Aspartic Acid: A Biomarker for Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction is the deterioration of cognitive performance after anesthesia and surgery.

And it manifests as impairments in short-term memory, concentration, language comprehension and social integration skills.

Salivary Biomarkers of Gingivitis may Help in Personalized Decision-Making
Craig Miller of University of Kentucky, Lexington, will present research titled Salivary Biomarkers of Gingivitis: Information Important for Personalized Decision-Making .

Previous studies have shown that the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction is affected by many factors, including advanced age, low educational level, pre-existing cognitive impairment, alcohol abuse, and severity of coexisting illness. However, the real cause for postoperative cognitive dysfunction is still unclear.

Metabolite changes have been reported in various neurodegenerative diseases, but not in postoperative cognitive dysfunction. A research team from Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University in China performed correlation analysis between changes in hippocampal metabolites and cognitive dysfunction in aged rats, and suggested aspartic acid concentration in the hippocampus may be a biomarker for predicting the occurrence and disease progress of cognitive dysfunction. The relevant paper has been published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 2, 2014).

Source-Eurekalert

Potential Biomarkers Identified for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
Bess Frost, PhD, and co-authors, identify abnormal expression of genes, resulting from DNA relaxation, that can be detected in the brain and blood of Alzheimer's patients, in a study published in Nature Neuroscience.

Detection of Infectious Disease Biomarkers may be Enhanced by Using Shrink Wrap
Early detection of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other deadly infectious diseases helps prevent their rapid spread.

Following Onset of Symptoms, Biomarkers of Cell Death Reverse Course in Alzheimer's
Researchers reveal that three promising biomarkers being studied to detect Alzheimer's disease in its early stages appear to undergo a surprising shift.