Epigenetic signature of human immune aging in the GESTALT study.

Age-associated DNA methylation in blood cells convey information on health status. However, the mechanisms that drive these changes in circulating cells and their relationships to gene regulation are unknown. We identified age-associated DNA methylation sites in six purified blood-borne immune cell types (naive B, naive CD4 and CD8 T cells, granulocytes, monocytes, and NK cells) collected from healthy individuals interspersed over a wide age range.

Aberrant corticospinal tract characteristics in prodromal PD: A diffusion tensor imaging study.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is typically diagnosed when motor symptoms first occur. However, PD-related non-motor symptoms may appear several years before diagnosis. REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and olfactory deficits (hyposmia) are risk factors, but they are not specific for predicting progression towards PD.

Cytomegalovirus infection reduced CD70 expression, signaling and expansion of viral specific memory CD8 T cells in healthy human adults.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection leads to effector memory CD8 T cell expansion and is associated with immune dysfunction in older adults. However, the molecular alterations of CMV-specific CD8 T cells in CMV infected healthy young and middle-aged adults has not been fully characterized.

Results: We compared CD8 T cells specific for a CMV epitope (pp65, NLV) and an influenza A virus (IAV) epitope (M1, GIL) from the same young and middle-aged healthy adults with serum positive for anti-CMV IgG.

Olfactory Function and Diffusion Tensor Imaging as Markers of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Early Stages of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is typified by motor signs and symptoms but can also lead to significant cognitive impairment and dementia Parkinson's Disease Dementia (PDD). While dementia is considered a nonmotor feature of PD that typically occurs later, individuals with PD may experience mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) earlier in the disease course. Olfactory deficit (OD) is considered another nonmotor symptom of PD and often presents even before the motor signs and diagnosis of PD.