Dysfunction of a Structurally Normal Motor Pathway in a Brain Injury Patient as Revealed by Multimodal Integrated Techniques

We report on a patient with left hemiparesis and peripersonal neglect after post-traumatic left frontal hemorrhage, who underwent fMRI, TMS and TCD to identify the functional abnormalities that account for his neurological symptoms, in the absence of any detectable lesion affecting right motor areas.     

Odor Identification and Self-reported Olfactory Functioning in Patients with Subtypes of Mild Cognitive Impairment

Olfactory dysfunction is a very early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and olfactory dysfunction has also been found in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The goal of the present study was to compare odor identification ability and self-reported olfactory functioning in patients with different types of MCI. We included 104 elderly participants classified into two groups: patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and elderly controls (EC). Based on their performance in neuropsychological testing the study population was divided into four groups of participants based on cognitive features: amnestic MCI single domain (11), amnestic MCI multiple domain (19), non-amnestic MCI single domain (21) and non-amnestic MCI multiple domain (13), respectively. The MCI patients were compared to 40 elderly controls (EC) controls with no cognitive deficit. Comparison for odor identification revealed a significant difference between amnestic MCI multiple domain patients and the EC group. No other group comparison was significant. Statistical analyses for self-reported olfactory functioning revealed no significant group differences between any subgroup of MCI patients and the control group. Correlational analyses indicated that odor identification ability was related to cognition whereas no relationship was found for self-reported olfactory functioning. The present study showed that amnestic MCI patients with additional deficits in other cognitive domains have a specific odor identification impairment. Together with cognitive testing, olfactory testing may more accurately help predict whether or not a patient with MCI will convert to AD in the near future.     

Vagus nerve stimulation ameliorated deficits in one-way active avoidance learning and stimulated hippocampal neurogenesis in bulbectomized rats

BackgroundVagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been introduced as a therapeutic option for treatment-resistant depression. The neural and chemical mechanisms responsible for the effects of VNS are largely unclear.MethodsBilateral removal of the olfactory bulbs (OBX) is a validated animal model in depression research. We studied the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on disturbed one-way active avoidance learning and neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of rats.ResultsAfter a stimulation period of 3 weeks, OBX rats acquired the learning task as controls. In addition, the OBX-related decrease of neuronal differentiated BrdU positive cells in the dentate gyrus was prevented by VNS.ConclusionsThis suggests that chronic VNS and changes in hippocampal neurogenesis induced by VNS may also account for the amelioration of behavioral deficits in OBX rats. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the restorative effects of VNS on behavioral function in an animal model of depression that can be compared with the effects of antidepressants.     

CD40 interacts directly with RAG1 and RAG2 in autoaggressive T cells and Fas prevents CD40-induced RAG expression

CD4＋ T cells expressing CD40 （Th40 cells） constitute a pathogenic T-cell subset that is necessary and sufficient to transfer autoimmune disease. We have previously demonstrated that CD40 signals peripheral Th40 cells to induce RAG1 and RAG2 expression, proteins necessary for the expression of T-cell receptor （TCR）, leading to TCR revision. The dependency of TCR expression in the thymus on RAG proteins has long been known. However, despite numerous publications, there is controversy as to whether TCR expression can be altered in the periphery, post-thymic selective pressures. Therefore, a better understanding of TCR expression in primary peripheral cells is needed. We now show that the CD40 protein itself interacts with RAG1 and RAG2 as well as with Ku70 and translocates to the nucleus in Th40 cells. This indicates that the CD40 molecule is closely involved in the mechanism of TCR expression in the periphery. In addition, Fas signals act as a silencing mechanism for CD40-induced RAGs and prevent CD40 translocation to the nucleus. It will be important to further understand the involvement of CD40 in peripheral TCR expression and how TCR revision impacts auto-antigen recognition in order to effectively target and tolerize autoaggressive T cells in autoimmune disease.     

Characteristics of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in southern Brazil

A major threat to tuberculosis (TB) control programs is the emergence of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that cause TB that cannot be cured by standard anti-TB drug regimens. Because few data exist on MDR-TB in this region of the country, we performed an epidemiologic study that combined conventional and molecular analysis of MDR-TB cases from Rio Grande do Sul (RS) that were diagnosed in this period and included cases that were under treatment with second line drug schemes. Included were 121 MDR cases and sequencing of rpoB and katG showed that 106 (87.6%) strains were mutated in rpoB and 97 (80.2%) in katG. Spoligotyping demonstrated that the LAM genotype was predominant (n?=?70, 57.8%) and included the largest group composed by 22 (18.1%) strains with the LAM5 ST93 genotype. Other main genotypes belonged to the families T (n?=?22, 18.2%), U family (n?=?16, 13.2%), Haarlem (n?=?5, 4.1%) and X (n?=?1, 0.8%). Genotyping by IS6110-RFLP analysis showed 51 distinct fingerprints, 38 (31.4%) of these observed only once and the other 13 patterns being shared among the rest of the isolates (n?=?83, 68.6%). Among the 22 strains that were LAM5 ST93, only two had different IS6110-RFLP genotypes. In conclusion, there exists a high degree of M.?Tuberculosis genotype clustering among MDR-TB cases in Rio Grande do Sul. Moreover, we observed a large MDR-TB outbreak.     

Synaptic vesicle protein 2A: basic facts and role in synaptic function

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in determining the function of synaptic vesicle protein 2A and its role as a target for antiepileptic drugs. Although it is known that synaptic vesicle protein 2A is involved in normal synaptic vesicle function, its participation in synaptic vesicle cycling and neurotransmitter release in normal and pathological conditions is unclear. However, the experimental evidence suggests that synaptic vesicle protein 2A could be a vesicular transporter, regulate synaptic exocytosis as a gel matrix, or modulate synaptotagmin‐1 activity. This review describes and discusses the participation of synaptic vesicle protein 2A in synaptic modulation in normal and pathological conditions.     

Comparison of concentrations of drugs between blood samples with and without fluoride additive—important findings for Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and amphetamine

International Journal of Legal Medicine - Fluoride is a common stabilizing agent in forensic toxicology to avoid the frequent problem of degradation of drugs in blood samples especially described...     

Major depressive disorder and attenuated negative symptoms in a child and adolescent sample with psychosis risk syndrome: the CAPRIS study

Some 70–80% of subjects with psychotic risk syndrome (PRS) have lifetime comorbidity, with depressive disorders being the most common. A high proportion of patients with PRS present nonspecific symptoms which can be confounding factors for diagnosis. Depressive and negative symptoms may be difficult to distinguish and it is important to differentiate them. The aim of this study is to assess the presence of depressive disorder in a child and adolescent sample of PRS and to examine the presence of negative symptoms and detect possible confounding characteristics between them and depressive symptoms. This is a naturalistic multi-site study with subjects who met PRS criteria. A sample of 89 PRS adolescent patients was included. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent comorbid disorder (34.83%). The sample was divided into patients who met criteria for MDD (PRS-MDD, n = 31) and those who did not have this disorder (PRS-ND, n = 44). We obtained significant differences in the attenuated negative symptoms (ANS) between PRS-MDD and PRS-ND (68.18 vs. 90.32%, respectively, p = 0.021). Subjects with MDD presented a higher score in ANS and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Moreover, we obtained a correlation between negative symptomatology and HDRS score with a higher score on HDRS in subjects with higher negative symptom scores (r = 0.533, p < 0.001). More research is needed to fine tune differentiation between depressive and negative symptoms and learn more about the possible impact of MDD on PRS children and adolescents.