Retinal amyloid pathology and proof-of-concept imaging trial in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Noninvasive detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with high specificity and sensitivity can greatly facilitate identification of at-risk populations for earlier, more effective intervention. AD patients exhibit a myriad of retinal pathologies, including hallmark amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposits.

Methods: Burden, distribution, cellular layer, and structure of retinal Aβ plaques were analyzed in flat mounts and cross sections of definite AD patients and controls (n = 37).

Alzheimer abnormalities of the amygdala with Klüver-Bucy syndrome symptoms: an amygdaloid variant of Alzheimer disease.

Background: Neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques have been observed in the amygdala in Alzheimer disease. A disproportionate abundance of this abnormality in the amygdala may cause behavioral symptoms similar to Klüver-Bucy syndrome.

Objectives: To describe an atypical behavioral presentation of Alzheimer disease and to review the literature on the subject.

Neuropsychiatric update: neuroimaging schizophrenia.

Neuroimaging has revitalized the quest for the neurobiology of schizophrenia. The various neuroimaging modalities used in research are described including CT, MRI, PET, SPECT, fMRI, and DTI. Prominent and consistent neuroanatomical findings in the neuroimaging literature of schizophrenia are outlined.

AMYLOID CLEARING IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND THE RISK OF CEREBRAL AMYLOID ANGIOPATHY.

Immunization strategies which aid in the clearance of beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques have raised new hopes for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Two particularly promising passive immunization therapies currently being investigated include intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) containing Aβ antibodies and specifically developed monoclonal antibodies for Aβ. These Aβ antibodies may reduce amyloid accumulation in the brain by binding to the amyloid peptide and drawing it in through the blood-brain barrier for subsequent removal from the capillaries.

Bithalamic lesions of butane encephalopathy.

Butane inhalation can cause serious medical complications and is particularly toxic to the nervous system. This is a report of an acutely encephalopathic youth with prominent abulia. MRI revealed severe bithalamic injury attributed to butane toxicity.

Brain lactate responses during visual stimulation in fasting and hyperglycemic subjects: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study at 1.5 Tesla.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) studies showing increased lactate during neural activation support a broader role for lactate in brain energy metabolism than was traditionally recognized. Proton MRS measures of brain lactate responses have been used to study regional brain metabolism in clinical populations. This study examined whether variations in blood glucose influence the lactate response to visual stimulation in the visual cortex.

Neurodevelopmental pathways to aggression: a model to understand and target treatment in youth.

The authors describe a neurodevelopmentally relevant, clinically derived model for understanding and treating aggressive behavior in youth. Based on case experience and literature review, the authors divide aggressive behavior into five symptomatic domains with respective neurobiological/neurodevelopmental underpinnings. These five symptom domains (impulsivity, affective instability, anxious/hyperarousal, cognitive disorganization, and predatory aggression) emerge as logical and clinically useful targets for treatment.

Pharmacological intervention for cognitive deficits and aggression in frontal lobe injury.

We present a case that promotes early intervention and pharmacological treatment for the neuropsychiatric sequelae (frontal lobe syndrome, including cognitive impairment and aggressive behavior) associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and delirium. The patient, who sustained significant systemic complications related to his trauma, was previously diagnosed with alcohol and drug dependence and antisocial personality disorder. These antecedent conditions and prolonged systemic complications likely played a complicating role in his course of recovery.

Brain regions showing increased activation by threat-related words in panic disorder.

Threat-related stimuli consistently activate the posterior cingulate cortex in normal subjects and have exaggerated effects on memory in patients with panic disorder. We hypothesized that panic patients would show increased response to threat-related stimuli in the posterior cingulate cortex. While undergoing fMRI, six panic patients and eight healthy volunteers made valence judgements of threat-related and neutral words.