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Blog – Page 6

In a comprehensive Genomic Press perspective article published today, researchers from Fudan University and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have highlighted remarkable advances in the development of positron emission tomography (PET) tracers capable of visualizing α-synuclein aggregates in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders.

The abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein protein is a defining pathological feature of several neurodegenerative conditions collectively known as synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Until recently, confirming the presence of these protein aggregates required post-mortem examination, severely limiting early diagnosis and treatment monitoring capabilities.

“The ability to visualize these protein aggregates in living patients represents a significant leap forward in neurodegenerative disease research,” explains Dr. Fang Xie, corresponding author and researcher at the Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET Center at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University.

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Researchers at the University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto have developed a skin-based test that can detect signature features of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects body movements, including walking, balance and swallowing.

The test, which the researchers describe in a recent issue of JAMA Neurology, could allow for more accurate and faster PSP diagnosis than current methods.

“This is important for assigning patients to the correct , but it will be even more important in the future as researchers develop targeted, precision treatments for PSP,” says Ivan Martinez-Valbuena, a scientific associate at the Rossy Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Centre at the UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute and U of T’s Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

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The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of Rathke’s cleft cyst (RCC) with secondary hypophysitis and compare them with the clinical characteristics of common RCC.

This single-center retrospective cohort study included cases of pituitary disease in which endoscopic transnasal surgery was performed from January 2011 to March 2023. Patients with RCC were identified, and secondary hypophysitis was subsequently identified based on pathological and MRI findings. Pathologically, the presence of lymphocytic infiltration into the normal anterior pituitary gland was used as a criterion for determining hypophysitis. On MRI, RCCs showing marked thickening of the cyst wall and pituitary stalk swelling ≥ 3.5 mm were considered as hypophysitis. A comparative study was performed at our institution using retrospectively collected data on RCCs with secondary hypophysitis and common RCCs.

The study included 11 patients with RCC with secondary hypophysitis (median age 36 years) and 95 patients with common RCC (median age 51 years). The proportions of patients with headache (90.9% vs 48.4%, p = 0.009), fever (63.6% vs 1.1%, p < 0.001), panhypopituitarism (90.9% vs 24.2%, p < 0.001), and diabetes insipidus (90.9% vs 21.1%, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the RCC with secondary hypophysitis group than the common RCC group. Although reaccumulation rates and the time to reaccumulation did not differ between the groups, the operative rate when reaccumulation occurred was significantly higher in patients with RCC with secondary hypophysitis than in those with common RCC (75% vs 13%, p = 0.015).

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Responses, necessitating refined somatosensory mapping techniques.

METHODS:

Using piezoelectric tactile stimulators on patients’ faces and hands, we delivered 25 Hz vibrations and prompted patients to discriminate between dermatomes. Testing included areas contralateral to tumor-infiltrated and to non–tumor-infiltrated cortical regions. Sensory thresholds were determined by reducing stimulus intensity based on performance. Intraoperatively, electrocorticography electrode arrays were used to map sensory responses, and postoperative assessments evaluated sensory outcomes.

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