Altered serum IgG levels to α-synuclein in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease.

Natural self-reactive antibodies in the peripheral blood may play a considerable role in the control of potentially toxic proteins that may otherwise accumulate in the aging brain. The significance of serum antibodies reactive against α-synuclein is not well known. We explored serum IgG levels to monomeric α-synuclein in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) with a novel and validated highly sensitive ELISA assay.

Autoantibody reactivity in serum of patients with major depression, schizophrenia and healthy controls.

The present study assessed 25 patients with unipolar major depression and 34 patients with schizophrenia along with 50 healthy, non-psychiatric controls for the presence of serum antinuclear (ANA), smooth muscle (SMA), anti-endothelial (AEA), anti-sarcolemma (ASA), thyroid gland (TGA) and parietal cell (PCA) antibodies. In the group of patients with major depression, the frequency of elevated ANA, TGA and PCA was significantly higher than in the control group. In addition, the group of patients with schizophrenia significantly more often showed increased levels of ANA and SMA than the control group of healthy volunteers.

Osteopontin is elevated in Parkinson's disease and its absence leads to reduced neurodegeneration in the MPTP model.

In the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), oxidative and nitrosative stress, apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and excitotoxicity are involved, i.e., processes in which osteopontin (OPN) may also play a role.

[Predictive diagnostics in chorea huntington: psychotherapeutic implications for counselling].

The progress in molecular genetic research leads to an increased availability of predictive diagnosis of inherited diseases. However, the prediction of an incurable illness is inevitably related with severe psychic conflicts. Based on the relevant literature, the psychological implications of predictive diagnostics are outlined, and counselling strategies for persons vulnerable for an inherited disease are summarized.

Irritative effects of fumes and aerosols of bitumen on the airways: results of a cross-shift study.

Possible health hazards of fumes and aerosols of bitumen are in discussion, and data on their adverse effects on human airways under current exposure conditions are limited. To assess the irritative effects of exposure to fumes and aerosols of bitumen on the airways, a cross-sectional cross-shift study was conducted including external and internal exposure measurements, spirometry and especially non-invasive methods like nasal lavage collection and induction of sputum in order to identify and evaluate more precisely inflammatory process in the upper and lower airways. The cross-shift study comprised 74 mastic asphalt workers who were exposed to fumes and aerosols of bitumen and 49 construction workers without this exposure as reference group.

Assessment of DNA damage in WBCs of workers occupationally exposed to fumes and aerosols of bitumen.

We conducted a cross-shift study with 66 bitumen-exposed mastic asphalt workers and 49 construction workers without exposure to bitumen. Exposure was assessed using personal monitoring of airborne bitumen exposure, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), and the sum of 1-, 2 + 9-,3-,4-hydroxyphenanthrene (OHPH). Genotoxic effects in WBC were determined with nonspecific DNA adduct levels of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo) and the formation of DNA strand breaks and alkali-labile sites.

Increased BDNF serum concentration in fibromyalgia with or without depression or antidepressants.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is still often viewed as a psychosomatic disorder. However, the increased pain sensitivity to stimuli in FM patients is not an "imagined" histrionic phenomena. Pain, which is consistently felt in the musculature, is related to specific abnormalities in the CNS pain matrix.

BDNF serum and CSF concentrations in Alzheimer's disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus and healthy controls.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) are common forms of dementia in the elderly. Recent findings have suggested an involvement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathogenesis of AD. BDNF is an endogenous protein involved in the maintenance of neuronal function, synaptic plasticity and structural integrity in the adult brain.

Altered lymphocyte distribution in Alzheimer's disease.

The contribution of immunological factors in the etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasingly noted. Apart from cerebral immunological findings, peripheral changes of the immune systems have been reported including lymphocyte function and subset distribution. As data still remain inconsistent, we investigated a sample of 43 patients with AD and of 34 healthy age-matched controls.

Decline of immune responsiveness: a pathogenetic factor in Alzheimer's disease?

The involvement of immunological alterations in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is widely discussed. Hitherto, findings on systemic immunological alterations are inconsistent. We measured the concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, and of the soluble receptors sIL-2r, sIL-6r, and sTNF-alphar, in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of 20 Alzheimer patients and 21 controls.

Posttranscriptional regulation of the immediate-early gene EGR1 by light in the mouse retina.

Synaptic plasticity is modulated by differential regulation of transcription factors such as EGR1 which binds to DNA via a zinc finger binding domain. Inactivation of EGR1 has implicated this gene as a key regulator of memory formation and learning. However, it remains puzzling how synaptic input can lead to an up-regulation of the EGR-1 protein within only a few minutes.

Autoantibodies to serotonin in serum of patients with psychiatric disorders.

Antibodies to serotonin in serum were investigated by ELISA in patients with paranoid schizophrenia (N=27), schizoaffective psychosis (N=38), depression (N=67), Alzheimer's disease (N=21), chronic alcoholism (N=43), rheumatoid arthritis (N=25), and multiple sclerosis (N=16), and in healthy volunteers (N=60). Increased antibody reactivity to serotonin was found in schizoaffective psychosis, chronic alcoholism, and rheumatoid arthritis. Decreased antibody reactivity to serotonin was found in multiple sclerosis and depression.

T-wave response: a sensitive test for latent alcoholic polyneuropathy.

To date, the H-reflex is the most sensitive test to measure nerve conduction velocity in alcoholic polyneuropathy. Analogous to the H-reflex, we investigated the T-wave response from the soleus muscle using a hand-held reflex hammer. Twenty-four inpatients suffering from chronic alcoholism and 24 healthy volunteers were recruited.