Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Am J Transplant 2021 May;21(5):1959-1974

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Problem/condition: West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) in the family Flaviviridae and is the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the contiguous United States. An estimated 70%-80% of WNV infections are asymptomatic. Symptomatic persons usually develop an acute systemic febrile illness. Read More

Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2021 Apr 30. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0756, La Jolla, CA 92093-0756, USA.

Introduction: encompasses several species of free-living ameba encountered commonly throughout the environment. Unfortunately, these species of ameba can cause opportunistic infections that result in keratitis, granulomatous amebic encephalitis, and occasionally systemic infection.

Areas Covered: This review discusses relevant literature found through PubMed and Google scholar published as of January 2021. Read More

Am J Hum Genet 2021 May 23;108(5):951-961. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Service de Génétique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, 86021 Poitiers, France; Equipe d'Accueil 3808, Université de Poitiers, 86034 Poitiers, France.

The collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP) family proteins are intracellular mediators of neurotrophic factors regulating neurite structure/spine formation and are essential for dendrite patterning and directional axonal pathfinding during brain developmental processes. Among this family, CRMP5/DPYSL5 plays a significant role in neuronal migration, axonal guidance, dendrite outgrowth, and synapse formation by interacting with microtubules. Here, we report the identification of missense mutations in DPYSL5 in nine individuals with brain malformations, including corpus callosum agenesis and/or posterior fossa abnormalities, associated with variable degrees of intellectual disability. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 6;12:664344. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Using a targeted transcriptomics approach, we have analyzed resected brain tissue from a cohort of 53 pediatric epilepsy surgery cases, and have found that there is a spectrum of involvement of both the innate and adaptive immune systems as evidenced by the differential expression of immune-specific genes in the affected brain tissue. The specimens with the highest expression of immune-specific genes were from two Rasmussen encephalitis cases, which is known to be a neuro-immunological disease, but also from tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), focal cortical dysplasia, and hemimegalencephaly surgery cases. We obtained T cell receptor (TCR) Vβ chain sequence data from brain tissue and blood from patients with the highest levels of T cell transcripts. Read More

Clin Nucl Med 2021 06;46(6):e325-e326

From the Ahmanson Translational Theranostics Division, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.

Abstract: A 3-year-old, previously healthy girl started having clusters of seizures, not responsive to multiple antiepileptic medications. High-dose prednisone and intravenous immunoglobulin could partially control the seizures. Lumbar puncture and CT were normal. Read More

J Exp Med 2021 May;218(5)

Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is an emerging human pathogen that causes potentially fatal disease with no specific treatment. Mouse monoclonal antibodies are protective against TBEV, but little is known about the human antibody response to infection. Here, we report on the human neutralizing antibody response to TBEV in a cohort of infected and vaccinated individuals. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Mar 31;15(3):e0009306. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America.

Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) is a major biothreat agent that naturally causes outbreaks in humans and horses particularly in tropical areas of the western hemisphere, for which no antiviral therapy is currently available. The host response to VEEV and the cellular factors this alphavirus hijacks to support its effective replication or evade cellular immune responses are largely uncharacterized. We have previously demonstrated tremendous cell-to-cell heterogeneity in viral RNA (vRNA) and cellular transcript levels during flaviviral infection using a novel virus-inclusive single-cell RNA-Seq approach. Read More

Pediatr Blood Cancer 2021 Mar 27:e29027. Epub 2021 Mar 27.

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Valley Children's Hospital, Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Madera, California, USA.

Cureus 2021 Feb 6;13(2):e13183. Epub 2021 Feb 6.

General Practice, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.

West Nile virus disease (WNVD) is a mosquito-borne disease that affects the meninges and central nervous system, causing West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis, a debilitating, life-threatening condition, especially in the elderly. While there is a lot of research discussing different aspects of the disease, the treatment is mainly unknown. We conducted a literature review to explore the wide variety of treatment options that consolidate the knowledge about the most recent management of WNV encephalitis. Read More

MMWR Surveill Summ 2021 03 5;70(1):1-15. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Problem/condition: West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropodborne virus (arbovirus) in the family Flaviviridae and is the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the contiguous United States. An estimated 70%-80% of WNV infections are asymptomatic. Symptomatic persons usually develop an acute systemic febrile illness. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2021 Feb 21;18(1):53. Epub 2021 Feb 21.

Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, People's Republic of China.

Background: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a recently discovered autoimmune syndrome associated with psychosis, dyskinesia, and seizures. However, the underlying mechanisms of this disease remain unclear, in part because of a lack of suitable animal models.

Methods: This study describes a novel female C57BL/6 mouse model of anti-NMDAR encephalitis that was induced by active immunization against NMDARs using an amino terminal domain (ATD) peptide from the GluN1 subunit (GluN1). Read More

Clin Exp Pediatr 2021 Feb 1. Epub 2021 Feb 1.

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

PLoS One 2021 2;16(2):e0246320. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium.

Emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), Nipah Virus Encephalitis and Lassa fever pose significant epidemic threats. Responses to emerging infectious disease outbreaks frequently occur in resource-constrained regions and under high pressure to quickly contain the outbreak prior to potential spread. As seen in the 2020 EVD outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is a continued need to evaluate and address the ethical challenges that arise in the high stakes environment of an emerging infectious disease outbreak response. Read More

ACS Med Chem Lett 2021 Jan 24;12(1):155-161. Epub 2020 Dec 24.

Pipeline Therapeutics, 10578 Science Center Drive, Suite 200, San Diego, California 92121, United States.

The discovery of PIPE-359, a brain-penetrant and selective antagonist of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype 1 is described. Starting from a literature-reported M antagonist, linker replacement and structure-activity relationship investigations of the eastern 1-(pyridinyl)piperazine led to the identification of a novel, potent, and selective antagonist with good MDCKII-MDR1 permeability. Continued semi-iterative positional scanning facilitated improvements in the metabolic and hERG profiles, which ultimately delivered PIPE-359. Read More

Case Rep Crit Care 2020 22;2020:6616805. Epub 2020 Dec 22.

St. Joseph Medical Center, 1800 N California Street, Stockton, California 95204, USA.

A 32-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) with a productive cough for 4 days and confusion for 2 days prior to presentation. He was febrile, tachycardic, and hypotensive. Initially, labs and influenza A/B PCR were performed. Read More

Trop Anim Health Prod 2021 Jan 7;53(1):92. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

West Nile fever (WNF) and Rift Valley fever (RVF) are emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases of veterinary and public health importance in Africa. Despite the existence of potential vectors and a wide range of hosts, the transmission of these diseases in domestic animals has not been well documented in the South Omo area of Ethiopia. This study aimed to estimate the sero-prevalence of IgG antibodies produced against West Nile virus (WNV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infections among cattle in the South Omo area. Read More

Science 2021 01;371(6525):194-200

Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3370, USA.

Medically important flaviviruses cause diverse disease pathologies and collectively are responsible for a major global disease burden. A contributing factor to pathogenesis is secreted flavivirus nonstructural protein 1 (NS1). Despite demonstrated protection by NS1-specific antibodies against lethal flavivirus challenge, the structural and mechanistic basis remains unknown. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2020 27;28:102515. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Neurology, Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Berlin, Germany; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address:

Hippocampal damage and associated cognitive deficits are frequently observed in neuroimmunological disorders, but comparative analyses to identify shared hippocampal damage patterns are missing. Here, we adopted a transdiagnostic analytical approach and investigated hippocampal shape deformations and associated cognitive deficits in four neuroimmunological diseases. We studied 120 patients (n = 30 in each group), including patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), anti-NMDAR and anti-LGI1 encephalitis. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2021 Jan 3. Epub 2021 Jan 3.

Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD , USA.

Background: Clinically useful predictors for fatal toxoplasmosis are lacking. We investigated the value of serological assays for antibodies to whole Toxoplasma antigens and to peptide antigens of the Toxoplasma cyst protein MAG1, for predicting incident toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: We performed a nested case control study, conducted within the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), using serum samples obtained 2 years prior to diagnosis of TE from 28 cases, and 37 HIV disease-matched Toxoplasma seropositive controls at matched time-points. Read More

Immunity 2021 01 23;54(1):164-175.e6. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

Department of Neurology with Institute of Translational Neurology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany. Electronic address:

Patients suffering from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can develop neurological sequelae, such as headache and neuroinflammatory or cerebrovascular disease. These conditions-termed here as Neuro-COVID-are more frequent in patients with severe COVID-19. To understand the etiology of these neurological sequelae, we utilized single-cell sequencing and examined the immune cell profiles from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Neuro-COVID patients compared with patients with non-inflammatory and autoimmune neurological diseases or with viral encephalitis. Read More

Diseases 2020 Dec 24;9(1). Epub 2020 Dec 24.

Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate thrombotic microangiopathy's (TMA) incidence, risk factors, and impact on outcomes and resource use in hospitalized patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: We used the National Inpatient Sample to construct a cohort of hospitalized patients with SLE from 2003-2014. We compared clinical characteristics, in-hospital treatments, outcomes, and resource use between SLE patients with and without TMA. Read More

Paediatr Anaesth 2021 Mar 17;31(3):316-322. Epub 2021 Jan 17.

Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Introduction: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is caused by auto-antibodies that target the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. Autonomic instability is a hallmark of the disease. The objective of this case series is to examine how anesthesia affects pediatric patients with this disease. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020 Dec 21. Epub 2020 Dec 21.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Albany School of Public Health, Albany, New York.

Sera from white-tailed deer (WTD, ) hunter-harvested throughout New York State (NYS), 2007-2015, were tested by plaque reduction neutralization for antibodies against nine mosquito-borne viruses from the families Peribunyaviridae, Flaviviridae, and Togaviridae. Overall, 76.1% (373/490) of sampled WTD were seropositive against at least one virus, and 38. Read More

PLoS One 2020 17;15(12):e0244056. Epub 2020 Dec 17.

Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, California, United States of America.

Viral infections were investigated in American black bears (Ursus americanus) from Nevada and northern California with and without idiopathic encephalitis. Metagenomics analyses of tissue pools revealed novel viruses in the genera Circoviridae, Parvoviridae, Anelloviridae, Polyomaviridae, and Papillomaviridae. The circovirus and parvovirus were of particular interest due to their potential importance as pathogens. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2020 Dec 10;13(12). Epub 2020 Dec 10.

Family and Community Medicine, UCSF Fresno Center for Medical Education, Fresno, California, USA.

A 61-year-old Hispanic man with no psychiatric history presented with an acute onset of personality changes, including aggression and hypersexuality, which progressed to hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status, and was diagnosed with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis. This report emphasises the importance of having anti-NDMA receptor encephalitis on the list of differential diagnoses in acute, unprovoked personality changes in older adults. Read More

Cureus 2020 Oct 26;12(10):e11174. Epub 2020 Oct 26.

Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA.

Viral infections of the central nervous system such as meningitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis, are important causes of significant morbidities and mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment will lead to better outcomes, but any delay may results in high fatality with serious neurologic sequelae among survivors. We conducted a systematic review of published literature on the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and complications of viral infections of the central nervous system from 1980 to 2019 on four databases comprising of PubMed, PubMed Central, Google Scholar and Medline to give the current understanding for better patient management. Read More

Neurosci Lett 2021 01 28;741:135462. Epub 2020 Nov 28.

Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Weill Institute for Neuroscience, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Kavli Institute of Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address:

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS). In physiological conditions, microglia contribute to maintaining brain homeostasis by scanning the surrounding parenchyma and acting as scavenger cells. Following different insults to the CNS, microglia turn into a "reactive" state characterized by the production of inflammatory mediators that promote tissue repair to restore homeostasis. Read More

Neurosci Lett 2021 01 25;742:135529. Epub 2020 Nov 25.

Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angles, CA, USA; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), 1520 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address:

In this mini-review, we aim to summarize some of the most common neuroimaging findings seen in patients with COVID-19. Read More

Indian J Psychiatry 2020 Sep 28;62(Suppl 3):S377-S379. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Psychiatrist, President Mexican Psychiatric Association, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego, USA.

As of June 2020 the number of Coronavirus cases in Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are just under 2.5 million infections and over 140,000 deaths. The health systems in half of the countries in the Americas and the rest of the world have faced the pandemic positioned from different perspectives. Read More

PLoS Comput Biol 2020 11 19;16(11):e1008305. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.

While highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is successful in controlling the replication of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) in many patients, currently there is no cure for HIV-1, presumably due to the presence of reservoirs of the virus. One of the least studied viral reservoirs is the brain, which the virus enters by crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) via macrophages, which are considered as conduits between the blood and the brain. The presence of HIV-1 in the brain often leads to HIV associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), such as encephalitis and early-onset dementia. Read More