Evaluation of specific binding of [C]TZ7774 to the receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) in the brain.

Microglia, a type of immune cells of the central nervous system, play a critical role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recently, efforts for drug discovery have focused on modifying the function of microglia to halt AD progression. One such effort targets a multifaceted kinase called receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) that controls inflammation and cell death.

SMN2 gene copy number affects the incidence and prognosis of motor neuron diseases in Japan.

Background: The copy number status (CNS) of the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene may influence the risk and prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and lower motor neuron diseases (LMND) other than spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). However, previous studies of this association, mainly from Europe, have yielded controversial results, suggesting possible regional differences. Here, we investigated the effect of the SMN gene in Japanese patients with ALS and LMND.

Case report: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy co-occurring with neurosarcoidosis: early brain biopsy and appropriate therapy for PML resulted in a favorable prognosis.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare central nervous system disease caused by JC virus (JCV) infection. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is the greatest risk factor for PML. Other immunological diseases, including systemic sarcoidosis, have also been reported as risk factors for PML.

Successful Multimodal Treatment of Intracranial Growing Teratoma Syndrome with Malignant Features.

Molecular analysis of the growing teratoma syndrome has not been extensively studied. Here, we report a 14-year-old boy with a growing mass during treatment for a mixed germ cell tumor of the pineal region. Tumor markers were negative; thus, growing teratoma syndrome was suspected.

A novel PET probe to selectively image heat shock protein 90α/β isoforms in the brain.

Background: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are present throughout the brain. They function as molecular chaperones, meaning they help with the folding and unfolding of large protein complexes. These chaperones are vital in the development of neuropathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body disease, with HSP90, a specific subtype of HSP, playing a key role.

[Case of hereditary Y69H (p.Y89H) transthyretin variant leptomeningeal amyloidosis presenting with drop attacks and recurrent transient language disorder].

We report a 73-year-old woman who started developing recurrent transient aphasia at the age of 66 years. During the attacks, she was aware she could not understand what was being said and both her spoken and written speech were meaningless. The attacks usually lasted for a few days, following which she could explain what had happened.

Human early-onset dementia caused by DAP12 deficiency reveals a unique signature of dysregulated microglia.

The TREM2-DAP12 receptor complex sustains microglia functions. Heterozygous hypofunctional TREM2 variants impair microglia, accelerating late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Homozygous inactivating variants of TREM2 or TYROBP-encoding DAP12 cause Nasu-Hakola disease (NHD), an early-onset dementia characterized by cerebral atrophy, myelin loss and gliosis.

Meningoencephalocele in the Lateral Sphenoid Sinus Showing Malformation of Cortical Development: A Case Report.

Meningoencephalocele in the lateral sphenoid sinus (SS) has been determined to be a rare entity often detected by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea. To date, the pathology of meningoencephalocele in the lateral SS has remained to be unclear in many cases. In this study, we report on a case of a 72-year-old woman with an arteriovenous malformation who presented with CSF rhinorrhea.

Biallelic Mutations and Deletion in a Family With Leigh Syndrome and Hereditary Neuropathy With Liability to Pressure Palsy.

Objectives: Leigh syndrome is a progressive encephalopathy characterized by symmetrical lesions in brain. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic and genetic characteristics of a family with Leigh syndrome and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy (HNPP).

Methods: Data from a Japanese family's clinical features, MRIs, muscle biopsy, and an autopsy were analyzed.

Epilepsy surgery without lipoma removal for temporal lobe epilepsy associated with lipoma in the Sylvian fissure.

Epileptic seizure is the common symptom associated with lipomas in the Sylvian fissure (Sylvian lipomas). Removal of these lipomas carries risks of hemorrhage and brain damage. We report a surgical strategy of not removing the lipoma in a case of intractable temporal lobe epilepsy associated with Sylvian lipoma.

Pathological substrate of memory impairment in multiple system atrophy.

Aims: Synaptic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease is caused by propagation of pathogenic α-synuclein between neurons. Previously, in multiple system atrophy (MSA), pathologically characterised by ectopic deposition of abnormal α-synuclein predominantly in oligodendrocytes, we demonstrated that the occurrence of memory impairment was associated with the number of α-synuclein-positive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs) in the hippocampus. In the present study, we aimed to investigate how abnormal α-synuclein in the hippocampus can lead to memory impairment.

Praja1 RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase is a common suppressor of neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregation.

The formation of misfolded protein aggregates is one of the pathological hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. We have previously demonstrated the cytoplasmic aggregate formation of adenovirally expressed transactivation response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43), the main constituent of neuronal cytoplasmic aggregates in cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), in cultured neuronal cells under the condition of proteasome inhibition. The TDP-43 aggregate formation was markedly suppressed by co-infection of adenoviruses expressing heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), a master regulator of heat shock response, and Praja1 RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase (PJA1) located downstream of the HSF1 pathway.

Endogenous human retrovirus-K is not increased in the affected tissues of Japanese ALS patients.

Activation of human endogenous retrovirus-K (HERV-K) is one of the proposed risk factors for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The HERV-K envelope protein has been reported to show neurotoxicity, and development of therapy with reverse transcriptase inhibitors is being investigated. On the other hand, some reports have failed to show HERV-K activation in ALS.

Brain TDP-43 pathology in corticobasal degeneration: Topographical correlation with neuronal loss.

Aims: Neuronal and glial inclusions comprising transactive response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) have been identified in the brains of patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and a possible correlation between the presence of these inclusions and clinical phenotypes has been speculated. However, the significance of TDP-43 pathology in the pathomechanism of CBD has remained unclear. Here, we investigated the topographical relationship between TDP-43 inclusions and neuronal loss in CBD.

Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism: Clinicopathological discrepancies on diagnosis in three patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. The cardinal neuropathological features of PD include selective and progressive loss of pigmented neurons in the substantia nigra, deficiencies in dopaminergic signaling in the striatum, and occurrence of phosphorylated α-synuclein-identified Lewy bodies in the nervous system. Parkinsonism, the clinical presentation of movement disorders seen in PD, is a feature shared commonly by other pathologically distinct neurodegenerative diseases, such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

Age-related demethylation of the TDP-43 autoregulatory region in the human motor cortex.

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), which is encoded by TARDBP, forms aggregates in the motor cortex. This aggregate formation may be triggered by an increase in the TDP-43 level with aging. However, the amount of TDP-43 is autoregulated by alternative splicing of the TARDBP 3'UTR, and how this autoregulation is affected by aging remains to be elucidated.

Alzheimer's Aβ assembly binds sodium pump and blocks endothelial NOS activity via ROS-PKC pathway in brain vascular endothelial cells.

Amyloid β-protein (Aβ) may contribute to worsening of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through vascular dysfunction, but the molecular mechanism involved is unknown. Using blood vessels and primary endothelial cells from human brain microvessels, we show that patient-derived Aβ assemblies, termed amylospheroids (ASPD), exist on the microvascular surface in patients' brains and inhibit vasorelaxation through binding to the α3 subunit of sodium, potassium-ATPase (NAKα3) in caveolae on endothelial cells. Interestingly, NAKα3 is also the toxic target of ASPD in neurons.