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Introduction: The goal of this study is to explore the pharmacological potential of the amyloid-reducing vasodilator fasudil, a selective Ras homolog (Rho)- associated kinases (ROCK) inhibitor, in the P301S tau transgenic mouse model (Line PS19) of neurodegenerative tauopathy and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: We used LC-MS/MS, ELISA and bioinformatic approaches to investigate the effect of treatment with fasudil on the brain proteomic profile in PS19 tau transgenic mice. We also explored the efficacy of fasudil in reducing tau phosphorylation, and the potential beneficial and/or toxic effects of its administration in mice. Results: Proteomic profiling of mice brains exposed to fasudil revealed the activation of the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and blood-brain barrier (BBB) gap junction metabolic pathways. We also observed a significant negative correlation between the brain levels of phosphorylated tau (pTau) at residue 396 and both fasudil and its metabolite hydroxyfasudil. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence on the activation of proteins and pathways related to mitochondria and BBB functions by fasudil treatment and support its further development and therapeutic potential for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three aspects of religious faith: faith-as-faithfulness; faith-as-trust; and faith-as-experience were examined in the lives of torture survivors with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Fetzer Scale items: Positive and Negative Religious Coping (PRC & NRC), Religious Practices (RP), and Daily Spiritual Experiences (DSE) were applied to a sample of 111 asylees. While none of the correlational hypotheses from the total sample showed a significant association between the variables of PRC, RP, and DSE to PTSD, a post hoc gender analyses revealed significant posttraumatic responses between women and men. Men showed a positive and significant association between PTSD, PRC and NRC, and women, a significant, negative association between Religious Social Support and PTSD. A multiple regression analysis investigated whether NRC, RP and DSE would predict significant variance with PTSD. Only NRC was shown to be a unique, significant predictor of PTSD above and beyond any beneficial effects of Religious Social Support (RSS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]