Demyelinating disease in SLE: is it multiple sclerosis or lupus?

Among the 12 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-related central nervous system (CNS) syndromes defined by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), demyelinating syndrome and myelopathy are two of the less prevalent and more poorly understood ones. One important issue concerning demyelinating disease in SLE is that it can be easily misdiagnosed with other central nervous system demyelinating disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). A clinically isolated neurological syndrome can be the presenting feature before other concomitant symptoms of SLE appear or definite MS is diagnosed.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: epidemiology and radiology pointing to an immune-mediated cause.

Background: Different pathogenetic pathways have been proposed for neuropsychiatric (NP) manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Objective: To describe the patient characteristics of a large cohort of patients with SLE with NP manifestations (NPSLE) in a single centre and to review whether these and other data are compatible with immune-mediated mechanisms.

Methods: A total of 212 patients were identified from MRI scans of the brain ordered for suspected NPSLE.

Cerebral atrophy in elderly with subjective memory complaints.

Purpose: To evaluate ventricular shape differences along the complete surface of the lateral and third ventricles of persons with subjective memory complaints (MC).

Materials And Methods: We included 28 controls and 21 persons with MC. FLAIR, T2, and PD-weighted brain MRI scans were acquired at 1.

Prospective study of clinical phenotypes in neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus; multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and therapy.

Objective: To describe clinical phenotypes in neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE).

Methods: Data were prospectively collected in the Leiden NPSLE referral clinic, where patients suspected of having NPSLE are assessed in a standardized multidisciplinary manner. In consensus meetings, all medical specialists agreed on therapeutic strategy based on the suspected pathogenetic mechanism of NPSLE in the individual patient.

Electromyographic activity in the EEG in Alzheimer's disease: noise or signal?

Many efforts have been directed at negating the influence of electromyographic (EMG) activity on the EEG, especially in elderly demented patients. We wondered whether these "artifacts" might reflect cognitive and behavioural aspects of dementia. In this pilot study, 11 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 13 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 13 controls underwent EEG registration.

A prospective analysis of elevated fasting glucose levels and cognitive function in older people: results from PROSPER and the Rotterdam Study.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between fasting glucose levels, insulin resistance, and cognitive impairment in old age. Diabetes is associated with cognitive impairment in older people. However, the link between elevated fasting glucose levels and insulin resistance in nondiabetic individuals, and the risk of cognitive impairment is unclear.

Variation in the CBP gene involved in epigenetic control associates with cognitive function.

Research into the pathologic mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases has revealed that CREB binding protein (CBP) plays an important role in cognitive dysfunction. Loss of one copy of this gene leads to a syndrome with severe cognitive dysfunction. We investigated the association between four common variants in the CBP gene and cognitive function in 5804 participants of the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER).

Pravastatin and cognitive function in the elderly. Results of the PROSPER study.

Observational studies have given conflicting results about the effect of statins in preventing dementia and cognitive decline. Moreover, observational studies are subject to prescription bias, making it hard to draw definite conclusions from them. Randomized controlled trials are therefore the preferred study design to investigate the association between statins and cognition.

EEG markers of future cognitive performance in the elderly.

This exploratory follow-up study investigated whether EEG parameters can predict future cognitive performance. Forty elderly subjects, ranging from cognitively unimpaired to those with Alzheimer disease underwent EEG registration at baseline and neuropsychological examination at both baseline and follow-up. We assessed relations between EEG measures and future cognitive performance (i.

MMSE scores correlate with local ventricular enlargement in the spectrum from cognitively normal to Alzheimer disease.

In this work, we aimed at correlating focal atrophy in periventricular structures with cognitive function, in the spectrum from healthy subjects to severe Alzheimer disease: 28 subjects with normal cognition and 84 patients presenting various degrees of cognitive impairment were included in the study. The cognitive level of each subject was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Atrophy in periventricular structures was inferred by modeling and analyzing local shape variations of brain ventricles: for a given subject, we distinguished between the severity of atrophy, estimated as local enlargement (in mm) of the ventricular surface relative to an average normal subject, and the extent of atrophy, defined as the percentage of the ventricular surface (global or per anatomical region) significantly different from an average control.

MRI measures and progression of cognitive decline in nondemented elderly attending a memory clinic.

Objective: To investigate whether MRI-based volumes of whole brain, medial temporal lobe and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) predict progression of cognitive decline in a sample of nondemented elderly.

Methods: Thirty-seven nondemented elderly attending a memory clinic and 28 elderly controls participated in this follow-up study. The average follow-up period was 1.

Late-onset dementia: structural brain damage and total cerebral blood flow.

Purpose: To prospectively compare indicators of structural brain damage and total cerebral blood flow in patients with late-onset dementia, subjects of the same age with optimal cognitive function, and young subjects.

Materials And Methods: The institutional ethics committee approved the studies, and all participants (or their guardians) gave informed consent. The test group included 17 patients older than 75 years (four men, 13 women; median age, 83 years) and with a diagnosis of dementia according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition.

Neuropsychological correlates of MRI measures in the continuum of cognitive decline at old age.

Objective: To investigate the independent associations between medial temporal lobe atrophy and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and cognitive functions in the elderly.

Methods: Cognitive functions of 41 Alzheimer's disease patients, 20 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 28 elderly subjects without memory complaints were assessed using a neuropsychological test battery. Quantitative MRI measures of medial temporal lobe volume and WMH were obtained.

Memory complaints in patients with normal cognition are associated with smaller hippocampal volumes.

We aimed to investigate volumetry of the medial temporal lobe in patients with subjective memory complaints without any cognitive impairment. This study included 20 patients with subjective memory complaints and normal cognitive function and 28 controls without memory complaints. Volumes of the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) were measured using coronal T1-weighted MR images.

Magnetization transfer imaging in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether structural brain damage as detected by volumetric magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) is present in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and, if so, whether these abnormalities are global in character or restricted to the temporal lobe. Volumetric MTI analysis of the whole brain and temporal and frontal lobes was performed in 25 patients with probable AD, in 13 patients with MCI, and in 28 controls. Magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) histograms were produced, from which we derived measures for structural brain damage and atrophy.

Production of IL-1beta and IL-1Ra as risk factors for susceptibility and progression of relapse-onset multiple sclerosis.

Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is present in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) moderates the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here, we show that families that are characterized by high IL-1beta over IL-1Ra production ratio are at 2.