Efecto inhibidor del extracto acuoso de hojas de Persea americana Mill y sus fracciones sobre PTP1B como diana terapéutica para la diabetes tipo 2

Persea Americana Mill (Lauraceae), is a popular plant in Cuba due to its nutritional and medicinal properties. The fruit of the plant is commonly known as avocado. The leaves of Persea americana Mill have been popularly used in the treatment of diabetes in countries in Latin America and Africa. The present study is aimed to explore one of the underlying mechanisms that mediate the antidiabetic efficacy of Persea americana Mill. The aqueous extract from the leaves of the plant and its fractions were evaluated on the inhibitory activity of the protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as target of type 2 diabetes. The results revealed that aqueous extract from P americana inhibited the enzymatic activity of PTP1B in an extract concentration dependent manner, resulting mainly active the most polar fraction. The present research demonstrated that aqueous extract from P americana and polar fraction (PaF10) have promissory antidiabetic properties mediated by PTP1B, which is a relevant mechanism involved on insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

AS-890-20 Resolution on Class Attendance

That the wording in Class Attendance policy be changed as follows: It is strongly urged that instructors accept the following “excusable” reasons for allowing students to make up missed work. And, be it further RESOLVED that the following clarifying language be added to the policy as excusable reasons for making up missed class work: B. Injury, illness, death, or any extenuating circumstances of close relatives (to include but not limited to natural, adopted, and/or in-law children, parents, legal guardian, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren as well as spouse or partner). Extenuating circumstances can be defined as serious and exceptional factors outside the student\u27s control which adversely affected the student’s attendance during class time

Efecto inhibitorio de un extracto acuoso de las hojas de Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw sobre las proteínas tirosina fosfatasa 1B y dipeptidil peptidasa IV

Introduction: Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw is a Cuban medicinal plant used by traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes with unknown mechanisms of action. Objective: to evaluate the effect of Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw leaves aqueous extract and its fractions on protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) enzymatic activity, as therapeutic targets of type 2 diabetes. Methods: the aqueous extract of A. cominia leaves was successively partitioned with organic solvents mixtures, thus increasing polarity in order to obtain ten fractions. The extract and its fractions were tested for their possible antidiabetic activity on therapeutic targets of type 2 diabetes: PTP1B and DPPIV. The enzymatic inhibition assays were performed and the inhibitory activity was calculated with the fluorescence values using an excitation wavelength of 360 nm and an emission wavelength of 460 nm. Results: the aqueous extract from A. cominia inhibited the enzymatic activity of PTP1B and DPPIV according to the concentration, being IC50 values equal to 0.69 μg/mL and 344.3 μg/mL, respectively. Several fractions were detected as potent PTP1B inhibitors. The most polar fractions AcF9 and AcF10 were more active, showing IC50 values of 4.4 µg/mL and 3.8 µg/mL respectively. The fractions showed a slight DPPIV inhibition, being fractions AcF6, AcF9 and AcF10 the most active, exhibiting inhibition percentages of 52.0 %, 39.0 % and 40.0 % respectively. Conclusions: A. cominia aqueous extract and its polar fractions (AcF9 and AcF10) have antidiabetic properties in vitro and are promissory candidates for development of new drugs with inhibitory activity of PTP1B and DPPIV for type 2 diabetes treatment

Brain white matter damage in aging and cognitive ability in youth and older age

AbstractCerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH) reflect accumulating white matter damage with aging and impair cognition. The role of childhood intelligence is rarely considered in associations between cognitive impairment and WMH. We studied community-dwelling older people all born in 1936, in whom IQ had been assessed at age 11 years. We assessed medical histories, current cognitive ability and quantified WMH on MR imaging. Among 634 participants, mean age 72.7 (SD 0.7), age 11 IQ was the strongest predictor of late life cognitive ability. After accounting for age 11 IQ, greater WMH load was significantly associated with lower late life general cognitive ability (β = −0.14, p < 0.01) and processing speed (β = −0.19, p < 0.001). WMH were also associated independently with lower age 11 IQ (β = −0.08, p < 0.05) and hypertension. In conclusion, having more WMH is significantly associated with lower cognitive ability, after accounting for prior ability, age 11IQ. Early-life IQ also influenced WMH in later life. Determining how lower IQ in youth leads to increasing brain damage with aging is important for future successful cognitive aging

Studying variability in human brain aging in a population-based German cohort – Rationale and design of 1000BRAINS

The ongoing 1000 brains study (1000BRAINS) is an epidemiological and neuroscientific investigation of structural and functional variability in the human brain during aging. The two recruitment sources are the 10-year follow-up cohort of the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall (HNR) Study, and the HNR MultiGeneration Study cohort, which comprises spouses and offspring of HNR subjects. The HNR is a longitudinal epidemiological investigation of cardiovascular risk factors, with a comprehensive collection of clinical, laboratory, socioeconomic, and environmental data from population-based subjects aged 45–75 years on inclusion. HNR subjects underwent detailed assessments in 2000, 2006, and 2011, and completed annual postal questionnaires on health status. 1000BRAINS accesses these HNR data and applies a separate protocol comprising: neuropsychological tests of attention, memory, executive functions and language; examination of motor skills; ratings of personality, life quality, mood and daily activities; analysis of laboratory and genetic data; and state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 3 Tesla) of the brain. The latter includes (i) 3D-T1- and 3D-T2-weighted scans for structural analyses and myelin mapping; (ii) three diffusion imaging sequences optimized for diffusion tensor imaging, high-angular resolution diffusion imaging for detailed fiber tracking and for diffusion kurtosis imaging; (iii) resting-state and task-based functional MRI; and (iv) fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and MR angiography for the detection of vascular lesions and the mapping of white matter lesions. The unique design of 1000BRAINS allows: (i) comprehensive investigation of various influences including genetics, environment and health status on variability in brain structure and function during aging; and (ii) identification of the impact of selected influencing factors on specific cognitive subsystems and their anatomical correlates