Severe pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - From clinical perspective to histological evidence.

Severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently defined by an elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure and strongly elevated pulmonary vascular resistance >5 wood units. Clinically, these patients show a male predominance, and usually present with very severe dyspnea, severe hypoxemia, strongly decreased exercise capacity and poor prognosis, even though the clinical picture is frequently associated with less severe airflow obstruction. Explanted lung samples of patients with COPD and severe PH show severe remodeling of small pulmonary arterioles, predominantly in the intima and media of the vessels.

Co-pathologies modify hippocampal protein accumulation patterns in neurodegenerative diseases.

Introduction: Limited research has extensively analyzed neurodegenerative disease-related protein deposition patterns in the hippocampus.

Methods: This study examined the distribution of proteins in hippocampal subregions across major neurodegenerative diseases and explored their relation to each other. The area density of phosphorylated tau (p-tau), amyloid beta (Aβ), α-synuclein, and phosphorylated TDP-43 protein deposits together with pyramidal cell density in each hippocampal subregion, including CA1-4, prosubiculum (ProS), and subiculum was assessed in 166 cases encompassing various neurodegenerative diseases.

[Diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives in RASopathies].

RASopathies are congenital diseases that manifest in childhood with symptoms and potential complications, typically associated with an elevated tumour predisposition risk. The heterogeneous symptoms involve mostly central nervous, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal systems and skin, and modified growth pattern. From molecular perspective, the function of a key protein involved in Ras signalling is impaired, leading to disrupted regulation of cell growth and division.

Current concepts and molecular pathology of neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a pathologically, clinically and genetically diverse group of diseases characterised by selective dysfunction, loss of synaptic connectivity and neurodegeneration, ​and are associated with the deposition of misfolded proteins in neurons and/or glia. Molecular studies have highlighted the role of conformationally altered proteins in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and have paved the way for developing disease-specific biomarkers that capture and differentiate the main type/s of protein abnormality responsible for neurodegenerative diseases, some of which are currently used in clinical practice. These proteins follow sequential patterns of anatomical involvement and disease spread in the brain and may also be detected in peripheral organs.