These results illustrate a multifaceted effect of 17 beta-estradiol on the biochemical basis of Alzheimer’s disease, through effects on APP processing, Abeta levels and factors that affect its clearance and aggregation. Overall, these results support the need for further long-term longitudinal studies to elucidate consequences of menopause as well as hormone therapy on Alzheimer’s disease, and explore its potential as a therapeutic avenue for the disease. (C) 2010 IBRO. Published by Elsevier

Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms play important roles in many neural processes, including synaptic plasticity and neurodegenerative diseases. Although atypical PKCs are expressed throughout the brain, there are no reports concerning their expression in central neural regions associated with respiratory motor control.

Therefore, Bafilomycin A1 mouse we explored the neuroanatomical distribution of atypical PKCs in identified phrenic motor neurons, a motor pool that plays a key role in breathing. Diaphragm injections of cholera toxin B were used to retrogradely label and identify phrenic motor neurons; immunohistochemistry was used to localize atypical PKCs in and near labeled motor neurons (i.e. the phrenic motor nucleus). Atypical PKC expression in the phrenic motor nucleus appears specific to neurons; aPKC expression could not LY2109761 cell line be detected in adjacent astrocytes or microglia. Strong atypical PKC labeling was observed within cholera toxin B labeled phrenic motor neurons. Documenting the expression of atypical PKCs in phrenic motor neurons provides

a framework within which to assess their role in respiratory motor control, including novel forms of respiratory plasticity known to occur in this region. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IBRO.”
“Amyloid beta fragment 25-35 (A beta(25-35)) is the neurotoxic domain of the full-length A beta(1-42) and causes memory impairments in rodents. Recent research suggests that agmatine, decarboxylated arginine, has a neuroprotective role. This study investigated the effects of a single bilateral i.c.v. infusion of aggregated Cyclooxygenase (COX) A beta(25-35) (30 nmol) in a battery of behavioural tests conducted during the period 4-6 (Experiment 1) and 4-14 (Experiment 2) weeks post-A beta(25-35) infusion, and evaluated the protective effect of agmatine (40 mg/kg) administered i.p. 30 min prior to A beta(25-35) infusion and once daily for a further nine consecutive days. In Experiment 1, A beta(25-35) rats with saline treatment were not impaired in the elevated plus maze and open field and mildly impaired in the reference memory version of the water maze task, but performed poorly in the working memory version of the water maze task and the object recognition memory task, relative to the control rats that received the i.c.v.