Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Recent studies suggest that iron and neuroinflammation are key components of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathology. Ferrous Fe can cause oxidative stress and cellular toxicity, but it is unknown to what extent Fe is elevated in AD, in particular with the hippocampus. To answer this question, we quantified iron oxidation state in frozen human brain hippocampi.

Prescribing practices of inhaled corticosteroids for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Objective: Despite limited safety and efficacy data, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are prescribed to premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We examined contemporary use and risk factors for ICS use in the NICU.

Study Design: Infants <33 weeks gestational age and <1500 gm birth weight discharged from Pediatrix Medical Group NICUs between 2010 and 2020 were included.

Longitudinal Alterations of Cerebral Blood Flow in High-Contact Sports.

Objective: Repetitive head trauma is common in high-contact sports. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) can measure changes in brain perfusion that could indicate injury. Longitudinal studies with a control group are necessary to account for interindividual and developmental effects.

Iron and Alzheimer's Disease: From Pathology to Imaging.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating brain disorder that afflicts millions worldwide with no effective treatment. Currently, AD progression has primarily been characterized by abnormal accumulations of β-amyloid within plaques and phosphorylated tau within neurofibrillary tangles, giving rise to neurodegeneration due to synaptic and neuronal loss. While β-amyloid and tau deposition are required for clinical diagnosis of AD, presence of such abnormalities does not tell the complete story, and the actual mechanisms behind neurodegeneration in AD progression are still not well understood.

Diet-induced cellular neuroinflammation in the hypothalamus: Mechanistic insights from investigation of neurons and microglia.

Diet-induced obesity can lead to detrimental chronic disorders. The severity of this global epidemic has encouraged ongoing research to characterize the mechanisms underlying obesity and its comorbidities. Recent evidence suggests that saturated fatty acids (SFA) in high-fat diets rapidly generate inflammation in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC), which centrally regulates whole-body energy homeostasis.

Induction of Gnrh mRNA expression by the ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid and the saturated fatty acid palmitate in a GnRH-synthesizing neuronal cell model, mHypoA-GnRH/GFP.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons coordinate reproduction. However, whether GnRH neurons directly sense free fatty acids (FFAs) is unknown. We investigated the individual effects of the FFAs docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), palmitate, palmitoleate, and oleate (100 μM each) on Gnrh mRNA expression in the mHypoA-GnRH/GFP neuronal cell model.

Divergent Regulation of ER and Kiss Genes by 17β-Estradiol in Hypothalamic ARC Versus AVPV Models.

Kisspeptin (Kiss) and G-protein-coupled receptor (Gpr)54 have emerged as key regulators of reproduction. 17β-estradiol (E2)-mediated regulation of these neurons is nuclei specific, where anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) Kiss neurons are positively regulated by E2, whereas arcuate nucleus (ARC) neurons are inhibited. We have generated immortalized Kiss cell lines from male and female adult-derived murine hypothalamic primary culture, as well as cell lines from microdissected AVPV and ARC from female Kiss-green fluorescent protein (GFP) mice.