Real-world observational data on olfactory dysfunction of the Smell & Taste Clinic of UZ Leuven (Belgium) from 2021-2024.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in olfactory dysfunction (OD), increasing the need for specialized care. Thi study explores the prevalence, characteristics, and clinical implications of OD in a specialized Smell & Taste Clinic established at the ENT-HNS department of the University Hospitals Leuven (UZ Leuven) in 2021.

Methodology: We included consecutive patients with OD in the observational longitudinal ProspeRo'Scent registry at UZ Leuven between September 2021 and April 2024.

Strengthening Executive Function and Self-Regulation Through Teacher-Student Interaction in Preschool and Primary School Children: A Systematic Review.

Executive functions (EF) and self-regulation (SR) are fundamental for children's learning, school functioning and academic achievement. EF/SR fail to develop to its full potential if contextual stimulation is not adequately presented. This is evident in the training programmes directly and exclusively targeting EF/SR stimulation, which lack durable and transferable effects.

Premature termination codon mutations in ABCA7 contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk in Belgian patients.

The ATP-Binding Cassette Subfamily A Member 7 gene (ABCA7) was identified as a risk gene for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in genome-wide association studies of large cohorts of late-onset AD (LOAD) patients. Extended resequencing of the ABCA7 coding regions identified mutations that lead to premature termination codons (PTC) and loss of function of ABCA7. PTC mutations were enriched in LOAD patients and were frequently present in patients with early-onset AD (EOAD).

Investigation of the role of matrix metalloproteinases in the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a multigene family of proteinases regulating the functions of a large number of signaling and scaffolding molecules that are involved in neuro-inflammation, synaptic dysfunction and neuronal death. MMPs have been associated with neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), through a sudden and massive upregulation of particular members of the MMP family. Evidence for this hypothesis can be found in the clinical observation of increased MMP1 and MMP3 expression levels in plasma of AD patients compared to control individuals and in the pro-amyloidogenic effects that have been described for additional MMP family members like MMP13, MT1-MMP, and MT5-MMP.

Contribution of rare homozygous and compound heterozygous VPS13C missense mutations to dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are clinically, pathologically and etiologically disorders embedded in the Lewy body disease (LBD) continuum, characterized by neuronal α-synuclein pathology. Rare homozygous and compound heterozygous premature termination codon (PTC) mutations in the Vacuolar Protein Sorting 13 homolog C gene (VPS13C) are associated with early-onset recessive PD. We observed in two siblings with early-onset age (< 45) and autopsy confirmed DLB, compound heterozygous missense mutations in VPS13C, p.