Annual Report of Activities CNC 2011 - Center for Neuroscience and ...
Annual Report of Activities CNC 2011 - Center for Neuroscience and ...
Annual Report of Activities CNC 2011 - Center for Neuroscience and ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
-‐ Seric evaluation <strong>of</strong> anti-‐neuronal antibodies in patients with polineuropathies -‐ Quantification <strong>of</strong> serum levels <strong>of</strong> antiepileptic drugs in patients under therapy -‐ Determination <strong>of</strong> serum neutralyzing antibodies (NABs) against Interferon-‐β (IFN-‐β) in multiple sclerosis patients undergoing treatment with IFN-‐β Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker identification in neurodegenerative disorders, mainly in dementias, has been one <strong>of</strong> our main areas <strong>of</strong> research interest. Early <strong>and</strong> differential diagnosis <strong>of</strong> dementias is <strong>of</strong> particular importance as this type <strong>of</strong> disorders remains, in the present, fatal <strong>and</strong> without effective treatment. Accordingly, interventions with curative or stabilization potential would have a huge impact in human health <strong>and</strong> life expectancy. The Neurochemistry unit is, in the framework <strong>of</strong> the Portuguese Epidemiological Surveillance Program <strong>for</strong> Human Prion Diseases, the national reference laboratory <strong>for</strong> CSF analysis, <strong>and</strong> it per<strong>for</strong>ms: -‐ Quantification <strong>of</strong> CSF levels <strong>of</strong> total-‐Tau protein, phosphorylated-‐Tau protein <strong>and</strong> β-‐amyloid 1-‐42 peptide <strong>for</strong> dementia diagnosis -‐ Detection <strong>of</strong> 14-‐3-‐3 protein in CSF in suspected cases <strong>of</strong> Creutzfeldt-‐Jakob Disease (CJD) -‐ Immunodetection <strong>of</strong> Prion protein is<strong>of</strong>orms in brain extracts <strong>of</strong> CJD patients Characterization <strong>of</strong> oxidative status in neurodegenerative disorders is also a specific research interest <strong>of</strong> this unit. In this context, we per<strong>for</strong>m, either in patients blood or in several cellular extracts, the: -‐ Evaluation <strong>of</strong> plasma <strong>and</strong> cellular oxidative stress This includes the determination <strong>of</strong> a broad spectrum <strong>of</strong> non-enzymatic (uric acid, vitamin E, oxidized <strong>and</strong> reduced glutathione) <strong>and</strong> enzymatic antioxidants (glutathione reductase <strong>and</strong> peroxidase), nitrogen oxidative species <strong>and</strong> lipid (malondialdehyde) <strong>and</strong> protein (carbonyls) oxidation markers. During the year <strong>2011</strong>, the Neurochemistry Unit has recieved arround 700 blood <strong>and</strong> 500 CSF samples <strong>and</strong> has per<strong>for</strong>med the following analysis: Cytochemistry <strong>and</strong> electrophoresis 233 233 IgG Oligoclonal b<strong>and</strong>s 220 220 Blood (Serum/Plasma) CSF Urine Brain extracts Other extracts Vitamin A/E 174 Redox Satus 143 82 Purines & Pyrimidines Arylsulfatase A 5 1 Anti-‐neuronal antibodies Antiepileptic drugs NABs against INFβ 55 0 109 140Tau, p-‐Tau <strong>and</strong> Aβ42 14-‐3-‐3 protein 189 108 Prion protein is<strong>of</strong>orms 1 Oxidative Stress 20 214
Change language