Fetal anomaly diagnosis and termination of pregnancy.

The aim of this review was to discuss bioethics in prenatal diagnosis and health care after recent legislative and judicial changes affecting reproductive rights, such as the repeal of 'Roe v. Wade' in the United States. We recognize that abortion involves particular moralities that are not universal or shared by all cultures, groups, and individuals. We reviewed the historical aspects of embryology and personhood, fetal morbidity and mortality, and parental options for prenatal diagnostic testing. We examined relevant ethical issues including informed consent, the emergence of fetal pain, reproductive autonomy, the fiduciary responsibilities of pregnant mothers, and the obligations of physicians caring for the maternal-fetal dyad. The code of medical ethics includes respect for decisional privacy and the protection of information shared in confidence. When a fetal anomaly is diagnosed, pregnant mothers must be informed about the risks, burdens, and alternatives in either continuing or terminating the pregnancy. Parental choice should include the right to refuse testing, the informed choice not to know about certain genetic test results, and the right to make informed decisions about the best interests of the future child. In the diagnosis and care of fetal anomalies, moral dilemmas arise. Before fetal viability, the mother's autonomy, sense of beneficence, and personal values should be trusted and respected. Perinatal palliative care should be available to pregnant mothers whose anomalous fetus is carried to birth.

The ILAE consensus classification of focal cortical dysplasia: An update proposed by an ad hoc task force of the ILAE diagnostic methods commission.

Ongoing challenges in diagnosing focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) mandate continuous research and consensus agreement to improve disease definition and classification. An International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Task Force (TF) reviewed the FCD classification of 2011 to identify existing gaps and provide a timely update. The following methodology was applied to achieve this goal: a survey of published literature indexed with ((Focal Cortical Dysplasia) AND (epilepsy)) between 01/01/2012 and 06/30/2021 (n = 1349) in PubMed identified the knowledge gained since 2012 and new developments in the field. An online survey consulted the ILAE community about the current use of the FCD classification scheme with 367 people answering. The TF performed an iterative clinico-pathological and genetic agreement study to objectively measure the diagnostic gap in blood/brain samples from 22 patients suspicious for FCD and submitted to epilepsy surgery. The literature confirmed new molecular-genetic characterizations involving the mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in FCD type II (FCDII), and SLC35A2 in mild malformations of cortical development (mMCDs) with oligodendroglial hyperplasia (MOGHE). The electro-clinical-imaging phenotypes and surgical outcomes were better defined and validated for FCDII. Little new information was acquired on clinical, histopathological, or genetic characteristics of FCD type I (FCDI) and FCD type III (FCDIII). The survey identified mMCDs, FCDI, and genetic characterization as fields for improvement in an updated classification. Our iterative clinico-pathological and genetic agreement study confirmed the importance of immunohistochemical staining, neuroimaging, and genetic tests to improve the diagnostic yield. The TF proposes to include mMCDs, MOGHE, and "no definite FCD on histopathology" as new categories in the updated FCD classification. The histopathological classification can be further augmented by advanced neuroimaging and genetic studies to comprehensively diagnose FCD subtypes; these different levels should then be integrated into a multi-layered diagnostic scheme. This update may help to foster multidisciplinary efforts toward a better understanding of FCD and the development of novel targeted treatment options.

Ganglion cell maturation in peripheral neuroblastic tumours of children.

Peripheral neuroblastic tumours of neural crest origin are the most frequent solid neoplasms outside the CNS in children. Neuroblastoma/ganglioneuroblastoma/ganglioneuroma have a natural evolution of histological differentiation over time. Together with mitosis-karyorrhexis index and patient age (International Neuroblastoma Pathology Classification criteria), ganglion cell maturation determines grading and prognosis. Maturation presently is usually assessed only histologically. Immunocytochemical tissue markers defining neuroblast maturation in fetal CNS were here applied to peripheral neuroblastic tumours arising in the adrenal medulla or sympathetic chain. Paraffin sections of resected tumours of 4 toddlers were examined using antibodies demonstrating neuronal identity and maturation: MAP2; synaptophysin; chromogranin-A; NeuN; keratan sulfate (KS); glutamate receptor antibody (GluR2). Synaptophysin, normally a late marker of neuroblast differentiation, was the earliest expressed in neuroblastoma. Others include: Ki67; S-100ß protein; vimentin; nestin; α-B-crystallin; neuroblastoma marker PHOX2B. Various degrees of ganglion cell maturation were demonstrated by MAP2, chromogranin, synaptophysin, KS, and GluR2; NeuN was uniformly negative, consistent with sympathetic neurons. KS was sparsely distributed within the tumours in interstitial tissue, within processes of some non-neuronal cells, and adherent to somata and proximal neuritic trunks. Neoplastic ganglion cells with multiple nuclei matured similar to mono-nuclear forms. PHOX2B did not distinguish maturational stages. S-100ß protein and α-B-crystallin labeled Schwann cells, especially Schwannian ganglioneuroma. Immunocytochemical markers of neuroblast maturation in fetal brain also are useful in peripheral neuroblastic tumours, providing greater precision than histology alone. The most practical are MAP2, chromogranin-A, and synaptophysin. Prognosis and choice of treatment including chemotherapy might be influenced.

Toward a better definition of focal cortical dysplasia: An iterative histopathological and genetic agreement trial.

OBJECTIVE: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a major cause of difficult-to-treat epilepsy in children and young adults, and the diagnosis is currently based on microscopic review of surgical brain tissue using the International League Against Epilepsy classification scheme of 2011. We developed an iterative histopathological agreement trial with genetic testing to identify areas of diagnostic challenges in this widely used classification scheme. METHODS: Four web-based digital pathology trials were completed by 20 neuropathologists from 15 countries using a consecutive series of 196 surgical tissue blocks obtained from 22 epilepsy patients at a single center. Five independent genetic laboratories performed screening or validation sequencing of FCD-relevant genes in paired brain and blood samples from the same 22 epilepsy patients. RESULTS: Histopathology agreement based solely on hematoxylin and eosin stainings was low in Round 1, and gradually increased by adding a panel of immunostainings in Round 2 and the Delphi consensus method in Round 3. Interobserver agreement was good in Round 4 (kappa = .65), when the results of genetic tests were disclosed, namely, MTOR, AKT3, and SLC35A2 brain somatic mutations in five cases and germline mutations in DEPDC5 and NPRL3 in two cases. SIGNIFICANCE: The diagnoses of FCD 1 and 3 subtypes remained most challenging and were often difficult to differentiate from a normal homotypic or heterotypic cortical architecture. Immunohistochemistry was helpful, however, to confirm the diagnosis of FCD or no lesion. We observed a genotype-phenotype association for brain somatic mutations in SLC35A2 in two cases with mild malformation of cortical development with oligodendroglial hyperplasia in epilepsy. Our results suggest that the current FCD classification should recognize a panel of immunohistochemical stainings for a better histopathological workup and definition of FCD subtypes. We also propose adding the level of genetic findings to obtain a comprehensive, reliable, and integrative genotype-phenotype diagnosis in the near future.

Keratan sulfate proteoglycan as an axonal insulating barrier in the forebrain of fetuses with alobar/semi-lobar holoprosencephaly.

BACKGROUND: Keratan sulfate (KS) is an abundant proteoglycan in the developing human CNS where it functions as an extracellular axonal guidance molecule, repelling glutamatergic while facilitating GABAergic axons. It ensheaths axonal fascicles. In fetal brain maturation, KS acts as a barrier to axonal penetration. Its possible role in the pathogenesis of fetal holoprosencephaly (HPE) was studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forebrains of 6 human fetuses with HPE identified by prenatal ultrasound were examined at autopsy with KS immunoreactivity and other markers of cellular maturation and synaptogenesis, with age-matched controls. RESULTS: KS was strongly expressed in astrocytes in the thalamus from 13 weeks gestational age (GA) and in globus pallidus but not corpus striatum. Cortical plate reactivity was limited to the molecular zone, where KS was excessive, ensheathing individual transverse molecular zone axons. Axonal envelopment preceding myelination also was seen in the internal capsule and thalamocortical projections, but perifascicular KS was diminished. KS was not expressed in hippocampus in either HPE or controls. Glutamate receptor-2 (GluR2) was evident in hippocampal granular and pyramidal neurons at mid-gestation. KS distribution did not, however, correlate with synaptophysin. CONCLUSION: Excessive ensheathment of axons by KS provides additional protection of GABAergic inhibitory axons and synapses that may help suppress epileptogenesis. Though involved in selection of excitatory and inhibitory synaptogenesis, KS does not follow a developmental sequence corresponding to synaptophysin or GluR2 reactivities in either HPE or in normal fetal brain.

Synaptic plexi of U-fibre layer beneath focal cortical dysplasias: Role in epileptic networks.

AIMS: The purpose is to demonstrate heterotopic neurones and their synaptic plexi within the U-fibre layer beneath focal cortical dysplasias (FCD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective qualitative neuropathological study included 23 patients, ages from 3 months to 17 years: resections at epileptogenic foci in 10 FCD Ia; 6 FCD IIa,b; 2 FCD IIIa,d; 3 HME; 2 TSC; 8 controls. TECHNIQUES: immunoreactivities for synaptophysin, NeuN, MAP2, SMI32, calretinin, GFAP, vimentin, α-B-crystallin. Bielschowsky silver; LFB; mitochondrial enzyme histochemistry (frozen sections). RESULTS: Subcortical white matter in FCD exhibited neuronal dispersion within U-fibres in FCD I, II and also deep white matter neuronal clusters in FCD II, HME, TSC. Neurones reacted for NeuN, MAP2; few for calretinin. Synaptophysin well demonstrated elaborate U-fibre plexi including axones between U-fibre neurones and projecting to overlying cortex. Deep white matter axones interconnected heterotopia but did not penetrate U-fibres to reach cortex. Mitochondrial enzymatic activity was intense in some neurones, normal in others. Glial α-B-crystallin served as a marker of epileptogenic zones identified electrographically. CONCLUSION: U-fibre synaptic plexi contribute to excitatory circuitry in the cortex and thus to epileptic networks. Deep white matter neurones form local, less integrated plexi except transmantle dysplasias continuous with cortex. U-fibres may be a barrier to axonal penetration from deep heterotopia. Hypermetabolic neurones suggest repetitive ictogenic depolarizations. Gyral resections should include the U-fibre layer. Neuropathology reports should describe subcortical plexi. Synaptophysin immunoreactivity is a valuable supplement for this purpose.
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Somatic mutations rather than viral infection classify focal cortical dysplasia type II as mTORopathy.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Genetic studies in focal cortical dysplasia type II (FCD II) provided ample evidence for somatic mutations in genes associated with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Interestingly, the mTOR pathway can also be activated by the E6 oncogene of human papilloma viruses, and available data in FCD II remain controversial. We review and discuss the contradicting etiologies. RECENT FINDINGS: The neuroembryologic basis of cortical development and timing of a somatic mutation occurring in proliferating neuroblasts can mechanistically link mTORopathies. When a somatic mutation occurs in proliferating neuroblasts at an early stage of their anticipated total number of 33 mitotic cell cycles, large hemispheric lesions will develop from their affected progeny. Somatic mutations occurring at later periods of neuroblast expansion will result in circumscribed and small FCD II. Recently published data did not support evidence for viral infection in FCD II. SUMMARY: Genetic and histopathological data rather than viral infection classify FCD II into the spectrum of mTORopathies. Size and extent of the resulting cerebral lesion can be well explained by timing of somatic mutations during cortical development.

International recommendation for a comprehensive neuropathologic workup of epilepsy surgery brain tissue: A consensus Task Force report from the ILAE Commission on Diagnostic Methods.

Epilepsy surgery is an effective treatment in many patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsies. An early decision for surgical therapy is facilitated by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-visible brain lesion congruent with the electrophysiologically abnormal brain region. Recent advances in the pathologic diagnosis and classification of epileptogenic brain lesions are helpful for clinical correlation, outcome stratification, and patient management. However, application of international consensus classification systems to common epileptic pathologies (e.g., focal cortical dysplasia [FCD] and hippocampal sclerosis [HS]) necessitates standardized protocols for neuropathologic workup of epilepsy surgery specimens. To this end, the Task Force of Neuropathology from the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Commission on Diagnostic Methods developed a consensus standard operational procedure for tissue inspection, distribution, and processing. The aims are to provide a systematic framework for histopathologic workup, meeting minimal standards and maximizing current and future opportunities for morphofunctional correlations and molecular studies for both clinical care and research. Whenever feasible, anatomically intact surgical specimens are desirable to enable systematic analysis in selective hippocampectomies, temporal lobe resections, and lesional or nonlesional neocortical samples. Correct orientation of sample and the sample's relation to neurophysiologically aberrant sites requires good communication between pathology and neurosurgical teams. Systematic tissue sampling of 5-mm slabs along a defined anatomic axis and application of a limited immunohistochemical panel will ensure a reliable differential diagnosis of main pathologies encountered in epilepsy surgery.

Pompe Disease: Diagnosis and Management. Evidence-Based Guidelines from a Canadian Expert Panel.

Pompe disease is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase. Patients have skeletal muscle and respiratory weakness with or without cardiomyopathy. The objective of our review was to systematically evaluate the quality of evidence from the literature to formulate evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and management of patients with Pompe disease. The literature review was conducted using published literature, clinical trials, cohort studies and systematic reviews. Cardinal treatment decisions produced seven management guidelines and were assigned a GRADE classification based on the quality of evidence in the published literature. In addition, six recommendations were made based on best clinical practices but with insufficient data to form a guideline. Studying outcomes in rare diseases is challenging due to the small number of patients, but this is in particular the reason why we believe that informed treatment decisions need to consider the quality of the evidence.

Immunocytochemical markers of neuronal maturation in human diagnostic neuropathology.

Histological descriptions of morphogenesis in human fetal brain and in malformations and tumours can now be supplemented by the timing and sequence of the maturation of individual neurons. In human neuropathology, this is principally achieved by immunocytochemical reactivities used as maturational markers of neuronal properties denoted by molecules and cell products. Cytological markers can appear early and then regress, often being replaced by more mature molecules, or might not exhibit the onset of immunoreactivity until a certain stage of neuronal differentiation is achieved, some early, others intermediate and some late during the maturational process. Inter-specific differences occur in some structures of the brain. The classification of markers of neuronal maturation can be based, in addition to those mentioned above, on several criteria: cytological localisation, water solubility, biochemical nature of the antigen, specificity and various technical factors. The most useful immunocytochemical markers of neuronal maturation in human neuropathology are NeuN, synaptophysin, calretinin and other calcium-binding molecules, various microtubule-associated proteins and chromogranins. Non-antibody histochemical stains that denote maturational processes include luxol fast blue for myelination, acridine orange fluorochrome for nucleic acids, mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes and argentophilic impregnations. Neural crest derivatives of the peripheral nervous system, including chromaffin and neuroendocrine cells, have special features that are shared and others that differ greatly between lineages. Other techniques used in human diagnostic neuropathology, particularly as applied to tumours, include chromosomal and genetic analyses, the mTOR signalling pathway, BRAF V600E and other tumour-suppressor gene products, transcription products of developmental genes and the proliferation index of the tumour cells and of mitotic neuroepithelial cells.

Fetal brain mTOR signaling activation in tuberous sclerosis complex.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is characterized by developmental malformations of the cerebral cortex known as tubers, comprised of cells that exhibit enhanced mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. To date, there are no reports of mTORC1 and mTORC2 activation in fetal tubers or in neural progenitor cells lacking Tsc2. We demonstrate mTORC1 activation by immunohistochemical detection of substrates phospho-p70S6K1 (T389) and phospho-S6 (S235/236), and mTORC2 activation by substrates phospho-PKCα (S657), phospho-Akt (Ser473), and phospho-SGK1 (S422) in fetal tubers. Then, we show that Tsc2 shRNA knockdown (KD) in mouse neural progenitor cells (mNPCs) in vitro results in enhanced mTORC1 (phospho-S6, phospho-4E-BP1) and mTORC2 (phospho-Akt and phospho-NDRG1) signaling, as well as a doubling of cell size that is rescued by rapamycin, an mTORC1 inhibitor. Tsc2 KD in vivo in the fetal mouse brain by in utero electroporation causes disorganized cortical lamination and increased cell volume that is prevented with rapamycin. We demonstrate for the first time that mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling is activated in fetal tubers and in mNPCs following Tsc2 KD. These results suggest that inhibition of mTOR pathway signaling during embryogenesis could prevent abnormal brain development in TSC.

Epilepsies associated with focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs).

Focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs) are increasingly recognized as one of the most common causes of pharmaco-resistant epilepsies. FCDs were recently divided into various clinico-pathological subtypes due to distinct imaging, electrophysiological, and outcome characteristics. In this review, we will overview the international consensus classification of FCDs in light of more recently reported clinical, electrical, imaging and functional observations, and will also address areas of ongoing debate. In addition, we will summarize our current knowledge on pathobiology and epileptogenicity of FCDs as well as its underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms. The clinical (electroencephalographic, imaging, and functional) characteristics of major FCD subtypes and their implications on the presurgical evaluation and surgical management will be discussed in light of studies describing these characteristics and postoperative seizure outcomes in patients with medically intractable focal epilepsy due to histopathologically confirmed FCDs.

Is focal cortical dysplasia sporadic? Family evidence for genetic susceptibility.

Focal cortical dysplasia is a common cortical malformation and an important cause of epilepsy. There is evidence for shared molecular mechanisms underlying cortical dysplasia, ganglioglioma, hemimegalencephaly, and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor. However, there are no familial reports of typical cortical dysplasia or co-occurrence of cortical dysplasia and related lesions within the same pedigree. We report the clinical, imaging, and histologic features of six pedigrees with familial cortical dysplasia and related lesions. Twelve patients from six pedigrees were ascertained from pediatric and adult epilepsy centers, eleven of whom underwent epilepsy surgery. Pedigree data, clinical information, neuroimaging findings, and histopathologic features are presented. The families comprise brothers with focal cortical dysplasia, a male and his sister with focal cortical dysplasia, a female with focal cortical dysplasia and her brother with hemimegalencephaly, a female with focal cortical dysplasia and her female first cousin with ganglioglioma, a female with focal cortical dysplasia and her male cousin with dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor, and a female and her nephew with focal cortical dysplasia. This series shows that focal cortical dysplasia can be familial and provides clinical evidence suggesting that cortical dysplasia, hemimegalencephaly, ganglioglioma, and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors may share common genetic determinants.

Neuroembryonic and fetal brain development: Relevance to fetal/neonatal neurological training.

Insight into neuroembryology, developmental neuroanatomy and neurophysiology distinguish the diagnostic approaches of paediatric from adult neurologists and general paediatricians. These fundamental disciplines of basic neuroscience could be more effectively taught during paediatric neurology and most residency programmes, that will strengthen career-long learning. Interdisciplinary training of fetal-neonatal neurology within these programs requires working knowledge of neuroembryology applied to maternal reproductive health influencing the maternal-placental-fetal triad, neonate, and young child. Systematic didactic teaching of development in terms of basic neuroscience with neuropathological context would better address needed clinical skill sets to be incorporated into paediatric neurology and neonatology residencies to address brain health and diseases across childhood. Trainees need to recognize the continuity of development, established by maternal reproductive health before conception with gene -environment influences over the first 1000 days. Considerations of neuroembryology that explain earlier brain development during the first half of pregnancy enhances an understanding of effects throughout gestation through parturition and into neonatal life. Neonatal EEG training enhances these clinical descriptions by applying serial EEG-state analyses of premature neonates through early childhood to recognize evolving patterns associated with neuronal maturation and synaptogenesis. Neuroimaging studies offer comparisons of normal structural images with malformations and destructive lesions to correlate with clinical and neurophysiological findings. This analysis better assesses aberrant developmental processes in the context of neuroembryology. Time-specific developmental events and semantic precision are important for accurate phenotypic descriptions for a better understanding of etiopathogenesis with maturation. Certification of paediatric neurology training programme curricula should apply practical knowledge of basic neuroscience in the context of nervous system development and maturation from conception through postnatal time periods. Interdisciplinary fetal-neonatal neurology training constitutes an important educational component for career-long learning.

Keratan sulfate proteoglycan: putative template for neuroblast migratory and axonal fascicular pathways and fetal expression in globus pallidus, thalamus, and olfactory bulb.

Keratan sulfate (KS) is a proteoglycan secreted in the fetal brain astrocytes and radial glia into extracellular parenchyma as granulofilamentous deposits. KS surrounds neurons except dendritic spines, repelling glutamatergic and facilitating GABAergic axons. The same genes are expressed in both neuroblast migration and axonal growth. This study examines timing of KS during morphogenesis of some normally developing human fetal forebrain structures. Twenty normal human fetal brains from 9-41 weeks gestational age were studied at autopsy. KS was examined by immunoreactivity in formalin-fixed paraffin sections, plus other markers including synaptophysin, S-100ß protein, vimentin and nestin. Radial and tangential neuroblast migratory pathways from subventricular zone to cortical plate were marked by KS deposits as early as 9wk GA, shortly after neuroblast migration initiated. During later gestation this reactivity gradually diminished and disappeared by term. Long axonal fascicles of the internal capsule and short fascicles of intrinsic bundles of globus pallidus and corpus striatum also appeared as early as 9-12wk, as fascicular sleeves before axons even entered. Intense KS occurs in astrocytic cytoplasm and extracellular parenchyma at 9wk in globus pallidus, 15wk thalamus, 18wk corpus striatum, 22wk cortical plate, and hippocampus postnatally. Corpus callosum and anterior commissure do not exhibit KS at any age. Optic chiasm shows reactivity at the periphery but not around intrinsic subfasciculi. We postulate that KS forms a chemical template for many long and short axonal fascicles before axons enter and neuroblast migratory pathways at initiation of migration. Cross-immunoreactivity with aggrecan may render difficult molecular distinction.

Sequence of synaptogenesis in the fetal and neonatal cerebellar system - part 1: Guillain-Mollaret triangle (dentato-rubro-olivo-cerebellar circuit).

Precise temporal and spatial sequences of synaptogenesis occur in the cerebellar system, as in other synaptic circuits of the brain. In postmortem brain sections of 172 human fetuses and neonates, synaptophysin immunoreactivity was studied in nuclei of the Guillain-Mollaret triangle: dentato-olivo-rubro-cerebellar circuit. Synaptophysin demonstrates not only progressive increase in synaptic vesicles in each structure, but also shows the development of shape from amorphous globular neuronal aggregates to undulated nuclei. Intensity of synaptophysin reactivity is strong before the mature shape of these nuclei is achieved. Accessory olivary and deep cerebellar nuclei are intensely stained earlier than the principal olivary and dentate nuclei. The dorsal blades of both form earlier than the ventral, with reactivity initially peripheral. Initiation of synaptophysin reactivity is at 13 weeks in the inferior olive (r6, r7) and at 16 weeks in the dentate (r2). Initial synaptic vesicles are noted at 13 weeks in the red nucleus (r0); synapses form initially on the small neurons at 13 weeks but thereafter simultaneously on small and large neurons. Form and reactivity follow caudorostral, dorsoventral and mediolateral gradients in the axes of the rhombencephalon. This study provides control data to serve as a basis for interpreting aberrations in synaptogenesis in malformations of the cerebellar system, genetic disorders and acquired insults to the cerebellum and brainstem during fetal life, applicable to tissue sections and complementing biochemical and molecular techniques.

Synaptogenesis in the foetal and neonatal cerebellar system. 2. Pontine nuclei and cerebellar cortex.

Precise temporal and spatial sequences of synaptogenesis were demonstrated in 172 human foetuses and neonates post-mortem in transverse paraffin sections of pons and cerebellar vermis and hemispheres, using synaptophysin immunoreactivity of this protein of synaptic vesicular walls. The pontine nuclei exhibit a transitory patchy pattern not predicted from the uniform histology and reminiscent of the corpus striatum; synaptic vesicle reactivity appears at 20 weeks and is uniform by 34 weeks. In the cerebellar cortex, the vermis matures sooner than the cerebellar hemispheres and the paravermal portions earlier than the lateral folia. The earliest synapses occur around the somata of Purkinje neurons and later in the internal granular layer, but synaptic glomeruli are not well formed until after 26 weeks. The normal patterns here shown, together with earlier data of the Guillain-Mollaret triangle, provide controls for the interpretation of synaptic delay or precociousness and other pathological patterns in malformations, genetic/metabolic conditions and prenatal acquired insults affecting the human foetus.

Clinical neuropathology practice guide 5-2013: markers of neuronal maturation.

This review surveys immunocytochemical and histochemical markers of neuronal lineage for application to tissue sections of fetal and neonatal brain. They determine maturation of individual nerve cells as the tissue progresses to mature architecture. From a developmental perspective, neuronal markers are all about timing. These diverse cellular labels may be classified in two ways: 1) time of onset of expression (early; intermediate; late); 2) labeling of subcellular structures or metabolic functions (nucleoproteins; synaptic vesicle proteins; enolases; cytoskeletal elements; calcium-binding; nucleic acids; mitochondria). Apart from these positive markers of maturation, other negative markers are expressed in primitive neuroepithelial cells and early stages of neuroblast maturation, but no longer are demonstrated after initial stages of maturation. These examinations are relevant for studies of normal neuroembryology at the cellular level. In fetal and perinatal neuropathology they provide control criteria for application to malformations of the brain, inborn metabolic disorders and acquired fetal insults in which neuroblastic maturation may be altered. Disorders, in which cells differentiate abnormally, as in tuberous sclerosis and hemimegalencephaly, pose another yet aspect of mixed cellular lineage. The measurement in living patients, especially neonates, of serum and CSF levels of enolases, chromogranins and S-100 proteins as biomarkers of brain damage may potentially be correlated with their corresponding tissue markers at autopsy in infants who do not survive. The neuropathological markers here described can be performed in ordinary hospital laboratories, not just research facilities, and offer another dimension of diagnostic precision in interpreting abnormally developed fetal and postnatal brains.

Precocious and delayed neocortical synaptogenesis in fetal holoprosencephaly.

Predictable temporal and spatial patterns of synaptophysin expression previously were demonstrated in the normally developing fetal cerebral cortex, reflecting synaptogenesis without regard to neurotransmitters. We studied 6 human fetal brains with holoprosencephaly in the mid-2nd and 3rd trimesters with immunocytochemical antibodies against synaptophysin and other markers of neuronal maturation. We found not only abnormal patchy patterns of synaptic vesicle reactivity within the disorganized cortical plate, but also loss of precise timing of genetically programmed synaptogenesis. Precociousness in synaptophysin reactivity relative to age-matched controls was demonstrated in 5 cases, and delayed reactivity in 1. Abnormalities were more severe in paramedian than in more lateral regions of the cerebral cortex, following a medio-lateral gradient in the horizontal axis. Extrapial heterotopia exhibited early synaptogenesis. The nodular histological architecture of paramedian zones of cortex contains randomly oriented branching micro-columns of neurones, a unique feature. The hippocampus and subcortical structures did not show precocious synapses, except for delay in the case of cortical synaptic delay. We conclude that synaptic precociousness occurs often in holoprosencephaly but is limited to the cerebral cortex; synaptic delay occurs in others. Precociousness may limit synaptic plasticity and contribute to earlier epileptogenic circuitry. Faulty genetic programming alters not only cortical histological architecture but also the timing of onset of synapse formation.