Calorie restriction (CR) extends life span and ameliorates age-related pathologies in most species studied, yet the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Using mouse skeletal muscle as a model, we show that CR acts in part by enhancing the function of tissue-specific stem cells. Even short-term CR significantly enhanced stem ...

Human aging is accompanied by a progressive loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia). We tested the hypothesis that older males (OMs, 70±4 yr, n=9) would have a blunted myogenic response to a physiological stimulus compared to younger controls (21±3 yr, n=9). Subjects completed an acute bout of intense unilateral muscle loading. ...

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy-2F (LGMD-2F) is an incurable degenerative muscle disorder caused by a mutation in the sarcoglycan-δ (SGδ) gene. The lack of SGδ results in the complete disruption of the sarcoglycan complex (SGC) in the skeletal and cardiac muscle within the larger dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC). The long-term consequences of SGδ ...

A 62-year-old female patient diagnosed with left brain stem stroke 2 months ago was admitted to our clinic for rehabilitation. She had no generalized spasticity on both extremities, but could open her mouth only approximately 2 mm between her upper and lower teeth due to severe trismus. On needle electromyography, ...

Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2H (LGMD2H) is an inherited autosomal recessive disease of skeletal muscle caused by a mutation in the TRIM32 gene. Currently its pathogenesis is entirely unclear. Typically the regeneration process of adult skeletal muscle during growth or following injury is controlled by a tissue specific stem ...

Abstract Background: Obesity has been associated with metabolic complications. However, two subgroups of obese individuals (namely "sarcopenic obese" and "metabolically healthy but obese" individuals) with low muscle mass appear to have a better metabolic profile. Despite having a lower muscle mass, these individuals appear to have higher muscle strength, suggesting ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a low-energy-diet induced weight loss in obese knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients on lower extremity muscle mass and knee muscle strength, and their association. METHODS: Data from a randomized controlled trial enabled us to explore 159 obese knee osteoarthritis patients having their body composition analyses ...

Background: COPD is a multicomponent disease and systemic inflammation represents one of the possible mechanisms responsible for its systemic manifestations, including skeletal muscle weakness and cachexia. Fat-free mass index (FFMI) that reflects the skeletal muscle mass, has been shown to be associated with both dyspnoea and exercise capacity. We hypothesized ...

BACKGROUND: Obese and lean humans treated with leptin have not experienced convincing weight-loss results compared with the dramatic weight losses observed in obese rodents.Objective: We sought to investigate the effect of acutely elevating leptin to concentrations observed in obese individuals on muscle and adipose tissue metabolism and muscle signaling in ...

Akt is encoded by a gene family with each isoform serving distinct but overlapping functions. Based on the phenotypes of the germline gene disruptions, Akt1 has been associated with control of growth whereas Akt2 has been linked to metabolic regulation. Here we show that Akt1 serves an unexpected role in ...

Background:Despite the importance of the hip muscles in protecting against hip fracture and in the outcome of hip arthroplasty, the variability in their fat content has not been previously studied. Our objectives were to evaluate the variability in the fat content of the hip muscles in a population without myopathy ...

ObjectiveBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophin family, may play a critical role in many chronic pain conditions. The possible involvement of BDNF in the altered gut sensation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was investigated in the present study.MethodsRectosigmoid biopsies were collected from 40 patients with ...

Although weight loss ameliorates many of the metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, there has been reluctance to prescribe weight loss in obese, older individuals because of the fear that it will cause debilitating loss of muscle mass and impair physical function. To gain insight into the mechanisms responsible for the ...

Maintenance of a 10% or greater reduced body weight results in decreases in the energy cost of low levels of physical activity beyond those attributable to the altered body weight. These changes in non-resting energy expenditure are due mainly to increased skeletal muscle work efficiency following weight loss and are ...

Enhanced echo intensity (EI) on an ultrasound image of skeletal muscle indicates changes in muscle quality, including increases in intramuscular fibrous and adipose tissues. However, it is not known whether muscle quality assessed from the EI of computer-aided gray-scale analysis of an ultrasound image is associated with the muscle strength ...

This study describes the association between low muscle mass and disability in performing IADL in elderly, community-dwelling Japanese subjects. Subjects were 1268 elderly, community-dwelling Japanese aged 65 years or older. Low muscle mass was defined by appendicular muscle mass index (AMI, weight [kg]/height [m(2)]), measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). ...

Insulin resistance is related to central obesity and the amount of skeletal muscle. A simple and practical anthropometric marker for muscle mass is not known, although waist circumference (WC) is used as an indicator of abdominal obesity. The aims of this study were to investigate whether arm (AC) and thigh ...

Background Resistance to the insulin-sensitising adipocytokine, adiponectin, has been described at the level of the skeletal muscle in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Objective To investigate whether exercise training (ET) would improve skeletal muscle energy metabolism and adiponectin signalling. Methods In a prospective cohort study, patients with CHF were ...

Introduction: The aim of this study was to generate reference data for ulnar nerve short segment conduction studies (SSCSs) at 2-cm intervals. Methods: Ulnar nerve SSCS data were collected from dominant and non-dominant arms of 200 healthy volunteers. The effects of age, gender, weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) ...

An excessive amount of adipose tissue may contribute to sarcopenia and may be one mechanism underlying accelerated loss of muscle mass and strength with aging. We therefore examined the association of baseline total body fat with changes in leg lean mass, muscle strength, and muscle quality over 7 years of ...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The adiponectin signalling pathway is largely unknown, but recently the adaptor protein containing pleckstrin homology domain, phosphotyrosine binding domain and leucine zipper motif (APPL1), has been shown to interact directly with adiponectin receptor (ADIPOR)1. APPL1 is present in C2C12 myoblasts and mouse skeletal muscle, but its presence in human ...

Change in body composition with reduced muscle mass with or without loss of fat mass occurs in 60-90% of patients with cirrhosis. This has an adverse impact on the outcome of these patients and is an understudied area. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent (TIPS) is now a standard therapy for portal ...

Introduction: In this study we investigated the influence of gender and obesity on electrical current thresholds in an attempt to optimize the application of skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (ES) in clinical practice. Methods: Thirty-two obese and 35 age-matched, non-obese men and women received graded ES to the quadriceps muscle for ...

The influence ofHindIII (g.2728G > A) and Bg/II (g.3996 T > C) polymorphisms at the leptin gene locus on muscle fibre characteristics and meat quality of longissimus lumborum muscle was studied in 146 barrows of the Polish Landrace breed. Leptin gene polymorphism was identified by PCR-RFLP. Fibre type percentage, fibre ...

The objective of the present study was to determine the association between CT phenotypes-emphysema by low attenuation area and bronchitis by airway wall thickness-and body composition parameters in a large cohort of subjects with and without COPD. In 452 COPD subjects and 459 subjects without COPD, CT scans were performed ...

In obesity and type 2 diabetes, efficient skeletal muscle repair following injury may be required, not only for restoring muscle structure and function, but also for maintaining exercise capacity and insulin sensitivity. The hypothesis of this study was that muscle regeneration would be impaired in ob/ob and db/db mice, which ...

This study aims to clarify age-related changes of body composition structure in terms of the percentages of body fat and muscle (muscle mass/weight×100) in preschool children by using BMI. The subjects were 533 preschool children, comprising 260 boys and 273 girls. Regression analysis for BMI was performed and a regression ...

Numerous transgenic and knockout mouse models of human hereditary neuropathies have become available over the past decade. We describe a simple, reproducible, and safe biopsy of mouse skin for histopathological evaluation of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) in models of hereditary neuropathies. We compared the diagnostic outcome between sciatic nerve ...

We have used fluorescent dextran tracers to test the tightness of the paranodal junction of living or fixed myelinated fibers in mouse sciatic nerve. Both 3 and 70 kDa tracers are able to penetrate from the perinodal space symmetrically into the paranodes on either side of the node of Ranvier ...

Although the Schwann cell basement membrane (BM) is required for normal Schwann cell terminal differentiation, the role of BM-associated collagens in peripheral nerve maturation is poorly understood. Collagen XV is a BM zone component strongly expressed in peripheral nerves, and we show that its absence in mice leads to loosely ...

The effects of age on nerve fibers and neuroglial cells in the fornix were examined in 25 rhesus monkeys between 4 and 33 years of age. There is no age-related change in the cross-sectional area of the fornix, but there is a significant loss of myelinated nerve fibers. The loss ...

Elevated angiotensin II (AII) levels have been associated with hypertension, diabetes, and polyneuropathy. It is unknown whether AII applied to healthy nerve can be used to model a confined neuronal injury by producing localized vasculopathy and associated neuropathy. In this study, angiotensin II (2.2 μg/ml) or saline was infused constantly ...

Electrical stimulation (ES) has been found to aid repair of nerve injuries and have been shown to increase and direct neurite outgrowth during stimulation. However, the effect of ES on peripheral remyelination after nerve damage has been investigated less well, and the mechanism underlying its action remains unclear. In the ...

We report a patient with anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) neuropathy, predominantly exhibiting severe motor symptoms, accompanied by extensive muscle atrophy mimicking Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Nerve conduction studies revealed mild retardation of motor conduction velocities and significant prolongation of distal latency. Sural nerve biopsy revealed widely spaced myelin and positive staining of myelinated ...

Important physiological functions of neurotrophins (NTs) in airways and lungs are the early development, differentiation and maintenance of peripheral sensory neurons. The main pulmonary sensory innervation is of vagal origin, with several nerve fibre populations that selectively contact complex morphologically well-characterized receptor end-organs, called neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs). NEBs in mouse ...

The caudal nerve is often used for investigating alterations in nerve conduction velocity (NCV) to determine the presence of peripheral neuropathy in animal models. In the present study, the rat caudal nerve of two outbred strains (Wistar Hannover and Sprague-Dawley) and one inbred strain (Fischer-344) was analyzed with regard to ...

Previous studies have demonstrated that electrical stimulation (ES) enhances axonal regeneration following central and peripheral nerve injury. However, the effect of ES on peripheral remyelination after nerve damage has been investigated less, and the mechanism underlying its action remains unclear. In the present study, neuron/Schwann cell (SC) co-cultures in vitro ...

Neurotrophic factors have been considered as potential therapeutics for peripheral neuropathies. Previously, we showed that neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) promotes nerve regeneration in Trembler(J) (Tr(J)) mice and in sural nerves from patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth 1A (CMT1A). The relatively short plasma half-life of NT-3 and other neurotrophins, however, pose a practical difficulty in ...

The thickness of the myelin sheath that insulates axons is fitted for optimal nerve conduction velocity. Here, we show that, in Schwann cells, mammalian disks large homolog 1 (Dlg1) interacts with PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) to inhibit axonal stimulation of myelination. This mechanism limits myelin ...

The superficial radial nerve (SRN) is one of the cutaneous nerves biopsied for diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy. Morphometric analysis is employed to provide more quantitative data regarding the histomorphology of nerve biopsy. To detect early structural changes, morphometric data from normal nerves are necessary for diagnostic criteria. Unlike the sural ...

Simvastatin is a hypocholesterolemic agent presumed to cause peripheral neuropathy. We arranged an experimental design which focuses on the effect of simvastatin on peripheral nerves and neural regeneration. Sciatic nerve injury was performed at midthigh region of male wistar rats either by clamp compression or fine cut. Electrophysiological and electron ...

Guillain-Barr?? syndrome (GBS), the most frequent cause of acute flaccid paralysis, can develop after infection by Campylobacter jejuni. The condition is often associated with serum anti-GM1 or anti-GD1a IgG antibodies. Gangliosides contribute to stability of paranodal junctions and ion channel clusters in myelinated nerve fibers. Autoantibodies to GM1 and GD1a ...

We focused on the healing of rat transected sciatic nerve and improvement made by stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (10 microg, 10ng/kg) applied shortly after injury (i) intraperitoneally/intragastrically/locally, at the site of anastomosis, or after (ii) non-anastomozed nerve tubing (7 mm nerve segment resected) directly into the tube. Improvement was ...

Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury is a concern in mandible distraction osteogenesis (DO). We have previously demonstrated that repeated local injections of human nerve growth factor beta (NGF-beta) have significantly enhanced the histologic recovery of the IAN in a rabbit model of DO. This study was to further test the ...

In an axonal variant of Guillain-Barr? syndrome (GBS) associated with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) enteritis, the mechanism underlying axonal damage is obscure. We purified and characterized a DNA-binding protein from starved cells derived from C. jejuni (C-Dps). This C-Dps protein has significant homology with Helicobacter pylori neutrophil-activating protein (HP-NAP), which ...

During the generation and transmission of nerve impulses, the cytoplasm behaves like an excitable medium that self-regulates the shapes and magnitudes of the output excitation. In connection with this self-regulatory function, one can readily think of the plasma membrane as a nerve organ holding the key role in the mechanisms ...

The nerve terminals of intrinsic muscular fibers of the tongue of adult wistar rats was studied by using silver impregnation techniques, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) to observe the nerve fibers and their terminals. Silver impregnation was done according to Winkelman and Schmit, 1957. ...

Prolonged hand-transmitted vibration exposure in the workplace has been recognized for almost a century to cause neurodegenerative and vasospastic disease. Persistence of the diseased state for years after cessation of tool use is of grave concern. To understand persistence of vibration injury, the present study examined recovery of nerve conduction ...

Brown widow spider (Latrodectus geometricus) venom (BrWSV) produces few local lesions and intense systemic reactions such as cramps, harsh muscle pains, nausea, vomiting and hypertension. Approximately 16 protein bands under reducing conditions and approximately 14 bands under non-reducing conditions on a 12.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were observed. Neurotoxic ...

Peripheral nerves from aged animals exhibit features of degeneration, including marked fiber loss, morphological irregularities in myelinated axons and notable reduction in the expression of myelin proteins. To investigate how protein homeostatic mechanisms change with age within the peripheral nervous system, we isolated Schwann cells from the sciatic nerves of ...