Publications by authors named "Hengri Cong"

Article Synopsis
  • Encephalitis linked to antibodies against the NMDAR leads to distinct neuro-psychiatric symptoms, and there's a noted increase in the serum phenylalanine-tyrosine (Phe/Tyr) ratio during infection.
  • A study compared 24 individuals with anti-NMDAR encephalitis to 18 with non-inflammatory neurological diseases, measuring serum Phe and Tyr levels and correlating them with psychiatric symptoms and inflammatory indicators.
  • Results showed that NMDAR patients had higher serum Phe and Phe/Tyr ratios, especially those with psychiatric syndrome, suggesting that the serum Phe/Tyr ratio could be a potential prognostic biomarker for severity in these patients.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to identify predictors for relapse in patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) and create a risk score to predict relapse.
  • Researchers followed 188 patients from the China National Registry of Neuro-Inflammatory Diseases (CNRID) and found key factors such as female sex and age at onset that influence relapse risk.
  • The developed MOG-AR score effectively predicts relapse risk, indicating that a score between 13-16 significantly correlates with a higher risk of relapse, suggesting the potential for better patient management and treatment strategies.
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Objective: Plasma exchange (PE) and immunoadsorption (IA) are recognized as effective ways to treat attacks in AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD, but high-quality evidence was lacking. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of PE/IA plus intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) in NMOSD attacks using propensity scores to match IVMP as control.

Methods: Patients were from a prospective observational cohort study.

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Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of central nervous system (CNS). Tryptophan indole catabolites have been reported to associate with the inflammatory diseases of the CNS. However, the roles of tryptophan indole catabolites have been rarely elucidated in MOGAD.

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Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune astrocytopathy of the central nervous system, mediated by antibodies against aquaporin-4 water channel protein (AQP4-Abs), resulting in damage of astrocytes with subsequent demyelination and axonal damage. Extracellular communication through astrocyte-derived extracellular vesicles (ADEVs) has received growing interest in association with astrocytopathies. However, to what extent ADEVs contribute to NMOSD pathogenesis remains unclear.

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Objectives: Data on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) characteristics of aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-IgG seropositive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) are lacking. In this study, we describe the whole PBMCs landscape of the above diseases using cytometry by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CyTOF).

Methods: The immune cell populations were phenotyped and clustered using CyTOF isolated from 27 AQP4-IgG seropositive NMOSD, 11 MOGAD patients, and 15 healthy individuals.

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Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory and demyelinating disorder that can lead to serious disability and mortality. Humoral fluid biomarkers with specific, convenient, and efficient profiles that could characterize and monitor disease activity or severity are very useful. We aimed to develop a sensitive and high-throughput liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS-based analytical method for novel biomarkers finding in NMOSD patients and verified its function tentatively.

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Introduction: Aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG)-induced astrocytes injury is a key mechanism in the pathogenesis of neuromyelitis spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and although CCL2 is involved, its specific role has not been reported. We aimed to further investigate the role and potential mechanisms of CCL2 in AQP4-IgG-induced astrocyte injury.

Methods: First, we evaluated CCL2 levels in paired samples of subject patients by automated microfluidic platform, Ella®.

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Background: Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is a severe inflammatory disease, and soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2) has been reported to be associated with inflammation of the CNS. However, the role of sTREM2 in PACNS remains unknown.

Methods: We obtained serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 18 patients diagnosed with PACNS, as well as 14 patients diagnosed with other neurological disorders with no evidence of inflammation.

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Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that frequently affects the optic nerve and spinal cord. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is considered a key cytokine in the pathogenesis of NMOSD, and the level of IL-6 is significantly increased in the sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with NMOSD. We have reported that the production of IL-6 depends on the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway.

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Circulating T helper cells with a type 17-polarized phenotype (TH17) and expansion of aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-specific T cells are frequently observed in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). However, naive T cell populations, which give rise to T helper cells, and the primary site of T cell maturation, namely the thymus, have not been studied in these patients. Here, we report the alterations of naive CD4 T cell homeostasis and the changes in thymic characteristics in NMOSD patients.

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This study aimed at testing the hypothesis that treatment with icariin (ICA, a type of flavonoid) could mitigate the cuprizone (CPZ)-induced acute demyelination in the brain of mice and the potential mechanisms. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed continually with regular rodent chow or the chow supplemented with CPZ (0.2 % w/w) for six weeks to induce acute demyelination.

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This study aimed at investigating whether treatment with icariin (ICA) could modulate the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and its potential mechanisms in SJL/J mice. Female SJL/J mice were immunized with PLP peptide to induce relapse-remitting EAE and the immunized mice were treated with vehicle alone (EAE) or ICA (12.5 or 25 mg/body weights) by gavage daily for 42 days.

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Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDARe) can coexist with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-ab) disease.To characterize MOG-ab disease during NMDARe, we analyzed all the patients with MOG-ab disease and NMDARe from our hospital from December 2018 to December 2019 and data from a systematical review of previously published reports. Details of the patients identified were summarized and literature was reviewed.

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Cuprizone (CPZ), a copper chelator that has been shown to selectively damage white matter, can induce a novel animal model to mimic some symptoms of schizophrenia. This study aimed to examine the effect of clozapine (CLZ) on behavioural changes induced by CPZ exposure and try to explore the underlying mechanisms. Behavioural abnormalities associated with feeding mice a 0.

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Astrocytic impairment is a pathologic feature of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). S100B and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) are the two most commonly used astrocytic markers. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether CSF-S100B could serve as a marker of NMOSD.

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Background: Typical and atypical optic neuritis (ON) are two clinical types of autoimmune inflammatory diseases of the optic nerve that causes acute vision loss, and are difficult to distinguish in their early stages. The disturbance in the balance of Th17 and Treg lymphocytes is thought to play an essential role in these autoimmune inflammatory diseases.

Objectives: To detect the clinical relevance of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood and the ratio of Treg/Th17 in patients with typical and atypical ON.

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Background: The neurological outcome and predictive factors of idiopathic optic neuritis (ION) in China are largely unknown.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to study the neurological outcome of Chinese ION and to investigate the early predictors for multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD).

Method: Retrospective medical record review and supplementary follow-up of 107 ION patients was performed.

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