scholarly journals Increased orexin A concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia

Author(s):  
Fausto Roveta ◽  
Andrea Marcinnò ◽  
Riccardo Cremascoli ◽  
Lorenzo Priano ◽  
Stefania Cattaldo ◽  
...  

AbstractOrexins are hypothalamic neuropeptides that regulate several physiological functions, such as appetite, arousal, cognition, stress, sleep and metabolism. Emerging pieces of evidence suggest an orexinergic dysfunction in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and addiction. A syndromic overlap between behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and several psychiatric disorders was recently demonstrated. Therefore, we analysed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) orexin A concentrations of 40 bvFTD and 32 non-demented patients, correlating neuropeptide concentrations with several clinical characteristics. A significant increase of orexin A concentrations was found in bvFTD patients when compared to controls (p<0.001). CSF orexin A concentration showed a correlation with Mini-Mental State Examination scores, drug assumption, history of compulsive behaviour and extrapyramidal signs. Moreover, we found a relationship between CSF markers of neurodegeneration, total tau and Aβ1–42 and CSF orexin A concentrations. Our study provides evidence of an orexinergic dysfunction in bvFTD, correlating with several clinical symptoms. Further larger studies are needed to confirm our data.

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Caixeta ◽  
Renata Teles Vieira ◽  
Flávia Paes ◽  
Mauro Giovanni Carta ◽  
Antonio Egidio Nardi ◽  
...  

Objectives : To investigate the severity of subcortical atrophy in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) without extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and dementia with EPS. In addition, we aim to verify if there is correlation between demographic and clinical characteristics and subcortical atrophy in the groups. Methodology : The sample was composed of 21 patients with dementia and EPS as well as 19 patients with FTD without EPS. A linear assessment was conducted in order to identify the degree of subcortical atrophy (i.e., bifrontal index - BFI) using MRI. Moreover, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) were used to investigate clinical aspects. Results : It was verified that patients with dementia and EPS was older than the patients with FTD (p=0.01). The severity of cognitive deficits was associated with BFI, as well as the dementia severity in the EPS group. Conclusion : FTD group presented mean BFI scores above the cutoff for normal elderly population, indicating the presence of subcortical atrophy in this group. Mean BFI was higher (although not statistically significant) in FTD group than in dementia with EPS, which can suggest at least that subcortical pathology in FTD may be as important as in the dementia with EPS group. Subcortical atrophy is a good biological marker for cognitive deterioration in FTD and in dementia with EPS.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-74
Author(s):  
Irene Grazzini ◽  
Francesco Redi ◽  
Karima Sammartano ◽  
Gian Luca Cuneo

Purpose Diffusion tensor imaging is a magnetic resonance technique that provides information about the orientation and anisotropy of the white matter tracts. The aim of this study was to analyse diffusion tensor imaging quantitative parameters in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients, in order to determine whether this method could correlate to clinical scores and cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry data. Methods and materials Fifteen consecutive patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and 15 age-matched controls underwent cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry and diffusion tensor imaging using a 1.5 Tesla system. Fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity values were calculated using region of interest atlas-based tract-mapping in nine cerebral areas and compared among the two groups. In addition, for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients, diffusion tensor imaging parameters were correlated to clinical scores (mini mental state examination and frontal assessment battery) and cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry data. Results Mean fractional anisotropy was significantly lower for the idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus group than for the control group in the forceps minor and motor cortex; the idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus group had significantly higher mean axial diffusivity for the genu of the corpus callosum and forceps minor. We did not find significant correlation between diffusion tensor imaging parameters and cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry and mini mental state examination, while we observed a correlation between forceps minor fractional anisotropy and frontal assessment battery; no correlation between flowmetry and clinical scores was found. Conclusion Our findings suggest that diffusion tensor imaging provides a non-invasive biomarker of white matter changes in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients. Forceps minor is the best site to analyse. As diffusion tensor imaging offers a better correlation to clinical status than cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry, it should be included in the routine idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus protocol.


2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 740-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha S Foiani ◽  
Claudia Cicognola ◽  
Natalia Ermann ◽  
Ione O C Woollacott ◽  
Carolin Heller ◽  
...  

BackgroundFrontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a pathologically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder associated usually with tau or TDP-43 pathology, although some phenotypes such as logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia are more commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Currently, there are no biomarkers able to diagnose the underlying pathology during life. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of novel tau species within cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as biomarkers for tau pathology in FTD.Methods86 participants were included: 66 with a clinical diagnosis within the FTD spectrum and 20 healthy controls. Immunoassays targeting tau fragments N-123, N-mid-region, N-224 and X-368, as well as a non-phosphorylated form of tau were measured in CSF, along with total-tau (T-tau) and phospho-tau (P-tau(181)). Patients with FTD were grouped based on their Aβ42 level into those likely to have underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology (n=21) and those with likely frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) pathology (n=45). The FTLD group was then subgrouped based on their underlying clinical and genetic diagnoses into those with likely tau (n=7) or TDP-43 (n=18) pathology.ResultsSignificantly higher concentrations of tau N-mid-region, tau N-224 and non-phosphorylated tau were seen in both the AD group and FTLD group compared with controls. However, none of the novel tau species showed a significant difference between the AD and FTLD groups, nor between the TDP-43 and tau pathology groups. In a subanalysis, normalising for total-tau, none of the novel tau species provided a higher sensitivity and specificity to distinguish between tau and TDP-43 pathology than P-tau(181)/T-tau, which itself only had a sensitivity of 61.1% and specificity of 85.7% with a cut-off of <0.109.ConclusionsDespite investigating multiple novel CSF tau fragments, none show promise as an FTD biomarker and so the quest for in vivo markers of FTLD-tau pathology continues.


2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia M. Rosso ◽  
Esther van Herpen ◽  
Yolande A. L. Pijnenburg ◽  
Niki S. M. Schoonenboom ◽  
Philip Scheltens ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manisha K. Patel ◽  
Brent R. Mittelstaedt ◽  
Frank E. Valentin ◽  
Linda P. Thomas ◽  
Christian L. Carlson ◽  
...  

Gorham-Stout disease (GSD), also known as vanishing bone disease, is a rare disorder, which most commonly presents in children and young adults and is characterized by an excessive proliferation of lymphangiomatous tissue within the bones. This lymphangiomatous proliferation often affects the cranium and, due to the proximate location to the dura surrounding cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces, can result in CSF leaks manifesting as intracranial hypotension with clinical symptoms to include orthostatic headache, nausea, and vertigo. We present the case of a boy with GSD and a known history of migraine headaches who presented with persistent headaches due to increased intracranial pressure. Although migraine had initially been suspected, he was eventually diagnosed with intracranial hypertension after developing ophthalmoplegia and papilledema. We describe the first known instance of successful medical treatment of increased intracranial pressure in a patient with GSD.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1913-1918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Gleason ◽  
Matthew Lewis ◽  
Sook Meng Lee ◽  
Stephen Macfarlane

ABSTRACTBackground:Domestic squalor has been associated with alcohol misuse but little work has explored this. Executive dysfunction is commonly observed in squalor and is also associated with alcohol misuse. Hoarding can accompany squalor, but it is unclear whether hoarding is also linked with alcohol misuse. This study compared neuropsychology and hoarding status of individuals living in squalor with and without a history of alcohol misuse.Methods:A subgroup analysis was conducted on a series of 69 neuropsychological reports of people living in squalor. Data on cognitive profiles, basic demographics, alcohol use, and hoarding were extracted and analyzed.Results:Alcohol misuse was reported in 25 of the 69 participants (36%). Alcohol misusers were significantly younger (mean age 66.2 years, SD = 10.7) than non-misusers (mean age 75.6 years, SD = 10.3) (p < 0.00) and significantly more likely to be male (p = 0.01). No significant differences between the two subgroups were found for estimated premorbid intellectual functioning, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, or individual neuropsychological domains. Alcohol misusers were more likely to be living in squalor without hoarding than squalor with hoarding (p = 0.01).Conclusions:Alcohol misusers living in squalor were less likely to hoard than non-misusers. This finding suggests that alcohol misuse may be a risk factor for squalor via failure to maintain one's environment rather than through intentional accumulation of objects. The similar cognitive profile among those with and without a history of alcohol misuse could represent a common pattern of executive dysfunction that predisposes individuals to squalor regardless of underlying alcohol misuse diagnosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. 2309-2312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ni Made Adi Tarini ◽  
Marta Setiabudy ◽  
NM Susilawathi ◽  
NND Fatmawati ◽  
IPB Mayura ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen. This bacterium commonly causes meningitis in human and is often associated with hearing and vestibular dysfunction. S. suis tends to be misidentified, leading to under-diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A previously healthy 50-year-old man was admitted to one of the district hospitals in Bali Province, Indonesia, due to meningitis. He had a history of consuming homemade raw pork product two days before the onset of illness. Streptococcus mitis was identified from the cerebrospinal fluid culture by using VITEX 2 COMPACT (Biomeriuex) with a 99% probability score. This patient had clinical symptoms and risk factor identical to S. suis infection. Therefore, we performed confirmation tests for the cerebrospinal fluid by PCR (using primer specific for gdh and recN) and sequencing of those PCR products. Both of the confirmation tests showed a positive result for S. suis. CONCLUSION: There are few reports of S. suis infections in Indonesia, but we believe that the cases in Indonesia, especially Bali, are not uncommon. The under-reported cases are perhaps due to the difficulties in differentiating S. suis from other Streptococcus species by culture method, particularly Streptococcus mitis. Therefore, confirmation by PCR is necessary.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 168-181
Author(s):  
Ifwandi ◽  
Dewi Saputri ◽  
Liana Rahmayani ◽  
Pocut Aya Sofya ◽  
Syahrial ◽  
...  

When a person reaches the elderly phase, the function of the body's organs decreases, which causes an increased risk of disease and death. Including dental infections such as caries and periodontal disease which are the main factors for tooth loss. Tooth loss does not only affect the impact of mastication but also affects a person's cognitive function. This condition occurs because when a person loses teeth, the function of the Periodontal Mechanoreceptors decreases, disrupting the function of the hippocampus which is important for memory in the brain. Loss of a large number of teeth tends to indicate low cognitive function, but several factors affect cognitive function, namely education level, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, heart disease, depression, sleep disorders, head injury, physical activity, and a history of smoking. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a tool to assess a person's cognitive function. This study aims to see the description of cognitive function in the elderly at the Geunaseh Sayang Nursing Home with variations in the number of tooth losses. This study was conducted with 43 research subjects with interviews and intra-oral examination methods. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the elderly who only have fewer teeth show a higher decline in cognitive function compared to the elderly with more teeth in the oral cavity. This is following the theory which states that the more teeth you lose, the lower your cognitive function will be. 


Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 407
Author(s):  
Carmen Peña-Bautista ◽  
Miguel Baquero ◽  
Marina López-Nogueroles ◽  
Máximo Vento ◽  
David Hervás ◽  
...  

Previous studies showed a relationship between lipid oxidation biomarkers from plasma samples and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), constituting a promising diagnostic tool. In this work we analyzed whether these plasma biomarkers could reflect specific brain oxidation in AD. In this work lipid peroxidation compounds were determined in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from AD and non-AD (including other neurological pathologies) participants, by means of an analytical method based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis evaluated correlations between biological matrices. The results did not show satisfactory correlations between plasma and CSF samples for any of the studied lipid peroxidation biomarkers (isoprostanes, neuroprostanes, prostaglandines, dihomo-isoprostanes). However, some of the analytes showed correlations with specific CSF biomarkers for AD and with neuropsychological tests (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)). In conclusion, lipid peroxidation biomarkers in CSF samples do not reflect their levels in plasma samples, and no significant differences were observed between participant groups. However, some of the analytes could be useful as cognitive decline biomarkers.


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