Manual and automated analysis of atrophy patterns in dementia with Lewy bodies on MRI.

Background: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common dementia type in patients older than 65 years. Its atrophy patterns remain unknown. Its similarities to Parkinson's disease and differences from Alzheimer's disease are subjects of current research.

Embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitors as non-tumorigenic source for dopaminergic neurons.

Aim: To find a safe source for dopaminergic neurons, we generated neural progenitor cell lines from human embryonic stem cells.

Methods: The human embryonic stem (hES) cell line H9 was used to generate human neural progenitor (HNP) cell lines. The resulting HNP cell lines were differentiated into dopaminergic neurons and analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence for the expression of neuronal differentiation markers, including beta-III tubulin (TUJ1) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH).