Immunometabolism In Brain Aging and Neurodegeneration: Bridging Metabolic Pathways and Immune Responses.

The complex set of interactions between the immune system and metabolism, known as immunometabolism, has emerged as a critical regulator of disease outcomes in the central nervous system. Numerous studies have linked metabolic disturbances to impaired immune responses in brain aging, neurodegenerative disorders, and brain injury. In this review, we will discuss how disruptions in brain immunometabolism balance contribute to the pathophysiology of brain dysfunction.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: In tauopathies, the protein tau misfolds into a b-sheet conformation that self-templates and spreads throughout the brain causing progressive degeneration. Biological and structural data have shown that the shape, or strain, that tau adopts when it misfolds determines which disease a patient will develop. We previously used HEK293T cells expressing TauRD-YFP to show that tau strain formation is isoform-specific.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: To date, Alzheimer's disease (AD) research has principally focused on neurons. In contrast, recent studies suggest that genetic mechanisms drive microglia towards prolonged inflammation in AD brains, exacerbating neurodegeneration. Indeed, many of the 70 disease-associated loci uncovered with genome-wide association studies (GWAS) reside near genes related to microglial function, such as TREM2.

Long COVID in transgender and gender nonbinary people in the United States.

Despite recommendations in the US National Research Action Plan on Long COVID, gender identity is rarely reported in research and surveillance used to guide public health programming and clinical care. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional study of COVID-19 in a nationwide sample of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people (N = 2,134). Participants were surveyed between June 14, 2021 and May 1, 2022.

Applications of mixed reality with medical imaging for training and clinical practice.

Purpose: This review summarizes the current use of extended reality (XR) including virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, and augmented reality (AR) in the medical field, ranging from medical imaging to training to preoperative planning. It covers the integration of these technologies into clinical practice and within medical training while discussing the challenges and future opportunities in this sphere. This will hopefully encourage more physicians to collaborate on integrating medicine and technology.