Background: Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) have an increased risk of neurological complications, particularly stroke and silent cerebral infarction (SCI). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a nerve growth factor associated with neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, elevated transcranial Doppler (TCD) velocities and increased risk of stroke in patients with SCD. The objective of this study was to analyze plasma BDNF protein levels in children with SCD participating in the Silent Cerebral Infarct Transfusion Multi-Center Clinical Trial (SIT Trial), comparing plasma samples of children with SCD and SCI to plasma samples from children with SCD without SCI, as well as healthy pediatric control participants.
Procedure: Entry, exit, and longitudinal blood samples were collected from 190 SIT Trial participants with SCD and healthy pediatric controls over time. BDNF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Sample collection was not optimized for measurements of BDNF, but factors affecting BDNF levels were accounted for in analyses.
Results: BDNF levels were significantly higher in children with SCD in comparison to healthy pediatric control subjects. BDNF levels significantly increased over time in SCD participants. BDNF levels did not show any significant associations with the presence or absence of SCI or new/progressive SCI/stroke or TCD velocities.
Conclusions: Plasma BDNF levels are elevated and increase over time in children with SCD. Additional studies with more longitudinal samples are needed to address the reasons for those increased levels.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pbc.28076 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary.
Neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (h-iPSC-Ns) provide an invaluable model for studying the physiological aspects of human neuronal development under healthy and pathological conditions. However, multiple studies have demonstrated that h-iPSC-Ns exhibit a high degree of functional and epigenetic diversity. Due to the imprecise characterization and significant variation among the currently available maturation protocols, it is essential to establish a set of criteria to standardize models and accurately characterize and define the developmental properties of human neurons derived from iPSCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Trace Elem Med Biol
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Chronic Disease Control, Yinchuan 750004, China. Electronic address:
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects older adults. Selenium, an essential micronutrient for humans, plays a crucial role in the body's normal physiological and metabolic processes. A long-term deficiency in selenium intake can lead to various diseases and even contribute to the ageing process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEBioMedicine
January 2025
Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, H3T 1J4, Canada; Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, H2X 0A9, Canada; Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), Montreal, H2X 0C1, Canada. Electronic address:
Background: Immunosenescence is accelerated by chronic infectious and autoimmune diseases and could contribute to the pathobiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). How MS and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) impact age-sensitive immune biomarkers is only partially understood.
Methods: We analyzed 771 serum samples from 147 healthy controls and 289 people with MS (PwMS) by multiplex immunoassays.
Ann Neurosci
January 2025
Department of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India.
Background: Studies suggest that obesity predisposes individuals to developing cognitive dysfunction and an increased risk of dementia, but the nature of the relationship remains largely unexplored for better prognostic predictors.
Purpose: This study, the first of its kind in Indian participants with obesity, was intended to explore the use of quantification of different neurocognitive indices with increasing body mass index (BMI) among middle-aged participants with obesity. Additionally, machine-learning models were used to analyse the predictive performance of BMI for different cognitive functions.
BMC Psychiatry
January 2025
Medical Faculty Department of Psychiatry, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye.
Background: Klotho and neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), have been shown to play a role in cognitive functions. However, these molecules have not been investigated in bipolar disorder simultaneously to assess the interactions among them and their relationships with cognitive functions. This study investigated the relationships among cognitive function, klotho, and neurotrophic factors in patients with bipolar disorder in the remission period.
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