Detection of STAT4 in Multiple Sclerosis patients by polymerase chain reaction and flowcytometry.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system, characterized by progressive demyelination and inflammation. MS is characterized by immune system attacks on the myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibers. Genome-wide association studies revealed a polymorphism in the signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) gene that increases risk for MS.

Multidimensional sleep health and cognitive function across adulthood.

Study Objectives: Sleep is essential for proper function of the mind and body. Studies report the effect of sleep problems on cognition but focus on only a single or limited number of sleep indicators or on clinical populations (e.g.

Blood pressure targets, medication considerations and special concerns in elderly hypertension III: Focus on stroke and neurodegenerative disorders.

Controlling hypertension has become an important issue in the elderly population in whom neurological comorbidities are highly prevalent. Most of the large-scale trials focusing on hypertension management in older populations have excluded patients with comorbid neurological disorders. However, this population requires special considerations, as the benefits of antihypertensive agents are mostly uncertain and there is a higher risk of adverse events.

Identification of novel phenolic inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicine against toxic α-synuclein aggregation via regulating phase separation.

Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder without cure, is characterized by the pathological aggregation of α-synuclein (α-Syn) in Lewy bodies. Classic deposition pathway and condensation pathway contribute to α-Syn aggregation, and liquid-liquid phase separation is the driving force for condensate formation, which subsequently undergo liquid-solid phase separation to form toxic fibrils. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a long history in treating neurodegenerative disease, herein; we identified chemicals from herbs that inhibit α-Syn aggregation.

Assessing the causal effect of genetically predicted metabolites and metabolic pathways on vitiligo: Evidence from Mendelian randomization and animal experiments.

Vitiligo is a common chronic skin depigmentation disorder that seriously decreases the patients' overall quality of life. Human blood metabolites could contribute to unraveling the underlying biological mechanisms of vitiligo. We used GWAS summary statistics to assess the causal association between genetically predicted 1,400 serum metabolites and vitiligo risk by Mendelian randomization (MR).

Electroconvulsive therapy modulates brain functional stability in patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but the underlying neuromodulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. Functional stability represents a newly developed method based on the dynamic functional connectivity framework. This study aimed to explore ECT-evoked changes in functional stability and their relationship with clinical outcomes.

Metabolomics signatures of serotonin reuptake inhibitor (escitalopram), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (duloxetine) and cognitive-behavioral therapy on key neurotransmitter pathways in major depressive disorder.

Metabolomics provides powerful tools that can inform about heterogeneity in disease and response to treatments. In this exploratory study, we employed an electrochemistry-based targeted metabolomics platform to assess the metabolic effects of three randomly-assigned treatments: escitalopram, duloxetine, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in 163 treatment-naïve outpatients with major depressive disorder. Serum samples from baseline and 12 weeks post-treatment were analyzed using targeted liquid chromatography-electrochemistry for metabolites related to tryptophan, tyrosine metabolism and related pathways.

Phosphorylated-tau associates with HSV-1 chromatin and correlates with nuclear speckles decondensation in low-density host chromatin regions.

Abnormal tau phosphorylation is a key mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. Evidence implicates infectious agents, such as Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1), as co-factors in the onset or the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. This has led to divergence in the field regarding the contribution of viruses in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases.

Joint action partners modulate the first step of an action sequence to communicate a distal goal.

When two co-actors perform a joint action, they often communicatively modulate their instrumental actions so as to facilitate each other's predictions of their immediate, proximal goals. Here, we ask whether co-actors would also engage in such "sensorimotor communication" for distal goals, specifically those that result from a two-step action sequence. To address this question, we asked pairs of participants to work together to deliver an animated box to one of two delivery locations displayed on a computer screen.

A predictive model of cognitive impairment risk in older adults with hypertension.

Background: Hypertension is one of the most common diseases in the world, impacting global life expectancy and associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a nomogram that accurately predicts the risk of cognitive impairment in hypertensive patients using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES).

Methods: A total of 1517 hypertensive patients from NHANES 2011-2014 were included in this study.

In vivo imaging markers of glymphatic dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Analysis of ALPS index and choroid plexus volume.

Background: The glymphatic system, essential for brain waste clearance, has been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Emerging imaging markers, such as the analysis along the perivascular space (ALPS) index and choroid plexus volume (CPV), may provide insights into glymphatic function, but their relevance to ALS remains unclear.

Objective: To assess glymphatic dysfunction in ALS patients using the ALPS index and CPV.

Intensive interdisciplinary specialized rehabilitation or regular physiotherapy for multiple sclerosis? A randomised controlled trial with economic evaluation.

Background: The benefits of Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation in an Outpatient Specialised Unit (IROSU) have not been determined.

Objectives: To compare the effects of IROSU and physiotherapy in the community on impairment, function and Quality Of Life (QoL) in people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) and to determine the medico-economic impact.

Methods: Pragmatic, multicentre, parallel, randomized (centralised computer-generated randomisation) controlled trial.

Measurement of biomechanical properties of transversely isotropic biological tissue using traveling wave expansion.

The anisotropic mechanical properties of fiber-embedded biological tissues are essential for understanding their development, aging, disease progression, and response to therapy. However, accurate and fast assessment of mechanical anisotropy in vivo using elastography remains challenging. To address the dilemma of achieving both accuracy and efficiency in this inverse problem involving complex wave equations, we propose a computational framework that utilizes the traveling wave expansion model.

Validation of the Chinese version of the Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument (EASI) and its brief version (brEASI) in Western China.

Objective: To translate and validate the Chinese version of the Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument (EASI) and its brief version (brEASI) among Chinese people with epilepsy.

Methods: Adult outpatients from Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital were recruited. The type of anxiety disorder was determined via the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).

Impact of air pollution on the clinical exacerbation of central demyelinating disease: A 10-year data from the Northern Thailand MS and NMOSD registry.

Background: Particulate matter (PM) 2.5 (PM2.5) and PM10 are implicated in neurological diseases, yet their impact on central demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) remains unclear.

Opposing roles of p38α-mediated phosphorylation and PRMT1-mediated arginine methylation in driving TDP-43 proteinopathy.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder typically characterized by insoluble inclusions of hyperphosphorylated TDP-43. The mechanisms underlying toxic TDP-43 accumulation are not understood. Persistent activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is implicated in ALS.

Distinct peripheral pro-inflammatory profile associated with tuberous sclerosis complex and epilepsy.

Objective: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a monogenetic disorder associated with sustained mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) activation, leading to heterogeneous clinical manifestations. Epilepsy and renal angiomyolipoma are the most important causes of morbidity in adult people with TSC (pwTSC). mTOR is a key player in inflammation, which in turn could influence TSC-related clinical manifestations.

Association between the gene polymorphism-determined earwax properties and external auditory canal microbiota in healthy adults.

Unlabelled: The concept of genome-microbiome interactions, in which the microenvironment determined by host genetic polymorphisms regulates the local microbiota, is important in the pathogenesis of human disease. In otolaryngology, the resident bacterial microbiota is reportedly altered in non-infectious ear diseases, such as otitis media pearls and exudative otitis media. We hypothesized that a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the ATP-binding cassette sub-family C member 11 () gene, which determines earwax properties, regulates the ear canal microbiota.

Effect of Intrathecal Baclofen on Bladder Function in Patients With Severe Supraspinal Spasticity.

Introduction: Neurogenic bladder dysfunction is a prevalent condition characterized by impaired bladder control resulting from neurological conditions, for example, spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Detrusor overactivity is a typical symptom of central nervous system damage. A lesion affecting the pontine neural network typically results in loss of tonic inhibition exerted by the pontine micturition center and causes involuntary detrusor contractions.

The clinical presentation and genetic diagnosis of Tangier disease in the pediatric age group.

Objectives: Tangier disease (TD) is a rare autosomal recessive condition characterized by high-density lipoprotein (HDL) deficiency; involving symptoms of polyneuropathy, hyperplastic orange-yellow tonsils, vision disorder, and sudden cardiac death. The major clinical symptoms of TD may not all be co-present. This study evaluates patients diagnosed with TD in childhood to improve the possibility of early diagnosis of asymptomatic cases by reporting our patients' clinical characteristics in order to minimize delayed diagnosis and emphasize the importance of TD, easily detected by HDL measurement.

Prognostic Value of Signal Abnormalities on Brain MRI in Post-Anoxic Super-Refractory Status Epilepticus: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Background: Epileptiform activity, including status epilepticus (SE), occurs in up to one-third of comatose survivors of cardiac arrest and may predict poor outcome. The relationship between SE and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is not established.

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study on consecutive patients with post-anoxic super-refractory SE.