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Epilepsia 2020 Jul 9. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Idaho Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Boise, Idaho, USA.

Objective: This post hoc analysis evaluated long-term efficacy and safety in patients with focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS) or generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) who entered open-label extension (OLEx) studies to receive long-term adjunctive perampanel.

Methods: Patients aged 12 years and older who completed phase II or III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies could enter an OLEx study, each comprising a blinded conversion period followed by an open-label maintenance period (32-424 weeks; maximum perampanel dose = 12 mg/d). Exposure, seizure outcomes, and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were analyzed. Read More

J Bras Nefrol 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Departamento de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Introduction: The clinical impact of vascular calcification is well established in the context of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but other clinical syndromes, such as calciphylaxis, although less frequent, have a significant impact on chronic kidney disease.

Methods: Case report of a 27-year-old woman, who had complained of bilateral pain in her toes for 3 days, with the presence of small necrotic areas in the referred sites. She had a history of type 1 diabetes (25 years ago), with chronic kidney disease, on peritoneal dialysis, in addition to rheumatoid arthritis. Read More

Psychosomatics 2020 May 27. Epub 2020 May 27.

Neuropsychiatry Program, Department and Instidtute of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are a common and debilitating problem in patients with epilepsy. They can be virtually indistinguishable from epileptic seizures, demanding video-electroencaphalogram monitoring, which is costly and not widely available, for differential diagnosis. Specific functional brain correlates of PNES have not been demonstrated so far. Read More

Methods 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Biomarkers and Precision Medicine Unit, Health Research Institute la Fe, 46026 Valencia, Spain; Epigenomics Core Facility, Health Research Institute la Fe, 46026 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address:

Methylation of CpG dinucleotides plays a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression and therefore in the development of different pathologies. Aberrant methylation has been associated to the majority of the diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders. Analysis of DNA methylation patterns is crucial to understand the underlying molecular mechanism of these diseases. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2020 19;11:394. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Bone tissue degeneration is an urgent clinical issue, making it a subject of intensive research. Chronic skeletal disease forms can be prevalent, such as the age-related osteoporosis, or rare, in the form of monogenetic bone disorders. A barrier in the understanding of the underlying pathological process is the lack of accessibility to relevant material. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Jul 6;10(1):11079. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA.

Protein C is a natural anticoagulant activated by thrombin in a reaction accelerated by the cofactor thrombomodulin. The zymogen to protease conversion of protein C involves removal of a short activation peptide that, relative to the analogous sequence present in other vitamin K-dependent proteins, contains a disproportionately high number of acidic residues. Through a combination of bioinformatic, mutagenesis and kinetic approaches we demonstrate that the peculiar clustering of acidic residues increases the intrinsic disorder propensity of the activation peptide and adversely affects the rate of activation. Read More

Transplant Proc 2020 Jul 3. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

Background: Pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is the only way to save children with end-stage liver disease. The donor for liver transplantation (LT) may have a complicated psychosocial condition.

Purpose: This review aims to identify the domains of the donor psychosocial questions that should be addressed and summarize the aspects and tools future psychosocial assessments should include. Read More

Expert Opin Ther Targets 2020 Jul 7:1-18. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore Di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) , Trieste, Italy.

Introduction: Prion diseases are rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorders. The key molecular event in these disorders is the misfolding of the physiological form of the cellular prion protein, PrP, leading to the accumulation of a pathological isoform, PrP, with unique features. Both isoforms share the same primary sequence, lacking detectable differences in posttranslational modification, a major hurdle for their biochemical or biophysical independent characterization. Read More

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020 Jul 6. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Centro de Fisica de Materiales, SanSebastian, paseo M de Lardizabal 5, 20018, San Sebastian, SPAIN.

Efficiency in charge-transport is a fundamental but demanding prerequisite to allow better exploitation of molecular functionalities in organic electronics and energy-conversion systems. Here, we report on a mechanism that enables a one-dimensional conductance structure by connecting discrete molecular states at 2.1eV through the pores of a metal-organic network on Cu(110). Read More

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Department of Endocrinology, Genetics, Metabolism, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China.

Background: Aromatase deficiency (AD) caused by cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily A polypeptide 1 (CYP19A1) variants is characterized by a deficiency in androgen-to-oestrogen conversion.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and accurate management of aromatase-deficient children.

Patients And Methods: We described three 46, XX aromatase-deficient children, searched PubMed with "(aromatase deficiency) AND (46, XX OR ovaries)" and manually searched citations in identified studies for the literature review. Read More

Int J Surg Case Rep 2020 Jun 20;73:5-8. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Department of Surgery, Redcliffe Hospital, Anzac Avenue, Redcliffe, QLD, Australia.

Introduction: Bisphosphonates are commonly used in the treatment of metabolic bone disease. However, they are associated with gastrointestinal side effects including acid reflux, mucosal erosion, and oesophageal stricture. We present a rare case of alendronate causing perforated gastric volvulus in a patient with giant hiatus hernia. Read More

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2020 ;120(5):138-145

Research Clinical Institute of Pediatric of Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.

A review of publications over the last two decades is presented. Psychogenic paroxysms develop in approximately 12% of patients with epilepsy. The analysis of social and demographic data, history details, semiological features and results of electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies does not unequivocally support the comorbidity of epilepsy and psychogenic paroxysms. Read More

FEBS J 2020 Jul 3. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Bioscience Metabolism, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Brown and brite adipocytes contribute to energy expenditure through non-shivering thermogenesis. Though these cell types are thought to arise primarily from the de novo differentiation of precursor cells, their abundance is also controlled through the transdifferentiation of mature white adipocytes. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of white-to-brown transdifferentiation, as well as the conversion of brown and brite adipocytes to dormant, white-like fat cells. Read More

Lipids Health Dis 2020 Jul 3;19(1):159. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Jianan Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare, No.539, Yuzhong Rd., Rende Dist., Tainan City, 71742, Taiwan.

Background: Schizophrenia is a serious long-term psychotic disorder marked by positive and negative symptoms, severe behavioral problems and cognitive function deficits. The cause of this disorder is not completely clear, but is suggested to be multifactorial, involving both inherited and environmental factors. Since human brain regulates all behaviour, studies have focused on identifying changes in neurobiology and biochemistry of brain in schizophrenia. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2020 Jun 30:112793. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy.

Research has reported deficits in egocentric (subject-to-object) and mainly allocentric (object-to-object) spatial representations in the early stages of the Alzheimer's disease (eAD). To identify early cognitive signs of neurodegenerative conversion, several studies have shown alterations in both reference frames, especially the allocentric ones in amnestic-Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and eAD patients. However, egocentric and allocentric spatial frames of reference are intrinsically connected with coordinate (metric/variant) and categorical (non-metric/invariant) spatial relations. Read More

mSphere 2020 Jul 1;5(4). Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (ISysBio), CSIC-Universitat de València, Paterna, València, Spain.

The term "prion" was originally coined to describe the proteinaceous infectious agents involved in mammalian neurological disorders. More recently, a prion has been defined as a nonchromosomal, protein-based genetic element that is capable of converting the copies of its own benign variant into the prion form, with the new phenotypic effects that can be transmitted through the cytoplasm. Some prions are toxic to the cell, are able to aggregate and/or form amyloid structures, and may be infectious in the wild, but none of those traits are seen as an integral property of all prions. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Jun 29;21(13). Epub 2020 Jun 29.

National Center of Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Department of Hematology and Transfusiology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin and University Hospital in Martin, 03601 Martin, Slovakia.

Fibrinogen is a hexameric plasmatic glycoprotein composed of pairs of three chains (Aα, Bβ, and γ), which play an essential role in hemostasis. Conversion of fibrinogen to insoluble polymer fibrin gives structural stability, strength, and adhesive surfaces for growing blood clots. Equally important, the exposure of its non-substrate thrombin-binding sites after fibrin clot formation promotes antithrombotic properties. Read More

Int J Bipolar Disord 2020 Jul 1;8(1):22. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.

Background: Bipolar disorders (BD) belong to the most severe mental disorders, characterized by an early onset and recurrent, severe episodes or a chronic course with poor psychosocial functioning in a proportion of patients. Many patients with BD experience substantial symptomatology months or even years before full BD manifestation. Adequate diagnosis and treatment is often delayed, which is associated with a worse outcome. Read More

Arch Acad Emerg Med 2020 20;8(1):e10. Epub 2020 Jan 20.

Department of laboratory science,chalous branch,islamic azad iniversity,chalous,iran.

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are paroxysmal changes that mimic epileptic seizures, so often misdiagnosed and treated for epilepsy. PNES are considered a psychiatric illness, personality pathology, and experiential and behavioral manifestation of depression. Despite studies over the past two decades, the pathological mechanisms of this disorder are unclear. Read More

Patient Prefer Adherence 2020 24;14:1065-1072. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Guro Hospital, Guro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Purpose: Adolescent depression can have a chronic course; hence, the importance of adherence to antidepressant medication for successful treatment outcomes is emphasized. This study aimed to examine different adherence measures and identify clinical factors that influence adherence in adolescent depression.

Patients And Methods: A prospective study was conducted for patients diagnosed with depressive disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition from outpatient psychiatric settings at Korea University Medical Center, Guro Hospital. Read More

Phys Rev Lett 2020 Jun;124(23):236803

Department of Physics, University of York, YO10 5DD York, United Kingdom.

Efficient detection of spin-charge conversion is crucial for advancing our understanding of emergent phenomena in spin-orbit-coupled nanostructures. Here, we provide a proof of principle of an electrical detection scheme of spin-charge conversion that enables full disentanglement of competing spin-orbit coupling (SOC) transport phenomena in diffusive lateral channels, i.e. Read More

Cureus 2020 May 26;12(5):e8300. Epub 2020 May 26.

Internal Medicine, Coliseum Medical Centers, Macon, USA.

A high-functioning middle-aged successful businessman developed a rapid decline in his cognitive, behavioral, and motor abilities within one year. He was initially diagnosed with dementia by a neurologist and was then diagnosed with pseudo-dementia secondary to major depressive disorder with catatonia by a psychiatrist who initiated treatment with Ativan. He was referred to our psychiatric facility for an evaluation to undergo electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as a potential treatment for medically refractory depression complicated with catatonia and pseudo-dementia. Read More

Neurobiol Dis 2020 Jun 26;143:104996. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre, University of Oxford, UK; Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK. Electronic address:

Since its first description in 1986 by Dr. Carlos Schenck, and his group's subsequent report of the delayed emergence of a Parkinsonian disorder in idiopathic RBD patients one decade later, RBD has emerged in recent years as one of the most promising markers of prodromal Parkinson's (References 2, 3). RBD is present in 25-58% of patients with Parkinson's disease and up to 90% of those with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) or Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Read More

Antioxid Redox Signal 2020 Jun 27. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Case Western Reserve University, Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Wolstein Research Building 4129, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106;

Significance: RBC mediated vasodilation plays an important role in oxygen delivery. This occurs through hemoglobin actions, at least in significant part, to convert heme-bound NO (in T/Deoxy-state hemoglobin) into vasodilator S-nitrosothiol (SNO) (in R/Oxy-state hemoglobin), convey SNO through the bloodstream, and release it in tissues to increase blood flow. The coupling of hemoglobin R-T state allostery, both to NO conversion into SNO and to SNO release (along with oxygen) under hypoxia supports the model of a 3-gas respiratory cycle (O₂/NO/CO₂). Read More

Front Neurosci 2020 11;14:579. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Neuropharmacology, QPS Austria GmbH, Grambach, Austria.

Neurofilament-light chain (NF-L) is a well-known clinical biomarker of many neurodegenerative diseases. By analyzing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or plasma, progression of NF-L levels can forecast conversion from the presymptomatic to symptomatic stage and time of survival. The use of plasma for NF-L measurement makes this biomarker exceptionally valuable for clinical studies since sample collection can be performed repeatedly without causing much harm. Read More

Neurology 2020 Jun 26. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada

Objective: To study the role of variants in the risk for isolated rapid-eye-movement (REM)-sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and conversion to overt neurodegeneration.

Methods: A total of 4,147 individuals were included: 1,061 iRBD patients and 3,086 controls. was fully sequenced using molecular inversion probes and Sanger sequencing. Read More

Stem Cell Res Ther 2020 Jun 26;11(1):257. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Stem Cell Research Laboratory (SCRL), Immunotherapy Research Center (IRC), Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, South Korea.

Background: Schwann cells (SCs) are primarily responsible for regeneration and repair of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Renewable and lineage-restricted SC precursors (SCPs) are considered highly desirable and promising cell sources for the production of SCs and for studies of SC lineage development, but SCPs are extremely limited. Here, we present a novel direct conversion strategy for the generation of human SCPs, capable of differentiating into functional SCs. Read More

Front Neurol 2020 2;11:461. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, "G. D'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are neurobehavioral conditions positioned in a gray zone, not infrequently a no-man land, that lies in the intersection between Neurology and Psychiatry. According to the DSM 5, PNES are a subgroup of conversion disorders (CD), while the ICD 10 classifies PNES as dissociative disorders. The incidence of PNES is estimated to be in the range of 1. Read More

Nature 2020 Jun 24;582(7813):550-556. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Parkinson's disease is characterized by loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. Similar to other major neurodegenerative disorders, there are no disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson's disease. While most treatment strategies aim to prevent neuronal loss or protect vulnerable neuronal circuits, a potential alternative is to replace lost neurons to reconstruct disrupted circuits. Read More

Toxicol Rep 2020 11;7:730-742. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Department of Pharmacognosy, SVKM's NMIMS, School of Pharmacy & Technology Management Mukesh Patel Technology Park, Babulde, Mumbai-Agra Highway, Shirpur, India.

Hypothyroidism is the most frequent consequence of the interaction of a large variety of drugs, environmental pollutants and industrial chemicals with the thyroid gland. It is associated with diminished endocrine function which may lead to hyperlipidemia, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, weight gain, and other metabolic disorders. The present study evaluates the pro-thyroid activity of a bioactive fraction from a polyherbal teabag in rats with hypothyroidism induced by propylthiouracil. Read More

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2020 Jun 23. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Human Motor Control Section, Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute on Nuerological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Background: Functional movement disorders (FMDs), part of the wide spectrum of functional neurological disorders (conversion disorders), are common and often associated with a poor prognosis. Nevertheless, little is known about their neurobiological underpinnings, particularly with regard to the contribution of genetic factors. Because FMD and stress-related disorders share a common core of biobehavioural manifestations, we investigated whether variants in stress-related genes also contributed, directly and interactively with childhood trauma, to the clinical and circuit-level phenotypes of FMD. Read More

Seizure 2020 Jun 17;80:159-160. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro, Italy; Regional Epilepsy Centre, Great Metropolitan "Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli" Hospital, Reggio Calabria, Italy; Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy. Electronic address:

Brain Sci 2020 Jun 18;10(6). Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Caserta, Italy.

Background: Functional motor conversion disorders are characterized by neurological symptoms unrelated to brain structural lesions. The present study was conducted on a woman presenting motor symptoms causing motor dysfunction, using advanced multimodal neuroimaging techniques, electrophysiological and neuropsychological assessment.

Methods: The patient underwent fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG-PET-CT) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with both task and resting-state paradigms and was compared with 11 healthy matched controls. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2020 May 26;27:102294. Epub 2020 May 26.

Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland; Dept. Informatics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Objective: Idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a prodromal stage of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Positron emission tomography (PET) with F-FDG reveals metabolic perturbations, which are scored by spatial covariance analysis. However, the resultant pattern scores do not capture the spatially heterogeneous trajectories of metabolic changes between individual brain regions. Read More

Chemosphere 2020 Jun 16;258:127409. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China. Electronic address:

Perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS), an aquatic pollutant of emerging concern, is found to disturb gut microbiota, retinoid metabolism and visual signaling in teleosts, while probiotic supplementation can shape gut microbial community to improve retinoid absorption. However, it remains unknown whether probiotic bacteria can modulate the toxicities of PFBS on retinoid metabolism and visual physiology. In the present study, adult zebrafish were exposed for 28 days to 0, 10 and 100 μg/L PFBS, with or without dietary administration of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Read More

Bone 2020 Jun 19:115493. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia; St Vincent's Clinical School, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Electronic address:

Bisphosphonates (BP) are a class of calcium-binding drug used to prevent bone resorption in skeletal disorders such as osteoporosis and metastatic bone disease. They act by selectively targeting bone-resorbing osteoclasts and can be grouped into two classes depending on their intracellular mechanisms of action. Simple BPs cause osteoclast apoptosis after cytoplasmic conversion into toxic ATP analogues. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2020 Jun 17. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Center for Comprehensive Care and Research on Memory Disorders, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Japan.

Background: Very few studies have investigated the impact of cognitive frailty in clinical settings, especially in memory clinic populations.

Objective: To examine the impact of cognitive frailty on activities of daily living (ADL), cognitive function, and conversion to dementia among memory clinic patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: The subjects of this retrospective study were 248 MCI patients (mean age, 76. Read More

Mov Disord 2020 Jun 22. Epub 2020 Jun 22.

Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Department, Hygeia Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Objective: The objective of this study was to validate the recently updated research criteria for prodromal Parkinson's disease (pPD) proposed by the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Society.

Methods: A total of 16 of 21 markers of pPD were ascertained in the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet cohort composed of community-dwelling individuals aged ≥65 years. The probability of pPD was calculated for 961 individuals without Parkinson's disease (PD) or dementia with Lewy bodies at baseline who were followed-up for a median of 3 years. Read More

Brain Connect 2020 Jun 21. Epub 2020 Jun 21.

Temple University, 6558, Psychology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States;

The fornix is the primary axonal tract of the hippocampus, connecting it to modulatory subcortical structures. This review reveals that fornix damage causes cognitive deficits that closely mirror those resulting from hippocampal lesions. In rodents and non-human primates, this is demonstrated by deficits in conditioning, reversal learning, and navigation. Read More

J Emerg Med 2020 Jun 18. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Department of Emergency Medicine, UC San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California; Division of Medical Toxicology, UC San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California.

Background: Methohexital is a short-acting barbiturate used for procedural sedation in the emergency department (ED). As with other sedatives, adverse effects with methohexital include excess sedation and hypotension, but this agent can also lower the seizure threshold. We report a patient who developed a generalized seizure after administration of methohexital. Read More

J Biol Chem 2020 Jun 19. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

University of Calgary, Canada.

Prion diseases are fatal infectious neurodegenerative disorders in human and animals caused by misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrP) into the pathological isoform PrP Elucidating the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying prion propagation may help to develop disease interventions. Cell culture systems for prion propagation have greatly advanced molecular insights into prion biology, but translation of to findings is often disappointing. A wider range of cell culture systems might help overcome these shortcomings. Read More

Biomed Eng Online 2020 Jun 19;19(1):53. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 40 Roosevelta, 41-800, Zabrze, Poland.

Background: Anorexia nervosa is a clinical disorder syndrome of the wide spectrum without a fully recognized etiology. The necessary issue in the clinical diagnostic process is to detect the causes of this disease (e.g. Read More

Eur J Immunol 2020 Jun 19. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Immunoregulation Laboratory, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Monocyte maturation program into macrophages (MΦ) is well defined in murine gut under homeostatic or inflammatory conditions. Obviously, in vivo tracking of monocytes in inflamed tissues remains difficult in humans. Furthermore, in vitro models fall short in generating the surrogates of transient extravasated tissue inflammatory monocytes. Read More

Case Rep Neurol Med 2020 10;2020:1967581. Epub 2020 Jan 10.

Department of Neurology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.

Conversion disorder is characterized by one or more symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory functions that cannot be explained by a neurological disease (Keynejad, 2019; Samuels et al., 2019). We present a patient with conversion disorder and discuss her process in overcoming this disorder. Read More

Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020 Jun 12;296:113537. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Environmental Health (LANEH), School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Rd, Shanghai 200241, China. Electronic address:

High carbohydrate diet (HCD) can induce lipid metabolism disorder, characterized by excessive lipid in farmed fish. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPARα) plays an important role in lipid homeostasis. In this study, we hypothesize that PPARα can improve lipid metabolism in fish fed HCD. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2020 ;76(1):261-274

Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

Background: There are detectable cognitive differences in cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: To determine whether cross-sectional performance on the Cogstate Brief Battery (CBB) and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) could identify 1) CU participants with preclinical AD defined by neuroimaging biomarkers of amyloid and tau, and 2) incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia.

Method: CU participants age 50+ were eligible if they had 1) amyloid (A) and tau (T) imaging within two years of their baseline CBB or 2) at least one follow-up visit. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2020 Jun 11;111:107183. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Neuropsychiatry Service, St. George's Hospital, Blackshaw Road, London SW17 0QT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

There is considerable debate in the literature regarding what to call functional seizures, with terms such as pseudoseizures, nonepileptic attack disorder (NEAD), and dissociative seizures being used. Provision of an accurate diagnosis and coherent explanation is a vital first step in the management of functional seizures and can result in cessation or reduced frequency for some individuals. This study investigated preferences for and offensiveness of terms used to describe functional seizures, and expectations for recovery with psychological treatment. Read More

Hist Philos Life Sci 2020 Jun 11;42(2):26. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Centre de Recherche Médecine, Sciences, Santé, Santé Mentale, Société (CNRS UMR 8211, Inserm U 988, EHESS, Université Paris Descartes), Villejuif, France.

In the early 1990s, Microcebus murinus, a small primate endemic to Madagascar, emerged as a potential animal model for the study of aging and Alzheimer's disease. This paper traces the use of the lesser mouse lemur in research on aging and associated neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on a basic material precondition that made this possible, namely, the conversion of a wild animal into an experimental organism that lives, breeds, and survives in the laboratory. It argues that the "old" mouse lemur model can be considered as an eco-zootechnical acquisition. Read More

J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep 2020 Jan-Dec;8:2324709620931649

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy affecting both motor and sensory peripheral nerves. Typically presenting after a gastrointestinal or a respiratory tract infection, it manifests as ascending paralysis with concomitant areflexia in patients. Cytoalbuminologic dissociation is a supportive finding on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. Read More

Physiol Behav 2020 Jun 7;224:113002. Epub 2020 Jun 7.

Department of Pharmacodynamics, University of Florida College of Pharmacy, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Integrative Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Electronic address:

Accumulating evidence has revealed an intricate role for the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the progression or alleviation of stress-related disorders. Along these lines, the 'pro-stress' actions of angiotensin-II (Ang-II) are largely thought to be mediated by the angiotensin type-1a receptor (AT1aR). On the other hand, a counter regulatory limb of the RAS that depends on the conversion of Ang-II to angiotensin-(1-7) by angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been postulated to exert stress-dampening actions. Read More