The aging process is associated with a decline in mitochondrial functions. Mitochondria dysfunction is involved in initiation and progression of many health problems including neuromuscular, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. It is well known that endurance exercise improves mitochondrial function, especially in the elderly. However, recent studies have demonstrated that resistan ce training lead also to substantial increases in mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. A comprehensive understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in the skeletal muscle mitochondrial adaptations to exercise training in healthy elderly subjects, can help practitioners to design and prescribe more effective exercise trainings., M. M. Ziaaldini, S. R. A. Hosseini, M. Fathi., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The objective of the present study was to evaluate platelet mitochondrial oxygen consumption using high-resolution respirometry (HRR) and metabolic flux analysis (MFA) and to verify the effect of advanced age on these parameters. HRR was used to analyze permeabilized and intact platelets, MFA to measure oxygen consumption rates (OCR), extracellular acidification rates (ECAR) and ATP production rate in intact fixed platelets. Two groups of healthy volunteers were included in the study: YOUNG (20-42 years, n=44) and older adults (OLD; 70-89 years; n=15). Compared to YOUNG donors, platelets from group OLD participants displayed significantly lower values of oxygen consumption in the Complex II-linked phosphorylating and uncoupled states and the Complex IV activity in HRR protocols for permeabilized cells and significantly lower resting and uncoupled respirations in intact cells when analyzed by both methods. In addition, mitochondrial ATP production rate was also significantly lower in platelets isolated from older adults. Variables measured by both methods from the same bloods correlated significantly, nevertheless those acquired by MFA were higher than those measured using HRR. In conclusion, the study verifies compromised mitochondrial respiration and oxidative ATP production in the platelets of aged persons and documents good compatibility of the two most widely used methods for determining the global performance of the electron-transporting system, i.e. HRR and MFA
Understanding mitochondrial role in normal physiology and pathological conditions has proven to be of high importance as mitochondrial dysfunction is connected with a number of disorders as well as some of the most common diseases (e.g. diabetes or Parkinson’s disease). Modeling mitochondrial dysfunction has been difficult mainly due to unique features of mitochondrial genetics. Here we discuss some of the most important mouse models generated so far and lessons learned from them., S. A. Dogan, A. Trifunovic., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
An ontogenetic study of ecto-ATPase activity and the content of enzyme proteins was assessed in the caudate nucleus and hippocampal synaptic plasma membranes isolated from rats at various ages (15, 30, 90, 180 and 365 days). The ontogenetic profile revealed that the enzyme activities in both brain areas were the highest on day 30 and 365, while the ecto-ATPase protein abundance was the highest on day 15 after birth. Possible explanation for obtained ontogenetic profile and the discrepancy between activity and abundance may reside in the fact that ecto-ATPase during development could exert additional roles other than those related to metabolism of ATP. It is likely that ecto-ATPase, regulating the concentration of ATP and adenosine in synaptic cleft, has important role in the processes of brain development and aging., A. Banjac, N. Nedeljković, A. Horvat, D. Kanazir, G. Nizekić., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Prezentovaná štúdia1 sa týka výskumu postojov strednej generácie k procesom starnutia vo vzťahu k miere sebakontroly a celkovej životnej spokojnosti. Naším cieľom bolo zistiť vzťah medzi pozitívnym a negatívnym postojom k starnutiu ľudí v strednom veku a mierou starostlivosti o seba a sebakontrolou. Vzorku tvorilo 121 (39 mužov a 82 žien) respondentov/tiek vo vekovom rozpätí 40 - 50 rokov. Vo výskume boli použité 3 metodiky: RAQ (Gething, 1994, Škála zaznamenávajúca postoje k procesom starnutia), Škála sebakontroly SCS (Tangney, Baumeister, Boone, 2004) a dotazník monitorujúci mieru starostlivosti o seba (Lovaš, 2010). Pri analýze bola použitá deskriptívna štatistika, korelačná analýza a jednovchodová analýza rozptylu. Výsledky ukázali, že respondenti s negatívnym postojom vykazujú nižšiu mieru sebakontroly a v súvislosti s tým aj nižšiu mieru starostlivosti o seba, a naopak respondenti s pozitívnym postojom vykazujú vyššiu mieru sebakontroly a vyššiu mieru starostlivosti - čo analýza potvrdila. Výsledky poukazujú na strednú mieru vzťahu medzi sebakontrolou a starostlivosťou o seba. Rodové rozdiely sa preukázali len v starostlivosti o seba. and The study is linked to our previous research that focused on the analysis of attitudes of middleaged people towards aging in relation to their level of self-control and life satisfaction. The aim of the presented study was to find out the relationship between positive and negative attitudes of middle-aged people towards aging on one side and their level of self-control and self-care on the other. The sample consisted of 121 respondents (82 women and 39 men) between 40 and 50 years of age. Three methodologies were used in the research: RAQ (Gething, 1994, Scale tracing attitudes to processes of aging), Scale of self-control (SCS) (Tangney, Baumeister, Boone, 2004) and questionnaire monitoring the level of self-care (Lovaš, 2010). Analysis consisted of descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and one-way dispersion analysis. The results supported that respondents with negative attitude to aging show lower level of self-control and also lower level of self-care and, vice versa, that respondents with positive attitude show higher level of self-control and self-care – as confirmed by the analysis. The results revealed medium level of relation between self-control and self-care. Generic differences proved true only in the case of self-care.
In the present study, we investigated the effect of acrylamide (ACR) exposure during pregnancy on the ovary of female adult offspring of two subsequent generations. Sixty-day-old Wistar albino female rats were given different doses of ACR (2.5 and 10 mg/kg/day) from day 6 of pregnancy until giving birth. Females from the first generation (AF1) were fed ad libitum, and thereafter, a subgroup was euthanized at 8 weeks of age and ovary samples were obtained. The remaining females were maintained until they reached sexual maturity (50 days old) and then treated in the same way as the previous generation to obtain the second generation of females (AF2). The histopathological examination indicated a high frequency of corpora lutea along with an increased number of antral follicles that reached the selectable stage mainly at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day. Interestingly, ACR exposure significantly increased the mRNA levels of CYP19 gene and its corresponding CYP19 protein expression in AF1 females. The TUNEL assay showed a significantly high rate of apoptosis in stromal cells except for dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day. However, in AF2 females, ACR exposure significantly increased the number of degenerating follicles and cysts while the number of growing follicles was reduced. Moreover, in both ACR-treated groups, estradiolproducing enzyme CYP19A gene and its corresponding protein were significantly reduced, and an excessive apoptosis was produced. We concluded that the ovarian condition of AF1 females had considerable similarity to the typical early perimenopausal stage, whereas that of AF2 females was similar to the late perimenopausal stage in women.
a1_Cíle. Propoziční hustota (PH), psycholingvistické měřítko, koreluje s kognitivní kapacitou ve starším věku. Tato studie zjišťuje rozdíly v propoziční hustotě v orálních výpovědích na téma z nedávné minulosti u osob zdravých a s mírnou kognitivní poruchou (MKP). MKP je v současnosti přijímána jako prodromální stádium Alzheimerovy nemoci (AN). Soubor. Soubor zahrnoval 33 osob s MKP a 32 zdravých kontrol (průměrný věk 73 let). Obě skupiny byly vyrovnané, a to co do věku a úrovně dosaženého vzdělání. Dle očekávání se lišily v skóru MMSE, který je považován za zjednodušené vyjádření úrovně kognitivního stavu. Hypotézy. Nižší PH byla očekávána u osob s MKP, neboť úkol zatěžoval vybavení z novopaměti. Přičemž obtíž se zapamatováním nových informací, a tedy i vybavením z novopaměti, je jedním z jádrových symptomů AN., a2_Analýza a výsledky. Průměrná propoziční hustota u pacientů s MKP činila 48,74 % (sm. odch. 5,78), u kontrolního vzorku seniorů bez kognitivních poruch to bylo 53,06 % (sm. odch. 4,56). Studentův t-test prokázal statisticky významný rozdíl mezi skupinami (p < 0,001). Cohenovo d 0,83 reprezentuje velký efekt příslušnosti ke skupině. Omezení. Nejpodstatnějším omezením této studie je heterogenita diagnostické jednotky MKP. Dalším omezením byla neznalost premorbidní kognitivní úrovně zdravých kontrol, proto je možné, že v kontrolní skupině byly osoby s již počínající kognitivní poruchou, jež byla při jednorázovém vyšetření nezachytitelná., b1_Objectives. It has been shown that propositional density (PD), which roughly corresponds to the number of ideas expressed in a text of given length, is related to cognitive performance in the older age. The present study investigated differences in propositional density in oral language production between healthy seniors and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is generally accepted as a prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sample and setting. The sample included 33 MCI persons and 32 healthy controls (mean age 73 years). The groups were equivalent as for the age and education. As expected, there was a significant difference between Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores between the groups, with MMSE being a simplified measure of their cognitive status. Hypotheses. Lower PD was expected in MCI persons, as the task required recent past recall which is considered one of the early deficiencies in early AD and MCI due to AD., b2_Statistical analysis. Mean PD across groups was compared using the independent samples t-test. Results. Mean propositional density in MCI persons was 48,74% (SD 5,78), and in healthy controls 53,06% (SD 4,56). The difference was statistically significant (p<0,001). Cohen’s d 0,83 represents a large effect size for the group difference. Study limitations. The main limitation is the heterogeneity of the MCI group. Also, the detailed cognitive status of the healthy controls is unknown. Thus the group could include persons with some cognitive impairment which has not been detected yet., Hana Štěpánková, Filip Smolík, Martin Vyhnálek, Tomáš Nikolai, Karolína Horáková, Markéta Niederlová., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Stať přináší přehled nových poznatků souvisejících s problematikou stárnutí a stáří. Popisuje negativní stereotypy spojené se stárnutím a upozorňuje na nejnovější poznatky diferenciální gerontologie. Zabývá se tzv. úspěšným stárnutím a jeho sebehodnocením. Popisuje očekávání spojená se stárnutím i to, jak se v procesu stárnutí a ve stáří mění některé funkce a procesy. and Psychosocial aspects of aging
The paper offers an overview of new findings related to aging and old age. The author describes negative stereotypes about aging and old age and draws attention to the latest findings of differential gerontology. The author focuses on so-called successful aging and its self-assessment. She describes the expectations related to aging as well as the changes in some functions and processes during aging and old age.
Oxidative stress has been implicated to play a major role in aging and age-related diseases. In the present study, we investigated the effects of aging on the total antioxidant capacity, uric acid, lipid peroxidation, total sulfhydryl group content and damage to DNA in adult (6 months), old (15 months) and senescent (26 months) male Wistar rats. The antioxidant capacity, determined by phycoerythrin-based TRAP method (total peroxyl radical-trapping potential) was significantly decreased in the plasma and myocardium of old and senescent rats, whereas plasma level of uric acid was elevated in 26-month-old rats. Age-related decline in plasma and heart antioxidant capacity was accompanied by a significant loss in total sulfhydryl group content, increased lipid peroxidation and higher DNA damage in lymphocytes. Correlations between TRAP and oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and DNA suggest that the decline in antioxidant status may play an important role in age-related accumulation of cell damage caused by reactive oxygen species., M. Sivoňová, Z. Tatarková, Z. Ďuračková, D. Dobrota, J. Lehotský, T. Matáková, P. Kaplán., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Apparently healthy free-living (non-hospitalized) men aged 8-89 years (n=408) were studied to determine the effect of age on serum copper and zinc concentrations and the copper/zinc ratio. Mean values ± S.D. for age, serum copper and zinc levels and the copper/zinc ratio were as follow: 41.9 ±22.9 years, 1.15 ± 0.17 ¿rg/ml, 0.93±0.14 /¿g/ml and 1.25±0.19, respectively. In the elderly subjects above 75 years, a marked increase in serum copper concentrations and the copper/zinc ratio as well as a decrease in serum zinc concentrations were observed. Serum copper concentrations and the copper/zinc ratio correlated positively with age (pcO.OOOl).