rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Compensatory brainstem functional and structural connectivity in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy by probabilistic tractography and functional MRI.
Brain research, 2020

Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the most common cause of spinal cord impairment in adults. Previous supraspinal investigations have primarily focused on cortical changes in this patient population. As the nexus between the brain and the spinal cord, the brainstem has been understudied in patients with DCM. The current study examined the structural and functional connectivity between the brainstem and cortex in DCM patients using probabilistic tractography and resting-state functional MRI. A total of 26 study patients and 32 neurologically intact, healthy volunteers (HCs) participated in this prospective analysis. The study cohort included DCM patients (n = 18), as well as neurologically asymptomatic patients with evidence of cervical spine degenerative changes and spinal cord compression (n = 8). Results of the study demonstrated significant differences in fiber density (FD), fiber cross-section (FDC), and the functional connectivity (FC) between the study cohort and HCs. Through seeding the brainstem, the study cohort showed reductions in FD and FDC along the corticospinal tract, including regions extending through the corona radiata and internal capsule. By correlating FD and FDC with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA), we identified increasing total volume of projections to the thalamus, basal ganglia, and internal capsule, and increased functional connectivity to visual network and the posterior parietal cortices. These results support our hypothesis that DCM patients tend to have long-term FC reorganization not only localized to sensorimotor regions, but also to regulatory and visual processing regions, designed to ultimately preserve neurological function.
Behavioral, axonal, and proteomic alterations following repeated mild traumatic brain injury: Novel insights using a clinically relevant rat model.
Neurobiology of disease, 2021

A history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is linked to a number of chronic neurological conditions, however there is still much unknown about the underlying mechanisms. To provide new insights, this study used a clinically relevant model of repeated mTBI in rats to characterize the acute and chronic neuropathological and neurobehavioral consequences of these injuries. Rats were given four sham-injuries or four mTBIs and allocated to 7-day or 3.5-months post-injury recovery groups. Behavioral analysis assessed sensorimotor function, locomotion, anxiety, and spatial memory. Neuropathological analysis included serum quantification of neurofilament light (NfL), mass spectrometry of the hippocampal proteome, and ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Repeated mTBI rats had evidence of acute cognitive deficits and prolonged sensorimotor impairments. Serum NfL was elevated at 7 days post injury, with levels correlating with sensorimotor deficits; however, no NfL differences were observed at 3.5 months. Several hippocampal proteins were altered by repeated mTBI, including those associated with energy metabolism, neuroinflammation, and impaired neurogenic capacity. Diffusion MRI analysis at 3.5 months found widespread reductions in white matter integrity. Taken together, these findings provide novel insights into the nature and progression of repeated mTBI neuropathology that may underlie lingering or chronic neurobehavioral deficits.
Riding the Brainwaves of Cuban Science: Pedro Valdés Sosa, MD, PhD, Cuban Neuroscience Center, Havana.
MEDICC review, 2008

Pedro Valdés spent his childhood in Chicago, Illinois, USA, where he says his love of science began. After his family returned to Cuba in 1961, he studied medicine, received his PhD in biological sciences, and in 1990 at the age of 40, founded the Cuban Neuroscience Center with a group of young scientists that included his brother Mitchell, now the Center's Director. Since then, the Center has accumulated an impressive record developing patented neuroimaging diagnostic equipment for national use and export, a nationwide infant screening program for hearing loss, and the Cuban Brain Mapping Project, among other pioneering efforts. The Center's recruitment of new graduates keeps the median age of its professionals at 28, and its scientists are the island's most widely published outside of Cuba.
Fibrotic progression and radiologic correlation in matched lung samples from COVID-19 post-mortems.
Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology, 2021

Data on the pathology of COVID-19 are scarce; available studies show diffuse alveolar damage; however, there is scarce information on the chronologic evolution of COVID-19 lung lesions. The primary aim of the study is to describe the chronology of lung pathologic changes in COVID-19 by using a post-mortem transbronchial lung cryobiopsy approach. Our secondary aim is to correlate the histologic findings with computed tomography patterns. SARS-CoV-2-positive patients, who died while intubated and mechanically ventilated, were enrolled. The procedure was performed 30 min after death, and all lung lobes sampled. Histopathologic analysis was performed on thirty-nine adequate samples from eight patients: two patients (illness duration < 14 days) showed early/exudative phase diffuse alveolar damage, while the remaining 6 patients (median illness duration-32 days) showed progressive histologic patterns (3 with mid/proliferative phase; 3 with late/fibrotic phase diffuse alveolar damage, one of which with honeycombing). Immunohistochemistry for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein was positive predominantly in early-phase lesions. Histologic patterns and tomography categories were correlated: early/exudative phase was associated with ground-glass opacity, mid/proliferative lesions with crazy paving, while late/fibrous phase correlated with the consolidation pattern, more frequently seen in the lower/middle lobes. This study uses an innovative cryobiopsy approach for the post-mortem sampling of lung tissues from COVID-19 patients demonstrating the progression of fibrosis in time and correlation with computed tomography features. These findings may prove to be useful in the correct staging of disease, and this could have implications for treatment and patient follow-up.
Cobalamin J disease detected on newborn screening: Novel variant and normal neurodevelopmental course.
American journal of medical genetics. Part A, 2021

Cobalamin J disease (CblJ) is an ultra-rare autosomal recessive disorder of intracellular cobalamin metabolism associated with combined methylmalonic acidemia and homocystinuria. It is caused by pathogenic variants in ABCD4, which encodes an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter that affects the lysosomal release of cobalamin (Cbl) into the cytoplasm. Only six cases of CblJ have been reported in the literature. Described clinical features include feeding difficulties, failure to thrive, hypotonia, seizures, developmental delay, and hematological abnormalities. Information on clinical outcomes is extremely limited, and no cases of presymptomatic diagnosis have been reported. We describe a now 17-month-old male with CblJ detected by newborn screening and confirmed by biochemical, molecular, and complementation studies. With early detection and initiation of treatment, this patient has remained asymptomatic with normal growth parameters and neurodevelopmental function. To the best of our knowledge, this report represents the first asymptomatic and neurotypical patient with CblJ.
Dementia with Lewy bodies - a clinicopathological update.
Free neuropathology, 2020

Dementia is one of the major burdens of our aging society. According to certain predictions, the number of patients will double every 20 years. Although Alzheimer's disease (AD), as the most frequent neurodegenerative dementia, has been extensively analysed, less is known about dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Neuropathological hallmarks of DLB are the deposition of intracellular Lewy bodies (LB) and Lewy neurites (LN). DLB belongs to the α-synucleinopathies, as the major component of these inclusions is pathologically aggregated α-synuclein. Depending on the localisation of LBs and LNs in the central nervous system cognitive and motor symptoms can occur. In our work, we will systematically review the possible etiology and epidemiology, pathological (both macroscopic and microscopic) features, structural and functional imaging findings, with a special emphasis on the clinico-pathological correlations. Finally, we summarize the latest clinical symptoms-based diagnostic criteria and the novel therapeutic approaches. Since DLB is frequently accompanied with AD pathology, highlighting possible differential diagnostic approaches is an integral part of our paper. Although our present knowledge is insufficient, the rapid development of diagnostic and research methods provide hope for better diagnosis and more efficient treatment, contributing to a better quality of life.
Editor's Choice - Trends in Lower Extremity Amputation Incidence in European Union 15+ Countries 1990-2017.
European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery, 2020

Lower extremity amputation (LEA) carries significant mortality, morbidity, and health economic burden. In the Western world, it most commonly results from complications of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) or diabetic foot disease. The incidence of PAOD has declined in Europe, the United States, and parts of Australasia. The present study aimed to assess trends in LEA incidence in European Union (EU15+) countries for the years 1990-2017.
Mark Mattson Q&A Interview.
Neuron, 2021

In an interview with Neuron, Mark Mattson discusses his scientific and personal journey, from racing horses to heading a laboratory at NIH. Mattson reflects on a wide-ranging career that has included fundamental findings in developmental neuroscience and bringing intermittent fasting to the forefront of neurodegeneration research.
Systematic functional analysis of rab GTPases reveals limits of neuronal robustness to environmental challenges in flies.
eLife, 2021

Rab GTPases are molecular switches that regulate membrane trafficking in all cells. Neurons have particular demands on membrane trafficking and express numerous Rab GTPases of unknown function. Here, we report the generation and characterization of molecularly defined null mutants for all 26
Brain-themed self-help and the healthcare provider in the United States.
Behavioral sciences & the law, 2018

People commonly use the Internet to search for health information and tend to use the information they find without regard to source or credibility. Although regulation plays some role in minimizing false claims made by manufacturers of self-help products, effective communication with health professionals likely offers greater protection to the patient or consumer accessing self-help materials. In order to best serve patients (or healthcare consumers), providers should educate them about their healthcare needs, inquire about self-help product use, understand appropriate use, discuss the risks and benefits of use, monitor the patients' condition during use, and document these conversations. Although some people fear that patient use of brain-themed self-help will undermine the doctor-patient relationship, it is more likely to open another avenue of communication if providers are knowledgeable about self-help products. Given the rise in importance of the Internet as a source of information for people, opting out of these discussions is realistically not an option.
Glutamate in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-analysis of 
Biological psychiatry, 2021

To date, there is no systematic overview of glutamate in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of patients with schizophrenia. Here, we meta-analyzed case-control studies of high-field proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (
Misuse of opioid analgesics in elderly patients: a review.
Geriatrie et psychologie neuropsychiatrie du vieillissement, 2021

Opioid analgesic (OA) addiction occurs frequently among the elderly, and results in high morbidity and mortality due to geriatric pathologies associated with pharmacokinetic modifications. However, patients with this type of addiction are under-identified and specific screening tools should be more widely used to detect the risk factors for OA addiction. Before initiating an opioid prescription, exhaustive research into associated treatments (to track drug interaction) and opioid prescriptions by other clinicians (a phenomenon known as "doctor shopping") is required. Specific specialist care, as has been developed in the United States, is still scarce in France and treatment is provided through collaboration between geriatricians and psychiatrists. Optimisation of the treatment of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities is key to effective management.
Author Correction: Dopamine-dependent prefrontal reactivations explain long-term benefit of fear extinction.
Nature communications, 2019

In the original version of this Article, the fourth sentence of the legend to Figure 1b incorrectly read "Note, that the group difference stemmed from significantly smaller CS+ evoked SCRs averaged across the whole test phase, but the speed of re-extinction did not differ significantly between drug groups (control analysis with stimulus (CS+, CS-) and trial (1-10) as within-, and group (placebo, L-DOPA) as between-subject factor: stimulus × group, F
Volumetric brain magnetic resonance imaging analysis in children with obstructive sleep apnea.
International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 2020

Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is associated with neurocognitive deficits. Cerebral structural alterations in the frontal cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus have been reported in adult OSA patients. These brain areas are important for executive functioning, motor regulation of breathing, and memory function, respectively. Corresponding evidence comparing cerebral structures in pediatric OSA patients is limited. The objective of this study is to investigate MRI differences in cortical thickness and cortical volume in children with and without OSA.
Identification of brain structures and blood vessels by conventional ultrasound in rats.
Journal of neuroscience methods, 2020

Ultrasound is a safe, non-invasive and affordable imaging technique for the visualization of internal structures and the measurement of blood velocity using Doppler imaging. However, despite all these advantages, no study has identified the structures of the rat brain using conventional ultrasound.
Inactivation of acetylcholinesterase by various fluorophores.
Journal of enzyme inhibition and medicinal chemistry, 2010

The inhibition of recombinant mouse acetylcholinesterase (rMAChE) and electric eel acetylcholinesterase (EEAChE) by seven, structurally different chromophore-based (dansyl, pyrene, dabsyl, diethylamino- and methoxycoumarin, Lissamine rhodamine B, and Texas Red) propargyl carboxamides or sulfonamides was studied. Diethylaminocoumarin, Lissamine, and Texas Red amides inhibited rMAChE with IC50 values of 1.00 microM, 0.05 microM, and 0.70 microM, respectively. Lissamine and Texas Red amides inhibited EEAChE with IC50 values of 3.57 and 10.4 microM, respectively. The other chromophore amides did not inhibit either AChE. The surprising inhibitory potency of Lissamine was examined in further detail against EEAChE and revealed a mixed-type inhibition with Ki = 11.7 microM (competitive) and Ki' = 24.9 microM (noncompetitive), suggesting that Lissamine binds to free enzyme and enzyme-substrate complex.
Microglia senescence occurs in both substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area.
Glia, 2020

During aging humans lose midbrain dopamine neurons, but not all dopamine regions exhibit vulnerability to neurodegeneration. Microglia maintain tissue homeostasis and neuronal support, but microglia become senescent and likely lose some of their functional abilities. Since aging is the greatest risk factor for Parkinson's disease, we hypothesized that aging-related changes in microglia and neurons occur in the vulnerable substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) but not the ventral tegmental area (VTA). We conducted stereological analyses to enumerate microglia and dopaminergic neurons in the SNc and VTA of 1-, 6-, 9-, 18-, and 24-month-old C57BL/J6 mice using sections double-stained with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and Iba1. Both brain regions show an increase in microglia with aging, whereas numbers of TH+ cells show no significant change after 9 months of age in SNc and 6 months in VTA. Morphometric analyses reveal reduced microglial complexity and projection area while cell body size increases with aging. Contact sites between microglia and dopaminergic neurons in both regions increase with aging, suggesting increased microglial support/surveillance of dopamine neurons. To assess neurotrophin expression in dopaminergic neurons, BDNF and TH mRNA were quantified. Results show that the ratio of BDNF to TH decreases in the SNc, but not the VTA. Gait analysis indicates subtle, aging-dependent changes in gait indices. In conclusion, increases in microglial cell number, ratio of microglia to dopamine neurons, and contact sites suggest that innate biological mechanisms compensate for the aging-dependent decline in microglia morphological complexity (senescence) to ensure continued neuronal support in the SNc and VTA.
COVID-19-related encephalopathy: a case series with brain FDG-positron-emission tomography/computed tomography findings.
European journal of neurology, 2020

The aim of this paper is to describe the clinical features of COVID-19-related encephalopathy and their metabolic correlates using brain 2-desoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG)-positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging.
The quality of measurement properties of neurocognitive assessment in brain tumor clinical trials over the last 30 years: a COSMIN checklist-based approach.
Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2020

To provide an exhaustive review of the neuropsychological examination as conducted in brain tumor clinical trials over the last 30 years and to provide objective ratings about the reliability and suitability of such tests in neurooncological research and clinical practice.
Asian promise: the state and future of collaborations in neuroscience.
Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2008

As investment in science and technology continues to grow in Asia, countries such as China, Japan and Singapore are witnessing great improvements in their neuroscience research environments; this is reflected in the opening of new research institutions and in the influx of neuroscientists trained abroad. Collaborative projects between researchers in these countries and laboratories in the United States and Europe are not only helping to shape these institutions, they are also leading to a surge in high-quality publications in both basic and translational neuroscience, resulting in increasing international recognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience asks four neuroscientists about their collaborative experiences and the impact that such collaborations are having on neuroscience research.
SUMOylation of spastin promotes the internalization of GluA1 and regulates dendritic spine morphology by targeting microtubule dynamics.
Neurobiology of disease, 2020

Dendritic spines are specialized structures involved in neuronal processes on which excitatory synaptic contact occurs. The microtubule cytoskeleton is vital for maintaining spine morphology and mature synapses. Spastin is related to microtubule-severing proteases and is involved in synaptic bouton formation. However, it is not yet known if spastin can be modified by Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) or how this modification regulates dendritic spines. Spastin was shown to be SUMOylated at K427, and its deSUMOylation promoted microtubule stability. In addition, SUMOylation of spastin was shown to affect signalling pathways associated with long term synaptic depression. SUMOylated spastin promoted the development of dendrites and dendritic spines. Moreover, SUMOylated spastin regulated endocytosis and affected the transport of the AMPA receptor, GluA1. Our findings suggest that SUMOylation of spastin promotes GluA1 internalization and regulates dendritic spine morphology through targeting of microtubule dynamics.
The Integrin Binding Peptide, ATN-161, as a Novel Therapy for SARS-CoV-2 Infection.
JACC. Basic to translational science, 2021

Many efforts to design and screen therapeutics for the current severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic have focused on inhibiting viral host cell entry by disrupting angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) binding with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This work focuses on the potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry through a hypothesized α5β1 integrin-based mechanism and indicates that inhibiting the spike protein interaction with α5β1 integrin (+/- ACE2) and the interaction between α5β1 integrin and ACE2 using a novel molecule (ATN-161) represents a promising approach to treat coronavirus disease-19.
Mortality and major disease risk among migrants of the 1991-2001 Balkan wars to Sweden: A register-based cohort study.
PLoS medicine, 2020

In recent decades, millions of refugees and migrants have fled wars and sought asylum in Europe. The aim of this study was to quantify the risk of mortality and major diseases among migrants during the 1991-2001 Balkan wars to Sweden in comparison to other European migrants to Sweden during the same period.
Hypersensitivity reactions to recombinant tissue plasminogen activator.
Practical neurology, 2020

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is currently the only approved thrombolytic agent for treating acute ischaemic stroke that is widely used in clinical practice. However, it may cause haemorrhage and hypersensitivity reactions. Orolingual angioedema is an infrequent, usually mild but potentially life threatening, hypersensitivity reaction to rtPA. Our understanding of the basic biology of angioedema has increased in recent years. There is growing evidence that rtPA-induced orolingual angioedema is driven mainly by bradykinin generation rather than it being an anaphylactic response. Monitoring is important because orolingual angioedema may evolve and compromise airways and a small number do have angioedema as part of systemic anaphylaxis. There are no published guidelines for treating rtPA-induced orolingual angioedema, although some evidence suggests that those refractory to standard antianaphylactic agents may resolve with bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists. It is important that responses to orolingual angioedema are proportionate and that patients are closely monitored.
QTc monitoring in adults with medical and psychiatric comorbidities: Expert consensus from the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry.
Journal of psychosomatic research, 2020

Several psychiatric medications have the potential to prolong the QTc interval and subsequently increase the risk for ventricular arrhythmias such as torsades de pointes (TdP). There is limited guidance for clinicians to balance the risks and benefits of treatments.