Do running kinematics change on the Alter-G treadmill?

The Alter-G lower body positive pressure treadmill, also known as the antigravity treadmill, provides a unique means of exercising for rehabilitation patients and low-impact training in athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction effect of four different treadmill weighted conditions and three different running velocities (2.68 m.s-1, 3.13 m.s-1, and 3.58 m.s-1) on the kinematic variables of step length, step rate, contact time, and flight time on the Alter-G treadmill (AG) and on the regular treadmill (TM). Fifteen participants completed two separate days of testing. All individuals ran at four different conditions (100%, 80%, 60%, and 40%) on the antigravity treadmill and once on the regular treadmill. The results indicated that the four kinematic variables were significantly different among the treadmill-weighted conditions and between all three running velocities. However, there were no significant differences in the running kinematics between the regular treadmill and the 100% condition on the Alter-G treadmill. In conclusion, practitioners can imply the results from this study when determining exercise protocols for rehabilitation patients, as well as training protocols for athletes. This could benefit physicians, therapists, and coaches who may be interested in using the Alter-G treadmill for treatment or exercise

Perceived Exertion and Affective Responses During Normal and Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill Running

Please refer to the pdf version of the abstract located adjacent to the title

Pooled analysis of iron-related genes in Parkinson's disease: Association with transferrin

Pathologic features of Parkinson's disease (PD) include death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, presence of α-synuclein containing Lewy bodies, and iron accumulation in PD-related brain regions. The observed iron accumulation may be contributing to PD etiology but it also may be a byproduct of cell death or cellular dysfunction. To elucidate the possible role of iron accumulation in PD, we investigated genetic variation in 16 genes related to iron homeostasis in three case-control studies from the United States, Australia, and France. After screening 90 haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the genes of interest in the US study population, we investigated the five most promising gene regions in two additional independent case-control studies. For the pooled data set (1289 cases, 1391 controls) we observed a protective association (OR. = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71-0.96) between PD and a haplotype composed of the A allele at rs1880669 and the T allele at rs1049296 in transferrin (TF; GeneID: 7018). Additionally, we observed a suggestive protective association (OR. = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.74-1.02) between PD and a haplotype composed of the G allele at rs10247962 and the A allele at rs4434553 in transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2; GeneID: 7036). We observed no associations in our pooled sample for haplotypes in SLC40A1, CYB561, or HFE. Taken together with previous findings in model systems, our results suggest that TF or a TF- TFR2 complex may have a role in the etiology of PD, possibly through iron misregulation or mitochondrial dysfunction within dopaminergic neurons

BMP-2/6 Heterodimer Is More Effective than BMP-2 or BMP-6 Homodimers as Inductor of Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling pathways are involved in differentiation of stem cells into diverse cell types, and thus BMPs can be used as main guidance molecules for in vitro differentiation of human stem cells.We have analyzed the ability for inducing differentiation of the heterodimer BMP-2/BMP-6 (BMP-2/6) compared to the homodimers BMP-2 or BMP-6, using human embryonic stem (hES) cells H9 as model system. When incubated in a medium with high concentration of basic fibroblastic growth factor (FGF2), 100 ng/ml of human recombinant BMPs induced morphological changes and differentiation of hES cells in 24 to 48 hours. After 5 days, expression of differentiation markers was induced and quantified by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and flow cytometry. BMP-2/6 exhibited stronger activity for the induction of the expression of trophectodermal (CDX2) and endodermal (SOX17, GATA4, AFP) markers than BMP-2 or BMP-6 homodimers. BMP-2/6 also induced the expression of BMPR2 gene more effectively than BMP-2 or BMP-6 when used at the same concentration and time. Moreover, the percentage of cells expressing the surface endodermal marker CXCR4 was also increased for the heterodimer when compared to both homodimers. BMP-2/6 was a more potent activator of Smad-dependent (SMAD1/5) and Smad-independent signaling (mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK and p38) than BMP-2 and BMP-6, and the activation of these pathways might play a role in its increased potency for inducing hES cell differentiation.Therefore, we conclude that BMP-2/6 is more potent than BMP-2 or BMP-6 for inducing differentiation of hES cells, and it can be used as a more powerful substitute of these BMPs in in vitro differentiation guidance

Physiological and Pathological Role of Alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s Disease Through Iron Mediated Oxidative Stress; The Role of a Putative Iron-responsive Element

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and represents a large health burden to society. Genetic and oxidative risk factors have been proposed as possible causes, but their relative contribution remains unclear. Dysfunction of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) has been associated with PD due to its increased presence, together with iron, in Lewy bodies. Brain oxidative damage caused by iron may be partly mediated by α-syn oligomerization during PD pathology. Also, α-syn gene dosage can cause familial PD and inhibition of its gene expression by blocking translation via a newly identified Iron Responsive Element-like RNA sequence in its 5’-untranslated region may provide a new PD drug target

Profiles of novel diurnally regulated genes in mouse hypothalamus: Expression analysis of the cysteine and histidine-rich domain-containing, zinc-binding protein 1, the fatty acid-binding protein 7 and the GTPase, ras-like family member 11b

Gene expression profiling of suprachiasmatic nucleus, ventrolateral preoptic area and the lateral hypothalamus was used to identify genes regulated diurnally in the hypothalamus of Mus musculus. The putative transcription regulator, cysteine and histidine-rich domain-containing, zinc binding protein 1, which had not been previously described in brain, was found to cycle diurnally in hypothalamus and forebrain with peak levels of mRNA expression during the dark phase. mRNA for the brain-type fatty acid binding protein 7 was found to change rhythmically in hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic brain regions reaching peak levels early in the light phase suggesting that lipid metabolism is under circadian regulation in astrocytes. Rhythmically expressed genes in suprachiasmatic nucleus identified here were compared with previous reports in a meta-analysis. Genes held in common included fabp7, and the period gene, Per2. Also identified were genes implicated in guanosine-mediated signaling pathways that included dexamethasone-induced ras-related protein one ( dexras1), regulator of G-protein signaling ( rgs) 16, and ras-like family member 11b. Northern blotting confirmed diurnal changes in mRNA expression in the hypothalamus for these genes. Ras-like family member 11b was examined in more detail using in situ hybridization and antiphase diurnal changes in expression in suprachiasmatic nucleus and arcuate nucleus were identified implicating the gene in circadian-related, guanosine-mediated signaling. The transcription transactivator protein, CBP/p300-interacting transactivators with glutamic acid/aspartic acid-rich carboxyl-terminal domain, which had not been previously identified in brain, was enriched in suprachiasmatic nucleus and discrete regions of the hypothalamus and forebrain. The potential regulatory role of CBP/p300-interacting transactivators with glutamic acid/aspartic acid-rich carboxyl-terminal domain in the transcription of genes like TGF-α implicates the protein in diurnal activity rhythms. These results demonstrate the ability of gene expression profiling to identify potential candidates important in circadian or homeostatic processes