Publications by authors named "I Swift"
Immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA) has a relatively high relapse rate compared to other immune-mediated diseases. Leflunomide is frequently used to treat dogs with IMPA in conjunction with prednisolone. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of leflunomide as an adjunctive therapy to prednisolone in reducing relapse and mortality rates in dogs diagnosed with IMPA in Australia.
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- Pathogenic heterozygous mutations in the GRN gene are a significant cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), leading to lower levels of the progranulin protein in biofluids, which has sparked therapeutic trials aimed at increasing these levels.
- A systematic review of literature on biofluid PGRN concentrations included data from 7071 individuals, primarily focusing on plasma PGRN levels derived from a single assay type, which accounted for variations based on mutation type, age, sex, and clinical diagnosis.
- Key findings established specific concentration cut-offs for plasma (74.8 ng/mL) and CSF (3.43 ng/mL) and indicated that plasma PGRN levels vary by mutation type,
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to validate clinical criteria for diagnosing mild cognitive and/or behavioral and/or motor impairment (MCBMI) in cases suspected of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
- A total of 398 participants were studied, including 117 FTD variant carriers with mild symptoms and 281 healthy controls, with some undergoing additional neurobiological assessments.
- The MCBMI criteria effectively distinguished between affected individuals and healthy controls, with classification accuracy improving significantly when incorporating blood neurofilament light levels and anterior cingulate atrophy measurements.
Background: Plasma biomarkers reflecting the pathology of frontotemporal dementia would add significant value to clinical practice, to the design and implementation of treatment trials as well as our understanding of disease mechanisms. The aim of this study was to explore the levels of multiple plasma proteins in individuals from families with genetic frontotemporal dementia.
Methods: Blood samples from 693 participants in the GENetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative study were analysed using a multiplexed antibody array targeting 158 proteins.
Increasing evidence implicates endo-lysosomal dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). 18 proteins were quantified using a mass spectrometry assay panel in the cerebrospinal fluid of 36 people with the language variant of FTD, primary progressive aphasia (PPA) (including 13 with non-fluent variant (nfvPPA), 11 with semantic variant (svPPA), and 12 with logopenic variant (lvPPA)) and 19 healthy controls. The concentrations of the cathepsins (B, D, F, L1, and Z) as well as AP-2 complex subunit beta, ganglioside GM2 activator, beta-hexosaminidase subunit beta, tissue alpha L-fucosidase, and ubiquitin were decreased in nfvPPA compared with controls.
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