A prospective multi-centre study of susceptibility map-weighted MRI for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative parkinsonism.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare susceptibility map-weighted imaging (SMwI) using various MRI machines (three vendors) with N-3-fluoropropyl-2-β-carbomethoxy-3-β-(4-iodophe nyl)nortropane (F-FP-CIT) PET in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative parkinsonism in a multi-centre setting.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 257 subjects, including 157 patients with neurodegenerative parkinsonism, 54 patients with non-neurodegenerative parkinsonism, and 46 healthy subjects from 10 hospitals between November 2019 and October 2020. All participants underwent both SMwI and F-FP-CIT PET.

Acute brainstem encephalitis associated with in an adult: a case report.

Brainstem encephalitis (BE) associated with in adults is rare, and the diagnosis is challenging. We describe an uncommon case of BE in an immunocompetent patient. A 43-year-old, otherwise healthy woman visited our emergency department with high fever and a sore throat, and 3 days later she returned with an altered drowsy mental status.

CD5L as an Extracellular Vesicle-Derived Biomarker for Liquid Biopsy of Lung Cancer.

Cancer screening and diagnosis can be achieved by analyzing specific molecules within serum-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). This study sought to profile EV-derived proteins to identify potential lung cancer biomarkers. EVs were isolated from 80 serum samples from healthy individuals and cancer patients via polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based precipitation and immunoaffinity separation using antibodies against CD9, CD63, CD81, and EpCAM.

Triglyceride/HDL-Cholesterol Ratio as an Index of Intracranial Atherosclerosis in Nonstroke Individuals.

Triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (THR) is a marker of dyslipidemia, and high THR is associated with an increase in cardiovascular events. In the present study, whether THR was associated with various markers of cerebral vascular pathologies, atherosclerosis of major cerebral arteries, including large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) and cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), in neurologically healthy individuals was investigated. Vascular risk factors, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and MR angiograms of 851 study subjects were evaluated.

Distribution of Intracranial Major Artery Stenosis/Occlusion According to RNF213 Polymorphisms.

Intracranial major artery stenosis/occlusion (ICASO) is the major cause of ischemic stroke. Recent studies have suggested that variants of , a susceptibility gene for moyamoya disease (MMD), are also related to non-MMD ICASO. Regarding the predominant involvement of steno-occlusion on anterior circulation in MMD, we hypothesized that the ICASO distribution pattern (anterior/posterior) in non-MMD may differ according to variants.

Differential Impact of Plasma Homocysteine Levels on the Periventricular and Subcortical White Matter Hyperintensities on the Brain.

The clinical significance of cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has recently increased, and recognized now as a risk factor for future stroke and dementia. High levels of plasma homocysteine (Hcyt) are associated with cerebral WMH. Recent studies suggest a different anatomy and physiology in the arteriolar system may be supplied to the periventricular and deep subcortical white matter.

Effect of pioglitazone in acute ischemic stroke patients with diabetes mellitus: a nested case-control study.

Background: Pioglitazone is an oral antidiabetic drug with multiple pleiotropic actions. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that treatment with pioglitazone reduces cardiovascular risk in patients who have had an ischemic stroke. We examined the secondary preventive effects of pioglitazone in acute ischemic stroke patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) based on nationwide real-world data.

Tonic Upward Eyeball Deviation Mimicking Non-Convulsive Occipital Lobe Status Epilepticus That Was Induced by Hydrocephalus.

Several seizure-like symptoms are difficult to differentiate from epileptic convulsion, and then if they were misdiagnosed, they could be led to grave prognosis. A 41-year-old man was referred to the emergency room due to unconsciousness. Brain computed tomography (CT) revealed acute subdural hemorrhage along the left frontal lobe, and intraparenchymal hemorrhage in the left temporo-occipital lobe.

Post lumbar puncture headache: Case report of a serious adverse event in first-in-human study.

A lumbar puncture can be used to measure the concentrations of drugs and/or pharmacodynamic biomarkers during clinical trials of central nervous system drugs. We report a case of a post lumbar puncture headache (PLPH) in a first-in-human study, which was reported as a serious adverse event. A 20-year-old man received 200 mg of the investigational product (IP) for 7 days and underwent a lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid sampling before IP administration (Day 1, pre-dose) and after 7 days and multiple IP administrations (Day 7, 1 hour post-dose).

Differential impact of serum total bilirubin level on cerebral atherosclerosis and cerebral small vessel disease.

Background: A low serum total bilirubin (T-bil) level is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. However, the differential impact of the serum T-bil level on cerebral atherosclerosis and cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is still unclear.

Methods: We evaluated serum T-bil levels from 1,128 neurologically healthy subjects.

A facile synthesis of poly(3-octylthiophene)-titanium dioxide nanocomposite particles in supercritical CO2.

Poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT)-titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocomposite powder where TiO2 was embedded with homogeneous dispersion was synthesized by in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of 3-octylthiophene in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), using ferric chloride as the oxidant. The synthesized materials could be obtained as dry powder upon venting of CO2 after the polymerization. The composites were subsequently characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction studies (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and photoluminescence (PL).