The medical student

The Medical Student was published from 1888-1921 by the students of Boston University School of Medicine

The medical student

The Medical Student was published from 1888-1921 by the students of Boston University School of Medicine

Evaluating the effectiveness of psychosocial resilience training for heart health, and the added value of promoting physical activity: a cluster randomized trial of the READY program

Background: Depression and poor social support are significant risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), and stress and anxiety can trigger coronary events. People experiencing such psychosocial difficulties are more likely to be physically inactive, which is also an independent risk factor for CHD. Resilience training can target these risk factors, but there is little research evaluating the effectiveness of such programs. This paper describes the design and measures of a study to evaluate a resilience training program (READY) to promote psychosocial well-being for heart health, and the added value of integrating physical activity promotion

Saliva levels of Abeta1-42 as potential biomarker of Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Simple, non-invasive tests for early detection of degenerative dementia by use of biomarkers are urgently required. However, up to the present, no validated extracerebral diagnostic markers for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) are available. The clinical diagnosis of probable AD is made with around 90% accuracy using modern clinical, neuropsychological and imaging methods. A biochemical marker that would support the clinical diagnosis and distinguish AD from other causes of dementia would therefore be of great value as a screening test. A total of 126 samples were obtained from subjects with AD, and age-sex-matched controls. Additionally, 51 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients were used as an example of another neurodegenerative disorder. We analyzed saliva and plasma levels of β amyloid (Aβ) using a highly sensitive ELISA kit.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a small but statistically significant increase in saliva Aβ₄₂levels in mild AD patients. In addition, there were not differences in saliva concentration of Aβ₄₂between patients with PD and healthy controls. Saliva Aβ₄₀expression was unchanged within all the studied sample. The association between saliva Aβ₄₂levels and AD was independent of established risk factors, including age or Apo E, but was dependent on sex and functional capacity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We suggest that saliva Aβ₄₂levels could be considered a potential peripheral marker of AD and help discrimination from other types of neurodegenerative disorders. We propose a new and promising biomarker for early AD.</p