Clinical characteristics of late-onset neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: A multicenter retrospective study in Korea.

Background: There are currently few studies regarding late-onset neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (LO-NMOSD).

Objective: We aimed to describe the characteristic features of patients with LO-NMOSD in Korea.

Methods: Anti-aquaporin-4 antibody-positive patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) from nine tertiary hospitals were reviewed retrospectively.

Oral administration of memantine prolongs survival in a transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-mediated neurotoxicity and oxidative stress have been implicated in the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Memantine is a low-affinity, noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist that may protect against motor neuron degeneration.

Methods: Thirty transgenic mice expressing the G93A SOD1 mutation were randomly divided into control, low-dose memantine (30 mg/kg/day), and high-dose memantine (90 mg/kg/day) groups, with memantine supplied daily with drinking water beginning at 75 days of age.

Amyloid precursor protein processing is separately regulated by protein kinase C and tyrosine kinase in human astrocytes.

Regulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing by protein kinase C (PKC) and phosphotyrosine pathways was investigated in cultured human astrocytes. Phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate (PDBu), a PKC activator, increased secretion of APPalpha 2-3-fold over control values, and GF109203X, a PKC inhibitor, blocked this effect. Similarly, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) increased the secreted form of APPalpha (sAPPalpha) level two-fold, and genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, blocked the stimulatory effect of PDGF.