Publications by authors named "Yih-Ru Wu"

Background: In Parkinson's disease (PD) brains, microglia are activated to release inflammatory factors to induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neuron, and vice versa. Moreover, neuroinflammation and its synergistic interaction with oxidative stress contribute to the pathogenesis of PD.

Methods: In this study, we investigated whether in-house synthetic coumarin-chalcone derivatives protect human microglia HMC3 and neuroblastoma BE(2)-M17 cells against 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium (MPP)-induced neuroinflammation and associated neuronal damage.

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Polyglutamine (polyQ)-mediated spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), including SCA1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 17, are caused by mutant genes with expanded CAG repeats, leading to the intracellular accumulation of aggregated proteins, the production of reactive oxygen species, and cell death. Among SCA, SCA3 is caused by a mutation in the ATXN3 (ataxin-3) gene. In a circumstance of polyQ aggregation, the autophagic pathway is induced to degrade the aggregated proteins, thereby suppressing downstream deleterious effects and promoting neuronal survival.

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The progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with microstructural alterations in neural pathways, contributing to both motor and cognitive decline. However, conflicting findings have emerged due to the use of heterogeneous methods in small studies. Here we performed a large diffusion MRI study in PD, integrating data from 17 cohorts worldwide, to identify stage-specific profiles of white matter differences.

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Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by progressive involuntary chorea movements and cognitive decline. Recent research indicates that metabolic disturbance may play a role in its pathogenesis. Bile acids, produced during cholesterol metabolism in the liver, have been linked to neurodegenerative conditions.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study explores the effects of comorbidities on the relapse rates of patients with Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in Taiwan, based on data collected from 485 patients over 15 years.
  • - The results showed that the median annualized relapse rates (ARR) were similar for adult and pediatric patients and that common comorbidities like malignancy and autoimmune diseases did not significantly affect ARR in the first three years post-diagnosis.
  • - The researchers found a notably higher risk of malignancy in adult NMOSD patients compared to the general population, suggesting the need for further investigation into how these two conditions may be related.
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Diminished cognitive and physical functions negatively affect the daily functions of individuals. Although combined cognitive and physical training prevents instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability in older adults, no predictive model or mediation analysis of IADL after combined training exists. This study aims to employ prediction and mediation analysis to identify the predictors of IADL performance and to elucidate the mediators of the association between baseline global cognition and subsequent IADL performance following combined cognitive and physical training.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease with progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and the presence of α-synuclein-immunoreactive inclusions. Gaucher's disease is caused by homozygous mutations in β-glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA). GBA mutation carriers have an increased risk of PD.

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Article Synopsis
  • Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder impacting over 10 million people, and researchers are exploring the effectiveness of machine learning in identifying it from brain scans.
  • Deep learning models, specifically convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have traditionally focused on T1-weighted MRI scans, but this study investigates incorporating diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) for detecting PD.
  • Using data from three different institutions, the research indicates that dMRI has potential as a useful input for AI-based PD classification, suggesting it could be a valuable alternative to standard anatomical images.
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Background: White matter (WM) tract alterations are early signs of cognitive impairment in Parkinson disease (PD) patients. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) has advantages over traditional diffusion tensor imaging in managing complex and crossing fibers. We used FBA to measure fiber-specific changes in patients with PD mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and PD normal cognition (PD-NC).

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  • Tubulin beta 4A (TUBB4A) spectrum disorders can cause conditions like dystonia type 4 and H-ABC syndrome, but sometimes only lead to mild hypomyelination.
  • A family case with a TUBB4A mutation presented complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), prompting whole-exome sequencing to find the cause of their symptoms.
  • Researchers identified a novel TUBB4A mutation in affected family members, which was linked to adult-onset spastic paraparesis and brain hypomyelination, while cognitive abilities remained intact.
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Objective: Combined physical (PHY) and cognitive (COG) training in sequential (SEQ) and simultaneous (SIMUL) sessions may delay the progression of cognitive impairment. To date, no study has directly compared in older adults with cognitive impairment the effects of COG training, PHY training, SEQ motor-cognitive training and SIMUL motor-cognitve training on specific indices of cognitive performance and activities of daily living (ADL). The purpose of this study was to determine whether SEQ and SIMUL motor-cognitive training can improve treatment outcomes compared with PHY or COG training alone.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is featured mainly by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the presence of α-synuclein-containing aggregates in the substantia nigra of brain. The α-synuclein fibrils and aggregates lead to increased oxidative stress and neural toxicity in PD. Chronic inflammation mediated by microglia is one of the hallmarks of PD pathophysiology.

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  • - The study focuses on myasthenia gravis (MG) patients experiencing myasthenic crises (MC) triggered by infections, highlighting a gap in prognostic factors for recurrent MC, which can worsen patient outcomes.
  • - A total of 272 MG patients were analyzed, revealing that older patients and those with certain comorbidities, such as diabetes and specific electrolyte imbalances, are more likely to face recurrent infections.
  • - Key findings indicated that pneumonia was the most common infection and identified various associated risk factors for recurrent infection-triggered MC, which can aid clinicians in tailoring prevention strategies.
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  • - Parkinson's disease (PD) affects over 10 million people globally, leading to interest in using machine learning to improve diagnosis through radiological scans, particularly MRI.
  • - The study evaluates deep learning models, especially convolutional neural networks (CNNs), to determine the effectiveness of diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) compared to traditional T1-weighted MRI for classifying PD.
  • - Results from three different cohorts suggest that incorporating dMRI data enhances the predictive capability for PD classification, highlighting its potential for AI-based detection of the disease.
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  • Mutations in the SYNE1 gene lead to a range of clinical symptoms, and a new case of SYNE1 ataxia was reported in a 53-year-old female from Taiwan caused by two novel mutations.
  • In a study involving 28 patients from East Asia, researchers found 27 cases of SYNE1 ataxia, with some showing pure cerebellar ataxia while others had additional symptoms.
  • The study revealed no clear link between specific genetic mutations and clinical symptoms, while also highlighting the genetic diversity of SYNE1 mutations in different populations.
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Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive and devastating neurodegenerative disease marked by inheritable CAG nucleotide expansion. For offspring of HD patients carrying abnormal CAG expansion, biomarkers that predict disease onset are crucially important but still lacking. Alteration of brain ganglioside patterns has been observed in the pathology of patients carrying HD.

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According to the theory of coordinated reset (CR) stimulation, multifocal bursts of stimuli delivered in a random order with a specific interval may reduce the resonance power of the oscillatory generator in the epicenter. We develop a noninvasive coordinated multifocal burst stimulation (COMBS) with three repetitive transcranial stimulation machines based on CR theory to modulate the target frequency in the primary motor cortex and to assess its effect on motor cortical excitability in separate experiments. Electroencephalography and electromyography were recorded in 16 healthy participants during a finger-tapping task, both before and after the intervention.

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There is great interest in developing radiological classifiers for diagnosis, staging, and predictive modeling in progressive diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disease that is difficult to detect in its early stages. Here we leverage severity-based meta-data on the stages of disease to define a curriculum for training a deep convolutional neural network (CNN). Typically, deep learning networks are trained by randomly selecting samples in each mini-batch.

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  • This study explored how different training frequencies of combined physical and cognitive exercises affect cognitive function in older adults facing cognitive decline.
  • It involved 89 older adults divided into high-frequency (3 times/week) and low-frequency (1 time/week) training groups for 12 weeks, with various cognitive assessments conducted.
  • Results showed that the high-frequency group had better improvements in immediate memory and executive function, while the low-frequency group excelled in delayed memory, suggesting different benefits based on training frequency.
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Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress have been emerging as important pathways contributing to Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. In PD brains, the activated microglia release inflammatory factors such as interleukin (IL)-β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and nitric oxide (NO), which increase oxidative stress and mediate neurodegeneration. Using 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP)-activated human microglial HMC3 cells and the sub-chronic 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse model of PD, we found the potential of indole derivative NC009-1 against neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and neurodegeneration for PD.

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Alterations in lipid composition and disturbed lipoprotein metabolism are involved in the pathomechanism of Huntington's disease (HD). Here, we measured 112 lipoprotein subfractions and components in the plasma of 20 normal controls, 24 symptomatic (sympHD) and 9 presymptomatic (preHD) HD patients. Significant changes were found in 30 lipoprotein subfractions and components in all HD patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to create a global cohort of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) linked to specific genetic variants, aiming to improve the understanding and treatment of monogenic PD.
  • - Researchers collected data from 3,888 participants across 92 centers in 42 countries, including 3,185 diagnosed with PD and 703 unaffected individuals, which highlighted a total of 269 distinct pathogenic variants.
  • - This initiative not only established the largest international genetic PD cohort but also provided quality-controlled clinical and genetic data to foster further research collaboration.
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Background: A recent Taiwanese study reported variants of the ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase core protein 1 () gene linked to autosomal dominant parkinsonism with polyneuropathy. This study investigated the pathogenicity of in a Taiwanese cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Method: This study involved 107 participants (98 with early-onset PD and nine with familial PD).

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: Postpartum spinal cord infarction is a very rare disease. Only two cases have been reported in the English literature. : We reported a 26 year old female who received second doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine 52 days before delivery.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to create a predictive model for how CIDP patients respond to immunotherapy by analyzing a variety of clinical and laboratory features from 172 untreated patients over a 16-year period.
  • - Researchers identified three distinct clusters of patients based on their characteristics, with notable differences in disability scores, eligibility for demyelinating criteria, and responsiveness to pulse steroid therapy among the clusters.
  • - The findings suggest that the new classification system, which demonstrated high accuracy (89.5%), could aid clinicians in selecting effective treatments and guide researchers in organizing patients for clinical trials.
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