The effect of non-specific LTD on pattern recognition in cerebellar Purkinje cells

© 2010 Safaryan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Poster presented at CNS 2010Peer reviewe

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Effectiveness of ACE inhibitor ramipril and its combination with hydrochlorothiazide in patients with arterial hypertension and overweight: CHARISMA Study

Aim. To investigate effectiveness and safety of ramipril therapy, with varying administration time, in patients with mild to moderate arterial hypertension (AH) and overweight (OW).Material and methods. The patients were randomized into two groups: Group I (n=29) received ramipril (Hartil®, FGIS, Hungary) in the morning (5 mg/d, at 8-10 am) for 4 weeks; Group II(n=39) received the medication in the evening (5 mg/d, 9-11 pm). Four weeks later, in all patients not achieved target blood pressure (BP) levels (<140/90 mm Hg), ramipril dose was increased up to 10 mg/d. If target BP levels were not achieved after 8 weeks, hydrochlorothiazide (12,5 mg/d) was added. The total length of the study was 16 weeks.Results. After 16 weeks of the treatment, BP levels were similar in both groups. According to office BP measurement results, systolic and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP) levels were significantly reduced in Groups I and II (p<0,05). According to 24-hour BP monitoring data, obtained after 8 and 16 weeks, mean SBP and DBP levels significantly decreased in Weeks 8 and 16 for Groups I and II, respectively. Day- and nighttime BP difference was similar in both groups.Conclusion. Regardless of its administration time, ramipril effectively and safely reduced BP and microalbuminuria levels in patients with Stage I-II AH and OW

The Role of Magnesium in the Development of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Possibility of their Prevention and Correction with Magnesium Preparations (Part 1)

The article is devoted to the influence of magnesium on the homeostasis of the body and, in particular, on the cardiovascular system. It describes the importance of the presence and effects of magnesium on various key processes and functions occurring in the body. The reasons for the lack of magnesium and ways to replenish it both in the natural way (eating, certain foods) and magnesium preparations are considered. The article provides examples of large randomized studies that prove the importance of the influence of normal magnesium levels on human health in general and on the state of the cardiovascular system. These studies show how magnesium deficiency increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and how it can be reduced. It is also shown which trace elements and vitamins are closely related to magnesium metabolism, and how they (in particular, potassium and vitamin B6) improve and facilitate the normalization of magnesium levels. It is noted how comorbidity decreases with the normalization of magnesium level – the higher the magnesium level in the blood plasma (closer to the upper limit and more), the less comorbidity and longer life expectancy. Magnesium is an absolutely essential ion and a good medicine. Magnesium deficiency and hypomagnesemia are quite common, difficult to diagnose (due to underestimation and rare level control) and accompany many diseases of the cardiovascular system and beyond. The widespread use of organic magnesium salts would improve the situation as a whole, due to their universal multiple effect on many processes in the body. This is an integral part of therapeutic and preventive measures in patients with already existing diseases and in people who do not have diseases, but who are at risk due to existing hypomagnesemia

THE EFFECT OF NEBIVOLOL ON BONE MINERAL DENSITY IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH MILD HYPERTENSION

Aim. To study the effects of nebivolol on bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with mild hypertension (HT) and osteopenia.Material and methods. Postmenopausal women (n=56) aged 50-65 years with mild HT фтв osteopenia were included into the randomized controlled study and divided in two groups (28 patients in each). During 12 months patients of the main group received treatment with nebivolol (5-7.5 mg/day) and patients of the control group received treatment with atenolol (12.5-25 mg/day). Clinical and anthropometric examinations, blood pressure measurements, ECG registrations were performed in all patients initially and after 12 months of treatment. Quantitative estimation of BMD was performed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry with osteodensitometry DELPHI W manufactured by HOLOGIC company (USA) in the lumbar spine (L1-L4), femoral neck and proximal femur in the anterior-posterior projection. In addition, calcium and bone metabolism indices were determined: ionized calcium, total alkaline phosphatase, C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX).Results. Therapy of mild HT with nebivolol during 12 months showed increase in BMD in the spine according to the T-test from -1.7±0.4 SD to -1.4±0.53 SD (p&lt;0.001), while in atenolol group this index decreased from -1.5±0.7 SD to -1.6±0.64 SD (p&lt;0.001). When evaluating T-test of the femoral neck the index changed in the main group from - 1.4±0.44 SD to -1.27±0.5 SD (p=0.015), in the control group - from -1.3±0.64 SD to -1.5±0.65 SD (p=0.0005). In the study group T-test of proximal femur changed from -0.58±0.4 SD to -0.49±0.4 SD (p=0.003), and in the control group - from -0.8±0.84 SD to -0.83±0.93 SD (p=0.3). The dynamics of the BMD due to 12 month therapy in all investigated bone segments distinguished significantly between study and control groups. Nebivolol therapy group showed reduction in CTX level from 0.367±0.16 to 0.294±0.12 ng/ml (p&lt;0.001), whereas the control group showed increase in this parameter from 0.369±0.15 to 0.499±0.18 ng/ml (p&lt;0.001). The dynamics of the CTX levels distinguished significantly between groups (p&lt;0.001).Conclusion. The study demonstrated the positive effect of nebivolol on BMD, whereas atenolol had no effect on bone mass.</p

Comparative effectiveness of fixed combinations of various ramipril and hydrochlorothiazide doses

Aim. To assess effectiveness and tolerability of combined antihypertensive therapy with various doses of an ACE inhibitor ramipril and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in patients with Stage 1-2 arterial hypertension (AH). Material and methods. In 3 clinical centres of Moscow City, 70 patients (50 % men, 50 % women; mean age 59±13,5 years) were randomised into 2 groups: Group I (n=27), receiving ramipril (5 mg) and HCT (25 mg); and Group II (n=32), receiving ramipril (10 mg) and HCT (12,5 mg). After 4 weeks of therapy, patients not achieving target blood pressure (BP) levels were administered ramipril in the dose of 10 mg and HCT in the dose of 25 mg. Therefore, the further 16-week follow-up was focused on 3 groups: Group I (n=18), receiving ramipril 5 mg and HCT 25 mg; Group II (n=19), receiving ramipril 10 mg and HCT 12,5 mg; and Group III (n=22), receiving ramipril 10 mg and HCT 25 mg. Treatment effectiveness was assessed by clinical BP levels after 4, 12 and 20 weeks. At baseline and in the end of the study, 24-hour BP monitoring (BPM), blood and urine biochemical assays were performed. Results. After 20 weeks of the therapy, clinical BP levels were reduced by -18,9±8,2/-10,8±7,5 mm Hg in patients receiving ramipril 5 mg and HCT 25 mg (p&lt;0,001). In participants receiving ramipril 10 mg and HCT 12,5 mg, clinical BP levels decreased by -20,3±9,7/-11,6±6,0 mm Hg (p&lt;0,001). The therapy with ramipril 10 mg and HCT 25 mg was associated with a reduction in clinical BP by -23,4±9,8/-10,6±7,8 mm Hg (p&lt;0,001). According to 24-hour BPM data after 20 weeks of the treatment, mean circadian BP levels were reduced by -9,9±7,9/- 5,9±7,0 mm Hg (p&lt;0,01) in Group I, by -15,8±13,2/-9,5±6,8 mm Hg (p&lt;0,001) in Group II, and by -20,6±14,7/- 10,8±10,8 mm Hg (p&lt;0,001) in Group III, respectively. Conclusion. In total, 92 % of the patients achieved target BP levels: 100 % in Group I, 100 % in Group II, and 86 % in Group III. Good and excellent therapy tolerability was observed in 96 %. Among patients with microalbuminuria at baseline, 41 % demonstrated its normalisation

Diphenylalanine-based microribbons for piezoelectric applications via inkjet printing

\u3cp\u3ePeptide-based nanostructures are very promising for nanotechnological applications because of their excellent self-assembly properties, biological and chemical flexibility, and unique multifunctional performance. However, one of the limiting factors for the integration of peptide assemblies into functional devices is poor control of their alignment and other geometrical parameters required for device fabrication. In this work, we report a novel method for the controlled deposition of one of the representative self-assembled peptides - diphenylalanine (FF) - using a commercial inkjet printer. The initial FF solution, which has been shown to readily self-assemble into different structures such as nano- and microtubes and microrods, was modified to be used as an efficient ink for the printing of aligned FF-based structures. Furthermore, during the development of the suitable ink, we were able to produce a novel type of FF conformation with high piezoelectric response and excellent stability. By using this method, ribbonlike microcrystals based on FF could be formed and precisely patterned on different surfaces. Possible mechanisms of structure formation and piezoelectric effect in printed microribbons are discussed along with the possible applications.\u3c/p\u3