Aging is the main risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, the aspects of the aging process that predispose the brain to the development of AD are largely unknown. Astrocytes perform a myriad of functions in the central nervous system to maintain homeostasis and support neuronal function. In vitro, human astrocytes are highly sensitive to oxidative stress and trigger a senescence program when faced with multiple types of stress. In order to determine whether senescent astrocytes appear in vivo, brain tissue from aged individuals and patients with AD was examined for the presence of senescent astrocytes using p16INK4a and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression as markers of senescence. Compared with fetal tissue samples (n = 4), a significant increase in p16INK4a-positive astrocytes was observed in subjects aged 35 to 50 years (n = 6; P = 0.02) and 78 to 90 years (n = 11; P<10−6). In addition, the frontal cortex of AD patients (n = 15) harbored a significantly greater burden of p16INK4a-positive astrocytes compared with non-AD adult control subjects of similar ages (n = 25; P = 0.02) and fetal controls (n = 4; P<10−7). Consistent with the senescent nature of the p16INK4a-positive astrocytes, increased metalloproteinase MMP-1 correlated with p16INK4a. In vitro, beta-amyloid 1–42 (Aβ1–42) triggered senescence, driving the expression of p16INK4a and senescence-associated beta-galactosidase. In addition, we found that senescent astrocytes produce a number of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), which seems to be regulated by p38MAPK. We propose that an accumulation of p16INK4a-positive senescent astrocytes may link increased age and increased risk for sporadic AD.

High index of suspicion of ROCM in T1DM and combined approach with amphotericin B and appropriate surgery is rewarding.

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A detailed evaluation of the microbial profile of 2 spices, viz. cumin seeds and chili powder, sold in retail shops in the city of Bombay, revealed high aerobic plate counts ranging from 2 × 106/g - 2 × 108/g for chili powder and 1.0 × 104/g to 1.0 × 108/g for cumin. Among the bacteria present, 50–95% constituted sporeformers, which included amylolytic and proteolytic bacilli in both the spices. Aspergillus group was predominant among fungi in chili powder samples. No fungi were found in cumin seed samples examined. Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio were completely missing from chili and cumin samples. However, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were found in chili powder.

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