Publications by authors named "Wolfgang Ruf"

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  • * In a study involving 790 ALS patients and 570 control participants, levels of NfL and pNfH were measured, revealing that NfL is more effective than pNfH for diagnostics and prognosis, especially when considering a new population-based ALS Z-score.
  • * The research highlights the importance of factors like age, ALS symptoms, body mass index (BMI), and kidney function in interpreting neurofilament levels, showing that with
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  • Pathogenic variants in the SOD1 gene are found in about 2% of sporadic and 11% of familial ALS cases in Europe, with a focus on three main variants (R116G, D91A, L145F) in a study of 83 patients in Germany.
  • Patients with the R116G variant experienced the most severe disease progression, with a median survival of just 22 months, significantly shorter than those with D91A (198 months) and L145F (87 months).
  • All patients treated with tofersen showed reduced neurofilament light chain levels in their serum, indicating a potential treatment benefit, regardless of their specific SOD1 variant.
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Background: Brief motivational coaching, integrated into health care; seems promising to address physical inactivity of people with serious mental illness (SMI).

Aims: To test the impact of a self-determined health coaching approach (the "SAMI" intervention) during outpatient mental health treatment on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of people with SMI.

Methods: Adults (mean age = 41.

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  • Heterozygous mutations in the TBK1 gene are linked to neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and FTD, with most patients carrying harmful loss-of-expression mutations.
  • The study focused on the p.E696K missense variant of TBK1, which doesn't completely stop protein expression but disrupts its interaction with the autophagy protein optineurin.
  • Research showed that this mutation leads to early dysfunction in neuron recycling processes, resulting in damaged lysosomes and eventually causing a progressive motor neuron disease, highlighting potential therapeutic targets for treatment.
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  • - In April 2023, tofersen, an antisense oligonucleotide, was FDA-approved for treating ALS after it significantly reduced levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of neurodegeneration.
  • - A follow-up study involving 24 ALS patients in Germany showed that while ALS functional scores declined, there was a notable reduction in both serum NfL and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNfH) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
  • - The therapy was considered safe, with no ongoing symptoms, despite some patients showing signs of immune response in the CSF, pointing to potential autoimmune reactions.
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Background: ALS is a heterogeneous disease in which different factors such as mitochondrial phenotypes act in combination with a genetic predisposition. This study addresses the question of whether homoplasmic (total mitochondrial genome of a sample is affected) and/or heteroplasmic mutations (wildtype and mutant mitochondrial DNA molecules coexist) might play a role in familial ALS. Blood was drawn from familial ALS patients with a possible maternal pattern of inheritance according to their pedigrees, which was compared to blood of ALS patients without maternal association as well as age-matched controls.

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  • New intrathecal antisense oligonucleotide therapies are being developed for motoneuron diseases like familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, prompting a study of sporadic cases to identify genetic mutations.
  • Researchers screened 2,340 patients for variants in 36 ALS-associated genes, completing genetic analysis on 2,267 patients and identifying 79 likely pathogenic and 10 pathogenic variants.
  • The study found that around 13% of the cohort could be genetically resolved, suggesting the presence of both known and novel variants and shedding light on the complexities of genetic factors contributing to ALS outcomes.
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ALS is a fatal motor neuron disease that displays a broad variety of phenotypes ranging from early fatal courses to slowly progressing and rather benign courses. Such divergence can also be seen in genetic ALS cases with varying phenotypes bearing specific mutations, suggesting epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation act as disease modifiers. However, the epigenotype dictated by, in addition to other mechanisms, DNA methylation is also strongly influenced by the individual's genotype.

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People with an intellectual disability (ID) often exhibit more sedentary behaviour and are less physically active than the general population. While previous public health guidelines on physical activity (PA) did not specifically address the needs of people with an ID, the recent updates now include this population, with recommendations similar to those for the general population. However, it is unclear whether the information about these guidelines has reached the broader public and what factors may influence their implementation.

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  • ALS is a neurodegenerative disorder influenced by both genetic and epigenetic factors, leading to changes in how genes are expressed.
  • Researchers identified an epigenetic signature related to ALS, called 'epiChromALS', by analyzing chromatin accessibility in blood cells of ALS patients, revealing connections to neuronal pathways.
  • The study used advanced techniques to show that epigenetic changes in ALS can be observed not only in the brain but also in peripheral blood cells, indicating a potential link between these changes and the disease's progression.
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Background: Systemic and neuroinflammatory processes play key roles in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Physical trauma which induces considerable systemic inflammatory responses, represents an evident environmental factor in aging. However, little is known about the impact of physical trauma, on the immuno-pathophysiology of PD.

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  • Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) is a key factor in Parkinson's disease and related disorders.
  • Recent studies highlight that both the buildup of α-syn inside cells and its transmission between cells contribute to disease progression.
  • This mini-review discusses how α-syn spreads among different brain cells and its impact on the pathology of synucleinopathies.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motoneuron disease with a monogenic cause in approximately 10% of cases. However, familial clustering of disease without inheritance in a Mendelian manner and the broad range of phenotypes suggest the presence of epigenetic mechanisms. Hence, we performed an epigenome-wide association study on sporadic, symptomatic and presymptomatic familial ALS cases with mutations in C9ORF72 and FUS and healthy controls studying DNA methylation in blood cells.

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The dysregulation of peripheral immunity in Parkinson's Disease (PD) includes changes in both the relative numbers and gene expression of T cells. The presence of peripheral T-cell abnormalities in PD is well-documented, but less is known about their association to clinical parameters, such as age, age of onset, progression rate or severity of the disease. We took a detailed look at T-cell numbers, gene expression and activation in cross-sectional cohorts of PD patients and age-matched healthy controls by means of flow cytometry and NanoString gene expression assay.

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Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a contributing factor to neurodegenerative diseases. Although altered miRNA profiles in serum or plasma have been reported for several neurodegenerative diseases, little is known about the interaction between dysregulated miRNAs and their protein binding partners. We found significant alterations of the miRNA abundance pattern in serum and in isolated serum-derived extracellular vesicles of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.

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• A clinical worsening in CIDP may occur in concomitance with COVID-19. • Cytokine hyperactivation triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection might be a possible mechanism. • The management of these patients is particularly challenging.

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Heterozygous missense mutations in the N-terminal motor or coiled-coil domains of the kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) gene cause monogenic spastic paraplegia (HSP10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2). Moreover, heterozygous de novo frame-shift mutations in the C-terminal domain of KIF5A are associated with neonatal intractable myoclonus, a neurodevelopmental syndrome. These findings, together with the observation that many of the disease genes associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disrupt cytoskeletal function and intracellular transport, led us to hypothesize that mutations in KIF5A are also a cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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Background: Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has been shown to be associated with several positive effects for mother, fetus, and offspring. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive and surrogate marker to determine fetal overall health and the development of fetal autonomic nervous system. In addition, it has been shown to be significantly influenced by maternal behavior.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting predominantly motor neurons in the spinal cord and motor cortex. Neurodegeneration in ALS is accompanied by a well-characterized neuroinflammatory reaction within the central nervous system and, as described more recently, cells of the peripheral immune system. Particularly monocytes have been implicated in ALS pathogenesis.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting primarily the upper and lower motor neurons. A common feature of all ALS cases is a well-characterized neuroinflammatory reaction within the central nervous system (CNS). However, much less is known about the role of the peripheral immune system and its interplay with CNS resident immune cells in motor neuron degeneration.

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Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are both neurodegenerative diseases leading to impaired execution of movement. α-Synuclein plays a central role in the pathogenesis of PD whereas Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is a key player in a subset of familial ALS cases. Under pathological conditions both α-synuclein and SOD1 form oligomers and fibrils.

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