Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Multiple Sclerosis Disability: A Prospective Study.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating central nervous system disease that leads to neurological disability. Brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNFs) are neurotrophins involved in neurodegenerative disorders. This study analysed the relationship between serum BDNF, neurological disability and different MS treatments. We included 63 people with MS (PwMS), with relapsing-remitting MS or clinically isolated syndrome, and 16 healthy controls (HCs). We analysed the serum levels of BDNF and MS specific disability tests (Expanded Disability Status Scale, timed 25-foot walk test, nine-hole peg test), at baseline (V0) and after one year of interferon beta1a or teriflunomide treatment (V1). Baseline BDNF values were not different between the PwMS and HCs (p = 0.85). The BDNF levels were higher in PwMS vs. HCs after treatment (p = 0.003). BDNF was not related to last-year relapses or by the disease duration (all p > 0.05). The overall values for the PwMS decreased after one year (p < 0.001). Both treatments implied a similar reduction. BDNF was not related to neurological disability (p > 0.05). BDNF values were not influenced by the lesion burden, active lesions, or new lesions on MRI (p > 0.05). In our cohort, the PwMS had higher BDNF levels compared to the HCs after one year of treatment. BDNF was not related to clinical or paraclinical disease severity signs.

Harmonised statistics and maps of forest biomass and increment in Europe.

Forest biomass is an essential resource in relation to the green transition and its assessment is key for the sustainable management of forest resources. Here, we present a forest biomass dataset for Europe based on the best available inventory and satellite data, with a higher level of harmonisation and spatial resolution than other existing data. This database provides statistics and maps of the forest area, biomass stock and their share available for wood supply in the year 2020, and statistics on gross and net volume increment in 2010-2020, for 38 European countries. The statistics of most countries are available at a sub-national scale and are derived from National Forest Inventory data, harmonised using common reference definitions and estimation methodology, and updated to a common year using a modelling approach. For those counties without harmonised statistics, data were derived from the State of Europe's Forest 2020 Report at the national scale. The maps are coherent with the statistics and depict the spatial distribution of the forest variables at 100 m resolution.

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that leads to neurological impairment and disability, mostly in young-aged people. Depression and anxiety are important associated mental disorders for people with MS (PwMS), which influence their life quality. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fear and stress levels enhanced dramatically for the general population, but mostly in progressive chronic pathologies such as MS. AIM: This study aimed to analyze the dynamic of psychological aspects in PwMS pre-pandemic and during pandemic, their connection with clinical outcomes, and with the coronavirus disease. METHODS: We included 95 PwMS with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS), who were first evaluated 4 years before the pandemic outbreak and the second time 2 years after. They completed a series of psychological tests for depression, anxiety, negative automatic thoughts, and stress: Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS), Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ). A neurologist evaluated the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and a COVID-19 survey was completed by 78 patients. RESULTS: During the pandemic, depression was encountered in 9.47% of PwMS, only 1.05% with a severe form, and 6.3% with suicidal thoughts, while anxiety was more frequent (39% of cases). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, depression levels remained stable over time (p = 0.55), anxiety was reduced (p<0.001), and stress levels significantly increased (p = 0.001). Some social aspects, such as having sufficient income, reduced the risk for psychological comorbidities. There was a mild correlation between emotional well-being and neurological disability. Of all patients who responded to the survey, 53.84% had previous COVID-19 infections, no patient was hospitalized and 69.23% were vaccinated. There was no relationship between the COVID-19 infection and psychological test results. CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, in the MS population depression remained stable, anxiety decreased, and stress levels were enhanced compared to the pre-pandemic period. Psychiatric comorbidities were not influenced by the coronavirus infection.

Nitric Oxide/Nitric Oxide Synthase System in the Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Disorders-An Overview.

Nitric oxide, a ubiquitous molecule found throughout the natural world, is a key molecule implicated in many central and benefic molecular pathways and has a well-established role in the function of the central nervous system, as numerous studies have previously shown. Dysregulation of its metabolism, mainly the upregulation of nitric oxide production, has been proposed as a trigger and/or aggravator for many neurological affections. Increasing evidence supports the implication of this molecule in prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The mechanisms proposed for its neurotoxicity mainly center around the increased quantities of nitric oxide that are produced in the brain, their cause, and, most importantly, the pathological metabolic cascades created. These cascades lead to the formation of neuronal toxic substances that impair the neurons' function and structure on multiple levels. The purpose of this review is to present the main causes of increased pathological production, as well as the most important pathophysiological mechanisms triggered by nitric oxide, mechanisms that could help explain a part of the complex picture of neurodegenerative diseases and help develop targeted therapies.

Machine learning-based prediction and assessment of recent dynamics of forest net primary productivity in Romania.

While the analysis of spatio-temporal changes in the net primary productivity (NPP) of forests can provide critical information on carbon cycle and climate change, these ecological trends have remained unclear in many countries worldwide, including Romania. By using complex (satellite, forest and climate) data, many sophisticated (machine learning) algorithms and some widely applied (the Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope estimator) statistical procedures, this study investigates, for the first time, recent forest NPP trends (1987-2018) that occurred in Romania, in relation to climate change that affected the country over the past decades. Following the modelling, mapping and assessment of NPP dynamics, results showed almost exclusively positive trends for this ecological parameter, which accounts for ∼99% of all forest NPP changes that occurred throughout the country, after 1987. Interestingly, almost three quarters (∼73%) of all NPP increasing trends are statistically significant, which indicates that Romania's forests have recently experienced a large-scale improvement in carbon fluxes and stocks. Investigations of eco-climatic relationships suggest that climate change has partially contributed to these surprising NPP dynamics observed in recent decades. All these findings can provide valuable information for forest management and for many stakeholders and policymakers who operate in the forestry and climate fields in Romania.

The Protective Effects of Nutraceutical Components in Methotrexate-Induced Toxicity Models-An Overview.

There are multiple concerns associated with methotrexate (MTX), widely recognized for anti-neoplastic and anti-inflammatory effects in life-threatening disease conditions, i.e., acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis, due to long-term side effects and associated toxicity, which limits its valuable potential. MTX acts as an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase, leading to suppression of purine and pyrimidine synthesis in high metabolic and turnover cells, targeting cancer and dysregulated immune cells. Due to low discrimination between neoplastic cells and naturally high turnover cells, MTX is prone to inhibiting the division of all fast-dividing cells, causing toxicity in multiple organs. Nutraceutical compounds are plant-based or food-derived compounds, used for their preventive and therapeutic role, ascertained in multiple organ dysfunctions, including cardiovascular disease, ischemic stroke, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Gut microbiota and microbiota-derived metabolites take part in multiple physiological processes, their dysregulation being involved in disease pathogenesis. Modulation of gut microbiota by using nutraceutical compounds represents a promising therapeutic direction to restore intestinal dysfunction associated with MTX treatment. In this review, we address the main organ dysfunctions induced by MTX treatment, and modulations of them by using nutraceutical compounds. Moreover, we revealed the protective mechanisms of nutraceuticals in MTX-induced intestinal dysfunctions by modulation of gut microbiota.

Towards complete and harmonized assessment of soil carbon stocks and balance in forests: The ability of the Yasso07 model across a wide gradient of climatic and forest conditions in Europe.

Accurate carbon-balance accounting in forest soils is necessary for the development of climate change policy. However, changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) occur slowly and these changes may not be captured through repeated soil inventories. Simulation models may be used as alternatives to SOC measurement. The Yasso07 model presents a suitable alternative because most of the data required for the application are readily available in countries with common forest surveys. In this study, we test the suitability of Yasso07 for simulating SOC stocks and stock changes in a variety of European forests affected by different climatic, land use and forest management conditions and we address country-specific cases with differing resources and data availability. The simulated SOC stocks differed only slightly from measured data, providing realistic, reasonable mean SOC estimations per region or forest type. The change in the soil carbon pool over time, which is the target parameter for SOC reporting, was generally found to be plausible although not in the case of Mediterranean forest soils. As expected under stable forest management conditions, both land cover and climate play major roles in determining the SOC stock in forest soils. Greater mean SOC stocks were observed in northern latitudes (or at higher altitude) than in southern latitudes (or plains) and conifer forests were found to store a notably higher amount of SOC than broadleaf forests. Furthermore, as regards change in SOC, an inter-annual sink effect was identified for most of the European forest types studied. Our findings corroborate the suitability of Yasso07 to assess the impact of forest management and land use change on the SOC balance of forests soils, as well as to accurately simulate SOC in dead organic matter (DOM) and mineral soil pools separately. The obstacles encountered when applying the Yasso07 model reflect a lack of available input data. Future research should focus on improving our knowledge of C inputs from compartments such as shrubs, herbs, coarse woody debris and fine roots. This should include turnover rates and quality of the litter in all forest compartments from a wider variety of tree species and sites. Despite the limitations identified, the SOC balance estimations provided by the Yasso07 model are sufficiently complete, accurate and transparent to make it suitable for reporting purposes such as those required under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and KP (Kyoto Protocol) for a wide range of forest conditions in Europe.