p-tau Ser356 is associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology and is lowered in brain slice cultures using the NUAK inhibitor WZ4003.

Tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation is a common feature of many dementia-causing neurodegenerative diseases. Tau can be phosphorylated at up to 85 different sites, and there is increasing interest in whether tau phosphorylation at specific epitopes, by specific kinases, plays an important role in disease progression. The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related enzyme NUAK1 has been identified as a potential mediator of tau pathology, whereby NUAK1-mediated phosphorylation of tau at Ser356 prevents the degradation of tau by the proteasome, further exacerbating tau hyperphosphorylation and accumulation.

Survival and complications following supra- and infratentorial brain metastasis resection.

Objective: 15-30% of primary cancers metastasise to the brain. Of these, 10-25% involve the posterior fossa. It remains unclear whether patients undergoing resection for infratentorial brain metastases experience poorer prognosis than those with supratentorial lesions.

Craniotomy for recurrent glioblastoma: Is it justified? A comparative cohort study with outcomes over 10 years.

Objective: The role of repeat resection for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM) is unclear. This large comparative cohort study assessed overall survival (OS), survival since recurrence (SSR), quality of life, and complications in reoperated versus non-reoperated patients for rGBM.

Patients And Methods: All patients with rGBM between 2005 and 2015, who were discussed by our institution's multi-disciplinary team, and who either did or did not undergo reoperation, were prospectively followed up with data collected and compared.

Mental incapacity in patients undergoing neuro-oncologic treatment: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of mental incapacity to make neuro-oncologic treatment decisions and to identify patients likely to experience difficulty with medical decision-making to enable a more rigorous and focused assessment.

Methods: The preoperative mental capacity to give valid consent to neurosurgery of 100 patients with radiologically suspected intracranial tumors was assessed. Mental capacity was formally assessed using the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Treatment (MACCAT-T) conducted by a dual-qualified physician and lawyer.

Paediatric and adult vascular intracranial complications of sickle-cell disease.

Background: To enumerate possible intracranial vascular sequelae of sickle-cell disease, to identify risk factors and outline management strategies.

Method: Retrospective review of a single unit experience managing vascular intracranial complications of sickle-cell disease from 1995 until 2005. Information such as homozygosity/heterozygosity, duration of disease, disease control as indicated by haematology follow-up, concurrent sickle-cell disease (SCD)-related health problems and neurosurgical management was recorded.

Effect of apolipoprotein E genotype on hematoma volume after trauma.

Object: The apolipoprotein E-epsilon4 (APOE-epsilon4) allele is associated with poor outcome after head injury and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH). The aims of this study were to determine if patients in whom one or more APOE-epsilon4 alleles are present are more likely to sustain intracranial mass lesions after head injury and to determine whether there is an isoform-specific effect on the size of the intracranial hematoma.

Methods: The authors performed a computerized volumetric analysis of 142 hematomas visible on computerized tomography (CT) scans obtained in 129 patients.