Transcriptomic and epigenetic dissection of spinal ependymoma (SP-EPN) identifies clinically relevant subtypes enriched for tumors with and without NF2 mutation.

Ependymomas encompass multiple clinically relevant tumor types based on localization and molecular profiles. Tumors of the methylation class "spinal ependymoma" (SP-EPN) represent the most common intramedullary neoplasms in children and adults. However, their developmental origin is ill-defined, molecular data are scarce, and the potential heterogeneity within SP-EPN remains unexplored. The only known recurrent genetic events in SP-EPN are loss of chromosome 22q and NF2 mutations, but neither types and frequency of these alterations nor their clinical relevance have been described in a large, epigenetically defined series. Transcriptomic (n = 72), epigenetic (n = 225), genetic (n = 134), and clinical data (n = 112) were integrated for a detailed molecular overview on SP-EPN. Additionally, we mapped SP-EPN transcriptomes to developmental atlases of the developing and adult spinal cord to uncover potential developmental origins of these tumors. The integration of transcriptomic ependymoma data with single-cell atlases of the spinal cord revealed that SP-EPN display the highest similarities to mature adult ependymal cells. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of transcriptomic data together with integrated analysis of methylation profiles identified two molecular SP-EPN subtypes. Subtype A tumors primarily carried previously known germline or sporadic NF2 mutations together with 22q loss (bi-allelic NF2 loss), resulting in decreased NF2 expression. Furthermore, they more often presented as multilocular disease and demonstrated a significantly reduced progression-free survival as compared to SP-EP subtype B. In contrast, subtype B predominantly contained samples without NF2 mutation detected in sequencing together with 22q loss (monoallelic NF2 loss). These tumors showed regular NF2 expression but more extensive global copy number alterations. Based on integrated molecular profiling of a large multi-center cohort, we identified two distinct SP-EPN subtypes with important implications for genetic counseling, patient surveillance, and drug development priorities.

Impact of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Markers on the Diagnostic Performance of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Multiple System Atrophy Criteria.

BACKGROUND: Multiple system atrophy is a neurodegenerative disease with α-synuclein aggregation in glial cytoplasmic inclusions, leading to dysautonomia, parkinsonism, and cerebellar ataxia. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to validate the accuracy of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Multiple System Atrophy clinical diagnostic criteria, particularly considering the impact of the newly introduced brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers. METHODS: Diagnostic accuracy of the clinical diagnostic criteria for multiple system atrophy was estimated retrospectively in autopsy-confirmed patients with multiple system atrophy, Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal degeneration. RESULTS: We identified a total of 240 patients. Sensitivity of the clinically probable criteria was moderate at symptom onset but improved with disease duration (year 1: 9%, year 3: 39%, final ante mortem record: 77%), whereas their specificity remained consistently high (99%-100% throughout). Sensitivity of the clinically established criteria was low during the first 3 years (1%-9%), with mild improvement at the final ante mortem record (22%), whereas specificity remained high (99%-100% throughout). When MRI features were excluded from the clinically established criteria, their sensitivity increased considerably (year 1: 3%, year 3: 22%, final ante mortem record: 48%), and their specificity was not compromised (99%-100% throughout). CONCLUSIONS: The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society multiple system atrophy diagnostic criteria showed consistently high specificity and low to moderate sensitivity throughout the disease course. The MRI markers for the clinically established criteria reduced their sensitivity without improving specificity. Combining clinically probable and clinically established criteria, but disregarding MRI features, yielded the best sensitivity with excellent specificity and may be most appropriate to select patients for therapeutic trials. © 2024 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Combination of pre-treatment dynamic [18F]FET PET radiomics and conventional clinical parameters for the survival stratification in patients with IDH-wildtype glioblastoma.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to build and evaluate a prediction model which incorporates clinical parameters and radiomic features extracted from static as well as dynamic [18F]FET PET for the survival stratification in patients with newly diagnosed IDH-wildtype glioblastoma. METHODS: A total of 141 patients with newly diagnosed IDH-wildtype glioblastoma and dynamic [18F]FET PET prior to surgical intervention were included. Patients with a survival time ≤ 12 months were classified as short-term survivors. First order, shape, and texture radiomic features were extracted from pre-treatment static (tumor-to-background ratio; TBR) and dynamic (time-to-peak; TTP) images, respectively, and randomly divided into a training (n = 99) and a testing cohort (n = 42). After feature normalization, recursive feature elimination was applied for feature selection using 5-fold cross-validation on the training cohort, and a machine learning model was constructed to compare radiomic models and combined clinical-radiomic models with selected radiomic features and clinical parameters. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated to assess the predictive performance for identifying short-term survivors in both the training and testing cohort. RESULTS: A combined clinical-radiomic model comprising six clinical parameters and six selected dynamic radiomic features achieved highest predictability of short-term survival with an AUC of 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-0.88) in the independent testing cohort. CONCLUSIONS: This study successfully built and evaluated prediction models using [18F]FET PET-based radiomic features and clinical parameters for the individualized assessment of short-term survival in patients with a newly diagnosed IDH-wildtype glioblastoma. The combination of both clinical parameters and dynamic [18F]FET PET-based radiomic features reached highest accuracy in identifying patients at risk. Although the achieved accuracy level remained moderate, our data shows that the integration of dynamic [18F]FET PET radiomic data into clinical prediction models may improve patient stratification beyond established prognostic markers.

TSPO PET signal using [18F]GE180 is associated with survival in recurrent gliomas.

PURPOSE: Glioma patients, especially recurrent glioma, suffer from a poor prognosis. While advances to classify glioma on a molecular level improved prognostication at initial diagnosis, markers to prognosticate survival in the recurrent situation are still needed. As 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) was previously reported to be associated with aggressive histopathological glioma features, we correlated the TSPO positron emission tomography (PET) signal using [18F]GE180 in a large cohort of recurrent glioma patients with their clinical outcome. METHODS: In patients with [18F]GE180 PET at glioma recurrence, [18F]GE180 PET parameters (e.g., SUVmax) as well as other imaging features (e.g., MRI volume, [18F]FET PET parameters when available) were evaluated together with patient characteristics (age, sex, Karnofsky-Performance score) and neuropathological features (e.g. WHO 2021 grade, IDH-mutation status). Uni- and multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors for post-recurrence survival (PRS) and time to treatment failure (TTF). RESULTS: Eighty-eight consecutive patients were evaluated. TSPO tracer uptake correlated with tumor grade at recurrence (p < 0.05), with no significant differences in IDH-wild-type versus IDH-mutant tumors. Within the subgroup of IDH-mutant glioma (n = 46), patients with low SUVmax (median split, ≤ 1.60) had a significantly longer PRS (median 41.6 vs. 25.3 months, p = 0.031) and TTF (32.2 vs 8.7 months, p = 0.001). Also among IDH-wild-type glioblastoma (n = 42), patients with low SUVmax (≤ 1.89) had a significantly longer PRS (median not reached vs 8.2 months, p = 0.002). SUVmax remained an independent prognostic factor for PRS in the multivariate analysis including CNS WHO 2021 grade, IDH status, and age. Tumor volume defined by [18F]FET PET or contrast-enhanced MRI correlated weakly with TSPO tracer uptake. Treatment regimen did not differ among the median split subgroups. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that TSPO PET using [18F]GE180 can help to prognosticate recurrent glioma patients even among homogeneous molecular subgroups and may therefore serve as valuable non-invasive biomarker for individualized patient management.

First detected geographical cluster of BoDV-1 encephalitis from same small village in two children: therapeutic considerations and epidemiological implications.

BACKGROUND: The Borna disease virus (BoDV-1) is an emerging zoonotic virus causing severe and mostly fatal encephalitis in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS: A local cluster of fatal BoDV-1 encephalitis cases was detected in the same village three years apart affecting two children. While the first case was diagnosed late in the course of disease, a very early diagnosis and treatment attempt facilitated by heightened awareness was achieved in the second case. Therapy started as early as day 12 of disease. Antiviral therapy encompassed favipiravir and ribavirin, and, after bioinformatic modelling, also remdesivir. As the disease is immunopathogenetically mediated, an intensified anti-inflammatory therapy was administered. Following initial impressive clinical improvement, the course was also fatal, although clearly prolonged. Viral RNA was detected by qPCR in tear fluid and saliva, constituting a possible transmission risk for health care professionals. Highest viral loads were found post mortem in the olfactory nerve and the limbic system, possibly reflecting the portal of entry for BoDV-1. Whole exome sequencing in both patients yielded no hint for underlying immunodeficiency. Full virus genomes belonging to the same cluster were obtained in both cases by next-generation sequencing. Sequences were not identical, indicating viral diversity in natural reservoirs. Specific transmission events or a common source of infection were not found by structured interviews. Patients lived 750m apart from each other and on the fringe of the settlement, a recently shown relevant risk factor. CONCLUSION: Our report highlights the urgent necessity of effective treatment strategies, heightened awareness and early diagnosis. Gaps of knowledge regarding risk factors, transmission events, and tailored prevention methods become apparent. Whether this case cluster reflects endemicity or a geographical hot spot needs further investigation.

Single-nucleus chromatin accessibility profiling highlights distinct astrocyte signatures in progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration.

Tauopathies such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) exhibit characteristic neuronal and glial inclusions of hyperphosphorylated Tau (pTau). Although the astrocytic pTau phenotype upon neuropathological examination is the most guiding feature in distinguishing both diseases, regulatory mechanisms controlling their transitions into disease-specific states are poorly understood to date. Here, we provide accessible chromatin data of more than 45,000 single nuclei isolated from the frontal cortex of PSP, CBD, and control individuals. We found a strong association of disease-relevant molecular changes with astrocytes and demonstrate that tauopathy-relevant genetic risk variants are tightly linked to astrocytic chromatin accessibility profiles in the brains of PSP and CBD patients. Unlike the established pathogenesis in the secondary tauopathy Alzheimer disease, microglial alterations were relatively sparse. Transcription factor (TF) motif enrichments in pseudotime as well as modeling of the astrocytic TF interplay suggested a common pTau signature for CBD and PSP that is reminiscent of an inflammatory immediate-early response. Nonetheless, machine learning models also predicted discriminatory features, and we observed marked differences in molecular entities related to protein homeostasis between both diseases. Predicted TF involvement was supported by immunofluorescence analyses in postmortem brain tissue for their highly correlated target genes. Collectively, our data expand the current knowledge on risk gene involvement (e.g., MAPT, MAPK8, and NFE2L2) and molecular pathways leading to the phenotypic changes associated with CBD and PSP.

Common Variants Near ZIC1 and ZIC4 in Autopsy-Confirmed Multiple System Atrophy.

BACKGROUND: Multiple System Atrophy is a rare neurodegenerative disease with alpha-synuclein aggregation in glial cytoplasmic inclusions and either predominant olivopontocerebellar atrophy or striatonigral degeneration, leading to dysautonomia, parkinsonism, and cerebellar ataxia. One prior genome-wide association study in mainly clinically diagnosed patients with Multiple System Atrophy failed to identify genetic variants predisposing for the disease. OBJECTIVE: Since the clinical diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy yields a high rate of misdiagnosis when compared to the neuropathological gold standard, we studied only autopsy-confirmed cases. METHODS: We studied common genetic variations in Multiple System Atrophy cases (N = 731) and controls (N = 2898). RESULTS: The most strongly disease-associated markers were rs16859966 on chromosome 3, rs7013955 on chromosome 8, and rs116607983 on chromosome 4 with P-values below 5 × 10-6 , all of which were supported by at least one additional genotyped and several imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms. The genes closest to the chromosome 3 locus are ZIC1 and ZIC4 encoding the zinc finger proteins of cerebellum 1 and 4 (ZIC1 and ZIC4). INTERPRETATION: Since mutations of ZIC1 and ZIC4 and paraneoplastic autoantibodies directed against ZIC4 are associated with severe cerebellar dysfunction, we conducted immunohistochemical analyses in brain tissue of the frontal cortex and the cerebellum from 24 Multiple System Atrophy patients. Strong immunohistochemical expression of ZIC4 was detected in a subset of neurons of the dentate nucleus in all healthy controls and in patients with striatonigral degeneration, whereas ZIC4-immunoreactive neurons were significantly reduced inpatients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy. These findings point to a potential ZIC4-mediated vulnerability of neurons in Multiple System Atrophy. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Seizure prevalence in neurodegenerative diseases-a study of autopsy proven cases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Knowledge about the seizure prevalence in the whole symptomatic course, from disease onset to death, in neurodegenerative diseases (ND) is lacking. Therefore, the aim was to investigate seizure prevalence and associated clinical implications in neuropathologically diagnosed ND. METHODS: Clinical records of cases from the Neurobiobank Munich, Germany, were analyzed. Neuropathological diagnoses of the assessed cases included Alzheimer disease (AD), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), Lewy body disease (LBD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Seizure prevalence during the whole symptomatic disease phase was assessed and compared amongst ND. Associations between first clinical symptom and seizure prevalence and between seizures and disease duration were examined. RESULTS: In all, 454 patients with neuropathologically diagnosed ND and with available and meaningful clinical records were investigated (AD, n = 144; LBD, n = 103; PSP, n = 93; FTLD, n = 53; MSA, n = 36; CBD, n = 25). Seizure prevalence was 31.3% for AD, 20.0% for CBD, 12.6% for LBD, 11.3% for FTLD, 8.3% for MSA and 7.5% for PSP. Seizure prevalence was significantly higher in AD compared to FTLD (p = 0.005), LBD (p = 0.001), MSA (p = 0.005) and PSP (p < 0.001). No other significant differences regarding seizure prevalence were found between the studied ND. Cognitive first symptoms in ND were associated with an increased seizure prevalence (21.1% vs. 11.0% in patients without cognitive first symptoms) and motor first symptoms with a decreased seizure prevalence (10.3% vs. 20.5% in patients without motor first symptoms). Seizures were associated with a longer disease duration in MSA (12.3 vs. 7.0 years in patients without seizures; p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Seizures are a clinically relevant comorbidity in ND, particularly in AD. Knowledge of the first clinical symptom in ND may allow for estimation of seizure risk.

Bornavirus Encephalitis Shows a Characteristic Magnetic Resonance Phenotype in Humans.

OBJECTIVE: The number of diagnosed fatal encephalitis cases in humans caused by the classical Borna disease virus (BoDV-1) has been increasing, ever since it was proved that BoDV-1 can cause human infections. However, awareness of this entity is low, and a specific imaging pattern has not yet been identified. We therefore provide the first comprehensive description of the morphology of human BoDV-1 encephalitis, with histopathological verification of imaging abnormalities. METHODS: In an institutional review board-approved multicenter study, we carried out a retrospective analysis of 55 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of 19 patients with confirmed BoDV-1 encephalitis. Fifty brain regions were analyzed systematically (T1w, T2w, T2*w, T1w + Gd, and DWI), in order to discern a specific pattern of inflammation. Histopathological analysis of 25 locations in one patient served as correlation for MRI abnormalities. RESULTS: Baseline imaging, acquired at a mean of 11 ± 10 days after symptom onset, in addition to follow-up scans of 16 patients, revealed characteristic T2 hyperintensities with a predilection for the head of the caudate nucleus, insula, and cortical spread to the limbic system, whereas the occipital lobes and cerebellar hemispheres were unaffected. This gradient was confirmed by histology. Nine patients (47.4%) developed T1 hyperintensities of the basal ganglia, corresponding to accumulated lipid phagocytes on histology and typical for late-stage necrosis. INTERPRETATION: BoDV-1 encephalitis shows a distinct pattern of inflammation in both the early and late stages of the disease. Its appearance can mimic sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease on MRI and should be considered a differential diagnosis in the case of atypical clinical presentation. ANN NEUROL 2020;88:723-735.

Phenotypic diversity of genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a histo-molecular-based classification.

The current classification of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) includes six major clinicopathological subtypes defined by the physicochemical properties of the protease-resistant core of the pathologic prion protein (PrPSc), defining two major PrPSc types (i.e., 1 and 2), and the methionine (M)/valine (V) polymorphic codon 129 of the prion protein gene (PRNP). How these sCJD subtypes relate to the well-documented phenotypic heterogeneity of genetic CJD (gCJD) is not fully understood. We analyzed molecular and phenotypic features in 208 individuals affected by gCJD, carrying 17 different mutations, and compared them with those of a large series of sCJD cases. We identified six major groups of gCJD based on the combination PrPSc type and codon 129 genotype on PRNP mutated allele, each showing distinctive histopathological characteristics, irrespectively of the PRNP associated mutation. Five gCJD groups, named M1, M2C, M2T, V1, and V2, largely reproduced those previously described in sCJD subtypes. The sixth group shared phenotypic traits with the V2 group and was only detected in patients carrying the E200K-129M haplotype in association with a PrPSc type of intermediate size ("i") between type 1 and type 2. Additional mutation-specific effects involved the pattern of PrP deposition (e.g., a "thickened" synaptic pattern in E200K carriers, cerebellar "stripe-like linear granular deposits" in those with insertion mutations, and intraneuronal globular dots in E200K-V2 or -M"i"). A few isolated cases linked to rare PRNP haplotypes (e.g., T183A-129M), showed atypical phenotypic features, which prevented their classification into the six major groups. The phenotypic variability of gCJD is mostly consistent with that previously found in sCJD. As in sCJD, the codon 129 genotype and physicochemical properties of PrPSc significantly correlated with the phenotypic variability of gCJD. The most common mutations linked to CJD appear to have a variable and overall less significant effect on the disease phenotype, but they significantly influence disease susceptibility often in a strain-specific manner. The criteria currently used for sCJD subtypes can be expanded and adapted to gCJD to provide an updated classification of the disease with a molecular basis.

Recurrent fusions in PLAGL1 define a distinct subset of pediatric-type supratentorial neuroepithelial tumors.

Ependymomas encompass a heterogeneous group of central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms that occur along the entire neuroaxis. In recent years, extensive (epi-)genomic profiling efforts have identified several molecular groups of ependymoma that are characterized by distinct molecular alterations and/or patterns. Based on unsupervised visualization of a large cohort of genome-wide DNA methylation data, we identified a highly distinct group of pediatric-type tumors (n = 40) forming a cluster separate from all established CNS tumor types, of which a high proportion were histopathologically diagnosed as ependymoma. RNA sequencing revealed recurrent fusions involving the pleomorphic adenoma gene-like 1 (PLAGL1) gene in 19 of 20 of the samples analyzed, with the most common fusion being EWSR1:PLAGL1 (n = 13). Five tumors showed a PLAGL1:FOXO1 fusion and one a PLAGL1:EP300 fusion. High transcript levels of PLAGL1 were noted in these tumors, with concurrent overexpression of the imprinted genes H19 and IGF2, which are regulated by PLAGL1. Histopathological review of cases with sufficient material (n = 16) demonstrated a broad morphological spectrum of tumors with predominant ependymoma-like features. Immunohistochemically, tumors were GFAP positive and OLIG2- and SOX10 negative. In 3/16 of the cases, a dot-like positivity for EMA was detected. All tumors in our series were located in the supratentorial compartment. Median age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 6.2 years. Median progression-free survival was 35 months (for 11 patients with data available). In summary, our findings suggest the existence of a novel group of supratentorial neuroepithelial tumors that are characterized by recurrent PLAGL1 fusions and enriched for pediatric patients.

Prediction of TERTp-mutation status in IDH-wildtype high-grade gliomas using pre-treatment dynamic [18F]FET PET radiomics.

PURPOSE: To evaluate radiomic features extracted from standard static images (20-40 min p.i.), early summation images (5-15 min p.i.), and dynamic [18F]FET PET images for the prediction of TERTp-mutation status in patients with IDH-wildtype high-grade glioma. METHODS: A total of 159 patients (median age 60.2 years, range 19-82 years) with newly diagnosed IDH-wildtype diffuse astrocytic glioma (WHO grade III or IV) and dynamic [18F]FET PET prior to surgical intervention were enrolled and divided into a training (n = 112) and a testing cohort (n = 47) randomly. First-order, shape, and texture radiomic features were extracted from standard static (20-40 min summation images; TBR20-40), early static (5-15 min summation images; TBR5-15), and dynamic (time-to-peak; TTP) images, respectively. Recursive feature elimination was used for feature selection by 10-fold cross-validation in the training cohort after normalization, and logistic regression models were generated using the radiomic features extracted from each image to differentiate TERTp-mutation status. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value were calculated to illustrate diagnostic power in both the training and testing cohort. RESULTS: The TTP model comprised nine selected features and achieved highest predictability of TERTp-mutation with an AUC of 0.82 (95% confidence interval 0.71-0.92) and sensitivity of 92.1% in the independent testing cohort. Weak predictive capability was obtained in the TBR5-15 model, with an AUC of 0.61 (95% CI 0.42-0.80) in the testing cohort, while no predictive power was observed in the TBR20-40 model. CONCLUSIONS: Radiomics based on TTP images extracted from dynamic [18F]FET PET can predict the TERTp-mutation status of IDH-wildtype diffuse astrocytic high-grade gliomas with high accuracy preoperatively.

First symptom guides diagnosis and prognosis in neurodegenerative diseases-a retrospective study of autopsy proven cases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Clinical diagnostic criteria for neurodegenerative diseases have been framed based on clinical phenomenology. However, systematic knowledge about the first reported clinical symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases is lacking. Therefore, the aim was to determine the prevalence and clinical implications of the first clinical symptom (FS) as assessed by medical history in neuropathologically proven neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS: Neuropathological diagnoses from the Neurobiobank Munich, Germany, were matched with clinical records for analyses of the diagnostic and prognostic values of FSs. RESULTS: In all, 301 patients with the neuropathological diagnoses Alzheimer disease (AD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), Lewy body disease (LBD) including the neuropathologically indistinguishable clinical phenotypes Parkinson disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy (MSA) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) were studied. Memory disturbance was the most common FS in AD (34%), FTLD (19%) and LBD (26%), gait disturbance in PSP (35%) and MSA (27%) and aphasia and personality changes in CBD (20%, respectively). In a model adjusting for prevalence in the general population, AD was predicted by memory disturbance in 79.0%, aphasia in 97.2%, personality changes in 96.0% and by cognitive disturbance in 99.0%. Gait disturbance and tremor predicted LBD in 54.6% and 97.3%, coordination disturbance MSA in 59.4% and dysarthria FTLD in 73.0%. Cognitive FSs were associated with longer survival in AD (12.0 vs. 5.3 years; p < 0.001) and FTLD (8.2 vs. 4.1 years; p = 0.005) and motor FSs with shorter survival in PSP (7.2 vs. 9.7; p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Assessing FSs in neurodegenerative diseases may be beneficial for accuracy of diagnosis and prognosis and thereby may improve clinical care and precision of study recruitment.

Travel-associated neurological disease terminated in a postmortem diagnosed atypical HSV-1 encephalitis after high-dose steroid therapy - a case report.

BACKGROUND: Human encephalitis can originate from a variety of different aetiologies, of which infection is the most common one. The diagnostic work-up is specifically challenging in patients with travel history since a broader spectrum of unfamiliar additional infectious agents, e. g. tropical disease pathogens, needs to be considered. Here we present a case of encephalitis of unclear aetiology in a female traveller returning from Africa, who in addition developed an atypical herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis in close temporal relation with high-dose steroid treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: A previously healthy 48-year-old female presented with confusion syndrome and impaired vigilance which had developed during a six-day trip to The Gambia. The condition rapidly worsened to a comatose state. Extensive search for infectious agents including a variety of tropical disease pathogens was unsuccessful. As encephalitic signs persisted despite of calculated antimicrobial and antiviral therapy, high-dose corticosteroids were applied intravenously based on the working diagnosis of an autoimmune encephalitis. The treatment did, however, not improve the patient's condition. Four days later, bihemispheric signal amplification in the insular and frontobasal cortex was observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The intracranial pressure rapidly increased and could not be controlled by conservative treatment. The patient died due to tonsillar herniation 21 days after onset of symptoms. Histological examination of postmortem brain tissue demonstrated a generalized lymphocytic meningoencephalitis. Immunohistochemical reactions against HSV-1/2 indicated an atypical manifestation of herpesviral encephalitis in brain tissue. Moreover, HSV-1 DNA was detected by a next-generation sequencing (NGS) metagenomics approach. Retrospective analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples revealed HSV-1 DNA only in specimens one day ante mortem. CONCLUSIONS: This case shows that standard high-dose steroid therapy can contribute to or possibly even trigger fulminant cerebral HSV reactivation in a critically ill patient. Thus, even if extensive laboratory diagnostics including wide-ranging search for infectious pathogens has been performed before and remained without results, continuous re-evaluation of potential differential diagnoses especially regarding opportunistic infections or reactivation of latent infections is of utmost importance, particularly if new symptoms occur.

Early defects in translation elongation factor 1α levels at excitatory synapses in α-synucleinopathy.

Cognitive decline and dementia in neurodegenerative diseases are associated with synapse dysfunction and loss, which may precede neuron loss by several years. While misfolded and aggregated α-synuclein is recognized in the disease progression of synucleinopathies, the nature of glutamatergic synapse dysfunction and loss remains incompletely understood. Using fluorescence-activated synaptosome sorting (FASS), we enriched excitatory glutamatergic synaptosomes from mice overexpressing human alpha-synuclein (h-αS) and wild-type littermates to unprecedented purity. Subsequent label-free proteomic quantification revealed a set of proteins differentially expressed upon human alpha-synuclein overexpression. These include overrepresented proteins involved in the synaptic vesicle cycle, ER-Golgi trafficking, metabolism and cytoskeleton. Unexpectedly, we found and validated a steep reduction of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha (eEF1A1) levels in excitatory synapses at early stages of h-αS mouse model pathology. While eEF1A1 reduction correlated with the loss of postsynapses, its immunoreactivity was found on both sides of excitatory synapses. Moreover, we observed a reduction in eEF1A1 immunoreactivity in the cingulate gyrus neuropil of patients with Lewy body disease along with a reduction in PSD95 levels. Altogether, our results suggest a link between structural impairments underlying cognitive decline in neurodegenerative disorders and local synaptic defects. eEF1A1 may therefore represent a limiting factor to synapse maintenance.

Rosette-forming glioneuronal tumors share a distinct DNA methylation profile and mutations in FGFR1, with recurrent co-mutation of PIK3CA and NF1.

Rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor (RGNT) is a rare brain neoplasm that primarily affects young adults. Although alterations affecting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway have been associated with this low-grade entity, comprehensive molecular investigations of RGNT in larger series have not been performed to date, and an integrated view of their genetic and epigenetic profiles is still lacking. Here we describe a genome-wide DNA methylation and targeted sequencing-based characterization of a molecularly distinct class of tumors (n = 30), initially identified through genome-wide DNA methylation screening among a cohort of > 30,000 tumors, of which most were diagnosed histologically as RGNT. FGFR1 hotspot mutations were observed in all tumors analyzed, with co-occurrence of PIK3CA mutations in about two-thirds of the cases (63%). Additional loss-of-function mutations in the tumor suppressor gene NF1 were detected in a subset of cases (33%). Notably, in contrast to most other low-grade gliomas, these tumors often displayed co-occurrence of two or even all three of these mutations. Our data highlight that molecularly defined RGNTs are characterized by highly recurrent combined genetic alterations affecting both MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways. Thus, these two pathways appear to synergistically interact in the formation of RGNT, and offer potential therapeutic targets for this disease.

The neuropathology of fatal encephalomyelitis in human Borna virus infection.

After many years of controversy, there is now recent and solid evidence that classical Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) can infect humans. On the basis of six brain autopsies, we provide the first systematic overview on BoDV-1 tissue distribution and the lesion pattern in fatal BoDV-1-induced encephalitis. All brains revealed a non-purulent, lymphocytic sclerosing panencephalomyelitis with detection of BoDV-1-typical eosinophilic, spherical intranuclear Joest-Degen inclusion bodies. While the composition of histopathological changes was constant, the inflammatory distribution pattern varied interindividually, affecting predominantly the basal nuclei in two patients, hippocampus in one patient, whereas two patients showed a more diffuse distribution. By immunohistochemistry and RNA in situ hybridization, BoDV-1 was detected in all examined brain tissue samples. Furthermore, infection of the peripheral nervous system was observed. This study aims at raising awareness to human bornavirus encephalitis as differential diagnosis in lymphocytic sclerosing panencephalomyelitis. A higher attention to human BoDV-1 infection by health professionals may likely increase the detection of more cases and foster a clearer picture of the disease.

Non-invasive prediction of IDH-wildtype genotype in gliomas using dynamic 18F-FET PET.

PURPOSE: According to the updated WHO classification of gliomas with its emphasis on molecular parameters, tumours with an IDH-wildtype status have a dismal prognosis. To ensure timely adjustment of treatment, demand for non-invasive prediction methods is high. 18F-FET PET has been shown to be an important diagnostic tool for glioma management. The aim of this study was to assess the value of dynamic 18F-FET PET for the non-invasive prediction of the IDH-mutation status. METHODS: Newly diagnosed WHO grade II-IV glioma patients with MRI and dynamic 18F-FET PET were included. The 18F-FET PET parameters mean and maximal tumour-to-background ratio (TBRmean, TBRmax) and minimal time-to-peak (TTPmin) were evaluated. The diagnostic power for the prediction of the IDH genotype (positive/negative predictive value) was tested in the overall study group and in the subgroup of non-contrast enhancing gliomas. RESULTS: Three hundred forty-one patients were evaluated. Molecular analyses revealed 178 IDH-mutant and 163 IDH-wildtype tumours. Overall, 270/341 gliomas were classified as 18F-FET-positive (TBRmax > 1.6), 90.2% of the IDH-wildtype and 69.1% of IDH-mutant gliomas. Median TBRmax was significantly higher in IDH-wildtype compared with IDH-mutant gliomas (2.9 vs. 2.3, p < 0.001); however, ROC-analyses revealed no reliable cutoff due to a high overlap (range 1.0-7.1 vs. 1.1-7.9). Dynamic analysis revealed a significantly shorter TTPmin in IDH-wildtype gliomas; using TTPmin ≤ 12.5 min as indicator for IDH-wildtype gliomas, a positive predictive value of 87% was reached (negative predictive value 72%, AUC = 0.796, p ≤ 0.001). A total of 161/341 gliomas did not show contrast enhancement on MRI; even within this subgroup, TTPmin ≤ 12.5 min remained a good predictor of IDH-wildtype glioma (positive predictive value 83%, negative predictive value 90%; AUC = 0.868, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A short TTPmin in dynamic 18F-FET PET serves as good predictor of highly aggressive IDH-wildtype status in gliomas. In particular, a high diagnostic power was observed in the subgroup of non-contrast enhancing gliomas, which helps to identify patients with worse prognosis.

Anle138b and related compounds are aggregation specific fluorescence markers and reveal high affinity binding to α-synuclein aggregates.

BACKGROUND: Special diphenyl-pyrazole compounds and in particular anle138b were found to reduce the progression of prion and Parkinson's disease in animal models. The therapeutic impact of these compounds was attributed to the modulation of α-synuclein and prion-protein aggregation related to these diseases. METHODS: Photophysical and photochemical properties of the diphenyl-pyrazole compounds anle138b, anle186b and sery313b and their interaction with monomeric and aggregated α-synuclein were studied by fluorescence techniques. RESULTS: The fluorescence emission of diphenyl-pyrazole is strongly increased upon incubation with α-synuclein fibrils, while no change in fluorescence emission is found when brought in contact with monomeric α-synuclein. This points to a distinct interaction between diphenyl-pyrazole and the fibrillar structure with a high binding affinity (Kd=190±120nM) for anle138b. Several α-synuclein proteins form a hydrophobic binding pocket for the diphenyl-pyrazole compound. A UV-induced dehalogenation reaction was observed for anle138b which is modulated by the hydrophobic environment of the fibrils. CONCLUSION: Fluorescence of the investigated diphenyl-pyrazole compounds strongly increases upon binding to fibrillar α-synuclein structures. Binding at high affinity occurs to hydrophobic pockets in the fibrils. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: The observed particular fluorescence properties of the diphenyl-pyrazole molecules open new possibilities for the investigation of the mode of action of these compounds in neurodegenerative diseases. The high binding affinity to aggregates and the strong increase in fluorescence upon binding make the compounds promising fluorescence markers for the analysis of aggregation-dependent epitopes.