A NEW QUALITY CONTROL PATHWAY IN THE CELL

Proteins are important building blocks in our cells and each cell contains millions of different protein molecules. They are involved in everything from structural to regulatory aspects in the cell. Proteins are constructed as linear molecules but they only become functional once they are folded into specific three-dimensional structures. Several factors, like mutations, stress and age, can interfere with this folding process and induce protein misfolding. Accumulated misfolded proteins are toxic and to prevent this, cells have developed quality control systems just like any other production chain or manufacturing process

A team of researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona has just published a paper inScience describing a new quality control system in our cells. It is specific to the inner nuclear membrane, a specialised part of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a network of membranes that spreads throughout the cell and which also forms the nuclear envelope that wraps the chromosomes.

Other quality control systems have been described but exactly how misfolded proteins in the inner nuclear membrane were degraded was not known. Ombretta Foresti, Victoria Rodríguez-Vaello and Pedro Carvalho, from the Organelle Biogenesis and Homeostasis laboratory at the CRG have just described the new system. "We have found that this quality control system has two key functions. It gets rid of misfolded proteins and, surprisingly, it also helps prevent the nucleus accumulating proteins that should not be there," explains Pedro Carvalho, principal investigator of this paper.

The studies have been conducted using a unicellular model organism (Baker's yeast) but they may also apply to human physiology. The newly identified quality control system protects the nucleus by targeting foreign proteins that could enter the nucleus by mistake. This could be particularly significant in non-dividing cells where the inner nuclear membrane is isolated from the rest of the ER for long periods of time

These findings have been made possible thanks to funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and MCCIN at the CRG in Barcelona.

Neuropathy And Your Quality Of Life

Today's post from neuropathydr.com (see link below) talks about the quality of a person's life when they have neuropathic problems to deal with. Most doctors will only look at the physical aspects of neuropathy and only evaluate what can be proved scientifically (they may only have a limited time to do that) but the psychological effects and the effects on your quality of life are just as important. It's a no-brainer; a happier person will react better to treatment.
The article forms part of a large website promoting medical clinics but the information is well-sourced ,accurate and very helpful. Following the link to the original page will allow you to contact them if you wish.

Peripheral Neuropathy and Your Quality of Life

If you’re suffering from peripheral neuropathy, you know how much it affects your life.

Every single day…

Even the simplest tasks can be difficult if not impossible…

To anyone unfamiliar with peripheral neuropathy and its symptoms, they might just think “your nerves hurt a little…”

But at a peripheral neuropathy sufferer, you know better…

Peripheral neuropathy not only affects your health, it can wreck your quality of life.

How Do You Define Quality of Life?
Generally speaking, Quality of Life is a term used to measure a person’s overall well-being. In medical terms, it usually means how well a patient has adapted to a medical condition. It measures[1]:

• Your physical and material well being
• Your social relationships – how you interact with others
• Your social activities
• Your personal fulfillment – your career, any creative outlets you may have, how involved you are with other interests)
• Your recreational activities – your hobbies, sports, etc.
• Your actual health – what your health is really like and how healthy you believe you are

How do you feel about these aspects of your life? Your attitude and approach to your illness, both your neuropathy and the underlying cause of your neuropathy (i.e., diabetes, HIV/AIDS, lupus, etc.) can make a huge difference in how well you adapt to your neuropathy symptoms.
Neuropathy Symptoms Aren’t Just Physical
The pain of peripheral neuropathy falls into the category of what is considered chronic pain. It usually doesn’t just come and go. You can’t just pop a couple of aspirin and forget about it. It’s pain with its root cause in nerve damage.
The nerves that actually register pain are the actual cause of the pain. When you’re in that kind of pain on a consistent basis, it affects you in many different ways[2]:

• You become depressed and/or anxious
• Your productivity and interest at work is disrupted
• You can’t sleep
• It’s difficult for you to get out and interact with other people so you feel isolated
• You sometimes don’t understand why you’re not getting better

What You Can Do To Improve Your Quality of Life
You may feel like your situation is hopeless, especially if you’ve become mired in depression.
But it isn’t.
There are things you can do to lessen the physical (and emotional) effects of peripheral neuropathy and help you function as normally as possible:

• Pay special attention to caring for your feet. Inspect them daily for cuts, pressure spots, blisters or calluses (use a mirror to look at the bottom of your feet). The minute you notice anything out of the ordinary, call your doctor or your local NeuropathyDR® clinician for help. Never go barefoot – anywhere.
• Treat yourself to a good foot massage to improve your circulation and reduce pain. Check with your insurance company – if massage is actually prescribed by your doctor, they may cover some of the cost.
• Only wear shoes that are padded, supportive and comfortable and never wear tight socks.
• If you smoke, quit. Nicotine decreases circulation and if you’re a peripheral neuropathy patient, you can’t risk that.
• Cut back on your caffeine intake. Several studies have found that caffeine may actually make neuropathy pain worse.
• If you sit at a desk, never cross your knees or lean on your elbows. The pressure will only make your nerve damage worse.
• Be really careful when using hot water. Your peripheral neuropathy may affect the way you register changes in temperature and it’s really easy for you to burn yourself and not even realize it.
• Use a “bed cradle” to keep your sheets away from your feet if you experience pain when trying to sleep. That will help you rest.
• Try to be as active as possible. Moderate exercise is great for circulation and it can work wonders for your emotional and mental health.
• Make your home as injury proof as possible – install bath assists and/or hand rails and never leave anything on the floor that you can trip over.
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet. If you don’t know what you should and shouldn’t eat, talk to your NeuropathyDR® clinician about a personalized diet plan to maintain proper weight and give your body what it needs to heal.
• Try to get out as often as possible to socialize with others.

We hope this information helps you to better manage your peripheral neuropathy symptoms. Take a look at the list above and see how many of these things you’re already doing to help yourself. Then talk to your local NeuropathyDR® clinician about help with adding the others to your daily life.

http://neuropathydr.com/blog/general-information-on-nd-protocols/peripheral-neuropathy-and-your-quality-of-life-2/

Quality Sleep Is The Key To Reducing Chronic Pain

Today's post from sciencedaily.com (see link below) looks at the link between chronic pain and sleeping problems; something familiar to most neuropathy patients, for whom their pain is worse at night. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, in that nobody seems sure whether it's lack of sleep that increases pain; or pain causing lack of sleep. However, as we all know, a bad night's sleep due to pain can lead to insomnia and yet more pain. Is this a thought-produced reaction which is almost psychosomatic, or is it simply that nerve pain prevents quality sleep? One thing is sure: if a neuropathy patient happens to have a great night's sleep (a rarity), he or she feels so much better the next day and that includes less pain! An interesting article: worth a read.
 

Sleep is key to curing chronic pain
Date:September 21, 2016 Source:University of Warwick

'I won't be able to cope with my pain if I don't sleep well.' Based on this complaint, new research from the University of Warwick reveals that the way chronic pain patients think about pain and sleep leads to insomnia and poor management of pain.

Researchers from the Sleep and Pain Lab in the Department of Psychology have demonstrated that conditions like back pain, fibromyalgia, and arthritis are directly linked with negative thoughts about insomnia and pain, and this can be effectively managed by cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).

Esther Afolalu and colleagues have formulated a pioneering scale to measure beliefs about sleep and pain in long-term pain patients, alongside their quality of sleep -- the first of its type to combine both pain and sleep and explore the vicious cycle between sleep and pain problems.

The scale was tested on four groups of patients suffering from long-term pain and bad sleeping patterns, with the result showing that people who believe they won't be able to sleep as a result of their pain are more likely to suffer from insomnia, thus causing worse pain.

The results show that the scale was vital in predicting patients' level of insomnia and pain difficulties. With better sleep, pain problems are significantly reduced, especially after receiving a short course of CBT for both pain and insomnia.

The study has provided therapists the means with which to identify and monitor rigid thoughts about sleep and pain that are sleep-interfering, allowing the application of the proven effective CBT for insomnia in people with chronic pain.

Esther Afolalu explains: "Current psychological treatments for chronic pain have mostly focused on pain management and a lesser emphasis on sleep but there is a recent interest in developing therapies to tackle both pain and sleep problems simultaneously. This scale provides a useful clinical tool to assess and monitor treatment progress during these therapies."

Dr. Nicole Tang, the study senior author, comments: "Thoughts can have a direct and/or indirect impact on our emotion, behaviour and even physiology. The way how we think about sleep and its interaction with pain can influence the way how we cope with pain and manage sleeplessness. Based on clinical experience, whilst some of these beliefs are healthy and useful, others are rigid and misinformed. The new scale, PBAS, is developed to help us pick up those beliefs that have a potential role in worsening the insomnia and pain experience."

'Development of the Pain-Related Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (PBAS) Scale for the Assessment and Treatment of Insomnia Comorbid with Chronic Pain' is published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Warwick. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:
Esther F. Afolalu, Corran Moore, Fatanah Ramlee, Claire E. Goodchild, Nicole K.Y. Tang. Development of the Pain-Related Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (PBAS) Scale for the Assessment and Treatment of Insomnia Comorbid with Chronic Pain. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2016; 12 (09): 1269 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.6130

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160921084808.htm