Navigating Complexities: Vitamin D, Skin Pigmentation, and Race.

Vitamin D plays a critical role in many physiological functions, including calcium metabolism and musculoskeletal health. This commentary aims to explore the intricate relationships among skin complexion, race, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels, focusing on challenges the Endocrine Society encountered during clinical practice guideline development. Given that increased melanin content reduces 25(OH)D production in the skin in response to UV light, the guideline development panel addressed the potential role for 25(OH)D screening in individuals with dark skin complexion.

Brain connectivity changes underlying depression and fatigue in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system, characterised by neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Fatigue and depression are common, debilitating, and intertwined symptoms in people with relapsing-remitting MS (pwRRMS). An increased understanding of brain changes and mechanisms underlying fatigue and depression in RRMS could lead to more effective interventions and enhancement of quality of life.

Quantitative T brain mapping in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: longitudinal changes, lesion heterogeneity and disability.

Objectives: To quantify brain microstructural changes in recently diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) using longitudinal T measures, and determine their associations with clinical disability.

Methods: Seventy-nine people with recently diagnosed (< 6 months) RRMS were recruited from a single-centre cohort sub-study, and underwent baseline and 1-year brain MRI, including variable flip angle T mapping. Median T was measured in white matter lesions (WML), normal-appearing white matter (NAWM), cortical/deep grey matter (GM), thalami, basal ganglia and medial temporal regions.

Factor VIII antibody immune complexes modulate the humoral response to factor VIII in an epitope-dependent manner.

Introduction: Soluble antigens complexed with immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies can induce robust adaptive immune responses and in animal models of disease. Factor VIII immune complexes (FVIII-ICs) have been detected in individuals with hemophilia A and severe von Willebrand disease following FVIII infusions. Yet, it is unclear if and how FVIII-ICs affect antibody development over time.

Patterns of brain atrophy in recently-diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Recurrent neuroinflammation in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) is thought to lead to neurodegeneration, resulting in progressive disability. Repeated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain provides non-invasive measures of atrophy over time, a key marker of neurodegeneration. This study investigates regional neurodegeneration of the brain in recently-diagnosed RRMS using volumetry and voxel-based morphometry (VBM).

Rationale and design of the brain magnetic resonance imaging protocol for FutureMS: a longitudinal multi-centre study of newly diagnosed patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Scotland.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease. MS prevalence varies geographically and is notably high in Scotland. Disease trajectory varies significantly between individuals and the causes for this are largely unclear.

Longitudinal microstructural MRI markers of demyelination and neurodegeneration in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: Magnetisation transfer, water diffusion and g-ratio.

Introduction: Quantitative microstructural MRI, such as myelin-sensitive magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) or saturation (MTsat), axon-sensitive water diffusion Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), and the aggregate g-ratio, may provide more specific markers of white matter integrity than conventional MRI for early patient stratification in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of such markers to longitudinal pathological change within cerebral white matter lesions (WML) and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in recently diagnosed RRMS.

Methods: Seventy-nine people with recently diagnosed RRMS, from the FutureMS longitudinal cohort, were recruited to an extended MRI protocol at baseline and one year later.

FutureMS cohort profile: a Scottish multicentre inception cohort study of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated, neuroinflammatory disease of the central nervous system and in industrialised countries is the most common cause of progressive neurological disability in working age persons. While treatable, there is substantial interindividual heterogeneity in disease activity and response to treatment. Currently, the ability to predict at diagnosis who will have a benign, intermediate or aggressive disease course is very limited.

Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Myelin-sensitive MRI such as magnetization transfer imaging has been widely used in multiple sclerosis. The influence of methodology and differences in disease subtype on imaging findings is, however, not well established. Here, we systematically review magnetization transfer brain imaging findings in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

MRI-derived g-ratio and lesion severity in newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis.

Myelin loss is associated with axonal damage in established multiple sclerosis. This relationship is challenging to study in early disease. Here, we ask whether myelin loss is associated with axonal damage at diagnosis by combining non-invasive neuroimaging and blood biomarkers.

Rim lesions are demonstrated in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis using 3 T-based susceptibility-weighted imaging in a multi-institutional setting.

Purpose: Rim lesions, characterised by a paramagnetic rim on susceptibility-based MRI, have been suggested to reflect chronic inflammatory demyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Here, we assess, through susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), the prevalence, longitudinal volume evolution and clinical associations of rim lesions in subjects with early relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).

Methods: Subjects (n = 44) with recently diagnosed RRMS underwent 3 T MRI at baseline (M0) and 1 year (M12) as part of a multi-centre study.

The prevalence of paramagnetic rim lesions in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Recent findings from several studies have shown that paramagnetic rim lesions identified using susceptibility-based MRI could represent potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature to assess their pooled prevalence at lesion-level and patient-level.

Methods: Both database searching (PubMed and Embase) and handsearching were conducted to identify studies allowing the lesion-level and/or patient-level prevalence of rim lesions or chronic active lesions to be calculated.

Changes in clinical practice perceptions and mental health of sports medicine physicians due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Objective: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had an immense impact on healthcare, but little has been published on its impact on sports medicine physicians. This study aimed to assess the perceived impacts of the pandemic on practice changes, financial implications, and mental health of the physician members of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM).

Methods: Online surveys were sent to physician members of the AMSSM, with questions asking about demographic information and personal associations to COVID-19.

Age-Related Differences in Functional and Structural Connectivity in the Spatial Navigation Brain Network.

Spatial navigation involves multiple cognitive processes including multisensory integration, visuospatial coding, memory, and decision-making. These functions are mediated by the interplay of cerebral structures that can be broadly separated into a posterior network (subserving visual and spatial processing) and an anterior network (dedicated to memory and navigation planning). Within these networks, areas such as the hippocampus (HC) are known to be affected by aging and to be associated with cognitive decline and navigation impairments.

Correction to: Participation of the caudal cerebellar lobule IX to the dorsal attentional network.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40673-018-0088-8.].

Participation of the caudal cerebellar lobule IX to the dorsal attentional network.

Background: We seeked for specific cerebellar contribution within the dorsal attentional network (DAN), using Independent Component Analysis (ICA).

Methods: ICA-based analysis was performed on brain resting-state functional images of 19 volunteers.

Results: We confirmed that DAN includes bilaterally: lobules VI-VII (crus I) and VIIB-VIIIA, as previously reported by Region-Of-Interest (ROI)-based functional connectivity studies.

Construct validation of two music-based assessments for people with dementia.

The purpose of this study was to substantiate the usefulness of the tasks on two music-based assessments in providing information about music cognition among people with dementia and to more fully understand the nature of this construct and its relationship to general cognition. Individuals with dementia (N = 50) received 3 evaluations: the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), the MBECF, and the RMST. Results of the study revealed significant correlations between the MMSE and both music-based assessments.