Publications by authors named "Ruth Nelson"

Article Synopsis
  • Common neuropathologies linked to dementia include Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (ADNC) and limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy neuropathologic change (LATE-NC), with biofluid proteomics playing a key role in understanding their biology.
  • A study at the University of Kentucky assessed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 29 older adults, categorizing them into LATE-NC+ (9 cases with advanced LATE-NC) and LATE-NC- (20 cases without it).
  • Out of nearly 950 proteins identified, only 4 showed significant differences between the two groups, with RBP4 being notably higher in LATE-NC+ cases, suggesting a
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Dysfunction in fast-spiking parvalbumin interneurons (PV-INs) may represent an early pathophysiological perturbation in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Defining early proteomic alterations in PV-INs can provide key biological and translationally-relevant insights. We used cell-type-specific in-vivo biotinylation of proteins (CIBOP) coupled with mass spectrometry to obtain native-state PV-IN proteomes.

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Background: Common neuropathologies associated with dementia include Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (ADNC) and limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy neuropathologic change (LATE-NC). Biofluid proteomics provides a window into the pathobiology of dementia and the information from biofluid tests may help guide clinical management.

Methods: Participants were recruited from a longitudinal cohort of older adults at the University of Kentucky AD Research Center.

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Cerebrovascular pathologies other than frank infarctions are commonly seen in aged brains. Here, we focus on multi-lumen vascular profiles (MVPs), which are characterized by multiple vessel lumens enclosed in a single vascular channel. Little information exists on the prevalence, risk factors, and co-pathologies of MVPs.

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One of the earliest pathophysiological perturbations in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) may arise from dysfunction of fast-spiking parvalbumin (PV) interneurons (PV-INs). Defining early protein-level (proteomic) alterations in PV-INs can provide key biological and translationally relevant insights. Here, we use cell-type-specific in vivo biotinylation of proteins (CIBOP) coupled with mass spectrometry to obtain native-state proteomes of PV interneurons.

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Article Synopsis
  • Neurodegenerative diseases not only result in memory loss and cognitive decline but also lead to behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) that negatively impact quality of life and complicate treatment.
  • A study analyzing 368 autopsied participants revealed various BPSD, such as agitation and anxiety, correlated with different types of brain pathology, including Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
  • Individuals with severe Alzheimer's-related changes exhibited more BPSD symptoms, particularly in cases with multiple pathologies, while disinhibition and language issues were frequently observed but not linked to any specific type of pathology.
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Background: Dementia and urinary incontinence (UI) are etiologically complex clinical syndromes. Dementia and UI often occur in the same individuals, but underlying factors connecting them are incompletely understood.

Objective: Query data from a community-based autopsy series to assess pathologies that underlie UI.

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Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) involve complex cellular mechanisms that are incompletely understood. Emerging findings have revealed that disruption of nuclear processes play key roles in ND pathogenesis. The nucleus is a nexus for gene regulation and cellular processes that together, may underlie pathomechanisms of NDs.

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Article Synopsis
  • LATE-NC and ADNC are both linked to significant cognitive decline in older adults, but the prevalence of LATE-NC in relation to ADNC is still unclear.
  • A study analyzed data from 6,196 participants across various countries, finding that 43% were cognitively normal and 42% had dementia, which aligns with expected statistics for this age group.
  • Approximately 39.4% of participants had autopsy-confirmed LATE-NC, with higher rates in those with frequent amyloid plaques, indicating a potential relationship between these two conditions.*
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Proteomic profiling of brain cell types using isolation-based strategies pose limitations in resolving cellular phenotypes representative of their native state. We describe a mouse line for cell type-specific expression of biotin ligase TurboID, for in vivo biotinylation of proteins. Using adenoviral and transgenic approaches to label neurons, we show robust protein biotinylation in neuronal soma and axons throughout the brain, allowing quantitation of over 2000 neuron-derived proteins spanning synaptic proteins, transporters, ion channels and disease-relevant druggable targets.

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Over the course of most common neurodegenerative diseases the amygdala accumulates pathologically misfolded proteins. Misfolding of 1 protein in aged brains often is accompanied by the misfolding of other proteins, suggesting synergistic mechanisms. The multiplicity of pathogenic processes in human amygdalae has potentially important implications for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease, Lewy body diseases, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, primary age-related tauopathy, and hippocampal sclerosis, and for the biomarkers used to diagnose those diseases.

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Adenoviral vectors are commonly used for liver-directed gene therapy following systemic administration owing to their strong propensity for hepatocyte transduction. However, many disease applications would benefit from the delivery of adenoviruses to alternate tissues via this route. Research has thus focused on stripping the virus of native hepatic tropism in conjunction with modifying virus capsid proteins to incorporate novel tropism.

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Two experiments used a magnitude estimation paradigm to test whether perception of disfluency is a function of whether the speaker and the listener stutter or do not stutter. Utterances produced by people who stutter were judged as "less fluent," and, critically, this held for apparently fluent utterances as well as for utterances identified as containing disfluency. Additionally, people who stutter tended to perceive utterances as less fluent, independent of who produced these utterances.

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Sensitized patients with lymphocytotoxic immunoglobulin (Ig)G anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies have an increased risk of rejection and poorer graft survival. Little is known, however, about the correlation between IgG antibody subclass and clinical outcomes. We identified 20 sensitized renal transplant recipients (panel reactive antibody >15%), all of whom had anti-HLA class I antibodies of an IgG isotype with known specificity before transplantation but who received a crossmatch negative graft.

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Despite a high incidence of renal failure, disproportionately fewer Indo-Asians in the United Kingdom receive a renal transplant, in part because of the high prevalence of blood group B. It is now clear that it is possible to safely transplant kidneys from donors with blood group A of the subtype A2 into recipients with blood group B if the latter have low titers of anti-A antibodies. We measured the anti-A titers in 25 Indo-Asian patients on dialysis being considered for transplantation and found stably low titers in all.

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