Skin α-Synuclein Seeding Activity in Patients with Type 1 Gaucher Disease.

Background: Patients with type 1 Gaucher disease (GD1) have a significantly increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate skin α-synuclein (αSyn) seeding activity as a biomarker for GD1-related PD (GD1-PD).

Methods: This single-center study administered motor and cognitive examinations and questionnaires of nonmotor symptoms to adult patients with GD1.

Effects of embryonic cyclosporine exposures on brain development and behavior.

Cyclosporine, a calcineurin inhibitor, is successfully used as an immunosuppressant in transplant medicine. However, the use of this pharmaceutical during pregnancy is concerning since calcineurin is thought to play a role in neural development. The risk for human brain development is difficult to evaluate because of a lack of basic information on the sensitive developmental times and the potentially pleiotropic effects on brain development and behavior.