Associations of depressive symptoms with white matter abnormalities and regional cerebral blood flow in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Aim: Depressive symptoms are one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), although the pathophysiologies of the depressive symptoms that occur in these diseases have not been elucidated to date. In this study, we therefore investigated the associations between depressive symptoms and cognitive performance, white matter abnormalities, and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in amnestic MCI patients.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with amnestic MCI were analyzed.

Association of regional white matter hyperintensity volumes with cognitive dysfunction and vascular risk factors in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Aim: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been reported to promote neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, little is known about the association between regional WMH (rWMH) and cognitive dysfunction in MCI. We hence investigated the associations between rWMH volumes and cognitive dysfunction in MCI.

Association of White Matter Hyperintensity Progression with Cognitive Decline in Patients with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI have been reported to increase the risk of conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, effects of the progression of WMH on the cognition of patients with MCI remains unclear to date.

Objective: To investigate the association between WMH progression and cognitive decline in amnestic MCI patients.

Phosphorylated TDP-43 localizes to chronic cerebral infarctions in human brains.

The transactivation response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) is a nuclear protein pivotal in RNA processing. Because phosphorylated TDP43 (pTDP-43) has been identified as a component of the ubiquitin-positive and tau-negative inclusions observed in the brains of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, it is considered to play a major role in neurodegenerative processes. We previously reported that pTDP-43 is located in macrophages of atherosclerotic lesions of human carotid and major cerebral arteries.

Essential autophagic protein Beclin 1 localizes to atherosclerotic lesions of human carotid and major intracranial arteries.

Macrophage autophagy has been shown to exert a protective role in atherosclerosis. Beclin 1 is an essential autophagic protein, and the Beclin-1-interacting complex promotes the formation of autophagosomes. However, the localization of Beclin 1 in human atherosclerotic lesions has not been clarified to date.