A direct effect of the autonomic nervous system on somatic stem cell proliferation?

Influence of an inspiratory muscle fatigue protocol on older adults on respiratory muscle strength and heart rate variability. A randomized controlled trial

Introduction

Inspiratory muscle fatigue has been shown to have effects on the autonomic nervous system and physical condition. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of an inspiratory muscle fatigue protocol on respiratory muscle strength and heart rate variability in older adults.

Materials and methods

A randomized controlled clinical trial with double-blinding was carried out involving 24 individuals over 60 years old who demonstrated physical independence in walking and movement. Participants were distributed randomly into three groups: Inspiratory muscle fatigue, activation and control. Measurements of heart rate variability, diaphragmatic ultrasound, and maximum inspiratory pressure were taken at two stages: prior to the intervention (T1) and directly after treatment (T2).

Results

The inspiratory muscle fatigue group exhibited decrease scores in respiratory and heart rate variability subsequent to undergoing the diaphragmatic fatigue intervention compared to both the activation and control groups (p < 0.05). Conversely, the activation group demonstrated higher values in heart rate variability and respiratory capacity variables following the inspiratory muscle activation training (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Fatigue of the inspiratory musculature appears to negatively impact heart rate variability and inspiratory muscle strength in older adults.

Clinical trial registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06269042, identifier: NCT06269042.

An Approach to Acute SARS-CoV-2 Management with Complementary Neuraltherapeutic Medicine: A Case Report

Background:

It has been proposed that the immunomodulatory capacity of neuraltherapeutic medicine (NTM) functions by means of stimuli to the nervous system, which influences the self-regulatory and plastic capacity of the nervous system, especially through the autonomic balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Several studies report the usefulness of NTM in inflammatory pathologies.

Case presentation:

A case report through a retrospective review of the medical history of an 82-year-old male patient with a diagnosis of acute SARS-CoV-2 who received a therapeutic intervention of NTM at the beginning of his hospitalization and presented satisfactory clinical evolution, with a follow-up for 18 months without post-COVID sequelae. A patient diagnosed with acute pneumonia for SARS-CoV-2, and mild ARDS, with markers of severity given by the history of COPD, advanced age, and elevation of LDH, ferritin, and CRP. On the third day of hospitalization, he presented an episode of pulmonary thromboembolism. He presented significant clinical improvement with in-hospital management for 9 days and underwent out-patient control with no post-COVID sequelae.

Conclusions:

NTM could be useful for the management of acute inflammatory diseases, including viral diseases such as SARS-CoV-2, in a mild or severe state of inflammation, when added to allopathic medicine, and it can improve clinical evolution and long-term sequelae. More studies are needed to validate this information.

Identification of a neural development gene expression signature in colon cancer stem cells reveals a role for EGR2 in tumorigenesis

Recent evidence demonstrates that colon cancer stem cells (CSCs) can generate neurons that synapse with tumor innervating fibers required for tumorigenesis and disease progression. Greater understanding of the mechanisms that regulate CSC driven tumor neurogenesis may therefore lead to more effective treatments. RNA-sequencing analyses of ALDHPositive CSCs from colon cancer patient-derived organoids (PDOs) and xenografts (PDXs) showed CSCs to be enriched for neural development genes. Functional analyses of genes differentially expressed in CSCs from PDO and PDX models demonstrated the neural crest stem cell (NCSC) regulator EGR2 to be required for tumor growth and to control expression of homebox superfamily embryonic master transcriptional regulator HOX genes and the neural stem cell and master cell fate regulator SOX2. These data support CSCs as the source of tumor neurogenesis and suggest that targeting EGR2 may provide a therapeutic differentiation strategy to eliminate CSCs and block nervous system driven disease progression.

Carving the senescent phenotype by the chemical reactivity of catecholamines: An integrative review

Macromolecules damaged by covalent modifications produced by chemically reactive metabolites accumulate in the slowly renewable components of living bodies and compromise their functions. Among such metabolites, catecholamines (CA) are unique, compared with the ubiquitous oxygen, ROS, glucose and methylglyoxal, in that their high chemical reactivity is confined to a limited set of cell types, including the dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons and their direct targets, which suffer from CA propensities for autoxidation yielding toxic quinones, and for Pictet-Spengler reactions with carbonyl-containing compounds, which yield mitochondrial toxins. The functions progressively compromised because of that include motor performance, cognition, reward-driven behaviors, emotional tuning, and the neuroendocrine control of reproduction. The phenotypic manifestations of the resulting disorders culminate in such conditions as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, hypertension, sarcopenia, and menopause. The reasons to suspect that CA play some special role in aging accumulated since early 1970-ies. Published reviews address the role of CA hazardousness in the development of specific aging-associated diseases. The present integrative review explores how the bizarre discrepancy between CA hazardousness and biological importance could have emerged in evolution, how much does the chemical reactivity of CA contribute to the senescent phenotype in mammals, and what can be done with it.

The Neuropeptide System and Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: Mechanisms and Management

Colorectal cancer (CRC), classified as the third most prevalent cancer worldwide, remains to be a clinical and research challenge. It is estimated that ~50% of CRC patients die from distant metastases, with treatment of this complication still posing significant difficulties. While liver metastasis (LM) cascade is known in the literature, its mechanisms are still unclear and remain studied in different research models. A connection is suggested between nervous system dysfunctions and a range of Neurotransmitters (Nts) (including Neuropeptides, NPs), Neurotrophins (Ntt) and their receptors (Rs) in CRC liver metastasis development. Studies on the role of NP/NP-Rs in the progression and metastasis of CRC, show the complexity of brain–tumor interactions, caused by their different forms of release to the extracellular environment (endocrine, autocrine, paracrine and neurocrine). Many stages of LM are connected to the activity of pro-inflammatory, e.g., Corticotropin-releasing Hormone Receptor 1 (CRHR1), Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Neurotensin (NT), anti-inflammatory, e.g., Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide (CGRP), CRHR2 and Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP) or dual role neuropeptides, e.g., Substance P (SP). The regulation of the local immunological profile (e.g., CRH/CRHRs), dysfunctions of enteroprotective role of NPs on epithelial cells (e.g., NT/NT-R), as well as structural-functional changes in enteric nervous system innervation of the tumor are also important. More research is needed to understand the exact mechanisms of communication between the neurons and tumor cells. The knowledge on the mechanisms regulating tumor growth and different stages of metastasis, as well as effects of the action of a numerous group of Nts/NPs/Ntt as growth factors, have implications for future therapeutic strategies. To obtain the best treatment outcomes, it is important to use signaling pathways common for many NPs, as well to develop a range of broad-spectrum antagonists. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on the importance of neuroactive molecules in the promotion of the invasion-metastasis cascade in CRC, as well as the improvements of clinical management of CRC liver metastasis.