Somatic Mosaicism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia Reveals Widespread Degeneration from Focal Mutations.

Although mutations in dozens of genes have been implicated in familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) and frontotemporal degeneration (fFTD), most cases of these conditions are sporadic (sALS and sFTD), with no family history, and their etiology remains obscure. We tested the hypothesis that somatic mosaic mutations, present in some but not all cells, might contribute in these cases, by performing ultra-deep, targeted sequencing of 88 genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases in postmortem brain and spinal cord samples from 404 individuals with sALS or sFTD and 144 controls. Known pathogenic germline mutations were found in 20.

Intrathecal IgG Synthesis and Persistent Inflammation Are Associated with White Matter Lesions in HIV-negative Patients with Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis.

Objective Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) causes significant morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative and HIV-positive populations. White matter lesions (WMLs) have been reported in both populations of CM patients; however, the mechanisms underlying WML formation remain unknown. We herein report the relationship between the intrathecal immune response and the development of WMLs in HIV-negative patients with CM.

Premature polyadenylation-mediated loss of stathmin-2 is a hallmark of TDP-43-dependent neurodegeneration.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are associated with loss of nuclear transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). Here we identify that TDP-43 regulates expression of the neuronal growth-associated factor stathmin-2. Lowered TDP-43 levels, which reduce its binding to sites within the first intron of stathmin-2 pre-messenger RNA, uncover a cryptic polyadenylation site whose utilization produces a truncated, non-functional mRNA.

Progressive Encephalomyelitis with Rigidity and Myoclonus Resolving after Thymectomy with Subsequent Anasarca: An Autopsy Case.

Progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (PERM) is an autoimmune disorder involving the brainstem and spinal cord and is sometimes associated with thymoma. We encountered a 75-year-old woman with typical PERM features, glycine receptor antibody, and thymoma. Her neurologic symptoms improved after thymectomy, but she unexpectedly developed anasarca with massive pleural effusions and hypoalbuminemia and finally succumbed to death.

Implementing Motor Unit Number Index (MUNIX) in a large clinical trial: Real world experience from 27 centres.

Objective: Motor Unit Number Index (MUNIX) is a quantitative neurophysiological method that reflects loss of motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in longitudinal studies. It has been utilized in one natural history ALS study and one drug trial (Biogen USA) after training and qualification of raters.

Methods: Prior to testing patients, evaluators had to submit test-retest data of 4 healthy volunteers.

Dynamic spinal compression revealed by computed tomography myelography in overshunting-associated myelopathy: A case report.

Rationale: OSAM is a rare ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt complication where cervical spinal cord compression by epidural venous plexus engorgement is caused by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) overdrainage. Symmetrically indented deformity of the upper cervical spinal cord and surrounding epidural venous engorgement are characteristic radiological findings. Both of them are typically detected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and enhanced computed tomography (CT).

Myasthenia Gravis Complicated with Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma, Not Otherwise Specified (PTCL-NOS), Following Thymectomy and Longstanding Tacrolimus Therapy.

Myasthenia gravis (MG), a neuromuscular junction autoimmune disease, sometimes complicates second malignancies; however, T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders have rarely been reported. A 55-year-old man, who received oral tacrolimus and prednisolone for MG for 16 years after thymectomy, presented with left abdominal pain, lymphadenopathy, and splenomegaly. A lymph node biopsy revealed peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS).

Sense-encoded poly-GR dipeptide repeat proteins correlate to neurodegeneration and uniquely co-localize with TDP-43 in dendrites of repeat-expanded C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in C9orf72 are the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (C9 ALS). The main hypothesized pathogenic mechanisms are C9orf72 haploinsufficiency and/or toxicity from one or more of bi-directionally transcribed repeat RNAs and their dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) poly-GP, poly-GA, poly-GR, poly-PR and poly-PA. Recently, nuclear import and/or export defects especially caused by arginine-containing poly-GR or poly-PR have been proposed as significant contributors to pathogenesis based on disease models.

Long-term Effects of Intravenous Cyclophosphamide in Combination with Mesna Provided Intravenously and via Bladder Perfusion in a Patient with Severe Multifocal Motor Neuropathy.

A 25-year-old woman presenting with progressive muscle weakness in the distal extremities in the absence of sensory involvement for 2 years was diagnosed with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN). Her disease was difficult to manage with various immunosuppressants, and the muscle weakness eventually progressed to involve the respiratory muscles, necessitating mechanical ventilation. Intravenous cyclophosphamide (CY) dramatically improved her symptoms, and she has since maintained her ambulatory status for 18 years with intermittent CY therapy.

TDP-43 in the skin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. A common characteristic of ALS pathology is cytoplasmic inclusions primarily composed of transactive response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43). Production of TDP-43 in the central nervous system is strictly regulated, but it is not known whether this is also true in the skin of ALS patients.

Next-generation sequencing-based small RNA profiling of cerebrospinal fluid exosomes.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), particularly those found in human body fluids, have been suggested as potential biomarkers. Among various body fluids, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shows promise as a profiling target for diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. However, relevant genome-scale studies are limited and no studies have profiled exosomal miRNAs in CSF.

Elevated platelet microparticle levels after acute ischemic stroke with concurrent idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

We report a 60-year-old woman with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura who experienced acute infarction of the middle cerebral artery. She was treated with an antiplatelet agent and prednisolone to limit platelet activation and destruction. In parallel with clinical amelioration, levels of plasma platelet microparticles (PMPs), a procoagulant factor in platelet activation, decreased after treatment but increased after reduction of the prednisolone dose, resulting in progression of vascular stenosis.

Circulating microRNAs in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with brain diseases.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding regulatory RNAs that regulate gene expression at the -posttranscriptional level. Although circulating miRNAs in human body fluids have recently been recognized as disease biomarkers, especially in the field of oncology, little is known about the miRNAs in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This chapter describes the feasibility of miRNAs in CSF as biomarkers for the diagnosis of brain diseases and the methods of miRNA isolation from CSF.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in a patient with Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that is frequently accompanied by systemic complications. Neuropathologies have not been well investigated as extraintestinal manifestations of CD. We herein report the case of a 36-year-old man with CD who presented with progressive weakness and numbness.

Spinal epidural abscess caused by bacteroides fragilis group after dilation and curettage for incomplete abortion.

Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare infection complicated in patients who have some risk factors such as injection-drug use, diabetes mellitus, and several illnesses. However, no case of SEA associated with abortion has been reported. Here we report a case of SEA in a 30-year-old woman after dilation and curettage for incomplete abortion.

Can regional spreading of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis motor symptoms be explained by prion-like propagation?

Progressive accumulation of specific misfolded protein is a defining feature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), similarly seen in Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The intercellular transfer of inclusions made of tau, α-synuclein and huntingtin has been demonstrated, revealing the existence of mechanisms reminiscent of those by which prions spread through the nervous system. Evidence for such a prion-like propagation mechanism has now spread to the major misfolded proteins, superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and the 43 kDa transactive response DNA binding protein (TDP-43), implicated in ALS.

[Optic nerve swelling and gadolinium contrast enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging in the subacute stage of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy: a case report].

We report the case of a 50-year-old man with subacute onset of bilateral visual field loss and visual acuity loss. His visual acuity was 0.07 OD/0.