Novel and recurrent CIB2 variants, associated with nonsyndromic deafness, do not affect calcium buffering and localization in hair cells.

Variants in CIB2 can underlie either Usher syndrome type I (USH1J) or nonsyndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) (DFNB48). Here, a novel homozygous missense variant c.196C>T and compound heterozygous variants, c.[97C>T];[196C>T], were found, respectively, in two unrelated families of Dutch origin. Besides, the previously reported c.272 T>C functional missense variant in CIB2 was identified in two families of Pakistani origin. The missense variants are demonstrated not to affect subcellular localization of CIB2 in vestibular hair cells in ex vivo expression experiments. Furthermore, these variants do not affect the ATP-induced calcium responses in COS-7 cells. However, based on the residues affected, the variants are suggested to alter αIIß integrin binding. HI was nonsyndromic in all four families. However, deafness segregating with the c.272T>C variant in one Pakistani family is remarkably less severe than that in all other families with this mutation. Our results contribute to the insight in genotype-phenotype correlations of CIB2 mutations.

A combination cocktail improves spatial attention in a canine model of human aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves multiple pathological processes in the brain, including increased inflammation and oxidative damage, as well as the accumulation of amyloid-ß (Aß) plaques. We hypothesized that a combinatorial therapeutic approach to target these multiple pathways may provide cognitive and neuropathological benefits for AD patients. To test this hypothesis, we used a canine model of human aging and AD. Aged dogs naturally develop learning and memory impairments, human-type Aß deposits, and oxidative damage in the brain. Thus, 9 aged beagles (98-115 months) were treated with a medical food cocktail containing (1) an extract of turmeric containing 95% curcuminoids; (2) an extract of green tea containing 50% epigallocatechingallate; (3) N-acetyl cysteine; (4) R-alpha lipoic acid; and (5) an extract of black pepper containing 95% piperine. Nine similarly aged dogs served as placebo-treated controls. After 3 months of treatment, 13 dogs completed a variable distance landmark task used as a measure of spatial attention. As compared to placebo-treated animals, dogs receiving the medical food cocktail had significantly lower error scores (t11 = 4.3, p = 0.001) and were more accurate across all distances (F(1,9) = 20.7, p = 0.001), suggesting an overall improvement in spatial attention. Measures of visual discrimination learning, executive function and spatial memory, and levels of brain and cerebrospinal fluid Aß were unaffected by the cocktail. Our results indicate that this medical food cocktail may be beneficial for improving spatial attention and motivation deficits associated with impaired cognition in aging and AD.