Management of calcified cysticerci in the brain parenchyma: treating the dead parasite.

Introduction: Calcifications are the end stage of many parenchymal brain cysticerci and may occur either spontaneously or as the result of treatment with cysticidal drugs. These lesions, traditionally considered inert and asymptomatic, have been associated with several complications that seem to be mostly related to brain damage and inflammation ensuing as the result of the exposure of the host's immune system to parasitic antigens trapped within calcifications.

Areas Covered: This review, based on the search of different electronic databases up to May 2024, focuses on the reported correlates and complications of calcified cysticerci (chronic headaches, seizures/epilepsy, hippocampal atrophy/sclerosis, gliomas), and the different interventions developed for their prevention and treatment.

The association between slow-wave sleep and choroid plexus calcifications in older adults. Results from the sleep disorders substudy of the Atahualpa Project cohort.

Objective: It has been suggested that choroid plexus calcifications (CPC) may be associated with glymphatic system dysfunction and with disturbed slow-wave (N3) sleep. If this is the case, volumetric analysis of CPC could be used to estimate the functional ability of the glymphatic system. However, data on this association is limited.

Does Escalating Violence and Associated Fear of Crime Worsen Psychological Well-Being in Community Dwellers Living in a Rural Setting? Results From the Atahualpa Project Cohort.

Background: Escalating street violence and criminal homicides have an adverse impact on psychological well-being. However, these consequences have been difficult to evaluate. Using a recently validated scale, we aimed to assess the impact of fear of crime on the psychological status of middle-aged and older adults living in a rural setting afflicted by endemic violence.

Binge drinking and progression of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin in older men.

Background: Information on trajectories of diffuse subcortical brain damage of vascular origin associated with binge drinking in older adults is limited. We sought to evaluate the impact of this drinking pattern on the progression of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin in individuals aged ≥60 years taken from the community.

Methods: Following a longitudinal prospective design, participants of the Atahualpa Project Cohort received interviews to assess patterns of alcohol intake as well as baseline and follow-up brain MRIs.

Large (≥3-Millimeter) Parenchymal Brain Calcified Cysticerci Are More Often Associated with Hippocampal Atrophy than Smaller Ones in Seizure-Free Individuals with a Single Lesion.

Calcified cysticerci are often associated with hippocampal atrophy (HA). While most studies suggest that repetitive seizures cause HA in these patients, others have demonstrated that HA may also occur in persons without epilepsy. Little is known about mechanisms triggering HA in seizure-free individuals with calcified cysticerci.

Validation of bedside manual versus automated measurements of brain arterial diameters from MR angiography.

Background And Purpose: Brain arterial luminal diameters are reliably measured with automated imaging software. Nonautomated imaging software alternatives such as a Picture Archiving Communication System are more common bedside tools used for manual measurement. This study is aimed at validating manual measurements against automated methods.

On the association between dietary oily fish intake and bone mineral density in frequent fish consumers of Amerindian ancestry. The three villages study.

Unlabelled: Reports addressing the effects of oily fish intake on bone health are inconsistent. This study shows that consumption of ≥ 5.2 oily fish servings/week (728 g) is associated with lower prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis in elderly women of Amerindian ancestry.

Choroid plexus calcifications are not associated with putative markers of glymphatic dysfunction: A population study in middle-aged and older adults.

Background And Purpose: Recent studies have suggested an association between dysfunction of the choroid plexus and the glymphatic system. However, information is inconclusive. Following a population-based study design, we aimed to assess the association between choroid plexus calcifications (CPCs)-as a surrogate of choroid plexus dysfunction-and severity and progression of putative markers of glymphatic dysfunction, including white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin and abnormally enlarged basal ganglia perivascular spaces (BG-PVS).

The Impact of Biological and Social Factors on Mortality in Older Adults Living in Rural Communities.

Background: Information on factors that increase mortality in remote settings is limited. This study aims to estimate the independent and joint role of several factors on mortality risk among older adults living in rural Ecuador.

Methods: Participants were selected from community-dwelling older adults who were included in previous studies targeting mortality risk factors in the study population.

Dietary oily fish intake is inversely associated with moderate-to-severe intracranial artery stenosis in older adults of indigenous Ecuadorian ancestry.

Background And Aims: Information on the association between dietary oily fish intake and intracranial atherosclerosis is limited and contradictory. Inconsistencies might be in part related to heterogeneous designs and differences in race/ethnicity of study populations. We aim to assess whether oily fish intake is inversely associated with intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) in frequent fish consumers of indigenous ancestry living in coastal Ecuador.

Neck circumference as a predictor of all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older adults in rural Ecuador.

Background: Neck circumference (NC) has been associated with mortality secondary to cardiovascular diseases and other conditions. However, information on this association in the population at large is limited. We aimed to assess this association in community dwellers living in rural Ecuador.

Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies.

Background And Purpose: Brain arterial diameters are markers of cerebrovascular disease. Demographic and anatomical factors may influence arterial diameters. We hypothesize that age, sex, height, total cranial volume (TCV), and persistent fetal posterior cerebral artery (fPCA) correlate with brain arterial diameters across populations.

Cognitive performance and all-cause mortality in community dwellers of Amerindian ancestry living in rural Ecuador: A population-based, longitudinal prospective study.

Objective: There is limited information on mortality risk in individuals with cognitive impairment living in rural Latin America. In this study, we assess the association between cognitive impairment and all-cause mortality in adults of Amerindian ancestry living in rural Ecuador.

Patients And Methods: Middle-aged and older adults enrolled in the population-based Three Villages Study cohort were followed prospectively in order to estimate mortality risk according to their baseline cognitive performance as determined by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

Incompleteness of the Circle of Willis and progression of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin. A longitudinal prospective study in community-dwelling older adults.

Background: Evidence on the association between anatomical variants of the circle of Willis (CoW) and severity of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin is inconclusive, and no study has evaluated the role of incompleteness of CoW on WMH progression in the follow-up. This study aims to assess the impact of incomplete configurations of the CoW on WMH progression in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Following a prospective longitudinal study design, individuals aged ≥60 years enrolled in the Atahualpa Project Cohort from 2012 to 2019 were invited to receive baseline brain MRI and MRA of intracranial vessels, and those who also had brain MRIs at the end of the study (May 2021) were included in the analysis.

Systemic immune-inflammation index and progression of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin. A longitudinal population study in community-dwelling older adults living in rural Ecuador.

Background: Information on the association between the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin is confined to cross-sectional studies. We sought to evaluate the impact of SII on WMH progression in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Following a longitudinal prospective study design, participants of a population-based cohort received baseline blood tests to calculate the SII (platelets x neutrophils / lymphocytes x 10 L) together with clinical interviews and brain MRIs.

Neuroimaging standards for research into small vessel disease-advances since 2013.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is common during ageing and can present as stroke, cognitive decline, neurobehavioural symptoms, or functional impairment. SVD frequently coexists with neurodegenerative disease, and can exacerbate cognitive and other symptoms and affect activities of daily living. Standards for Reporting Vascular Changes on Neuroimaging 1 (STRIVE-1) categorised and standardised the diverse features of SVD that are visible on structural MRI.