Cognitive resilience and severe Alzheimer's disease neuropathology.

Cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be defined as retention of high cognition despite presence of considerable cerebral AD lesions. We sought to identify factors associated with this phenomenon. Data were obtained from National Alzheimer's Coordinating Centre (NACC) dataset. Subjects with severe AD neuropathology, based on National Institute on Aging-Reagan (NIA-Reagan) criteria, no other primary neuropathology, and a ≤ 2-year interval between last follow-up and death were included. Mini-mental status examination score ≥ 24 was used as a proxy for normal cognition. In total, 654 cases were included; 59 (9%) were cognitively resilient. Multivariable logistic regression model showed that resilient participants were more educated, had a lower body mass index (BMI), were more likely to be lifetime/recent smoker or use an anticoagulant/antiplatelet agent, compared with cognitively impaired subjects. In addition to expected protective factors such as higher education and lower BMI, our results showed that smoking (especially recent smoking) and anticoagulant/antiplatelet consumption are associated with resilience to clinical cognitive expression of severe AD pathology. Pharmacological approaches using this information might be explored for clinical AD amelioration.

Nuclear IMPDH Filaments in Human Gliomas.

The analysis of nuclear morphology plays an important role in glioma diagnosis and grading. We previously described intranuclear rods (rods) labeled with the SDL.3D10 monoclonal antibody against class III beta-tubulin (TUBB3) in human ependymomas. In a cohort of adult diffuse gliomas, we identified nuclear rods in 71.1% of IDH mutant lower-grade gliomas and 13.7% of IDH wild-type glioblastomas (GBMs). The presence of nuclear rods was associated with significantly longer postoperative survival in younger (≤65) GBM patients. Consistent with this, nuclear rods were mutually exclusive with Ki67 staining and their prevalence in cell nuclei inversely correlated with the Ki67 proliferation index. In addition, rod-containing nuclei showed a relative depletion of lamin B1, suggesting a possible association with senescence. To gain insight into their functional significance, we addressed their antigenic properties. Using a TUBB3-null mouse model, we demonstrate that the SDL.3D10 antibody does not bind TUBB3 in rods but recognizes an unknown antigen. In the present study, we show that rods show immunoreactivity for the nucleotide synthesizing enzymes inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) and cytidine triphosphate synthetase. By analogy with the IMPDH filaments that have been described previously, we postulate that rods regulate the activity of nucleotide-synthesizing enzymes in the nucleus by sequestration, with important implications for glioma behavior.

Are Sink Drainage Systems a Reservoir for Hospital-Acquired Gammaproteobacteria Colonization and Infection? A Systematic Review.

Increasing rates of antimicrobial-resistant organisms have focused attention on sink drainage systems as reservoirs for hospital-acquired Gammaproteobacteria colonization and infection. We aimed to assess the quality of evidence for transmission from this reservoir. We searched 8 databases and identified 52 studies implicating sink drainage systems in acute care hospitals as a reservoir for Gammaproteobacterial colonization/infection. We used a causality tool to summarize the quality of evidence. Included studies provided evidence of co-occurrence of contaminated sink drainage systems and colonization/infection, temporal sequencing compatible with sink drainage reservoirs, some steps in potential causal pathways, and relatedness between bacteria from sink drainage systems and patients. Some studies provided convincing evidence of reduced risk of organism acquisition following interventions. No single study provided convincing evidence across all causality domains, and the attributable fraction of infections related to sink drainage systems remains unknown. These results may help to guide conduct and reporting in future studies.

Quality of life and mental health status in patients with lichen planopilaris based on Dermatology Life Quality Index and General Health Questionnaire-28 questionnaires.

BACKGROUND: Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is a relatively uncommon inflammatory skin condition that causes permanent hair loss. Irreversible hair loss can have a significant psychosocial and psychological impact on patients' lives. Limited studies have assessed the psychological status of patients suffering from LPP, and to our knowledge, none have evaluated patients with LPP as a separate group in this regard. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the quality of life (QoL) and general health of patients with LPP using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), respectively. METHODS: Our study employed a cross-sectional design. In total, 41 patients with LPP attending the follow-up skin clinic at the Razi Hospital in Tehran, Iran were asked to complete the DLQI and GHQ-28. Furthermore, selected demographic information was obtained from patients to evaluate their association with general health and QoL. RESULTS: Forty-one patients (14 men and 27 women) with a mean age of 44.02 ±â€¯10.8 years completed both questionnaires. QoL was affected moderately to extremely in 70.7% of patients. Also, 26 patients (63.4%) were at risk for psychological disorders. Lower QoL was reported by patients age <45 years (p < .05). Both QoL and general health had a negative relation with the disease activity index (p < .05), but were not affected by sex, marital status, education level, treatment type, presence of mucous lesions, and disease duration. CONCLUSION: LPP significantly affects patients' QoL and general health. Dermatologists should address these issues in patients with LPP alongside treating physical symptoms.

Status of essential elements in autism spectrum disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that imposes heavy financial burden on governments and families of affected children. It is considered a multifactorial condition, where trace elements are among environmental factors that may contribute to ASD. Meanwhile, the between-study variance is high. The present systematic review was designed to investigate the difference in trace element measures between patients with ASD and control subjects. Meta-analyses showed that the hair concentrations of chromium (p=0.024), cobalt (p=0.012), iodine (p=0.000), iron (p=0.017), and magnesium (p=0.007) in ASD patients were significantly lower than those of control subjects, while there were higher magnesium levels in the hair of ASD patients compared to that of controls (p=0.010). Patients with ASD had higher blood levels of copper (p=0.000) and lower levels of zinc compared to controls (p=0.021). Further urinary iodine levels in patients with ASD were decreased in comparison with controls (p=0.026). Sensitivity analyses showed that ASD patients in non-Asian but not in Asian countries had lower hair concentrations of chromium compared to controls. Also, such analyses indicated that ASD patients in Asian countries had lower hair zinc concentrations, whereas ASD patients in non-Asian countries had higher hair zinc concentrations in comparison with control subjects. This study found significant differences in the content of trace elements between patients with ASD compared to controls. The findings help highlighting the role of trace elements as environmental factors in the etiology of ASD.