Derivation of Adult Human Cortical Organotypic Slice Cultures for Coculture with Reprogrammed Neuronal Cells.

Adult human cortical organotypic slice culture is an attractive model system to explore mechanisms of human brain pathology as well as to test drug candidates for treatment of neurodegeneration. Acute studies in human brain slices are limited by the lifetime of the tissue and focus mainly on hippocampus slice preparation. Here we describe the derivation of human organotypic slice cultures of cortical origin, which can be kept in culture for up to 6 weeks.

Grafted human pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neurons integrate into adult human cortical neural circuitry.

Several neurodegenerative diseases cause loss of cortical neurons, leading to sensory, motor, and cognitive impairments. Studies in different animal models have raised the possibility that transplantation of human cortical neuronal progenitors, generated from pluripotent stem cells, might be developed into a novel therapeutic strategy for disorders affecting cerebral cortex. For example, we have shown that human long-term neuroepithelial-like stem (lt-NES) cell-derived cortical neurons, produced from induced pluripotent stem cells and transplanted into stroke-injured adult rat cortex, improve neurological deficits and establish both afferent and efferent morphological and functional connections with host cortical neurons.

Comparisons between comorbid conditions and health care consumption in rheumatoid arthritis patients with or without biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: a register-based study.

Background: Symptoms and prognosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have improved with more intensive therapy, including the biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). Real life data concerning how comorbidities are distributed among patients treated or not treated with bDMARDs are scarce. Our objective was to investigate differences in comorbidity and health care consumption in RA patients, with and without bDMARDs.

Fatigue and blood pressure in primary Sjogren's syndrome.

Objective: Primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fatigue. Little is known about the genesis of fatigue. Fatigue is thought to represent a multidimensional concept and it is important to be able to measure it confidently.