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.15-0.89; p = 0.03). The incidence rate of dementia was 24.3/1000 pyar (95% CI 7.7-58.5). Out of 55 PD-MCI patients at baseline, 14 (25.4%) converted to PDD, giving an incidence rate of 123.5/1000 pyar (95% CI 70.3-202.2). A five time increased risk of PDD was found in PD patients with MCI at baseline (RR 5.09, 95% CI 1.60-21.4). Conclusion: Our study supports the relevant role of PD-MCI in predicting PDD and underlines the importance of education in reducing the risk of cognitive impairment

A fertile ground for ambiguities: casual sexual relationships among Portuguese emerging adults

Casual sexual relationships (CSRs) are frequent relationship experiences in young adulthood that provide opportunities for many to explore sexual relationships and to construct their sexual identity. Empirical research on casual sex is still lacking outside North-American countries, despite evidence pointing to the need to contextualize sexual interactions in their own sociocultural context. In order to better understand casual sexual relationships, these should be examined in with novel samples in other countries where a “hookup culture” as it is described in the North-American university campus is apparently absent. Through a qualitative study, we explored what casual sexual relationships consist of according to the perceptions of Portuguese college students (N = 35). The thematic analysis of eight focus group interviews resulted in the generation of six themes, three of which are presented here: (1) What CSRs are, regarding features and types of CSRs, (2) Why individuals engage in CSRs, focusing on positive and negative motivations, and (3) What one gets from CSRs, focusing on positive and negative outcomes of CSRs. Our findings showed that Portuguese emerging adults are familiarized with CSRs, particularly with one-night stand, friends with benefits and “curte”/hookup. Sexual interactions associated with other CSRs, such as booty call or fuck buddies, were mentioned but rarely associated with a distinctive label and established characteristics. Participants described the CSRs in a partially overlapping manner presenting some areas of ambiguity, such as with regard to sexual exclusivity and still-unlabeled sexual interactions. CSRs are generally evaluated as positively motivated and mainly beneficial. This study adds to the literature around casual sexual relationships by exploring and describing CSRs in a different sociocultural context, as well as indicating directions for future research in order to better prepare and empower young adults in their sexual and relational trajectories.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio