Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Review of fly models of Alzheimer's Disease

Bouleau S, Tricoire H. Drosophila Models of Alzheimer's Disease: Advances, Limits, and Perspectives. J Alzheimers Dis. 2015 Feb 19. PMID: 25697708.

From the abstract:  "... The advent of new genome modification technologies should allow the development of more realistic fly models and to better understand the relationship between AD and aging, taking advantage of the fly's short lifespan."

Monday, February 23, 2015

Review suggests "fully integrative" approach using mulitple models including Drosophila to understand cardiomyopathies

Duncker DJ, Bakkers J, Brundel BJ, Robbins J, Tardiff JC, Carrier L. Animal and in silico models for the study of sarcomeric cardiomyopathies. Cardiovasc Res. 2015 Jan 18. pii: cvv006. PMID: 25600962.

From the abstract: "Over the past decade, our understanding of cardiomyopathies has improved dramatically, due to improvements in screening and detection of gene defects in the human genome as well as a variety of novel animal models (mouse, zebrafish, and drosophila) and in silico computational models. These novel experimental tools have created a platform that is highly complementary to the naturally occurring cardiomyopathies in cats and dogs that had been available for some time. A fully integrative approach, which incorporates all these modalities, is likely required for significant steps forward in understanding the molecular underpinnings and pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies. ..."

Figure 2 of the review summarizes types of heart-related studies that can be done using Drosophila.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Fly model of sleep-related seizures

Lucey BP, Leahy A, Rosas R, Shaw PJ. A New Model to Study Sleep Deprivation-Induced Seizure. Sleep. 2014 Nov 9. pii: sp-00337-14. PMID: 25515102.

From the abstract: "... Sleep deprivation increased seizure susceptibility in adult sesB9ed4/+ and seits1 mutants. Sleep deprivation also increased seizure susceptibility when sesB was disrupted using RNAi. The effect of sleep deprivation on seizure activity was reduced when sesB9ed4/+ flies were given the anti-seizure drug, valproic acid. ... These findings show that Drosophila is a model organism for investigating the relationship between sleep and seizure activity."