Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Neurobiol Aging 2021 May 14;105:252-261. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. Electronic address:

We investigated whether cerebrovascular disease contributes to neurodegeneration and clinical phenotype in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Regional cortical thickness and subcortical gray matter volumes were estimated from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 165 DLB patients. Cortical and subcortical infarcts were recorded and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) were assessed. Read More

PLoS Biol 2021 Jun 15;19(6):e3001260. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

There is increasing scrutiny around how science is communicated to the public. For instance, a Twitter account @justsaysinmice (with 70.4K followers in January 2021) was created to call attention to news headlines that omit that mice, not humans, are the ones for whom the study findings apply. Read More

Acta Neuropathol 2021 Jun 14. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.

In human neurodegenerative diseases associated with the intracellular aggregation of Tau protein, the ordered cores of Tau filaments adopt distinct folds. Here, we analyze Tau filaments isolated from the brain of individuals affected by Prion-Protein cerebral amyloid angiopathy (PrP-CAA) with a nonsense mutation in the PRNP gene that leads to early termination of translation of PrP (Q160Ter or Q160X), and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease, with a missense mutation in the PRNP gene that leads to an amino acid substitution at residue 198 (F198S) of PrP. The clinical and neuropathologic phenotypes associated with these two mutations in PRNP are different; however, the neuropathologic analyses of these two genetic variants have consistently shown the presence of numerous neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) made of filamentous Tau aggregates in neurons. Read More

Int Psychogeriatr 2021 Jun 15:1-2. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc Alzheimer Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Alzheimers Res Ther 2021 Jun 14;13(1):115. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Preclinical AD is the period during which early AD brain changes are present but cognitive symptoms have not yet manifest. The presence of AD brain changes can be ascertained by molecular biomarkers obtained via imaging and lumbar puncture. Read More

Alzheimers Res Ther 2021 Jun 14;13(1):114. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Key Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Disorders of the Ministry of Education, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China.

Background: Neuronal hyperactivity related to β-amyloid (Aβ) is considered an early warning sign of Alzheimer disease (AD). Although increasing evidence supports this opinion, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown.

Methods: Here, we recorded whole-cell synaptic currents and membrane potentials using patch clamping of acute hippocampal slices from human amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilin-1 transgenic (5XFAD) mice and their wild-type littermates. Read More

Trials 2021 Jun 14;22(1):394. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada.

Background: There remains no effective intervention capable of reversing most cases of dementia. Current research is focused on prevention by addressing risk factors that are shared between cardiovascular disease and dementia (e.g. Read More

J Control Release 2021 Jun 11;336:130-143. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; IB-S - Institute of Science and Innovation for Sustainability, University of Minho, Campus of Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal. Electronic address:

Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles that act as carriers for proteins and nucleic acids, with therapeutic potential and high biocompatibility. We propose a new concept of exosome-like liposomes for controlled delivery. The goal of this work was to develop a new type of liposomes with a unique mixture of phospholipids, similar to naturally occurring exosomes but overcoming their limitations of heterogeneity and low productivity, for therapeutic delivery of bioactive compounds. Read More

Ann Intern Med 2021 Jun;174(6):843

Nathan Kline Institute, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

FASEB J 2021 Jul;35(7):e21677

Biochemical Institute, Unit for Degradomics of the Protease Web, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.

Meprin β is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease exhibiting a unique cleavage specificity with strong preference for acidic amino acids at the cleavage site. Proteomic studies revealed a diverse substrate pool of meprin β including the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) and the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Dysregulation of meprin β is often associated with pathological conditions such as chronic inflammation, fibrosis, or Alzheimer's disease (AD). Read More

Psychol Aging 2021 Jun;36(4):433-451

School of Psychology.

Age-related differences in visual search have been extensively studied using simple item arrays, showing an attentional decline. Little is known about how aging affects attentional guidance during search in more complex scenes. To study this issue, we analyzed eye-movement behavior in realistic scene search. Read More

Metallomics 2021 Jun 14. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China.

Neuroinflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD). During brain neuroinflammation, activated microglial cells resulting from amyloid-beta (Aβ) overload trigger toxic proinflammatory responses. Bis(ethylmaltolato)oxidovanadium (IV), an important vanadium compound, has been reported to have anti-diabetic, anti-cancer and neuroprotective effects, but its anti-inflammatory property has rarely been investigated. Read More

Front Big Data 2021 26;4:613047. Epub 2021 May 26.

Edinburgh Dementia Prevention, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has its onset many decades before dementia develops, and work is ongoing to characterise individuals at risk of decline on the basis of early detection through biomarker and cognitive testing as well as the presence/absence of identified risk factors. Risk prediction models for AD based on various computational approaches, including machine learning, are being developed with promising results. However, these approaches have been criticised as they are unable to generalise due to over-reliance on one data source, poor internal and external validations, and lack of understanding of prediction models, thereby limiting the clinical utility of these prediction models. Read More

Chonnam Med J 2021 May 24;57(2):108-117. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Neurology, Chosun University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.

Amyloid and tau protein abnormalities have been identified as the main causes of Alzheimer's disease but exact mechanisms remain to be revealed. Especially, amyloid beta and tau protein coupling and neuroinflammatory and neurovascular contributions to Alzheimer disease are quite mysterious. Many animal models and basic biological research are trying to solve these puzzles. Read More

Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin 2021 Apr-Jun;7(2):20552173211013831. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Department of Neurology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Ocrelizumab is often used as an alternative therapy in natalizumab-treated MS patients at risk for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Our objective was to assess efficacy and safety of JC-virus positive patients switching (either directly or indirectly) from natalizumab to ocrelizumab. Forty-two patients were included from an observational cohort (median follow-up 21 months). Read More

Front Aging Neurosci 2021 28;13:679688. Epub 2021 May 28.

Priority Area Asthma and Allergy, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Members of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.

Biological aging is a complex process featured by declined function of cells and tissues, including those of the immune system. As a consequence, aging affects the expression and development of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells, which can be seen in their sum as the autoimmunome of an individual. In this study we analyzed whether sets of autoimmune features are associated with specific phenotypes which form autoimmunomic signatures related to age and neurodegenerative diseases. Read More

Front Aging Neurosci 2021 26;13:665114. Epub 2021 May 26.

Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.

Recent studies have reported that homocysteine (Hcy) may play a vital role in the pathogenesis of vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our study explored the relationship between the plasma Hcy and folate levels and the risk of dementia. We searched Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science for published literature, including case-control studies and prospective cohort studies, and performed a systematic analysis. Read More

Front Hum Neurosci 2021 26;15:645584. Epub 2021 May 26.

Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience cognitive impairment and physical disabilities in daily life. Currently, there are no treatments available to slow down the course of the disease, and limited treatments exist only to treat symptoms. However, deep brain stimulation of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM-DBS) has been reported to improve cognitive function in individuals with AD. Read More

Front Neurosci 2021 28;15:673120. Epub 2021 May 28.

Department of Computer Science, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.

Machine Learning methods are often adopted to infer useful biomarkers for the early diagnosis of many neurodegenerative diseases and, in general, of neuroanatomical ageing. Some of these methods estimate the subject age from morphological brain data, which is then indicated as "brain age". The difference between such a predicted brain age and the actual chronological age of a subject can be used as an indication of a pathological deviation from normal brain ageing. Read More

Front Neurosci 2021 26;15:668852. Epub 2021 May 26.

Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, characterized by accumulation in the brain of misfolded proteins, inflammation, and oxidative damage leading to neuronal cell death. By considering the viewpoint that AD onset and worsening may be influenced by environmental factors causing infection, oxidative stress, and inflammatory reaction, we investigated the changes of the salivary proteome in a population of patients with respect to that in healthy controls (HCs). Indeed, the possible use of saliva as a diagnostic tool has been explored in several oral and systemic diseases. Read More

EXCLI J 2021 18;20:907-921. Epub 2021 May 18.

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive mental disorder that brings a huge economic burden to the healthcare systems. During this illness, acetylcholine levels in the cholinergic systems gradually diminish, which results in severe memory loss and cognitive impairments. Moreover, Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzyme participates in cholinergic neurotransmission regulation by playing a prominent role in the latter phase of AD. Read More

Pharmacol Rep 2021 Jun 13. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analyses and Radiopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, Muszynskiego 1, 90-151, Lodz, Poland.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) leading to mental deterioration and devastation, and eventually a fatal outcome. AD affects mostly the elderly. AD is frequently accompanied by hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus, and these are significant risk factors of AD. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2021 Jun 7. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Departments of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Background: APOEɛ4 allele carriers present with increased risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), show cognitive symptoms at earlier age, and are more likely to transition from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia but despite this, it remains unclear whether or not the ɛ4 allele controls the rate of disease progression.

Objective: To determine effects of the ɛ4 allele on rates of cognitive decline and brain atrophy during MCI and dementia stages of AD.

Methods: A segmented linear mixed model was chosen for longitudinal modeling of cognitive and brain volumetric data of 73 ɛ3/ɛ3, 99 ɛ3/ɛ4, and 39 ɛ4/ɛ4 Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative participants who transitioned during the study from MCI to AD dementia. Read More

J Formos Med Assoc 2021 Jun 10. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of and Master's Program in Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Neuroscience Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Background/purpose: Donepezil was approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) but causes variable therapeutic responses. Thus, identifying specific genetic polymorphisms, which can predict a therapeutic response to donepezil, would enable a development of personalized strategy to treatment for patients with AD. The research aimed to exam the impact of the cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1080985 on the concentration of and therapeutic response to donepezil in AD. Read More

Prion 2021 Dec;15(1):94-106

Department of Neurodegeneration, Ageing and Mental Health, National Epidemiology Centre, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain.

In Spain, human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) have been undergoing continuous surveillance for over 25 years. In 1995, the system was launched as an EU Concerted Action, with EU surveillance network procedures being incorporated from 2002 onwards. The aim of this report was to describe performance and outcomes of this surveillance system across the period 1993-2018. Read More

Bioorg Chem 2021 Jun 6;114:105053. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Department of Chemistry, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, Punjab, India. Electronic address:

The present paper explicates the synthesis of 1H-1,2,3-triazole tethered tacrine-chalcone conjugates and evaluation of their AChE and BuChE inhibitory activity. In-vitroAChE inhibition assay revealed three compounds, 9h, 9i, and 11f, being more potent than the standard drug tacrine and further evaluated against butyrylcholinesterase. The present study was extended to investigate the anti-amnestic effect of promising compoundson scopolamine-induced behavioral and neurochemical changes in mice. Read More

J Photochem Photobiol B 2021 May 5;221:112207. Epub 2021 May 5.

ENT and Head & Neck Research Center, The Five Senses Health eInstitute, Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) is the process of delivering light photons through the skull to benefit from its modifying effect. Brain disorders are important health problems. The aim of this review was to determine the existing evidence of effectiveness, useful parameters, and safety of tPBM in the management of traumatic brain injury, stroke, Parkinson, and Alzheimer's disease as the common brain disorders. Read More

Comput Biol Med 2021 Jun 1;134:104537. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

School of Electrical Engineering and Computing, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the deadliest diseases in developed countries. Treatments following early AD detection can significantly delay institutionalisation and extend patients' independence. There has been a growing focus on early AD detection using artificial intelligence. Read More

Eur J Med Chem 2021 Jun 2;222:113565. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address:

β-Amyloid (Aβ) triggered proteopathic and immunopathic processes are a postulated cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Monomeric Aβ is derived from amyloid precursor protein, whereupon it aggregates into various assemblies, including oligomers and fibrils, which disrupt neuronal membrane integrity and induce cellular damage. Aβ is directly neurotoxic/synaptotoxic, but may also induce neuroinflammation through the concomitant activation of microglia. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2021 Jun 4;31:102712. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

This work validates the generalizability of MRI-based classification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and controls (CN) to an external data set and to the task of prediction of conversion to AD in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We used a conventional support vector machine (SVM) and a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) approach based on structural MRI scans that underwent either minimal pre-processing or more extensive pre-processing into modulated gray matter (GM) maps. Classifiers were optimized and evaluated using cross-validation in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; 334 AD, 520 CN). Read More