Longitudinal objective assessment of speech in Multiple Sclerosis.

Background: Remote objective tests may supplement in-clinic examination to better inform treatment decisions. Previous cross-sectional studies presented objective speech metrics as potential markers of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease progression.

Objective: To examine the short-term stability and long-term sensitivity of speech metrics to MS progression.

Can internal range structure predict range shifts?

Poleward and uphill range shifts are a common-but variable-response to climate change. We lack understanding regarding this interspecific variation; for example, functional traits show weak or mixed ability to predict range shifts. Characteristics of species' ranges may enhance prediction of range shifts.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of cleistocaltone A, an inhibitor of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The first chemical synthesis of the phloroglucinol meroterpenoid cleistocaltone A (1) is presented. This compound, previously isolated from was reported to show promising antiviral properties. Based on a modified biosynthesis proposal, a synthetic strategy was devised featuring an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction and an epoxidation/elimination sequence to generate the allyl alcohol handle in the side chain.

Volumetric and diffusion MRI abnormalities associated with dysarthria in multiple sclerosis.

Up to half of all people with multiple sclerosis experience communication difficulties due to dysarthria, a disorder that impacts the motor aspects of speech production. Dysarthria in multiple sclerosis is linked to cerebellar dysfunction, disease severity and lesion load, but the neuroanatomical substrates of these symptoms remain unclear. In this study, 52 participants with multiple sclerosis and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent structural and diffusion MRI, clinical assessment of disease severity and cerebellar dysfunction and a battery of motor speech tasks.

Plug-and-Play Microphones for Recording Speech and Voice with Smart Devices.

Introduction: Smart devices are widely available and capable of quickly recording and uploading speech segments for health-related analysis. The switch from laboratory recordings with professional-grade microphone setups to remote, smart device-based recordings offers immense potential for the scalability of voice assessment. Yet, a growing body of literature points to a wide heterogeneity among acoustic metrics for their robustness to variation in recording devices.

Host Responses to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are a constant public health problem, especially in infants and older adults. Virtually all children will have been infected with RSV by the age of two, and reinfections are common throughout life. Since antigenic variation, which is frequently observed among other respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 or influenza viruses, can only be observed for RSV to a limited extent, reinfections may result from short-term or incomplete immunity.

Choroid plexus volume is enlarged in clinically isolated syndrome patients with optic neuritis.

Objectives: We investigated choroid plexus (CP) volume in patients presenting with optic neuritis (ON) as a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), compared to a cohort with established relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and healthy controls (HCs).

Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) T1, T2-FLAIR and diffusion-weighted sequences were acquired from 44 ON CIS patients at baseline, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the onset of ON. Fifty RRMS patients and 50 HCs were also included for comparison.

How Well Do Rodent Models of Parkinson's Disease Recapitulate Early Non-Motor Phenotypes? A Systematic Review.

The prodromal phase of Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by many non-motor symptoms, and these have recently been posited to be predictive of later diagnosis. Genetic rodent models can develop non-motor phenotypes, providing tools to identify mechanisms underlying the early development of PD. However, it is not yet clear how reproducible non-motor phenotypes are amongst genetic PD rodent models, whether phenotypes are age-dependent, and the translatability of these phenotypes has yet to be explored.

Brain network dynamics in people with visual snow syndrome.

Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is a neurological disorder characterized by a range of continuous visual disturbances. Little is known about the functional pathological mechanisms underlying VSS and their effect on brain network topology, studied using high-resolution resting-state (RS) 7 T MRI. Forty VSS patients and 60 healthy controls underwent RS MRI.

Enhancing TreeMMoSys with a high-precision strain gauge to measure the wind-induced response of trees down to the ground.

Measuring tree response to wind loads is fundamental for the process-based analysis of wind-tree interactions. Comprehensive knowledge of wind-tree interactions enables the further development of decision support tools available for estimating the probability of wind damage to trees. The assessment of critical wind loads that lead to damage is particularly important.

Monitoring the acute and subacute recovery of cognitive ocular motor changes after a sports-related concussion.

Identifying when recovery from a sports-related concussion (SRC) has occurred remains a challenge in clinical practice. This study investigated the utility of ocular motor (OM) assessment to monitor recovery post-SRC between sexes and compared to common clinical measures. From 139 preseason baseline assessments (i.

Sensorimotor network dynamics predict decline in upper and lower limb function in people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Upper and lower limb disabilities are hypothesized to have partially independent underlying (network) disturbances in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: This study investigated functional network predictors and longitudinal network changes related to upper and lower limb progression in MS.

Methods: Two-hundred fourteen MS patients and 58 controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), dexterity (9-Hole Peg Test) and mobility (Timed 25-Foot Walk) measurements (baseline and 5 years).

Early predictors of visual and axonal outcomes after acute optic neuritis.

Background: Predicting long-term visual outcomes and axonal loss following acute optic neuritis (ON) is critical for choosing treatment. Predictive models including all clinical and paraclinical measures of optic nerve dysfunction following ON are lacking.

Objectives: Using a prospective study method, to identify 1 and 3 months predictors of 6 and 12 months visual outcome (low contrast letter acuity 2.

Microstructure in patients with visual snow syndrome: an ultra-high field morphological and quantitative MRI study.

Visual snow syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by continuous visual disturbance and a range of non-visual symptoms, including tinnitus and migraine. Little is known about the pathological mechanisms underlying visual snow syndrome. Here, we assessed brain morphometry and microstructure in visual snow syndrome patients using high-resolution structural and quantitative MRI.

Long-term structural brain changes in adult rats after mild ischaemic stroke.

Preclinical studies of remote degeneration have largely focused on brain changes over the first few days or weeks after stroke. Accumulating evidence suggests that neurodegeneration occurs in other brain regions remote to the site of infarction for months and even years following ischaemic stroke. Brain atrophy appears to be driven by both axonal degeneration and widespread brain inflammation.

An Update on the Measurement of Motor Cerebellar Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease that often affects the cerebellum. It is characterised by demyelination, inflammation, and neurodegeneration within the central nervous system. Damage to the cerebellum in MS is associated with increased disability and decreased quality of life.

Gait stability reflects motor tracts damage at early stages of multiple sclerosis.

Background: Gait in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) is affected even when no changes can be observed on clinical examination. A sensitive measure of gait deterioration is stability; however, its correlation with motor tract damage has not yet been established.

Objective: To compare stability between PwMS and healthy controls (HCs) and determine associations between stability and diffusion magnetic resonance image (MRI) measures of axonal damage in selected sensorimotor tracts.

Longitudinal tracking of axonal loss using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in multiple sclerosis.

Axonal loss in the CNS is a key driver of progressive neurological impairments in people with multiple sclerosis. Currently, there are no established methods for tracking axonal loss clinically. This study aimed to determine the sensitivity of longitudinal diffusion MRI-derived fibre-specific measures of axonal loss in people with multiple sclerosis.

Lesion Volume in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis is Associated with Perivascular Space Enlargement at the Level of the Basal Ganglia.

Background And Purpose: Perivascular spaces surround the blood vessels of the brain and are involved in neuroimmune functions and clearance of metabolites via the glymphatic system of the brain. Enlarged perivascular spaces could be a marker of dysfunction in these processes and, therefore, are highly relevant to monitoring disease activity in MS. This study aimed to compare the number of enlarged perivascular spaces in people with relapsing MS with MR imaging markers of inflammation and brain atrophy.

Quantifying the impact of upper limb tremor on the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis: a comparison between the QUEST and MSIS-29 scales.

Background: Upper limb tremor is common in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) and can affect day to day function, impacting on their tremor related quality of life (tremor-QOL). The Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST) is a tremor-QOL scale, however it has not been validated for use in pwMS. This is in contrast to the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), a MS health related QOL (MS-QOL) scale validated in pwMS.

Asymmetric distribution of enlarged perivascular spaces in centrum semiovale may be associated with epilepsy after acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: To investigate the factors influencing enlarged perivascular space (EPVS) characteristics at the onset of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and whether the PVS characteristics can predict later post-stroke epilepsy (PSE).

Methods: A total of 312 patients with AIS were identified, of whom 58/312 (18.6%) developed PSE.

Sodium selenate as a disease-modifying treatment for progressive supranuclear palsy: protocol for a phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Introduction: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which there are currently no disease-modifying therapies. The neuropathology of PSP is associated with the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau in the brain. We have previously shown that protein phosphatase 2 activity in the brain is upregulated by sodium selenate, which enhances dephosphorylation.