Epidemiology of major age-related diseases in women compared to men

Why men age faster but reproduce longer than women: mTOR and evolutionary perspectives

Women live longer than men. Yet, it is believed that men do not age faster than women but simply are weaker at every age. In contrast, I discuss that men age faster. From evolutionary perspective, high accidental death rate in young males is compatible with fast aging. Mechanistically, hyper-activated mTOR (Target of Rapamycin) may render young males robust at the cost of accelerated aging. But if women age slower, why then is it women who have menopause? Some believe that menopause is programmed and purposeful (grandmother theory). In contrast, I discuss how menopause is not programmed but rather is an aimless continuation of the same program that initially starts reproduction at puberty. This quasi-program causes over-activation of female reproductive system, which is very vulnerable to over-activation. Mechanisms of aging and menopause are discussed.

Beta-synuclein displays an antiapoptotic p53-dependent phenotype and protects neurons from 6-hydroxydopamine-induced caspase 3 activation: cross-talk with alpha-synuclein and implication for Parkinson's disease

We have established stable transfectants expressing beta-synuclein in TSM1 neurons. We show that in basal and staurosporine-induced conditions the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL)-positive beta-synuclein-expressing neurons was drastically lower than in mock-transfected TSM1 cells. This was accompanied by a lower DNA fragmentation as evidenced by the reduction of propidium iodide incorporation measured by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. beta-Synuclein strongly reduces staurosporine-induced caspase 3 activity and immunoreactivity. We establish that beta-synuclein triggers a drastic reduction of p53 expression and transcriptional activity. This was accompanied by increased Mdm2 immunoreactivity while p38 expression appeared enhanced, indicating that beta-synuclein-induced p53 down-regulation likely occurs at a post-transcriptional level. We showed previously that alpha-synuclein displays an antiapoptotic function that was abolished by the dopaminergic derived toxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6OHDA). Interestingly, beta-synuclein retains its ability to protect TSM1 neurons even after 6OHDA treatment. Furthermore, beta-synuclein restores the antiapoptotic function of alpha-synuclein in 6OHDA-treated neurons. Altogether, our data document for the first time that beta-synuclein protects neurons from staurosporine and 6OHDA-stimulated caspase activation in a p53-dependent manner. Our observation that beta-synuclein contributes to restoration of the alpha-synuclein antiapoptotic function abolished by 6OHDA may have direct implications for Parkinson's disease pathology. In this context, the cross-talk between these two parent proteins is discussed.

Development of a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease using anti-aggregatory beta-synuclein-derived peptides

The synaptic protein alpha-synuclein is a major constituent of Lewy bodies (LB), pathological neuronal inclusion bodies found in Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other neurodegenerative disorders. Owing to data from patient brains, it was speculated that an imbalance between alpha-synuclein and beta-synuclein might be one of the reasons for formation of LBs and the consequent functional deficits. This was supported by the fact that beta-synuclein is able to prevent abnormal alpha-synuclein aggregation. Transgenic mice overexpressing alpha-synuclein display LB-like inclusions in different brain regions and motor deficits. To verify if re-establishing a normal relation between alpha-synuclein and beta-synuclein is able to prevent the pathology, bigenic mice have been created that overexpress both synucleins. Beta-synuclein decreased formation of LBs by 40% and prevented functional deficits. This is considered as preliminary in vivo proof of antiaggregatory function of beta-synuclein and its potential as therapeutic substance for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders linked with abnormal protein aggregation. Peptide libraries have been synthesized to explore the active structures of beta-synuclein. The first 15 N-terminal amino-acids turned out to be important for the antiaggregatory effect. Further smaller beta-synuclein-derived peptides have screened for antiaggregatory and neuroprotective potency in different tissue-culture systems. Preliminary data suggest some of them can be used as leads for further drug development.

Understanding the physiological and functional consequences of menopause: the PROSALMEN study. PROgetto SALute MENopausa

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Women live longer and are more often affected by disability and poor health than men. The mechanism underlying this sex-related "mortality-morbidity" paradox is still unclear but it has been suggested that the physiological and functional changes occurring during the menopausal transition play an important role. The aim of PROSALMEN (PROgetto SALute MENopausa: Health in Menopause Project) is to study in great detail how these changes affect the integrity and function of the physiologic subsystems that are relevant to the maintenance of an active and healthy life-style during the aging process.

METHODS

PROSALMEN is a cross-sectional comparison of age-matched pre- and post-menopausal women. Thirty post-menopausal women, aged 48-58 years, were enrolled in the study together with 30 age-matched pre-menopausal controls. A number of clinical, biological and functional parameters were collected assessing the integrity and level of function of the physiological subsystems that are important for mobility. Furthermore, we collected information on risk factors, medical conditions and symptoms that frequently develop or become clinically evident after menopause, including the most important elements of the classical post-menopausal syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS

This rich dataset will be used to start dissecting the causal pathway leading from menopause to damages in the musculoskeletal system and, in turn, to reduced physical function. The final goal is to understand how and to what extent changes in health behavior and pharmacological treatments in addition to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may counteract these processes.