Plasma miRNA as biomarker for neurocognitive impairment in space.
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1
University of Cadiz, Psychology, Spain
Early stages of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular and frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson's disease, are frequently associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). A minimally invasive screening test for early detection of MCI may be used to select optimal patient groups in clinical trials, to monitor disease progression and response to treatment, and to better plan patient clinical care. In a similar way long duration space travel can produce negative effects in the astronaut’s brain and cognitive functions due to radiation among other factors. Here, we examined the feasibility of using pairs of brain-enriched plasma microRNA (miRNA), at least one of which is enriched in synapses and neurites, as biomarkers that could differentiate patients with MCI from age-matched controls. The identified biomarker pairs fall into two sets: the “miR-132 family” and the “miR-134 family”. These minimally invasive method can serve as a good method to monitor cognitive status and possible appearance of brain injury in astronauts in long duration space missions. Comparing samples from healthy participants under high ionizing radiation exposure with those of neurodegenerative diseases we can see possible similarities and help to early detection of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative processes in astronauts in space.
Keywords:
Cognitive neuroscience,
micro ARN,
Human spaceflight,
Neurodegenerative Diseases,
Brain Injury,
Radiation Effects
Conference:
SAN2016 Meeting, Corfu, Greece, 6 Oct - 9 Oct, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation in the Symposium in Bio-Neuroscientific Approaches of life in space...
Topic:
Symposium in Bio-Neuroscientific Approaches of life in space and extreme environments
Citation:
De La Torre
GG
(2016). Plasma miRNA as biomarker for neurocognitive impairment in space..
Conference Abstract:
SAN2016 Meeting.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2016.220.00121
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Received:
01 Aug 2016;
Published Online:
01 Aug 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Gabriel G De La Torre, University of Cadiz, Psychology, Puerto Real, Cadiz, 11510, Spain, gabriel.delatorre@uca.es