Micromolar concentrations of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) or diethyl fumarate (DEF) lowered the cellular GSH content in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Halfmaximal effects after 60 min of incubation were observed for 10 mu M DMF or DEF. In contrast to the

diesters, monomethyl fumarate (MMF), monoethyl fumarate (MEF) or fumarate had to be applied in concentrations of 10 mM for 60 min to significantly lower the cellular GSH content. During 60 min exposure, DMF or DEF did not significantly affect the cell viability, increase the cellular content of glutathione disulfide, nor altered the specific activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, or lactate dehydrogenase. After removal of DMF or DEF, cultured astrocytes restored their cellular GSH content completely within 4 h. These data demonstrate that acute exposure to fumaric acid diesters Selleckchem Proteasome inhibitor deprives astrocytes of their GSH, most likely by the reaction of the reactive alpha,beta-unsaturated diesters with GSH. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background. Multidimensional preventive

home visit programs aim at maintaining health and autonomy of older adults and preventing disability and subsequent nursing home admission, but results click here of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been inconsistent. Our objective was to systematically review RCTs examining the effect of home visit programs on mortality, nursing home admissions, and functional status decline.\n\nMethods. Data sources were MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL database, and references. Studies were reviewed to identify RCTs that compared outcome data of older participants in see more preventive home visit programs with control group outcome data. Publications reporting 21 trials were included. Data on study population, intervention characteristics, outcomes, and trial quality were double-extracted. We conducted random effects meta-analyses.\n\nResults. Pooled effects estimates revealed statistically nonsignificant favorable,

and heterogeneous effects on mortality (odds ratio [OR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-1.05), functional status decline (OR 0.89, 95% CI, 0.77-1.03), and nursing home admission (OR 0.86, 95% CI, 0.68-1.10). A beneficial effect on mortality was seen in younger study populations (OR 0.74, 95% CI, 0.58-0.94) but not in older populations (OR 1.14, 95% CI, 0.90-1.43). Functional decline was reduced in programs including a clinical examination in the initial assessment (OR 0.64, 95% CI, 0.48-0.87) but not in other trials (OR 1.00, 95% CI, 0.88-1.14). There was no single factor explaining the heterogenous effects of trials on nursing home admissions.\n\nConclusion. Multidimensional preventive home visits have the potential to reduce disability burden among older adults when based on multidimensional assessment with clinical examination.