The use of new mobile and gaming technologies for the assessment and rehabilitation of people with ataxia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

There are no currently available disease-modifying pharmacological treatments for most of the chronic hereditary ataxias; thus, effective rehabilitative strategies are crucial to help improve symptoms and therefore the quality of life. We propose to gather all available evidence on the use of video games, exergames, and apps for tablet and smartphone for the rehabilitation, diagnosis, and assessment of people with ataxias. Relevant literature published up to June 8, 2020, was retrieved searching the databases PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database. Data were extracted using a standardized form, and their methodological quality was assessed using RoB and QUADAS-2. Six studies of 434 retrieved articles met the predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Two of them were diagnostic, while 4 were experimental studies. Studies included participants ranging from 9 to 28 in trials and 70 to 248 in diagnostic studies. Although we found a small number of trials and of low methodological quality, all of them reported an improvement of motor outcomes and quality of life as measured by specific scales, including the SARA, BBS, DHI, and SF-36 scores. The main reason for such low quality in trials was that most of them were small and uncontrolled, thus non-randomized and unblinded. As video games, exergames, serious games, and apps were proven to be safe, feasible, and at least as effective as traditional rehabilitation, further and more high-quality studies should be carried out on the use of these promising technologies in people with different types of ataxia

An estimate of attributable cases of alzheimer disease and vascular dementia due to modifiable risk factors. the impact of primary prevention in europe and in italy

Background: Up to 53.7% of all cases of dementia are assumed to be due to Alzheimer disease (AD), while 15.8% are considered to be due to vascular dementia (VaD). In Europe, about 3 million cases of AD could be due to 7 potentially modifiable risk factors: diabetes, midlife hypertension and/or obesity, physical inactivity, depression, smoking, and low educational level. Aims: To estimate the number of VaD cases in Europe and the number of AD and VaD cases in Italy attributable to these 7 potentially modifiable risk factors. Methods: Assuming the nonindependence of the 7 risk factors, the adjusted combined population attributable risk (PAR) was estimated for AD and VaD. Results: In Europe, adjusted combined PAR was 31.4% for AD and 37.8% for VaD. The total number of attributable cases was 3,033,000 for AD and 873,000 for VaD. In Italy, assuming a 20% reduction of the prevalence of each risk factor, adjusted combined PAR decreased from 45.2 to 38.9% for AD and from 53.1 to 46.6% for VaD, implying a 6.4 and 6.5% reduction in the prevalence of AD and VaD, respectively. Conclusion: A relevant reduction of AD and VaD cases in Europe and Italy could be obtained through primary prevention

Methodological Issues in the Clinical Validation of Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease : The Paradigmatic Example of CSF

The use of biomarkers is profoundly transforming medical research and practice. Their adoption has triggered major advancements in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) over the past years. For instance, the analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging changes indicative of neuronal loss and amyloid deposition has led to the understanding that AD is characterized by a long preclinical phase. It is also supporting the transition towards a biology-grounded framework and definition of the disease. Nevertheless, though sufficient evidence exists about the analytical validity (i.e., accuracy, reliability, and reproducibility) of the candidate AD biomarkers, their clinical validity (i.e., how well the test measures the clinical features, and the disease or treatment outcomes) and clinical utility (i.e., if and how the test improves the patient's outcomes, confirms/changes the diagnosis, identifies at-risk individuals, influences therapeutic choices) have not been fully proven. In the present review, some of the methodological issues and challenges that should be addressed in order to better appreciate the potential benefits and limitations of AD biomarkers are discussed. The ultimate goal is to stimulate a constructive discussion aimed at filling the existing gaps and more precisely defining the directions of future research. Specifically, four main aspects of the clinical validation process are addressed and applied to the most relevant CSF biomarkers: (1) the definition of reference values; (2) the identification of reference standards for the disease of interest (i.e., AD); (3) the inclusion within the diagnostic process; and (4) the statistical process supporting the whole framework

Application of Electrochemically Produced Aluminum Hydroxide Gel for Prepurification of Recombinant Synthetic Green Fluorescent Protein Produced in Tobacco Leaves

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The use of recombinant proteins has increased greatly in recent years, as also have increased the number of techniques and materials used for their production and purification. Among the different types of bioreactors being studied, there is a general consensus among scientists that production in green plant tissues such as leaves is more feasible. However, the presence of chlorophyll and phenolic compounds in plant extracts, which can precipitate and denature the proteins besides damaging separation membranes and gels, makes this technology impracticable on a commercial scale. In the present work, the adsorption to electrochemically produced aluminum hydroxide gel was applied as a prepurification step for recombinant synthetic green fluorescent protein (sGFP), also referred to as enhanced green fluorescent protein, produced in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Removal efficiencies of 99.7% of chlorophyll, 88.5% of phenolic compounds, and 38.5% of native proteins from the N. benthamiana extracts were achieved without removing sGFP from the extracts. As electrochemical preparation of aluminum hydroxide gel is a cost-effective technique, its use can substantially contribute to the development of future production platforms for recombinant proteins produced in green plant tissues of pharmaceutical and industrial interest. (C) 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 27: 1029-1035, 201127410291035Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

A systematic review of the biological processes involved in deep-brain stimulation for parkinson’s disease: A focus on the potential disease-modifying effects

Deep-Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an important treatment option for the management of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is a common symptomatic treatment. However, an increasing number of studies have examined the biological processes to assess if DBS can also modify the natural history of PD by acting on its pathophysiological mechanisms. Relevant literature published up to November 2020 was systematically searched on databases such as PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Academic Search Index, and Science Citation Index. The following predefined inclusion criteria were applied to the full-text versions of the selected articles: I) recruiting and monitoring of PD subjects that were previously treated with DBS and ii) investigating the electrophysiological, biochemical, epigenetic, or neuroimaging effects of DBS. Studies focusing exclusively on motor and clinical changes were excluded. Reviews, case reports, studies on animal models, and computational studies were also not considered. Out of 2,960 records screened, 43 studies met the inclusion criteria. Only three studies described a potential disease-modifying effect of DBS. However, a wide heterogeneity was observed in the investigated biomarkers, and the design and methodological issues of several studies limited their ability to find potential disease-modifying features. Specifically, 60.4% of the trials followed-up subjects for no more than 1 year from the surgical intervention, and 67.4% observed patients with PD only once after DBS. Moreover, 64.2% of the studies enrolled late-stage PD patients. Most of the studies (88.4%) reported that DBS only had a symptomatic effect, with several of them showing some limitations in the study design and recruitment of patients. Further studies using shared biomarkers are encouraged to assess if and how DBS might affect the progression of PD. Based on the existing preclinical literature, prospective clinical trials examining the course of PD in early-stage patients are needed

Expression, purification and analysis of the anti-HIV Cyanovirin-N produced in transgenic soybeans seeds.

Edição do Congress of the Brazilian Biotechnology Society, Florianópolis, 2013

High incidence of mixed DNA and RNA virus infections in common bean in Central Brazil.

During the winter crop season in 2016 a very high incidence of viruslike symptoms of mosaic, leaf curling and deformation, and plant dwarfing was reported by farmers in central areas of Brazil. Bean plants were collected in commercial farms in Luziânia, Cristalina and experimental plots in Goiânia and Brasília