The Lateral Corticospinal Tract Sign: An MRI Marker for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Background Radially sampled averaged magnetization inversion-recovery acquisition (rAMIRA) imaging shows hyperintensity in the lateral corticospinal tract (CST) in patients with motor neuron diseases. Purpose To systematically determine the accuracy of the lateral corticospinal tract sign for detecting patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at rAMIRA MRI. Materials and Methods This study included prospectively acquired data from participants in ALS and other motor neuron disease imaging studies at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.

Fulminant hemorrhagic course of a thalamic H3 K27-altered diffuse midline glioma in an adult patient: illustrative case.

Background: H3 K27-altered diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) are rare tumors, which are, regardless of their histological appearance, classified as World Health Organization grade 4 tumors. They are characterized by a diffuse growth pattern, midline anatomical location, and poor prognosis. Although DMGs occur predominantly in childhood, these tumors can also be found in young adults.

SARS-CoV-2 infects epithelial cells of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier rather than endothelial cells or pericytes of the blood-brain barrier.

Background: As a consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection various neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms can appear, which may persist for several months post infection. However, cell type-specific routes of brain infection and underlying mechanisms resulting in neuroglial dysfunction are not well understood.

Methods: Here, we investigated the susceptibility of cells constituting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) of the choroid plexus (ChP) to SARS-CoV-2 infection using human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cellular models and a ChP papilloma-derived epithelial cell line as well as ChP tissue from COVID-19 patients, respectively.

Human blood-labyrinth barrier on a chip: a unique tool for investigation of BLB properties.

Hearing loss is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, usually as a result of hair cell damage in the inner ear due to aging, acoustic trauma, or exposure to antibiotics or chemotherapy. No drug therapies can protect or restore hearing and current and animal models used in drug discovery have a very low success rate, mostly due to major differences in anatomy and accessibility of the inner ear environment between species. The blood-labyrinth barrier (BLB) in the stria vascularis is a highly specialized capillary network that controls exchanges between the blood and interstitial space in the cochlea.

Proteomics separates adult-type diffuse high-grade gliomas in metabolic subgroups independent of 1p/19q codeletion and across IDH mutational status.

High-grade adult-type diffuse gliomas are malignant neuroepithelial tumors with poor survival rates in combined chemoradiotherapy. The current WHO classification is based on IDH1/2 mutational and 1p/19q codeletion status. Glioma proteome alterations remain undercharacterized despite their promise for a better molecular patient stratification and therapeutic target identification.

Tissue sample analysis for post mortem determination of brain edema.

The post mortem evaluation of a brain edema is routinely performed by pathologists based on the macroscopic signs during autopsy. This method represents the current gold standard, but is subjective and observer dependent. Therefore, three post mortem evaluation methods of brain samples were analyzed in this work: histology, wet-dry weight and normalized cerebral weight, which was described in 2020 by Bauer et al.

Co-Occurrence of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis and Sjögren's Syndrome in a Patient With Acromegaly: A Case Report and Retrospective Single-Center Review of Acromegaly Patients.

Background: ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) are uncommon autoimmune diseases. The co-occurrence in the same patient has been rarely described. Acromegaly has been associated with autoimmune thyroiditis, but the prevalence of other autoimmune disorders such as AAV and SS has not been evaluated in acromegaly.

Comparing Aachen Minipigs and Pietrain Piglets as Models of Experimental Pediatric Urology to Human Reference Data.

Introduction: Swine had special roles in the development of minimally invasive procedures to treat vesicoureteral reflux, and minipigs have been gaining ground in recent years in experimental pediatric urology as they combine small size with less vulnerable adult physiology, but their suitability as a model has never been assessed. We therefore compared a landrace piglet with a juvenile minipig to elucidate comparability.

Methods: We evaluated five 3-week old Pietrain piglets and five 3-month old Aachen Minipigs as representatives of landrace and minipig models based on their expected bodyweight being similar to a newborn human.

Proteome profiling in cerebrospinal fluid reveals novel biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a growing burden, and there is an urgent need for better biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment efficacy. Structural and functional brain alterations are reflected in the protein composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients have higher CSF levels of tau, but we lack knowledge of systems-wide changes of CSF protein levels that accompany AD.

Postmortem examination of COVID-19 patients reveals diffuse alveolar damage with severe capillary congestion and variegated findings in lungs and other organs suggesting vascular dysfunction.

Aims: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly evolved into a sweeping pandemic. Its major manifestation is in the respiratory tract, and the general extent of organ involvement and the microscopic changes in the lungs remain insufficiently characterised. Autopsies are essential to elucidate COVID-19-associated organ alterations.

Using multidimensional scaling in model choice for congenital oesophageal atresia: similarity analysis of human autopsy organ weights with those from a comparative assessment of Aachen Minipig and Pietrain piglets.

Swine models had been popular in paediatric oesophageal surgery in the past. Although being largely replaced by rodent models, swine experienced a revival with the establishment of minipig models. However, none of them has ever been investigated for similarity to humans.

[Infections of the central nervous system by protozoa, helminths and fungi].

A plethora of different parasites and fungi can lead to infections of the central nervous system (CNS) and cause different clinical symptoms and outcomes depending on the pathogen and the anatomic location of the infection. The diagnosis and treatment of these eukaryotic infections is challenging. The prevalence of CNS infections depends on many factors, including geographical location, living conditions, genetic background and the immune status of the individual.

Experimentally Induced Biliary Atresia by Means of Rotavirus-Infection Is Directly Linked to Severe Damage of the Microvasculature in the Extrahepatic Bile Duct.

Vascular damage has been reported to contribute to atresia formation in several diseases including biliary atresia. This study focused on the extrahepatic biliary plexus in experimental biliary atresia. Newborn BALB/cAnNCrl-pups were infected with rhesus rotavirus within 24 hr after birth to induce experimental biliary atresia.

Copper Regulates the Canonical NLRP3 Inflammasome.

Inflammasomes are multimeric protein complexes that are activated through a NOD-like receptor and regulate the proteolytic activation of caspase-1 and cytokines, like IL-1β. The NLRP3 inflammasome is implicated in many human pathologies including infections, autoinflammatory syndromes, chronic inflammation, and metabolic diseases; however, the molecular mechanisms of activation are not fully understood. In this study we show that NLRP3 inflammasome activation requires intracellular copper.