Choroid Plexus Calcification Correlates with Cortical Microglial Activation in Humans: A Multimodal PET, CT, MRI Study.

Background And Purpose: The choroid plexus (CP) within the brain ventricles is well-known to produce cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Recently, the CP has been recognized as critical in modulating inflammation. MRI-measured CP enlargement has been reported in neuroinflammatory disorders like MS as well as with aging and neurodegeneration.

Positron Emission Tomography reveals age-associated hypothalamic microglial activation in women.

In rodents, hypothalamic inflammation plays a critical role in aging and age-related diseases. Hypothalamic inflammation has not previously been assessed in vivo in humans. We used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with a radiotracer sensitive to the translocator protein (TSPO) expressed by activated microglia, to assess correlations between age and regional brain TSPO in a group of healthy subjects (n = 43, 19 female, aged 23-78), focusing on hypothalamus.

The roles of GnRH in the human central nervous system.

It is widely known that GnRH plays a role in facilitating reproductive function via the HPG axis, and this was once believed to be its only function. However, over the last several decades important neuromodulatory roles of GnRH in multiple brain functions have been elucidated. Multiple GnRH isoforms and receptors have been detected outside the HPG-axis across different species.

Tau PET following acute TBI: Off-target binding to blood products, tauopathy, or both?

Repeated mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a risk factor for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), characterized pathologically by neurofibrillary tau deposition in the depths of brain sulci and surrounding blood vessels. The mechanism by which TBI leads to CTE remains unknown but has been posited to relate to axonal shear injury leading to release and possibly deposition of tau at the time of injury. As part of an IRB-approved study designed to learn how processes occurring acutely after TBI may predict later proteinopathy and neurodegeneration, we performed tau PET using 18F-MK6240 and MRI within 14 days of complicated mild TBI in three subjects.

Acute Hepatitis A Outbreak Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Krakow, Poland; February 2017-February 2018.

Since February 2017 in Poland, an increasing number of acute hepatitis A (AHA) cases have been reported; a noteworthy increase to 3,072 cases of AHA in 2017 compared to 35 cases in 2016 was reported by the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH). The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic features, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, and sexually transmitted coinfections. All cases of AHA diagnosed between February 2017 and February 2018 at the University Hospital in Krakow were analyzed.