Tolosa-Hunt syndrome with general myasthenia gravis involvement.

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome is an uncommon disease that exhibits unilateral periorbital pain or headache, accompanied by cranial nerve palsies. Myasthenia gravis is an acquired immune system disease involving the neuromuscular junction. One rare case of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome combined with ocular myasthenia gravis had been reported in the literature, but not general myasthenia gravis.

Event-related potentials and neural oscillations dissociate levels of cognitive control.

Recent models of human behavior suggest a hierarchical organization of cognitive control processes. These models assume that different sub-goals of cognitive control processes are nested in each other, such that higher-level sub-goals can only be accomplished when lower-level sub-goals have been realized. While the neuroanatomical localization of this organizational principle has already been successfully tested, the exact temporal nature remains to be explored.

The role of cytokines in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases including Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and its animal model experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN). In this article, we reviewed the current knowledge of the role of cytokines such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, IL-23, IL-17, IL-10, IL-4 and chemokines in GBS and EAN as unraveled by studies both in the clinic and the laboratory. However, these studies occasionally yield conflicting results, highlighting the complex role that cytokines play in the disease process.

TNF-alpha receptor 1 deficiency enhances kainic acid-induced hippocampal injury in mice.

The exact role of TNF-alpha in excitotoxic neurodegeneration of the brain is unclear. To address this issue, the kainic acid (KA)-induced hippocampal injury model, a well-characterized model of human neurodegenerative diseases, was used in TNF-alpha receptor 1 (TNFR1)-knockout (TNFR1-/-) mice in the present study. After nasal application of a single dose of 40 mg of KA per kilogram body weight, TNFR1-/- mice showed significantly more severe seizures than the wild-type mice.

Decreased fractalkine and increased IP-10 expression in aged brain of APP(swe) transgenic mice.

Chemokines and their receptors have been strongly implicated in the inflammatory process and pathogenesis of the neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we examined the expression of chemokines, fractalkine, interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) by immunohistochemistry in the brain of transgenic mice APP SWE (Tg2576) at ages of 9, 11, and 17 months, which over-express a mutated form of human amyloid precursor protein (APP). Decreased fractalkine and increased IP-10 expression in cerebral cortex and hippocampus were found at ages of 9 and 17 months in Tg2576 mice when compared with age-matched control mice.

Aggravation of experimental autoimmune neuritis in TNF-alpha receptor 1 deficient mice.

The role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and its receptors in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) induced by P0 peptide 180-199 in TNFR1 (p55) deficient (TNFR1-/-) mice was investigated. Compared to wild type EAN mice, TNFR1-/- EAN mice developed significantly more severe clinical signs, in parallel with enhanced numbers of inflammatory infiltrating cells in peripheral nerves and splenic P0-reactive T cell proliferation, as well as increased obviously MHC class II and CCR3 expression on the macrophages in the cauda equina. Our data indicated that TNF-alpha might have anti-inflammatory effect preventing the development of EAN in this mouse model.