Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Recent single-cell omics analyses have revealed that microglia change into reactive microglia when Aβ accumulates in the brain and exhibit Aβ phagocytosis. However, reactive microglia are less likely to be induced in TREM2 mutation carriers. This microglia-centred pathological mechanism may be considered one of the pathologies of AD.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and a leading cause of senile dementia. Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brains causes chronic neuroinflammation, synaptic loss, and neurovascular damage, which is thought to initiate decades-long AD pathogenesis. Recent clinical trials for anti-Aβ immunotherapy highlights the utility of biomarkers that faithfully reflect Aβ-related brain pathology to diagnose AD at the preclinical stage, to predict the onset and progression of the disease, and to assess the therapeutic efficacy of drugs.

Moral Intuition Regarding the Possibility of Conscious Human Brain Organoids: An Experimental Ethics Study.

The moral status of human brain organoids (HBOs) has been debated in view of the future possibility that they may acquire phenomenal consciousness. This study empirically investigates the moral sensitivity in people's intuitive judgments about actions toward conscious HBOs. The results showed that the presence/absence of pain experience in HBOs affected the judgment about the moral permissibility of actions such as creating and destroying the HBOs; however, the presence/absence of visual experience in HBOs also affected the judgment.

Supplementation of essential amino acids suppresses age-associated sleep loss and sleep fragmentation but not loss of rhythm strength under yeast-restricted malnutrition in Drosophila.

Sleep quality and quantity decrease with age, and sleep disturbance increases the risk of many age-associated diseases. There is a significant relationship between nutritional status and sleep outcomes, with malnutrition inducing poor sleep quality in older adults. However, it remains elusive whether, and if so how, nutritional supplementation prevents age-associated sleep problems.

A Simple Prediction Model for Clostridioides difficile Infection: A Hospital-Based Administrative Database Study.

Background And Aim: Few prediction scores for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), a potentially life-threatening nosocomial diarrhea, combine high accuracy with simplicity. A simple prediction score for routine clinical practice is needed.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all inpatients aged ≥ 18 at a secondary care hospital in Japan.