Imaging brain amyloid in Alzheimer's disease with Pittsburgh Compound-B

This report describes the first human study of a novel amyloid-imaging positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, termed Pittsburgh Compound-B (PIB), in 16 patients with diagnosed mild AD and 9 controls. Compared with controls, AD patients typically showed marked retention of PIB in areas of association cortex known to contain large amounts of amyloid deposits in AD. In the AD patient group, PIB retention was increased most prominently in frontal cortex (1.94-fold, p = 0.0001). Large increases also were observed in parietal (1.71-fold, p = 0.0002), temporal (1.52-fold, p = 0.002), and occipital (1.54-fold, p = 0.002) cortex and the striatum (1.76-fold, p = 0.0001). PIB retention was equivalent in AD patients and controls in areas known to be relatively unaffected by amyloid deposition (such as subcortical white matter, pons, and cerebellum). Studies in three young (21 years) and six older healthy controls (69.5 +/- 11 years) showed low PIB retention in cortical areas and no significant group differences between young and older controls. In cortical areas, PIB retention correlated inversely with cerebral glucose metabolism determined with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. This relationship was most robust in the parietal cortex (r = -0.72; p = 0.0001). The results suggest that PET imaging with the novel tracer, PIB, can provide quantitative information on amyloid deposits in living subjects.     

Genomic and epidemiological report of the recombinant XJ lineage SARS-CoV-2 variant,detected in northern Finland,January 2022

Recombinant sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant were detected in surveillance samples collected in north-western Finland in January 2022. We detected 191 samples with an identical genome arrangement in weeks 3 to 11, indicating sustained community transmission. The recombinant lineage has a 5’-end of BA.1, a recombination breakpoint between orf1a and orf1b (nucleotide position 13,296–15,240) and a 3’-end of BA.2 including the S gene. We describe the available genomic and epidemiological data about this currently circulating recombinant XJ lineage.     

Introduction and Rapid Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant and Dynamics of BA.1 and BA.1.1 Sublineages,Finland, December 2021

Multiple introductions of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant BA.1 and BA.1.1. lineages to Finland were detected in early December 2021. Within 3 weeks, Omicron overtook Delta as the most common variant in the capital region. Sequence analysis demonstrated the emergence and spread through community transmission of a large cluster of BA.1.1 virus.