National Brain Tumour Registry of China (NBTRC) statistical report of primary brain tumours diagnosed in China in years 2019-2020.

Background: The lack of a well-designed brain tumour registry with standardized pathological diagnoses in underdeveloped countries hinders the ability to compare epidemiologic data across the globe. The National Brain Tumour Registry of China (NBTRC), created in January 2018, is the first multi-hospital-based brain tumour registry in China. Patient data reported to the NBTRC in years 2019-2020 were assessed. Methods: Tumour pathology was based on the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumours of the central nervous system and ICD-O-3. The anatomical site was coded per the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) solid tumour module (version of July 2019). The cases were tabulated by histology and anatomical site. Categorical variables were reported as numbers (percentages). The distribution of tumours by age (0-14, 15-19, 20-39, 40-64, and 65+ years) was analysed. Findings: There were a total of 25,537 brain tumours, foremost among them meningioma (23.63%), followed by tumours of the pituitary (23.42%), and nerve sheath tumours (9.09%). Glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of primary brain cancer in adults, represented 8.56% of all cases. Of note, 6.48% of the malignant tumours were located in the brain stem. The percentage of malignant brain tumours decreased with increasing age, 24.08% in adults (40+ years), 30.25% in young adults (20-39 years), 35.27% in adolescents (15-19 years), and 49.83% in children (0-14 years). Among the 2107 paediatric patients, the most common sites were ventricle (17.19%), brainstem (14.03%), pituitary and craniopharyngeal duct (13.4%), and cerebellum (12.3%), a distribution that differed from that of the entire cohort. The histology distribution was also unique in children, with glioblastoma much less incident compared to the whole cohort (3% vs. 8.47%, p < 0.01). 58.80% of all patients chose higher-level neurosurgical hospitals outside of their province of residence. The median in-hospital length of stay (LOS) for the various pathologies ranged from 11 to 19 days. Interpretation: The histological and anatomical site distribution of brain tumours in the NBTRC was statistically different in the subgroup of children (0-14 years). Patient choice of pursuing trans-provincial treatment was common and the in-hospital LOS was longer compared to that reported in similar European and American patient populations, which merits further attention. Funding: The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2015BAI12B04, 2013BAI09B03, 2014BAI04B01, and 2021YFF1201104) and Chinese National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971668).

The Synergistic Roles of the Chronic Prenatal and Offspring Stress Exposures in Impairing Offspring Learning and Memory.

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), extensive experimental studies have demonstrated a negative impact of chronic stress during various stages of life (including prenatal phase) on some aspects of AD pathology. Nevertheless, presently, few studies have been involved in the learning and memory impairments, as well as neuropathology elicited by the chronic prenatal stress (CPS) and the chronic offspring stress (COS) exposures simultaneously, particularly for the adult male APPswe/PS1dE9 murine offspring. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of CPS on learning and memory impairments induced by COS in 6-month-old male APPswe/PS1dE9 offspring mice and the related mechanism. Our study firstly demonstrates that 14-day exposure to CPS could exacerbate the learning and memory impairments, as well as neuropathological damages in the CA3 regions of the hippocampus and cortex neurons, which is induced by the 28-day exposure to COS in 6-month-old male APPswe/PS1dE9 offspring mice. In addition, CPS could potentiate the production of AßPP, Aß42, and corticosterone in 6-month-old male APPswe/PS1dE9 offspring that also suffer COS. In conclusion, our novel findings strongly implicate the synergistic roles of the CPS and COS exposures in impairing offspring learning and memory. Moreover, CPS potentiating the production of Aß42 might be mediated by glucocorticoids through increasing the expression of APP and BACE1 gene.

Use of CSF α-synuclein in the differential diagnosis between Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

BACKGROUND: The etiology and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders has yet to be elucidated, so their differential diagnosis is a challenge. This is especially true in differentiating Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson disease (PD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). METHODS: A total of 11 eligible articles were identified by search of electronic databases including PubMed, Springer Link, Elsevier, and the Cochrane Library, up to June 2014. In meta-analyses, standardized mean differences (SMD), with 95% confidence intervals (CI), comparing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measures of α-synuclein between the above conditions were calculated using random-effects models. RESULTS: CSF α-synuclein concentrations were significantly higher in AD compared to DLB [SMD: 0.32, 95% CI: (0.02, 0.62), z = 2.07, P = 0.038]; PD [SMD: 0.87, 95% CI: (0.15, 1.58), z = 2.38, P = 0.017]; or MSA [SMD: 1.14, 95% CI: (0.15, 2.14), z = 2.25, P = 0.025]. However, no significant difference was found between patients with AD and neurological cognitively normal controls [SMD: 0.02, 95% CI: (-0.21, 0.24), z = 0.13, P = 0.894]. CONCLUSIONS: Results of these meta-analysis suggest that quantification of CSF α-synuclein could help distinguish AD from other neurodegenerative disorders such as DLB, PD, or MSA.