Anatomical and functional visual network patterns in progressive multiple sclerosis.

The gradual accrual of disability over time in progressive multiple sclerosis is believed to be driven by widespread degeneration. Yet another facet of the problem may reside in the loss of the brain's ability to adapt to the damage incurred as the disease progresses. In this study, we attempted to examine whether changes associated with optic neuritis in the structural and functional visual networks can still be discerned in progressive patients even years after the acute insult.

Functional analysis of Niemann-Pick disease type C family protein, NPC1a, in .

During embryonic gonad coalescence, primordial germ cells (PGCs) follow a carefully choreographed migratory route circumscribed by guidance signals towards somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs). In , SGP-derived Hedgehog (Hh), which serves as a guidance cue for the PGCs, is potentiated by mesodermally restricted HMGCoA-reductase (Hmgcr) and the ABC transporter Multi-drug-resistant-49 (Mdr49). Given the importance of cholesterol modification in the processing and long-distance transmission of the Hh ligand, we have analyzed the involvement of the Niemann-Pick disease type C-1a (NPC1a) protein, a cholesterol transporter, in germ cell migration and Hedgehog signaling.