Differential neuropsychiatric associations of plasma biomarkers in older adults with major depression and subjective cognitive decline.

Older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) or early cognitive decline during the subjective cognitive decline (SCD) stage may exhibit neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and subtle cognitive impairment. The clinicopathological features and biological mechanisms of MDD differ from those of SCD among older adults; these conditions thus require different treatment strategies. This study enrolled 82 participants above 50 years old with normal cognitive levels from the communities to examine biomarker-behavior correlations between MDD (n = 23) and SCD (n = 23) relative to a normal control (NC) group (n = 36).

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Exposure and Neurocognitive Function in the General Population: A Community-Based Study.

Background: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are pervasive in everyday environments. The impacts of these chemicals, along with EDC-related lifestyle and dietary habits on neurocognitive function, are not well understood.

Methods: The Chang Gung Community Medicine Research Center conducted a cross-sectional study involving 887 participants.

Incidence of Carotid Blowout Syndrome in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer after Radiation Therapy: A Cohort Study.

Carotid blowout syndrome (CBS) is a rare yet life-threatening complication that occurs after radiation therapy (RT). This study aimed to determine the incidence of CBS in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing contemporary RT and to explore potential discrepancies in the risk of CBS between nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) and non-NPC patients. A total of 1084 patients with HNC who underwent RT between 2013 and 2023 were included in the study.

White matter alterations and their associations with biomarkers and behavior in subjective cognitive decline individuals: a fixel-based analysis.

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is an early stage of dementia linked to Alzheimer's disease pathology. White matter changes were found in SCD using diffusion tensor imaging, but there are known limitations in voxel-wise tensor-based methods. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) can help understand changes in white matter fibers and how they relate to neurodegenerative proteins and multidomain behavior data in individuals with SCD.

Dominance of Tau Burden in Cortical Over Subcortical Regions Mediates Glymphatic Activity and Clinical Severity in PSP.

Background: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a tauopathy that involves subcortical regions but also extends to cortical areas. The clinical impact of different tau protein sites and their influence on glymphatic dysfunction have not been investigated.

Patients And Methods: Participants (n = 55; 65.

Life After Traumatic Brain Injury: Effects on the Lifestyle and Quality of Life of Community-Dwelling Patients.

Persons who have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) may encounter a range of changes in their physical, mental, and cognitive functions as well as high fatigue levels. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by persons after TBI, we conducted multi-domain assessments among community-dwelling persons with a history of TBI and compared them with age- and sex-matched controls from the Northeastern Taiwan Community Medicine Research Cohort between 2019 and 2021. A total of 168 persons with TBI and 672 non-TBI controls were not different in terms of demographics, comorbidities, and physiological features.

Associations of depression and perceived physical fatigability with white matter integrity in older adults.

Backgrounds: Fatigability is prevalent in older adults. However, it is often associated with depressed mood. We aim to investigate these two psychobehavioral constructs by examining their underpinning of white matter structures in the brain and their associations with different medical conditions.

Steroid-responsive multifocal motor neuropathy with cranial manifestations - a case report.

The typical presentation of multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is progressive asymmetric limb weakness. Cranial neuropathy is rare. We report a 28-year-old woman with cranial and bulbar palsies but with typical electrophysiological features of MMN by multifocal motor conduction blocks and serological markers of anti-ganglioside GM1 antibodies.

Elevated plasma neurofilament light chain in immune-mediated neurological disorders (IMND) detected by immunomagnetic reduction (IMR).

Background: In cases of immune-mediated neurological disorders (IMND), different syndromes are associated with antibodies against neuronal surface antigens, intra-neuronal antigens, astrocytic aquaporin, and gangliosides. These autoantibodies can be pathogenic or connected to neuroinflammation and resulting neuronal injuries. This study aims to identify a blood biomarker that can detect neuronal damage in individuals with IMND.

Risk of temporal lobe necrosis between proton beam and volumetric modulated arc therapies in patients with different head and neck cancers.

Background: To investigate the frequency of temporal lobe necrosis (TLN) soon after radiotherapy (RT) and identify differences among patients with various types of head and neck cancer (HNC) and between different RT methods.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 483 patients with HNC who had completed RT in our hospital after January, 2015. These patients were followed-up at the radio-oncology department and received contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) to identify metastases or recurrence of cancer at regular intervals.

Normative Data of Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale of Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Taiwan.

Introduction: Appropriate tools and references are essential for evaluating individuals' cognitive levels. This study validated the Taiwan version of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) and provided normative data for the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and ADAS-cog in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: MMSE, MoCA, and ADAS-cog were administered to 150 nondemented healthy adults aged 55-85 years during 2018-2020 as part of the Northeastern Taiwan Community Medicine Research Cohort.

Functional Connectivity Dynamics Altered of the Resting Brain in Subjective Cognitive Decline.

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) appears in the preclinical stage of the Alzheimer's disease continuum. In this stage, dynamic features are more sensitive than static features to reflect early subtle changes in functional brain connectivity. Therefore, we studied local and extended dynamic connectivity of the resting brain of people with SCD to determine their intrinsic brain changes.

Semantic segmentation guided detector for segmentation, classification, and lesion mapping of acute ischemic stroke in MRI images.

Background And Purpose: MRI images timely and accurately reflect ischemic injuries to the brain tissues and, therefore, can support clinical decision-making of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). To maximize the information provided by the MRI images, we leverage deep learning models to segment, classify, and map lesion distributions of AIS.

Methods: We evaluated brain MRI images of AIS patients from 2017 to 2020 at a tertiary teaching hospital and developed the Semantic Segmentation Guided Detector Network (SGD-Net), composed of the first U-shaped model for segmentation in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and the second model for binary classification of lesion size (lacune vs.

Machine Learning Models for Predicting Influential Factors of Early Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Registry-Based Study.

Background: Timely and accurate outcome prediction plays a vital role in guiding clinical decisions on acute ischemic stroke. Early condition deterioration and severity after the acute stage are determinants for long-term outcomes. Therefore, predicting early outcomes is crucial in acute stroke management.

Case Report: Plasma Biomarkers Reflect Immune Mechanisms of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

This case series reported a group of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and their plasma cytokine changes before and after immunotherapy. We aimed to understand GBS's pathogenesis and pathophysiology through observing the interval differences of the representative cytokines, which were the thymus and activation regulated chemokine (TARC) for T-cell chemotaxis, CD40 ligand (CD40L) for cosimulation of B and T cells, activated complement component C5/C5a, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) for survival and regenerative responses to nerve injuries. The fluorescence magnetic bead-based multiplexing immunoassay simultaneously quantified the five cytokines in a single sample.

Anti-GABAB receptor encephalitis associated with combined small cell lung carcinoma.

Autoimmune encephalitis with antibodies against the gamma-aminobutyric acid-B receptor is a relatively rare disease. We report a case with characteristic symptoms of limbic encephalitis associated with combined small cell lung carcinoma. The brain magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral temporal lesions and the photoemission tomography revealed regional heterogenous metabolism across the brain.

White Matter Integrity Underlies the Physical-Cognitive Correlations in Subjective Cognitive Decline.

Although previous studies postulated that physical and cognitive decline codeveloped in preclinical dementia, the interconnected relationship among subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs), objective cognitive performance, and physical activity remained hazy. We investigated the mediating roles of physical activity between subjective and objective cognition. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was utilized to test our hypothesis that brain white matter microstructural changes underlie the physical-cognitive decline in subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

Telmisartan use and risk of dementia in type 2 diabetes patients with hypertension: A population-based cohort study.

Background: Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may have protective effects against dementia occurrence in patients with hypertension (HTN). However, whether telmisartan, an ARB with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ)-modulating effects, has additional benefits compared to other ARBs remains unclear.

Methods And Findings: Between 1997 and 2013, 2,166,944 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.

Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire and AD8 Questionnaire for Screening Late-Life Depression in Communities.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) presents with emotional and somatic symptoms and sometimes subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs). This study developed a collaborative method to integrate SCC assessment for evaluating late-life MDD.

Methods: Residents aged >50 years in the Community Medicine Research Center of Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan during 2017-2018 were prospectively recruited in this study.

Cytokine changes during treatment of anti-Caspr2 encephalitis: a case report.

Background: Cytokines are effective molecules of immune reactions. They work in inflammatory sites as well as circulate in the blood. Cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid have been suggested to be markers of autoimmune encephalitis and reflect disease progression.

Different FDG-PET metabolic patterns of anti-AMPAR and anti-NMDAR encephalitis: Case report and literature review.

Introduction: F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET metabolic patterns of brain differ among autoimmune encephalitis with different neuronal surface antigens. In this case report, we compared the topographical relationship of cerebral glucose metabolism and antigen distribution in the patients with anti-NMDAR and anti-AMPAR encephalitis. Literature review summarized the common features of brain metabolism of autoimmune encephalitis.