Abdominal aortic calcification quantified by the Morphological Atherosclerotic Calcification Distribution (MACD) index is associated with features of the metabolic syndrome.

December 20, 2011

BMC Cardiovasc Disord

Abstract BACKGROUND Abdominal aortic calcifications (AAC) predict cardiovascular mortality. A new scoring model for AAC, the Morphological Atherosclerotic Calcification Distribution (MACD) index may contribute with additional information to the commonly used Aortic Calcification Severity (AC24) score, when predicting death from cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study we investigated associations of MACD and AC24 with traditional […]

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Glucocorticoids exert context-dependent effects on cells of the joint in vitro.

December 11, 2011

Steroids

Abstract INTRODUCTION Glucocorticoids are known to attenuate bone formation in vivo leading to decreased bone volume and increased risk of fractures, whereas effects on the joint tissue are less characterized. However, glucocorticoids appear to have a reducing effect on inflammation and pain in osteoarthritis. This study aimed at characterizing the effect of glucocorticoids on chondrocytes, […]

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Molecular serum and urine marker repertoire supporting clinical research on joint diseases.

December 1, 2011

Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol

Abstract The need for improved analytical techniques in the study of slow, degenerative diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis has driven major efforts aimed at identifying biochemical markers of pathological processes in both diseases. A series of novel biochemical markers has surfaced and their careful validation has become a critical requirement for further use […]

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Serological biochemical markers of surrogate efficacy and safety as a novel approach to drug repositioning.

November 1, 2011

Drug Discov Today

Abstract How do pharmaceutical companies find new uses for old or failed drugs? Is there a way to ‘manage serendipity’ at the very first stage of identifying compounds that could be developed into new drugs? Several approaches are now being pursued by various companies that are dedicated to drug repositioning cross a spectrum of technologies […]

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Use of bone turnover markers in clinical osteoporosis assessment in women: current issues and future options.

November 1, 2011

Womens Health (Lond)

Abstract Monitoring bone turnover of the adult and aging skeleton is essential for optimal treatment of bone metabolic diseases, such as postmenopausal osteoporosis. Diagnosis of osteoporosis is based solely on dual-emission x-ray absorptiometry-based measurements of bone mineral density. However, within the last 20 years, biochemical markers of bone turnover have been implemented to a larger […]

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A novel marker for assessment of liver matrix remodeling: an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detecting a MMP generated type I collagen neo-epitope (C1M).

November 1, 2011

Biomarkers

Abstract A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of a type I collagen fragment generated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) -2, -9 and -13, was developed (CO1-764 or C1M). The biomarker was evaluated in two preclinical rat models of liver fibrosis: bile duct ligation (BDL) and carbon tetra chloride (CCL4)-treated rats. The assay was further […]

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Identification of the calcitonin receptor in osteoarthritic chondrocytes.

October 13, 2011

BMC Res Notes

Abstract BACKGROUND Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that salmon calcitonin has cartilage protective effects in joint degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis (OA). However, the presence of the calcitonin receptor (CTR) in articular cartilage chondrocytes is yet to be identified. In this study, we sought to further investigate the expression of the CTR in naïve […]

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Assessment of proteolytic degradation of the basement membrane: a fragment of type IV collagen as a biochemical marker for liver fibrosis.

October 5, 2011

Fibrogenesis Tissue Repair

Abstract BACKGROUND Collagen deposition and an altered matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression profile are hallmarks of fibrosis. Type IV collagen is the most abundant structural basement membrane component of tissue, which increases 14-fold during fibrogenesis in the liver. Proteolytic degradation of collagens by proteases produces small fragments, so-called neoepitopes, which are released systemically. Technologies investigating MMP-generated […]

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A novel oral form of salmon calcitonin improves glucose homeostasis and reduces body weight in diet-induced obese rats.

October 1, 2011

Diabetes Obes Metab

Abstract AIM To investigate the effects of acute and chronic administration of a novel oral formulation of salmon calcitonin (sCT) on glycaemic control, glucose homeostasis and body weight regulation in diet-induced obese (DIO) rats-an animal model of obesity-related insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. METHODS DIO rats were acutely given a single dose of oral […]

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Circulating CO3-610, a degradation product of collagen III, closely reflects liver collagen and portal pressure in rats with fibrosis.

August 3, 2011

Fibrogenesis Tissue Repair

Abstract BACKGROUND Hepatic fibrosis is characterized by intense tissue remodeling, mainly driven by matrix metalloproteinases. We previously identified CO3-610, a type III collagen neoepitope generated by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, and tested its performance as a fibrosis marker in rats with bile-duct ligation. In this study, we assessed whether CO3-610 could be used as a surrogate […]

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