Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2018-05-18"
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- Diabetic neuropathy and oxidative stress: a systematic review focused on oxidative stress biomarkers analysisPublication . Cunha, Sofia; Nascimento, Ana Paula; Vieira, Mónica; Prudêncio, CristinaDiabetic neuropathy is a worldwide disease with great impact in modern society. Diabetes may lead to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species, resulting in an imbalance in body’s redox homeostasis. Oxidative stress is pointed as an important phenomenon associated with several disease states, including diabetic neuropathy.
- Bioactivity screening of marine cyanobacteria for the isolation of novel compounds for hepatic steatosisPublication . Moreira, Gabriela A.; Rosa, Filipa; Vasconcelos, Vítor; Urbatzka, RalphNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease and effective therapeutics has been widely study. Cyanobacteria, previously known as blue-green algae, are known to produce many secondary metabolites including toxins, with applications to the pharmaceutical industry. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of extract from cyanobacteria to reduce lipid accumulation in a model of hepatic steatosis using HepG2 cells in vitro.
- PET aplicada à Medicina Moderna: prova de conceito baseada na produção de Titânio-45 ( 45Ti)Publication . Costa, Pedro; Alves, F.; Naia, M. DuarteOs paradigmas modernos da Medicina baseada em Evidência e/ou Ciência, bem como os conceitos relacionados com a Medicina Personalizada, têm levado ao crescente uso de meios complementares de diagnóstico, cada vez mais sensíveis específicos. Nesse contexto, as metodologias de imagem médica têm especial relevo .Dentro destas, vários exemplos podem ser destacados, mas a Medicina Nuclear, baseada no uso de radiofármacos, é especialmente importante ao nível do estudo funcional e molecular dos mais diversos processos patológicos.
- Development of a biosensor for a biomarker CA15-3 in breast cancer by electropolymerization of pyrrolePublication . Barbosa, Beatriz; Ferreira, Nádia; Sales, GoretiBreast cancer is a disease that affects millions of people in the world and a constant search for the reduction of its incidence is necessary. If a global cure is not possible, methods must be developed to allow an early diagnosis, thereby reducing the level of disease progression. In the present study, we aim to obtain a molecularly-imprinted polymer (MIP) for the detection of a breast cancer biomarker (CA15-3). The imprinted sites are generated by the electropolymerization of pyrrole, yielding a conducting polymer.
- Screening of positive urines using Sysmex UF-1000i flow cytometer and identification by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometerPublication . Oliveira, Joana Santos; Santos, Rita Teixeira; Oliveira, Sofia Costa de; Dias, Ana Silva; Oliveira, Inês Martins; Rodrigues, Acácio G.; Vaz, Cidália PinaUrinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infections both in hospitalized and community patients often leading to severe complications. Gram-negative bacilli are the most prevalent microorganisms often resistant to main antimicrobial agents. Microbiology diagnosis is necessary but take at least 48 hours to provide results. Sysmex UF-1000i is an automated urine flow cytometer that have been described as able to avoid the culture on negative samples. We evaluated this equipment in order to screen positive urines with gram-negative bacilli >1 x 105/mL comparing it with the routine method. Additionally, we have developed an extraction protocol for identification of the strains directly from urine on MALDITOF.
- The effect of high concentrations of vitamin C on a H2O2 - oxidative stress induced yeast modelPublication . Costa, Ana Rita; Cunha, Sofia; Nascimento, Ana Paula; Vieira, Mónica; Prudêncio, CristinaNowadays, the ageing of population is conducting to a rise in the number of individuals with age-related illnesses, in which neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are included. Regardless of many variations in etiology and diverse mechanisms of cell injury, most of ND share high levels of oxidative stress, which have been highly referred not only as an underlying factor, but also as a feature. Thus, an actual challenge is to evaluate the role of antioxidants on oxidative stress states and evaluate the magnitude of possible therapeutic effects of these agents. In the present study, the toxic effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the antioxidative function of vitamin C were investigated using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model. Results were achieved by exposing the yeast model to different concentrations of H2O2 and vitamin C, itself or combined, and colony forming units counting after 48 h incubation at 30ºC in Yeast Extract Peptone Dextrose agar plates. The results demonstrated that H2O2 exposure decreased yeast cells viability in a dose-dependent manner and that, at an optimal concentration, vitamin C was able to revert its effects. These results improved the understanding of the reversal effect of antioxidant treatment and, therefore, may be helpful on providing insights on a natural antioxidant-based therapy for ND.
- Insights into the peptide hybrid constructs approachPublication . Teixeira, José Carlos; Teixeira, Cátia; Gomes, PaulaThe invention of peptide synthesis around the sixties prompted the development of synthetic peptides for different applications, including the study of protein functions, the identification and characterization of proteins, the development of epitope-specific antibodies against antigens from pathogens, the development of novel antimicrobial agents, and their use as intracellular delivery of a wide variety of exogenous molecules. Furthermore, synthetic peptides are used to study enzyme-substrate interactions within important enzyme classes such as kinases and proteases, which play a crucial role in cell signalling.
- The negative impact of cosmeticsPublication . Neves, Joana; Prudêncio, Cristina; Vieira, MónicaCosmetics are widely used by infants, children, adults and workers of salon beauty with different purposes. However, they can cause adverse effects due its composition. This review is focused in the potential adverse effects to the human and other organism’s health and to the environment of some of the ingredients used in the formulation of cosmetics. In order to prevent these harmful effects, there are also alternatives to the potential hazardous substances that should be taken in account by consumers and manufactures when choosing a product in order to enhance the quality of life, avoiding health risks.
- Development of an electrochemical biosensor for an Alzheimer biomarker detection in Point-of-CarePublication . Mendes, Francisca; Sales, Goreti; Moreira, FelisminaAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the dominant dementia condition of our society with great social and economic impact. One of the major pathological changes is the formation of extracellular insoluble deposits of β-amyloid protein (Aβ) in plaques. Pathological changes are often accompanied by neuroinflammation, abnormal activity of the neural network, dysfunction, degeneration and loss of neurons. Moreover, there is no current test capable of providing accurate diagnosis of AD and, besides that there is no treatment of prevention available, only a way to delay its progression, so the early diagnosis is the key in present. Research activities targeting such possibility include the identification of biomarkers in several biological fluids that may turn out an important means to diagnosis within future, mostly if these are found in peripheral blood (avoiding more invasive procedures). Thus, the main goal of this proposal is to develop novel, low cost (bio)sensing-devices with an aptamer as a biorecognition element of AD biomarker detection, Aβ42, in point-of-care.
- Estudo de dois hotspots mutacionais no gene TTN em doentes com miopatiaPublication . Pinto, Maria; Vieira, Emília; Moreira, Teresa; Mota, Sandra; Sousa, MariaAs doenças neuromusculares são um grupo heterogéneo entre as quais se destacam as miopatias de origem genética, associadas a variantes patogénicas no gene da titina (TTN). Este gene não é totalmente analisado na rotina laboratorial, contudo recentemente têm sido descritas diversas variantes associadas a diversos fenótipos. Este estudo teve por objetivo rastrear dois hotspots mutacionais nucleotídicos no gene TTN: um correspondente ao exão 343, em doentes diagnosticados com miopatia progressiva, e outro localizado no intrão 359 (c.106531+1G>A), em doentes com miopatia congénita e miopatia progressiva, em doentes referenciados ao Centro de Genética Médica Jacinto Magalhães (CGMJM).