Statin Use Ameliorates Survival in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma-Data from a Population-Based Cohort Study Applying Propensity Score Matching.

The anti-cancer properties of statins have attracted much attention recently, but little is known about the prognostic role of statins in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In a retrospective approach, we analyzed a population-based cohort of 602 OSCC patients with primary curative tumor resection to negative margins and concomitant neck dissection between 2005-2017. Long-term medication with statins was correlated with overall survival (OAS) as well as recurrence-free survival (RFS) using uni- and multivariable Cox regression.

Toxicokinetic study following intratracheal instillation or oral gavage of two [Be]-tagged carbon black samples.

Background: The toxicokinetic behaviour of nanostructured particles following pulmonary or oral deposition is of great scientific interest. In this toxicokinetic study, following the general principles of OECD TG 417, the systemic availability of carbon black, a nanostructured material consisting of agglomerated aggregates was characterised.

Methods: Each of two grades of beryllium-7 labelled carbon black (Monarch® 1000, oxidized and Printex® 90; untreated) was administered either intratracheally or orally to adult rats.

Propensity Score-Matching Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) vs. Gastric Bypass (RYGB) in Patients ≥ 60 Years.

Background: Since 1 January 2005, the practice of bariatric surgery has been examined with the help of the German Bariatric Surgery Registry (GBSR) in Germany. The focus of the study was to evaluate if sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) has the best benefit in terms of perioperative risk in patients over 60 years of age.

Methods: Data collection includes patients over the age of 60 years who underwent SG or RYGB between 2005 and 2017.

Microscopy-based assay for semi-quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in human sera: A semi-quantitative, high throughput, microscopy-based assay expands existing approaches to measure SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody levels in human sera.

Emergence of the novel pathogenic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and its rapid pandemic spread presents challenges that demand immediate attention. Here, we describe the development of a semi-quantitative high-content microscopy-based assay for detection of three major classes (IgG, IgA, and IgM) of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in human samples. The possibility to detect antibodies against the entire viral proteome together with a robust semi-automated image analysis workflow resulted in specific, sensitive and unbiased assay that complements the portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 serological assays.

Lymphatic and vascular invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma: Implications for recurrence and survival in a population-based cohort study.

Objective: Numerous studies analyzed lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in various malignant diseases, however, little is known about the role of lymphatic invasion (LI) as well as vascular invasion (VI) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The aim of this study is to illuminate the role of LI and VI in a population-based cohort study.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 745 primarily resected OSCC patients in Eastern Bavaria for histopathologically verified LI and VI.

Lymph node ratio as a predictor for outcome in oral squamous cell carcinoma: a multicenter population-based cohort study.

Objectives: Recently, multiple studies addressed the importance of lymph node ratio (LNR) in specifying patients' risk of disease recurrence in various malignancies. The present study examines the prognostic significance of LNR in predicting outcome of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients after surgical treatment with curative intent.

Methods: Here, we describe a retrospective population-based cohort with 717 patients previously diagnosed with OSCC.

Correction to: Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β 2-42 is decreased in Alzheimer's, but not in frontotemporal dementia.

The respective first and last authors of this article, Mirko Bibl and Jens Wiltfang, would like to clarify the issue of the seeming duplicate publication of a figure in two articles.

Incremental value of biomarker combinations to predict progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's dementia.

Background: The progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia can be predicted by cognitive, neuroimaging, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers. Since most biomarkers reveal complementary information, a combination of biomarkers may increase the predictive power. We investigated which combination of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)-sum-of-boxes, the word list delayed free recall from the Consortium to Establish a Registry of Dementia (CERAD) test battery, hippocampal volume (HCV), amyloid-beta (Aβ42), amyloid-beta (Aβ40) levels, the ratio of Aβ42/Aβ40, phosphorylated tau, and total tau (t-Tau) levels in the CSF best predicted a short-term conversion from MCI to AD dementia.

GLP-1 and estrogen conjugate acts in the supramammillary nucleus to reduce food-reward and body weight.

The obesity epidemic continues unabated and currently available pharmacological treatments are not sufficiently effective. Combining gut/brain peptide, GLP-1, with estrogen into a conjugate may represent a novel, safe and potent, strategy to treat diabesity. Here we demonstrate that the central administration of GLP-1-estrogen conjugate reduced food reward, food intake, and body weight in rats.

Study of angiogenic signaling pathways in hemangioblastoma.

Hemangioblastoma (HB) is mainly located in the brain and the spinal cord. The tumor is composed of two major components, namely neoplastic stromal cells and abundant microvessels. Thus, hyper-vascularization is the hallmark of this tumor.

Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β 2-42 is decreased in Alzheimer's, but not in frontotemporal dementia.

Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and frontotemporal dementias (FTD) are common and their clinical differential diagnosis may be complicated by overlapping symptoms, which is why biomarkers may have an important role to play. Cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) Aβ2-42 and 1-42 have been shown to be similarly decreased in AD, but 1-42 did not display sufficient specificity for exclusion of other dementias from AD. The objective of the present study was to clarify the diagnostic value of Aβ2-42 peptides for the differential diagnosis of AD from FTD.

Sustained effects of once-daily memantine treatment on cognition and functional communication skills in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease: results of a 16-week open-label trial.

The present study evaluated the effects of once-daily memantine (20 mg) treatment on cognition and communication in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). In a multicenter, single-arm open-label study, outpatients diagnosed with AD (MMSE < 20; n = 97) were titrated from 5 mg to 20 mg once-daily memantine over 4 weeks. Once-daily memantine treatment (20 mg) was then continued for 8 weeks, followed by a 4-week wash-out period.

Egocentric and allocentric memory as assessed by virtual reality in individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Present evidence suggests that medial temporal cortices subserve allocentric representation and memory, whereas egocentric representation and memory also depends on parietal association cortices and the striatum. Virtual reality environments have a major advantage for the assessment of spatial navigation and memory formation, as computer-simulated first-person environments can simulate navigation in a large-scale space. Twenty-nine patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) were compared with 29 healthy matched controls on two virtual reality tasks affording to learn a virtual park (allocentric memory) and a virtual maze (egocentric memory).

Cerebrospinal fluid tau, p-tau 181 and amyloid-β38/40/42 in frontotemporal dementias and primary progressive aphasias.

Background/aims: We determined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of amyloid-β (Aβ)(1-38), Aβ(1-40), Aβ(1-42), total tau and phospho-tau (p-tau) in order to study their differential expression in frontotemporal dementia (FTD, n = 25) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA, n = 12) as compared to Alzheimer's dementia (AD, n = 25) and nondemented controls (n = 20).

Methods: Commercially available ELISA and electrochemiluminescence methods were applied.

Results: High CSF p-tau and low ratios of Aβ(1-42)/Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42)/Aβ(1-38), respectively, were specific for AD.

Multicentre variability of MRI-based medial temporal lobe volumetry in Alzheimer's disease.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based volumetry of medial temporal lobe regions is among the best established biomarker candidates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to date. This study assessed the effect of multicentre variability of MRI-based hippocampus and amygdala volumetry on the discrimination between patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and on the association of morphological changes with ApoE4 genotype and cognition. We studied 113 patients with clinically probable AD and 150 patients with amnestic MCI using high-resolution MRI scans obtained at 12 clinical sites.

Visualization, quantification and correlation of brain atrophy with clinical symptoms in spinocerebellar ataxia types 1, 3 and 6.

Background And Objective: Biomarkers to monitor neurological dysfunction in autosomal dominant inherited spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) are lacking. We therefore aimed to visualize, quantify and correlate localized brain atrophy with clinical symptoms in SCA1, SCA3, and SCA6.

Methods: We compared patients suffering from SCA1 (n=48), SCA3 (n=24), and SCA6 (n=10) with 32 controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on four different scanners in eight centers followed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and quantitative three-dimensional (3D) volumetry.

Measurement of ERK 1/2 in CSF from patients with neuropsychiatric disorders and evidence for the presence of the activated form.

The clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders can be supported by soluble biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), such as tau protein, phospho-tau, and amyloid-beta peptides. In particular, increased CSF levels of phospho-tau in Alzheimer's disease appear to reflect disease specific pathological processes. We report here evidence for the presence of soluble MAP-kinase ERK1/2 in a small set of human CSF samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal degeneration, and mild cognitive impairment.

Comparison of three clinical rating scales in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA).

To test the validity and reliability of the scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). SARA is limited to eight items and can be performed rapidly. Ninety-six patients with a molecular genetic diagnosis of FRDA were rated using three different clinical scales, the FRDA Rating Scale (FARS), the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS), and SARA.

Early and differential diagnosis of dementia and mild cognitive impairment: design and cohort baseline characteristics of the German Dementia Competence Network.

Background: The German Dementia Competence Network (DCN) has established procedures for standardized multicenter acquisition of clinical, biological and imaging data, for centralized data management, and for the evaluation of new treatments.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was set up for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), patients with mild dementia and control subjects. The aims were to establish the diagnostic, differential diagnostic and prognostic power of a range of clinical, laboratory and imaging methods.

Combined CSF tau, p-tau181 and amyloid-beta 38/40/42 for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of amyloid-beta (Abeta) 1-38, 1-40, 1-42, total-tau and phospho-tau in samples from 156 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 44), depressive cognitive complainers (DCC, n = 25) and various other forms of non-Alzheimer dementias (NAD, n = 87) were analyzed by electrochemiluminescence and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. A significant decrease of CSF Abeta1-42 was the most powerful single marker for differentiation of AD from DCC, yielding accuracies of beyond 85%. Increased p-tau and the ratio Abeta1-42/Abeta1-38 yielded accuracies of beyond 80 and 85%, respectively, to discriminate AD versus NAD.

CSF amyloid-β 1-38 and 1-42 in FTD and AD: Biomarker performance critically depends on the detergent accessible fraction.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ1-38, Aβ1-40, and Aβ1-42 were comparatively analyzed by amyloid-beta SDS-PAGE with Western immunoblot (Aβ-SDS-PAGE/immunoblot), electrochemiluminescence detection and ELISA (MSD/ELISA) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 40), frontotemporal dementia (FTD, n = 30), and other dementias (n = 50) and nondemented disease controls (n = 30). CSF Aβ-peptide concentrations were higher and selective decreases of CSF Aβ1-38 in FTD and Aβ1-42 in AD were more evident as measured after SDS-denaturizing of samples by Aβ-SDS-PAGE/immunoblot. The SDS-accessible pool of CSF Aβ1-38 and Aβ1-42, represented by the individual gain of Aβ-peptide yield using Aβ-SDS-PAGE/immunoblot, was reduced in both FTD and AD.

Egocentric memory impaired and allocentric memory intact as assessed by virtual reality in subjects with unilateral parietal cortex lesions.

Present evidence suggests that medial temporal cortices subserve allocentric representation and memory, whereas egocentric representation and memory mainly depends on inferior and superior parietal cortices. Virtual reality environments have a major advantage for the assessment of spatial navigation and memory formation, as computer-simulated first-person environments can simulate navigation in a large-scale space. However, virtual reality studies on allocentric memory in subjects with cortical lesions are rare, and studies on egocentric memory are lacking.

Multiplexed quantification of dementia biomarkers in the CSF of patients with early dementias and MCI: a multicenter study.

In this report we evaluated the clinical performance of APOE genotyping and three protein biomarkers (total tau, beta-amyloid(1-42), and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181) in a prospective multicenter study using the INNO-BIA AlzBio3 assay applied on Luminex platform. Concentration of biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was measured with multiplexing technology (n=223), and compared to the results of ELISA assays in patients with early dementias or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) collected at 12 gerontopsychiatric university departments, and APOE genotyping was performed. Concentrations of Abeta(1-42) were statistically significantly lower in MCI-AD subjects compared to MCI-O, and significantly lower in D-AD patients compared to MCI-O.