Alzheimer's-linked axonal changes accompany elevated antidromic action potential failure rate in aged mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects both grey and white matter (WM), but considerably more is known about the former. Interestingly, WM disruption has been consistently observed and thoroughly described using imaging modalities, particularly MRI which has shown WM functional disconnections between the hippocampus and other brain regions during AD pathogenesis when early neurodegeneration and synapse loss are also evident. Nonetheless, high-resolution structural and functional analyses of WM during AD pathogenesis remain scarce. Given the importance of the myelinated axons in the WM for conveying information across brain regions, such studies will provide valuable information on the cellular drivers and consequences of WM disruption that contribute to the characteristic cognitive decline of AD. Here, we employed a multi-scale approach to investigate hippocampal WM disruption during AD pathogenesis and determine whether hippocampal WM changes accompany the well-documented grey matter losses. Our data indicate that ultrastructural myelin disruption is elevated in the alveus in human AD cases and increases with age in 5xFAD mice. Unreliable action potential propagation and changes to sodium channel expression at the node of Ranvier co-emerged with this deterioration. These findings provide important insight to the neurobiological substrates and functional consequences of decreased WM integrity and are consistent with the notion that hippocampal disconnection contributes to cognitive changes in AD.

Cystic fibrosis and fertility.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: As the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients continues to increase, and more patients become adults with a chronic disease, researching the impact of the disorder on male and female infertility has become increasingly important. Studies suggest that the prevalence of CF mutations may be higher than previously thought and that many mutations are yet to be identified. RECENT FINDINGS: Assisted reproductive technologies can help both infertile male and female patients with CF in achieving successful parenthood. In addition, for women more health characteristics including baseline pulmonary function have been evaluated as predictors of health and pregnancy outcomes. SUMMARY: Mutations in the CF Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene affect both male and female fertility; however, not all CFTR mutations appear to cause infertility. Although most men with CF have significant anatomical abnormalities of the reproductive tract causing infertility, most women with CF have anatomically normal reproductive tracts and up to half may be able to conceive spontaneously. Less is known about how CF affects female fertility or the treatment options available.

The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome in King Hamad University Hospital.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome in patients with cataracts in King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH) and rates of complication in pseudoexfoliation (PXF) patients postoperatively and 2-year follow-up. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on medical records of PXF patients who underwent phacoemulsification and extracapsular cataract extraction in KHUH, Bahrain, between August 31, 2016, and December 30, 2018. RESULTS: From the 458 cases analyzed, there were 17 patients with PXF (3.71%). One patient per-operatively experienced posterior capsular repture (5.88%). Zero patients experienced complication in 2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: This is the first study investigating the prevalence rate of PXF in Bahrain and rates of complication for PXF patients undergoing cataract surgery. This study contributes to further understanding the epidemiology of this disease and its racial variation, for PXF patients to better understand the rate of risks involved in cataract surgery, and for surgeons to create appropriate surgical plans that help reduce the risk of complications commonly seen in these patients.

Tonsillectomy for this 35-year-old patient?

Is tonsillectomy an appropriate treatment modality for this adult patient's refractory group A ß-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis, in light of her history of recurrent infections?

A single administration of human umbilical cord blood T cells produces long-lasting effects in the aging hippocampus.

Neurogenesis occurs throughout life but significantly decreases with age. Human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (HUCB MNCs) have been shown to increase the proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus and the subgranular zone of aging rats (Bachstetter et al., BMC Neurosci 9:22, 2008), but it is unclear which fraction or combination of the HUCB MNCs are responsible for neurogenesis. To address this issue, we examined the ability of HUCB MNCs, CD4+, CD8+, CD3+, CD14+, and CD133+ subpopulations to increase proliferation of NSCs both in vitro and in vivo. NSCs were first grown in conditioned media generated from HUCB cultures, and survival and proliferation of NSC were determined with the fluorescein diacetate/propidium iodide and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation assays, respectively. In a second study, we injected HUCB cells intravenously in young and aged Fisher 344 rats and examined proliferation in the DG at 1 week (study 2.1) and 2 weeks (study 2.2) postinjection. The effects of the HUCB MNC fractions on dendritic spine density and microglial activation were also assessed. HUCB T cells (CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ cells) induced proliferation of NSCs (p < 0.001) and increased cell survival. In vivo, HUCB-derived CD4+ cells increased NSC proliferation at both 1 and 2 weeks while also enhancing the density of dendritic spines at 1 week and decreasing inflammation at 2 weeks postinjection. Collectively, these data indicate that a single injection of HUCB-derived T cells induces long-lasting effects and may therefore have tremendous potential to improve aging neurogenesis.