HLA dependency and possible clinical relevance of intrathecally synthesized anti-IgLON5 IgG4 in anti-IgLON5 disease.

Background: Anti-IgLON5 disease is a rare chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by IgLON5 autoantibodies predominantly of the IgG4 subclass. Distinct pathogenic effects were described for anti-IgLON5 IgG1 and IgG4, however, with uncertain clinical relevance.

Methods: IgLON5-specific IgG1-4 levels were measured in 46 sera and 20 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 13 HLA-subtyped anti-IgLON5 disease patients (six females, seven males) using flow cytometry.

The autophagic marker p62 highlights Alzheimer type II astrocytes in metabolic/hepatic encephalopathy.

Metabolic/hepatic encephalopathy is neuropathologically characterized by the presence of Alzheimer type II astrocytes (AA II) with large and clear nuclear morphology. To date, there is no good immunohistochemical marker to better identify these cells. Here, we assessed cases of hepatic encephalopathy of different etiologies by immunohistochemistry using an anti-p62 antibody.

Accumulation of prion protein in the vagus nerve in creutzfeldt-jakob disease.

Disease-associated proteins are thought to propagate along neuronal processes in neurodegenerative diseases. To detect disease-associated prion protein (PrP ) in the vagus nerve in different forms and molecular subtypes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), we applied 3 different anti-PrP antibodies. We screened the vagus nerve in 162 sporadic and 30 genetic CJD cases.

Overview of cerebrospinal fluid cytology.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology, i.e., the cytologic evaluation of its cellular composition, forms an integral part of the neurologist's armamentarium.

Tau pathology in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease revisited.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a human prion disease with different etiologies. To determine the spectrum of tau pathologies in CJD, we assessed phospho-Tau (pTau) immunoreactivities in 75 sporadic CJD cases including an evaluation of the entorhinal cortex and six hippocampal subregions. Twelve cases (16%) showed only small tau-immunoreactive neuritic profiles.

Novel Histopathological Patterns in Cortical Tubers of Epilepsy Surgery Patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a genetic hamartoma syndrome frequently associated with severe intractable epilepsy. In some TSC patients epilepsy surgery is a promising treatment option provided that the epileptogenic zone can be precisely delineated. TSC brain lesions (cortical tubers) contain dysmorphic neurons, brightly eosinophilic giant cells and white matter alterations in various proportions.

Aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG): harmonized evaluation strategy.

Pathological accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated tau protein in astrocytes is a frequent, but poorly characterized feature of the aging brain. Its etiology is uncertain, but its presence is sufficiently ubiquitous to merit further characterization and classification, which may stimulate clinicopathological studies and research into its pathobiology. This paper aims to harmonize evaluation and nomenclature of aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG), a term that refers to a morphological spectrum of astroglial pathology detected by tau immunohistochemistry, especially with phosphorylation-dependent and 4R isoform-specific antibodies.

Syncope and hyperCKemia as minimal manifestations of short CTG repeat expansions in myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Introduction: Syncope and palpitations as the only initial manifestations of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) due to a CTG expansion of 50-100 repeats have not been reported.

Case Report: In a 55-year-old female with a family history of MD1 and a personal history of a single syncope, palpitations, and hyperCKemia, 70 CTG repeats were detected in the DMPK gene. Her brother had presented atypical clinical, electromyographic, and muscle biopsy features since the age of 35 but had been diagnosed with MD1 after he later developed typical distal myotonia.

Patterns of Tau and α-Synuclein Pathology in the Visual System.

Background: Spreading of misfolded proteins has been suggested for neurodegenerative diseases. The hierarchical distribution of protein deposits in Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) supports this concept.

Objectives: To evaluate α-synuclein and tau-deposition in the optic pathway as an excellent anatomical model, which follows a strict trajectory including a cortico-geniculate feedback connection.

Prevalence of mixed pathologies in the aging brain.

The spectrum of mixed brain pathologies expands beyond accompanying vascular pathology in brains with Alzheimer's disease-related pathology. Co-occurrence of neurodegenerative non-Alzheimer's disease-type proteinopathies is increasingly recognized to be a frequent event in the brains of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, particularly in older people. Owing to the evolving concept of neurodegenerative diseases, clinical and neuropathological diagnostic criteria have changed during the last decades.