Publications by authors named "J Piantino"
Heart rate variability impairment during sleep in Veterans with REM sleep behavior disorder, traumatic brain injury, and posttraumatic stress disorder: An early potential window into autonomic dysfunction?
Hannah A Cunningham Laura Dovek Natasha Recoder Mohini D Bryant-Ekstrand Brittany R Ligman Juan Piantino
bioRxiv
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- * A study of veterans revealed significant reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) during NREM sleep for RBD+NT participants, indicating greater autonomic dysfunction.
- * These findings suggest that HRV during sleep could serve as an early biomarker for diagnosing and understanding neurodegenerative conditions in individuals with RBD+NT.
The glymphatic pathway was defined in rodents as a network of perivascular spaces (PVSs) that facilitates organized distribution of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into the brain parenchyma. To date, perivascular CSF and cerebral interstitial fluid exchange has not been shown in humans. Using intrathecal gadolinium contrast-enhanced MRI, we show that contrast-enhanced CSF moves through the PVS into the parenchyma, supporting the existence of a glymphatic pathway in humans.
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- A recent study investigated how MRI-visible perivascular spaces (MV-PVS) develop in adolescents and young adults, focusing on their volume and how factors like age, sex, and BMI affect these changes.
- The study analyzed data from 783 healthy participants aged 12-21 over five years, revealing that males consistently had larger MV-PVS volumes than females.
- It was found that for females, increases in body mass index (BMI) were linked to increases in MV-PVS volume, suggesting a relationship between sex, BMI, and MV-PVS that could inform future research.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between perivascular space (PVS) volume in the brain and lifetime exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI) in individuals at risk for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly focusing on former American football players.
- Conducted across four US study sites from 2016 to 2020, the research involved 224 participants, including 170 former football players and 54 control participants, with analyses exploring how PVS volume correlates with cognitive impairment.
- Results showed that former football players exhibited larger PVS volumes compared to the control group, suggesting that RHI exposure could contribute to changes in brain structure associated with neurodegeneration.
Article Synopsis
- Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), especially from blast exposure, is linked to a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, particularly in military personnel.
- Research showed distinct changes in the expression of AQP4, a protein important for brain fluid dynamics, in the frontal cortex after blast exposure in both humans and a mouse model.
- Veterans with blast mTBI exhibited MRI-visible changes that suggest disruption of brain fluid clearance, which may contribute to lasting symptoms and long-term brain health issues.