Pharmacologic biomarkers for Alzheimer's

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Circulating leukocytes are potential biomarkers of CNS disease and could provide insight into pharmacologic activity in neurodegenerative diseases. In a recently published study, Mhyre et al. identified a number of leukocyte proteins that are differentially expressed in peripheral leukocytes of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) before and after therapy with valproic acid (VPA).
Protein expression profiles of peripheral leukocytes were classified in 15 patients with moderate AD treated with VPA, which has been shown to be neuroprotective in AD although its mechanism of action remains unclear. Gel electrophoresis analysis of peripheral-blood samples collected at baseline and after 3–4 weeks of treatment revealed changes in the level of expression of 10 proteins in treated subjects; two of these proteins were upregulated and eight were downregulated in response to VPA. Nine potential biomarkers were identified, which belonged to various functional classes. Alterations in transcript and protein expression were validated in a subset of the potential biomarkers in both peripheral-blood samples and cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The precise changes to these markers induced by the therapeutic action of VPA therapy are not known, but the authors propose that the similarities between the in vivo and in vitro data suggest that these markers are generalizable VPA targets.
The authors conclude that differential protein expression profiles in peripheral leukocytes reflect the therapeutic action of VPA in AD, and they emphasize that this could have general implications for monitoring treatment effects in neurodegenerative disease.

Probiotics may cut neonatal gut infections, mice study
A series of probiotic studies on mice have presented positive results in protecting newborns from intestinal infections and reducing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), research by Institut Rosell suggests.

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