Репозиторий Университета

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that leads to significant morbidity and decline in the quality of life. It develops due to loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and among its pathogenic factors oxidative stress plays a critical role in disease progression. Pesticides are a broad class of chemicals widely used in agriculture and households for the protection of crops from insects and fungi. Several of them have been incriminated as risk factors for PD, but the underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNA molecules that play an important role in regulating mRNA translation and protein synthesis. miRNA levels have been shown to be affected in several diseases as well. Since the studies on the association between pesticides and PD have yet to reach definitive conclusions, here we review recent evidence on deregulated microRNAs upon pesticide exposure, and attempt to find an overlap between miRNAs deregulated in PD and pesticides, as a missing link between the two, and enhance future research in this direction.

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is one of the pathogenic hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain enigmatic. While aberrant redox metabolism strongly associated with iron dysregulation and accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria is considered as one of the major contributors to neurodegeneration and death of dopaminergic cells, the specific anomalies in the molecular machinery and pathways leading to the PD development and progression have not been identified. The high efficiency and relative simplicity of a new genome editing tool, CRISPR/Cas9, make its applications attractive for deciphering molecular changes driving PD-related impairments of redox metabolism and lipid peroxidation in relation to mishandling of iron, aggregation and oligomerization of alpha-synuclein and mitochondrial injury as well as in mechanisms of mitophagy and programs of regulated cell death (apoptosis and ferroptosis). These insights into the mechanisms of PD pathology may be used for the identification of new targets for therapeutic interventions and innovative approaches to genome editing, including CRISPR/Cas9.

© 2018 Ima-Press Publishing House. All Rights Reserved. Daytime sleepiness is one of the clinically significant non-motor manifestations of Parkinson's disease (PD). One of its insufficiently studied aspects is a relationship between daytime sleepiness and nighttime sleep disorders. Objective: to clarify the clinical characteristics of PD in patients with different types of daytime sleepiness and to estimate of the ratio of daytime sleepiness to clinical and polysomnographic characteristics of nighttime sleep in patients with advanced stages of PD. Patients and methods: The investigation included 110 patients (56 men and 54 women) (mean age, 63.78±0.6 years) with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage 2.6±0.2; disease duration, 6.3±3.2 years) without dementia. All the patients received therapy with levodopa at a mean daily dose of 667.8 mg; 98 of them had the drug in combination with dopamine receptor agonists at a stable dose. The unified PD rating scale, the PD sleep scale (PDSS), and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) were applied. Nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) were performed. Results and discussion: There was daytime sleepiness in 44% of the patients: permanent sleepiness in 15%, sudden daytime sleep attacks (along with low daytime sleepiness (ESS) in 14%, and permanent drowsiness concurrent with sleep attacks in 15%. The PSG findings showed a decrease in sleep efficiency, an increase in the duration of the first stage of sleep, a reduction in the duration of the second and third sleep stages, an extension of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency, and frequent awakenings (sleep fragmentation). PSG also demonstrated REM sleep behavior disorders (RBD) in half of the examinees. Patients with sleep attacks differed from those with permanent drowsiness without sleep attacks with more severe sleep disorders (PDSS) and shorter sleep latency (MSLT). Patients with the RBD phenomenon had shorter sleep latency (MTLS) than those without this parasomnia. Patients with moderate or severe sleepiness (ESS scores of >10) differed from those with milder drowsiness (ESS scores of =10) and a lower representation of the third sleep stage. Conclusion: There is evidence for the association of daytime sleepiness in PD with reduced efficiency, changes in the nighttime sleep pattern, and RBD.