New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Effects of levosimendan on left ventricular functional remodelling and exercise intolerance: a tissue Doppler study

Levosimendan is a calcium sensitizer that demonstrates enhanced myocardial contractility. There is little information concerning the effect of levosimendan on left ventricular tissue parameters and exercise capacity. We evaluated the effects of a 24-h course of levosimendan therapy on cardiac tissue parameters in 30 patients, aged 48 - 70 years, admitted to our hospital for the management of decompensated heart failure. All patients underwent echocardiographic examination using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and a 6-min walk test. Systolic myocardial velocity of the mitral annulus (Sm) was significantly increased in levosimendantreated patients compared with placebotreated patients. There was a positive correlation between Sm and exercise capacity. Levosimendan might be expected to increase cardiac contractile force, especially Sm velocity, in parallel with exercise tolerance. The study has also shown that the progress of ventricular function after levosimendan treatment in patients with exercise intolerance could be monitored effectively by Sm velocity measurements using TDI

Discrimination between physiologic and pathologic left ventricular dilatation

The identification of certain cardiovascular disease in athletes may constitute the basis for disqualification from competition in an effort to minimize the risk of sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study was to assess diastolic and systolic parameters measured by tissue Doppler imaging in endurance veteran athletes who had prominent cardiac dilatation and patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in order to determine whether these variables might differentiate each other. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

33 Questions about Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Effects: Expert Answers [33 Soruda Trigliseritler ve Kardiyovasküler Etkileri: Uzman Yanıtları]

PubMed ID: 28446733[No abstract available

33 Questions about Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Effects: Expert Answers

Education professionals are concerned about the dropping levels of motivation and engagement students experience as they go through schooling. Sustained low motivation across the student population leads to increased dropout rates, which in turn leads to many detrimental consequences. The literature shows clear correlations between low self-efficacy and low motivation, alongside a lack of tools to address the problem. This thesis tested a student-centered intervention composed of a goal setting instrument, an expressive writing instrument, and several coping mechanisms. Self-efficacy was tested in eight 16-year-old Finnish students before and after the intervention using a validated self-efficacy scale. A thematic analysis was conducted to assess the importance and effects of each of the components of the intervention, and to account for external variables. All the participants showed an increase in self-efficacy after the intervention, which was attributed to be the main cause. The goal setting instrument was reported to have the strongest effect on self-efficacy, followed by the expressive writing instrument. The coping mechanisms showed null effects. The results suggest that the goal setting instrument causes new appraisals of the most influential source of self-efficacy: performance attainments. Additionally, expressive writing serves as a foundational previous step to goal setting. However, further research is required to confirm the validity of these findings. The small sample size, the strong localization, and the fact that self-efficacy is not directly observable, severely limit the results of the study. In addition, a longer study should be conducted to observe the durability of the effects of the intervention

33 Questions about Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Effects: Expert Answers

WOS: 000396440800002PubMed ID: 2844673