Background: Existing research suggests that irisin increases in response to exercise in humans. However, results are controversial and a majority of the studies lack a control group. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of both one-bout, and three-week intense resistance training on physical fitness (body composition and strength) and serum irisin levels when compared to a control group.

Professionals working with people with dementia need to develop new activities that occupy patients and increase positive emotions. Dementia care mapping is a reliable method of measuring well-being during activities with people with dementia. The iPad has many applications that may be suitable as a group activity for persons with dementia. Six people with dementia took part in two traditional and two iPad activities over two days. Well-being was recorded using dementia care mapping. Subjects displayed similar or better levels of well-being during iPad activities than traditional activities. A larger variation of behaviors was seen during iPad activities than traditional activities. With detailed planning using a person-centred care approach, iPad group activity has the potential to be as effective and engaging as other conventional activities in achieving well-being.

BackgroundPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains one of the most lethal of all solid tumours. Treatment options are limited and gemcitabine-based chemotherapy remains the standard of care. Although growing evidence shows that p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) plays a crucial role in pancreatic cancer, its role has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to characterise the expression and functional relevance of PAK1 in pancreatic cancer.MethodsPAK1 expression was measured in pancreatic cancer specimens by immunohistochemistry and in pancreatic cancer cell lines by western blotting. The effect of inhibition of PAK1 by either shRNA knock-down (KD), or by a selective inhibitor, FRAX597, alone or in combination with gemcitabine, on cell proliferation and migration/invasion was measured by thymidine uptake and Boyden chamber assays, respectively. The effect on tumour growth and survival was assessed in orthotopic murine models.ResultsPAK1 was expressed in all human pancreatic cancer samples tested, an7d was upregulated in all pancreatic cancer cell lines tested. PAK1 KD inhibited pancreatic cancer cell growth and survival, and increased sensitivity to gemcitabine treatment. AKT activity and HIF1α expression were also inhibited. FRAX597 inhibited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, survival, and migration/invasion. When combined with gemcitabine, FRAX597 synergistically inhibited pancreatic cancer proliferation in vitro and inhibited tumour growth in vivo.ConclusionsThese results implicate PAK1 as a regulator of pancreatic cancer cell growth and survival. Combination of a PAK1 inhibitor such as FRAX597 with cytotoxic chemotherapy deserves further study as a novel therapeutic approach to pancreatic cancer treatment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2057-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The results indicated that anosognosia is common in both AD and MCI patients and associated with cognitive dysfunction and apathy in AD. The findings of this study warrant further research to delineate the mechanisms of anosognosia as it poses a challenge to treatment outcomes.