Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

mBio 2022 May 25:e0073122. Epub 2022 May 25.

Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hanover, Germany.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthritogenic reemerging virus replicating in plasma membrane-derived compartments termed "spherules." Here, we identify the human transmembrane protein CD81 as host factor required for CHIKV replication. Ablation of CD81 results in decreased CHIKV permissiveness, while overexpression enhances infection. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 May 18;18(5):e1010231. Epub 2022 May 18.

Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, United States of America.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a highly pathogenic mosquito-borne virus capable of causing hepatitis, encephalitis, blindness, hemorrhagic syndrome, and death in humans and livestock. Upon aerosol infection with RVFV, the brain is a major site of viral replication and tissue damage, yet pathogenesis in this organ has been understudied. Here, we investigated the immune response in the brain of RVFV infected mice. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 May 9;16(5):e0010375. Epub 2022 May 9.

Vector-Borne Disease Section, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, United States of America.

Local vector control and public health agencies in California use the California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance and Response Plan to monitor and evaluate West Nile virus (WNV) activity and guide responses to reduce the burden of WNV disease. All available data from environmental surveillance, such as the abundance and WNV infection rates in Culex tarsalis and the Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes, the numbers of dead birds, seroconversions in sentinel chickens, and ambient air temperatures, are fed into a formula to estimate the risk level and associated risk of human infections. In many other areas of the US, the vector index, based only on vector mosquito abundance and infection rates, is used by vector control programs to estimate the risk of human WNV transmission. Read More

Front Public Health 2022 21;10:818204. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Disease, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.

During the summers of 2017-2019, 60 human cases of Jamestown Canyon virus-associated disease were reported in the State of Wisconsin, U.S.A; by comparison, there were 28 cases in the 5 years prior. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 May 6;71(18):628-632. Epub 2022 May 6.

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of infected mosquitoes and ticks. West Nile virus (WNV), mainly transmitted by Culex species mosquitos, is the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the United States (1). Other arboviruses cause sporadic cases of disease and occasional outbreaks. Read More

Vaccine 2022 May 18;40(23):3150-3158. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, United States.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused an abrupt drop in in-person health care (inpatient, Emergency Department, outpatient) and an increase in telehealth care, which poses challenges in vaccine safety studies that identify outcomes from in-person encounters. We examined the changes in incidence rates of selected encounter-based outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We assembled a cohort of members from 8 Vaccine Safety Datalink sites from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2020. Read More

J Wildl Dis 2022 Apr 18. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 589 D. W. Brooks Drive, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a popular game species in North America and often lives in close proximity to humans and domestic animals. Deer with neurologic signs are of high interest to the general public and wildlife managers because of disease and safety concerns. Our aim was to describe diagnostic findings from free-ranging white-tailed deer diagnosed with rabies from across the eastern US from 2000 to 2021, with emphasis on gross lesions in the skin and soft tissue overlying the skull. Read More

J Affect Disord 2022 Jul 13;308:449-457. Epub 2022 Apr 13.

Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA; Division of Neurology, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.

Background: Long-term neuropsychiatric sequelae of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) remain understudied, particularly in pediatric-onset AE. We aimed to synthesize the published data on ongoing psychiatric symptoms in pediatric-onset AE.

Methods: The Pubmed, PyscINFO, Web of Science databases were searched from their inception years to August 23, 2021, and 29 studies were identified and analyzed. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022 04 4;119(15):e2113310119. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Gestational maternal immune activation (MIA) in mice induces persistent brain microglial activation and a range of neuropathologies in the adult offspring. Although long-term phenotypes are well documented, how MIA in utero leads to persistent brain inflammation is not well understood. Here, we found that offspring of mothers treated with polyriboinosinic–polyribocytidylic acid [poly(I:C)] to induce MIA at gestational day 13 exhibit blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction throughout life. Read More

Pediatr Rev 2022 Apr;43(4):198-211

Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Los Angles, Los Angeles, CA.

Autoimmune encephalitis is a common and treatable cause of encephalitis in children and adults. Individuals present with a variety of symptoms, including altered mental status, behavioral changes, irritability, insomnia, developmental regression, seizures, dyskinetic movements, and autonomic instability. Evaluation includes electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, and lumbar puncture. Read More

Nat Commun 2022 03 30;13(1):1675. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

The epidemiology of infectious causes of meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa is not well understood, and a common cause of meningitis in this region, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), is notoriously hard to diagnose. Here we show that integrating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) with a host gene expression-based machine learning classifier (MLC) enhances diagnostic accuracy for TB meningitis (TBM) and its mimics. 368 HIV-infected Ugandan adults with subacute meningitis were prospectively enrolled. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 03 25;16(3):e0010260. Epub 2022 Mar 25.

Davis Arbovirus Research and Training Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.

Background: Vector control strategies typically rely on pesticides to target mosquitoes involved in enzootic and zoonotic transmission of West Nile virus (WNV). Nevertheless, increasing insecticide resistance and a desire to reduce pesticide usage provide the impetus for developing alternative strategies. Ivermectin (IVM), an antiparasitic drug which is widely used in human and veterinary medicine, is a potential alternative for targeted control because Culex mosquitoes experience increased mortality following ingestion of IVM in bloodmeals. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2022 04;28(4):906-908

We report a fatal case of vaccine-associated measles encephalitis in an immunocompromised child in California, USA. The infection was confirmed by whole-genome RNA sequencing of measles virus from brain tissue. We observed biased matrix-gene hypermutation consistent with persistent measles virus central nervous system infection. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022 04 22;66(4):e0218121. Epub 2022 Mar 22.

Antimicrobial Pharmacodynamics and Therapeutics, University of Liverpoolgrid.10025.36, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Neonatal sepsis is an underrecognized burden on health care systems throughout the world. Antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) is increasingly prevalent and compromises the use of currently recommended first-line agents. The development of new antimicrobial agents for neonates and children is mandated by regulatory agencies. Read More

Aging Cell 2022 04 15;21(4):e13582. Epub 2022 Mar 15.

Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona, USA.

Older humans and animals often exhibit reduced immune responses to infection and vaccination, and this often directly correlates to the numbers and frequency of naive T (Tn) cells. We found such a correlation between reduced numbers of blood CD8+ Tn cells and severe clinical outcomes of West Nile virus (WNV) in both humans naturally exposed to, and mice experimentally infected with, WNV. To examine possible causality, we sought to increase the number of CD8 Tn cells by treating C57BL/6 mice with IL-7 complexes (IL-7C, anti-IL-7 mAb bound to IL-7), shown previously to efficiently increase peripheral T-cell numbers by homeostatic proliferation. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 03 4;18(3):e1010384. Epub 2022 Mar 4.

Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America.

The California serogroup (CSG) of Orthobunyaviruses comprises several members capable of causing neuroinvasive disease in humans, including La Crosse orthobunyavirus (LACV), Jamestown Canyon orthobunyavirus (JCV), and Inkoo orthobunyavirus (INKV). Despite being genetically and serologically closely related, their disease incidences and pathogenesis in humans and mice differ. We have previously shown that following intraperitoneal inoculation of weanling mice, LACV was highly pathogenic while JCV and INKV were not. Read More

Cureus 2022 Jan 21;14(1):e21480. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

Department of Neurology, University of California Irvine, Orange, USA.

We present the case of a 62-year-old woman with a past medical history significant for p-ANCA vasculitis (on immunosuppression) who was found to have polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-negative herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis. We also present a review of all identifiable reports of PCR-negative HSV encephalitis in the past 20 years. To our knowledge, this is the first case of PCR-negative HSV encephalitis in a patient with p-ANCA vasculitis and the thirteenth overall in this timeframe. Read More

Cells 2022 02 1;11(3). Epub 2022 Feb 1.

Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.

It has been shown that the Western diet (WD) induces systemic inflammation and cognitive decline. Moreover, probiotic supplementation and antibiotic treatment reduce diet-induced hepatic inflammation. The current study examines whether shaping the gut microbes by () supplementation and antibiotic treatment reduce diet-induced brain inflammation and improve neuroplasticity. Read More

Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2022 03 3;9(2). Epub 2022 Feb 3.

From the Stanford University Center for Sleep Sciences (V.P.S., A.A., and E.M.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; French Reference Center for Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndromes and Autoimmune Encephalitis (S.M.-C., A.-L.P., V.R., and J.H.), Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Neurologique; Synatac Team (S.M.-C., A.-L.P., V.R., and J.H.), NeuroMyoGene Institute, INSERM U1217/CNRS UMR5310, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, France; Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group (S.B. and S.I.), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford; Department of Neurology (S.B. and S.I.), John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (S.J.P. and D.D.), and Department of Neurology (S.J.P. and D.D.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Department of Neurology (M.D.G., J.M.G., and S.D.), University of California, San Francisco; Department of Neurology (S.-T.L.), Seoul National University Hospital, South Korea; and Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (J.K. and K.S.E.), Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Background And Objectives: To study human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele associations in anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) encephalitis.

Methods: A multiethnic cohort of 269 patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis and 1,359 controls was included. Four-digit HLA sequencing and genome wide association single-nucleotide polymorphism typing imputation (0. Read More

Can Vet J 2022 02;63(2):178-186

Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (Rissi), Department of Pathology (Elbert), University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia; Antech Diagnostics, Fountain Valley, California (Yau).

In this study we describe 207 cases of neuroinflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) in dogs autopsied at the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (University of Georgia, United States) from 2008 to 2019. Idiopathic and infectious diseases were diagnosed in 111 cases (53.6%) and 96 cases (46. Read More

Radiol Case Rep 2022 Mar 28;17(3):753-758. Epub 2021 Dec 28.

Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Suite 1638, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

Biotin-Thiamine-Responsive Basal Ganglia Disease is an extremely rare autosomal recessive neurometabolic disorder characterized by recurrent waxing and waning episodes of subacute encephalopathy and seizures. High dose biotin and thiamine administration has been shown to improve symptoms within days, and the symptoms may reappear rapidly if supplementation is discontinued. Here we present a case of a 20-year-old male with classical clinical and imaging findings of Biotin-Thiamine-Responsive Basal Ganglia Disease, with a 12-year delay in diagnosis, finally diagnosed after presenting at our institution based on imaging and subsequent reexamination of exome sequencing. Read More

BMC Neurol 2021 Dec 22;21(1):494. Epub 2021 Dec 22.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, SE-415 50, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Background: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) injury is prevalent in patients with HIV-associated dementia (HAD) and is a frequent feature of HIV encephalitis. Signs of BBB damage are also sometimes found in neuroasymptomatic HIV-infected individuals without antiretroviral therapy (ART). The aim of this study was to investigate the integrity of the BBB before and after initiation of ART in both neuroasymptomatic HIV infection and in patients with HAD. Read More

Cureus 2021 Nov 7;13(11):e19336. Epub 2021 Nov 7.

Internal Medicine, Nepal Medical College, Kathmandu, NPL.

We present a case of rapidly progressive granulomatous amoebic encephalitis caused by in an individual with diabetes mellitus. Our patient presented with occipital headache, blurry vision, confusion, and gait imbalance of one week's duration. Brain imaging revealed numerous peripheral ring-enhancing lesions concerning malignancy. Read More

Curr Opin Lipidol 2022 02;33(1):16-24

Department of Neurology and Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Purpose Of Review: To highlight recent developments in studying mechanisms by which the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele affects the metabolism of brain lipids and predisposes the brain to inflammation and Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia.

Recent Findings: APOE4 activates Ca2+ dependent phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) leading to changes in arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid signaling cascades in the brain. Among these changes, the increased conversion of AA to eicosanoids associates with sustained and unresolved chronic brain inflammation. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2021 Dec 10. Epub 2021 Dec 10.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen with significant human and veterinary health consequences that periodically emerges in epizootics. RVFV causes fetal loss and death in ruminants and in humans can lead to liver and renal disease, delayed-onset encephalitis, retinitis, and in some cases severe haemorrhagic fever. A live attenuated vaccine candidate (DDVax), was developed by the deletion of the virulence factors NSs and NSm from a clinical isolate, ZH501, and has proven safe and immunogenic in rodents, pregnant sheep and non-human primates. Read More

Nature 2021 12 8;600(7889):494-499. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

Physical exercise is generally beneficial to all aspects of human and animal health, slowing cognitive ageing and neurodegeneration. The cognitive benefits of physical exercise are tied to an increased plasticity and reduced inflammation within the hippocampus, yet little is known about the factors and mechanisms that mediate these effects. Here we show that 'runner plasma', collected from voluntarily running mice and infused into sedentary mice, reduces baseline neuroinflammatory gene expression and experimentally induced brain inflammation. Read More

Neurology 2022 01 8;98(3):e267-e278. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

From the Australian National University Medical School (P.S.), Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing (N.C.), and National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (R.L.), Australian National University, Canberra; Division of Epidemiology (L.F.B.), University of California Berkeley; Department of Pediatrics (S.R., C.C.), University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City; Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center (J.H.) and Department of Neurology (E.W.), University of California San Francisco; Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center (G.S.A.), Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, CA; MS Comprehensive Care Center (L.K.), New York University Langone, NY; Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders Program (L.B., M. Gorman), Boston Children's Hospital, MA; Division of Pediatric Neurology (M.C.), University of Utah Primary Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City; Partners Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center (T.C.), Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston; Department of Radiology (M. Goyal), Washington University St. Louis, MO; Department of Neurology (B.G.), University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas; Pediatric-Onset Demyelinating Diseases and Autoimmune Encephalitis Center (S.M.), St. Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, MO; Mayo Clinic Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center (M.R.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Department of Pediatric Neurology (J.R.), Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL; Children's Hospital Colorado (T.S.), University of Colorado, Denver; Division of Neurology (A.W.), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA; Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center (B.W.-G.), Jacobs Neurological Institute, State University of New York Buffalo; and Department of Neurosciences (J.G.), University of California San Diego.

Background And Objectives: This study aims to determine the contributions of sun exposure and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure to risk of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Children with MS and controls recruited from multiple centers in the United States were matched on sex and age. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used to investigate the association of time spent outdoors daily in summer, use of sun protection, and ambient summer UVR dose in the year before birth and the year before diagnosis with MS risk, with adjustment for sex, age, race, birth season, child's skin color, mother's education, tobacco smoke exposure, being overweight, and Epstein-Barr virus infection. Read More

Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022 Feb 23;76(2):62-63. Epub 2021 Dec 23.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.

Front Neurol 2021 4;12:764197. Epub 2021 Nov 4.

Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group and Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, CA, United States.

Anti-N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis has been reported after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but not after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We report the first known case of anti-NMDAR encephalitis after SARS-CoV-2 immunization in a young female presenting with acute psychosis, highlighting a rare potential immunological complication of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 that is currently being distributed worldwide. The patient presented initially with anxiety and hypochondriacal delusions which progressed to psychosis and catatonia but returned to baseline with aggressive immunomodulatory therapy consisting of intravenous immunoglobulin, high-dose glucocorticoids, and rituximab. Read More

Neurol Clin 2022 02;40(1):93-112

Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0114, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address:

Meningitis and encephalitis are inflammatory syndromes of the meninges and brain parenchyma, respectively, and may be identified either by finding definitive evidence of inflammation on tissue pathology or by cerebrocpinal fluid (CSF) analysis showing pleocytosis or intrathecal antibody synthesis. Clinicians evaluating undifferentiated meningitis or encephalitis should simultaneously consider autoimmune, infectious, and neoplastic causes, using patient risk factors, clinical syndrome, and diagnostic results including CSF and MRI findings to narrow the differential diagnosis. If an autoimmune cause is favored, an important early diagnostic question is whether a specific neural autoantibody is likely to be identified. Read More