The Brain-Gut Axis, an Important Player in Alzheimer and Parkinson Disease: A Narrative Review.

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), are severe age-related disorders with complex and multifactorial causes. Recent research suggests a critical link between neurodegeneration and the gut microbiome, via the gut-brain communication pathway. This review examines the role of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-derived metabolite, in the development of AD and PD, and investigates its interaction with microRNAs (miRNAs) along this bidirectional pathway.

Automated Assessment of the Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta in Parkinson's Disease: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study.

The substantia nigra (SN) pars compacta (SNpc) and pars reticulata (SNpr) are differentially affected in Parkinson's disease (PD). Separating the SNpc and SNpr is challenging with standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows for the characterization of SN microstructure in a non-invasive manner.

Functional and Cognitive Improvement After an Intensive Inpatient Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program in Mild to Severe Parkinson's Disease: A Retrospective and Observational Study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor (resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, and gait disturbances) and nonmotor symptoms (cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and autonomic problems). In recent years, several studies demonstrated that neurorehabilitation therapy is an effective treatment in addition to pharmacological personalized interventions in persons with PD (PwPD). The main aim of this study was to explore the short-term changes in functional, cognitive, and geriatric domains after a multidimensional rehabilitation program in PwPD (as primary condition) in mild-moderate (M-Ms) to severe (Ss) stages.

The role of the dorsal striatum in the recognition of emotions expressed by voice in Parkinson's disease.

Background And Purpose: Non-motor impairment such as emotion recognition deficit in both facial and vocal expressions has been previously reported in Parkinson's disease (PD). We investigated whether the decoding of emotional prosody is impaired in PD and whether this deficit is related to striatal damage.

Methods: Fifteen PD patients and 15 healthy controls (HCs) were requested to listen to six audio tracks and to recognize the emotions expressed by a professional actor while reading a meaning-neutral sentence.

Comparison of Transfer Learning and Conventional Machine Learning Applied to Structural Brain MRI for the Early Diagnosis and Prognosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, with 10% prevalence in the elder population. Conventional Machine Learning (ML) was proven effective in supporting the diagnosis of AD, while very few studies investigated the performance of deep learning and transfer learning in this complex task. In this paper, we evaluated the potential of ensemble transfer-learning techniques, pretrained on generic images and then transferred to structural brain MRI, for the early diagnosis and prognosis of AD, with respect to a fusion of conventional-ML approaches based on Support Vector Machine directly applied to structural brain MRI.

Multimodal Evaluation of Neurovascular Functionality in Early Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multisystem neurological condition affecting different neurotransmitter pathways characterized by aberrant functional connectivity (FC) and perfusion alteration. Since the FC, measuring neuronal activity, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) are closely related through the neurovascular coupling (NVC) mechanism, we aim to assess whether FC changes found in PD mirror perfusion ones. A multimodal MRI study was implemented by acquiring resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) datasets on a group of 26 early PD (66.

"Art, Colors, and Emotions" Treatment (ACE-t): A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of an Art-Based Intervention for People With Alzheimer's Disease.

Increasing evidence suggests that non-pharmacological therapies impact on neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life in people with Alzheimer's disease. Among these, art-based interventions seem particularly suitable for elders' rehabilitation as they act both on cognitive functions and quality of life. However, their benefits are not yet appropriately explored.

Parietal Perfusion Alterations in Parkinson's Disease Patients Without Dementia.

Fronto-parietal regions are involved in cognitive processes that are commonly affected in Parkinson's disease (PD). The aims of this study were to investigate cerebral blood flow (CBF) and gray matter (GM) volume within the regions belonging to the fronto-parietal circuit in people with PD (pwPD) without dementia, and to assess their association with cognitive performance. Twenty-seven pwPD without dementia (mean [SD] age = 67.

Uncinate fasciculus and word selection processing in Parkinson's disease.

We explored with Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) technique whether the ability to select words among competitive alternatives during word production is related to the integrity of the left uncinate fasciculus (UF) in Parkinson's disease (PD). Nineteen PD patients (10 right-sided and 9 left-sided) and 17 matched healthy controls (HC) took part in the study. Participants were asked to derive nouns from verbs (reading from to read) or to generate verbs from nouns (to build from building).

Social Cognition in Rehabilitation Context: Different Evolution of Affective and Cognitive Theory of Mind in Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Maintaining social skills such as Theory of Mind (ToM) competences is important to counteract the conversion into dementia in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Multidimensional nonpharmacological interventions demonstrated their potential in improving cognitive and behavioral abilities; however, little is known about the long-term effect of such interventions on social skills in people with MCI. The aim of this longitudinal study was to monitor ToM competences considering both cognitive and affective domains in an amnestic MCI (aMCI) sample involved in a home-based multistimulation treatment (MST@H).

White matter alterations in early Parkinson's disease: role of motor symptom lateralization.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a motor disorder that initially presents with unilateral symptoms. Widespread white matter (WM) alterations have been reported since the early stages of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate WM alterations in right-dominant and left-dominant symptom PD patients (RPD and LPD, respectively) with respect to healthy controls (HC) by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection induces a potent but ineffective IFN-λ production in immune cells of AD and PD patients.

Background: The sequential activation of immediate early (IE), early (E) and late (L) genes is required to allow productive herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. Several evidences suggest that, together with inflammation, an immunological response incapable to counteract HSV-1 reactivation plays a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. IFN-lambda (IFN-λ), a cytokine endowed with a robust antiviral activity, contains HSV-1 reactivation.

The PILRA G78R Variant Correlates with Higher HSV-1-Specific IgG Titers in Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive performance; Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is instead an objective decline in cognitive performance that does not reach pathology. Paired immunoglobulin-like type 2 receptor alpha (PILRA) is a cell surface inhibitory receptor that was recently suggested to be involved in AD pathogenesis. In particular, the arginine-to-glycine substitution in position 78 (R78, rs1859788) was shown to be protective against AD.

Combined Assessment of Diffusion Parameters and Cerebral Blood Flow Within Basal Ganglia in Early Parkinson's Disease.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a sensitive tool for detecting brain tissue microstructural alterations in Parkinson's disease (PD). Abnormal cerebral perfusion patterns have also been reported in PD patients using arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI. In this study we aimed to perform a combined DTI and ASL assessment in PD patients within the basal ganglia, in order to test the relationship between microstructural and perfusion alterations.

Cerebrovascular reactivity and its correlation with age in patients with multiple sclerosis.

We assessed cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) within gray matter (GM), normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and white matter (WM) lesions in a group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Furthermore, correlations between CBF, CVR and age were investigated. 31 MS patients and 25 healthy controls (HC) were examined on a 1.

Brain networks construction using Bayes FDR and average power function.

Brain functional connectivity is a widely investigated topic in neuroscience. In recent years, the study of brain connectivity has been largely aided by graph theory. The link between time series recorded at multiple locations in the brain and the construction of a graph is usually an adjacency matrix.

SNARE Complex Polymorphisms Associate with Alterations of Visual Selective Attention in Alzheimer's Disease.

The SNARE complex plays a crucial role in the synaptic exocytosis of neurotransmitters, a process involved in the Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. SNAP-25, STX1a, and VAMP2 are the core proteins of the SNARE complex, and changes in protein level are suggested to contribute to cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric disorders. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SNARE complex genes were shown to be associated with different diseases and different cognitive impairments.

An ecological measure to screen executive functioning in MS: the Picture Interpretation Test (PIT) 360°.

Executive functions are crucial for performance of everyday activities. In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), executive dysfunctions can be apparent from the early onset of the disease. Technology-based time-efficient and resource-saving tools for early evaluation of executive functions using an ecological approach are needed to assess functional performance in real-life.

Cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reactivity correlate with severity of motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is mainly characterized by movement dysfunction. Neurovascular unit (NVU) disruption has been proposed to be involved in the disease, but its role in PD neurodegenerative mechanisms is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) within the regions belonging to the motor network, in patients with mild to moderate stages of PD.

SNAP-25 in Serum Is Carried by Exosomes of Neuronal Origin and Is a Potential Biomarker of Alzheimer's Disease.

A loss of synaptic density and connectivity is observed in multiple brain regions of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, resulting in a reduced expression of synaptic proteins such as SNAP-25 (synaptosomal-associated-protein-25). SNAP-25 alterations thus could be an index of the degree of synaptic degeneration in the central nervous system (CNS). We isolated from serum of both AD patients and healthy controls (HC) a population of neuron-derived exosomes (NDEs) and measured the concentrations of SNAP-25 contained in such NDEs.

Are Cerebral Perfusion and Atrophy Linked in Multiple Sclerosis? Evidence for a Multifactorial Approach to Assess Neurodegeneration.

Background: Grey Matter (GM) atrophy has been extensively described in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, while cerebral hypoperfusion has been less consistently reported. Since hypoperfusion might be related to atrophy, we evaluated the presence of both damages.

Objective: We aimed to assess if the regions of altered perfusion and atrophy overlapped with one another and if the two parameters were locally related.

Association between Hippocampal Shape, Neuroinflammation, and Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by memory impairment and general decrease in cognitive functions and daily living competences, that leads to a complete loss of autonomy. The pathogenesis of AD is characterized by the deposition of amyloid-β plaques (Aβ plaques) and neurofibrillary tangles, initially involving cortical and hippocampal structures, and neuroinflammation. To date, no studies have investigated the topological association between neuroinflammation and hippocampal shape in AD.

SNAP25 Gene Polymorphisms Protect Against Parkinson's Disease and Modulate Disease Severity in Patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a α-synucleinopathy in which intracellular aggregates of α-synuclein (α-syn) result in neurodegeneration and in the impairment of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex-mediated release of neurotransmitters. SNAP25 is a SNARE complex component: its concentration is increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of PD patients and this is related to the severity of cognitive and motor symptoms. Five SNAP25 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that modulate gene expression and were described to play a role in neurologic conditions (rs363050, rs363039, rs363043, rs3746544, and rs1051312) were analyzed in a cohort of 412 sporadic Italian PD patients and 1103 healthy controls (HC) in order to identify possible correlation with the disease.

Cognitive and Affective Theory of Mind in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Parkinson's Disease: Preliminary Evidence from the Italian Version of the Yoni Task.

The aim of the study was to explore cognitive and affective dimensions of ToM using the computerized Yoni task in participants with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI=16), early stage of Parkinson's Disease (PD=14), and healthy controls (HC=18) Results demonstrated that the Yoni task was effective in discriminating between groups in 1 order cognitive dimension (MCI View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nilvadipine in mild to moderate Alzheimer disease: A randomised controlled trial.

Background: This study reports the findings of the first large-scale Phase III investigator-driven clinical trial to slow the rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease with a dihydropyridine (DHP) calcium channel blocker, nilvadipine. Nilvadipine, licensed to treat hypertension, reduces amyloid production, increases regional cerebral blood flow, and has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anti-tau activity in preclinical studies, properties that could have disease-modifying effects for Alzheimer disease. We aimed to determine if nilvadipine was effective in slowing cognitive decline in subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.