Headache in Behçet's Disease.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Our objective is to describe the various neurologic manifestations of Behcet's syndrome with special attention to headache syndromes. RECENT FINDINGS: Most recent studies have focused on data collection to better characterize the relatively rare disorder of neuro-Behcets (NBD). In patients with Behcet's disease (BD) who are experiencing headache, most are primary headache disorders, specifically tension type or migraines. Worsening headache can, however, be a sign of increased Behcets disease activity. Behcet's disease is a chronic, systemic, inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. The prevalence of BD is most notable in countries along the ancient Silk Road, particularly the Middle East. BD occasionally has neurologic manifestations, further categorized into parenchymal and non-parenchymal syndromes. Headache is the most frequently reported neurological symptom of BD. Primary headaches are the most common headache type among patients with BD with comorbid headache disorders with debate regarding whether migraine or tension-type headache is most prevalent. Of the secondary causes of headache in BD, cerebral venous thrombosis is the most common.

Characterization of a Drosophila Alzheimer's disease model: pharmacological rescue of cognitive defects.

Transgenic models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have made significant contributions to our understanding of AD pathogenesis, and are useful tools in the development of potential therapeutics. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, provides a genetically tractable, powerful system to study the biochemical, genetic, environmental, and behavioral aspects of complex human diseases, including AD. In an effort to model AD, we over-expressed human APP and BACE genes in the Drosophila central nervous system. Biochemical, neuroanatomical, and behavioral analyses indicate that these flies exhibit aspects of clinical AD neuropathology and symptomology. These include the generation of Aß(40) and Aß(42), the presence of amyloid aggregates, dramatic neuroanatomical changes, defects in motor reflex behavior, and defects in memory. In addition, these flies exhibit external morphological abnormalities. Treatment with a γ-secretase inhibitor suppressed these phenotypes. Further, all of these phenotypes are present within the first few days of adult fly life. Taken together these data demonstrate that this transgenic AD model can serve as a powerful tool for the identification of AD therapeutic interventions.