Generation of the iPSC line FINi002-A from a male Parkinson's disease patient carrying compound heterozygous mutations in the PRKN gene.

The most common cause of autosomal recessive familial Parkinson's disease (PD) are mutations in the PRKN/PARK2 gene encoding an E3 ubiquitin protein-ligase PARKIN. We report the generation of an iPSC cell line from the fibroblasts of a male PD patient carrying a common missense variant in exon 7 (p.Arg275Trp), and a 133 kb deletion encompassing exon 8, using transiently-present Sendai virus. The established line displays typical human primed iPSC morphology and expression of pluripotency-associated markers, normal karyotype without SNP array-detectable copy number variations and can give rise to derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers. We envisage the usefulness of this iPSC line, carrying a common and well-studied missense mutation in the RING1 domain of the PARKIN protein, for the elucidation of PARKIN-dependent mechanisms of PD using in vitro and in vivo models.

Utility of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III online calculator to differentiate the primary progressive aphasia variants.

The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III is a brief cognitive screening tool that is widely used for the detection and monitoring of dementia. Recent findings suggest that the three variants of primary progressive aphasia can be distinguished based on their distinct profiles on the five subdomain scores of this test. Here, we investigated the utility of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III to differentiate the primary progressive aphasia variants based on their item-by-item performance profiles on this test. From these results, we created an interactive primary progressive aphasia Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III calculator which predicts the variant based on a patient's unique item-by-item profile. Twenty-eight logopenic variant, 25 non-fluent variant and 37 semantic variant primary progressive aphasia patients and 104 healthy controls completed the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III at first clinical presentation. Multinomial regression analyses were conducted to establish performance profiles among groups, and R Shiny from RStudio was used to create the interactive Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III diagnostic calculator. To verify its accuracy, probability values of the regression model were derived based on a 5-fold cross-validation of cases. The calculator's accuracy was then verified in an independent sample of 17 logopenic, 19 non-fluent and 13 semantic variant primary progressive aphasia patients and 68 Alzheimer's disease patients who had completed the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (or an older version of this test: Revised) and had in vivo amyloid-PET imaging and/or brain autopsy pathological confirmation. Cross-validation of cases in the calculator model revealed different rates of sensitivity in classifying variants: semantic = 100%, non-fluent = 80.6% and logopenic = 79.9%; healthy controls were distinguished from primary progressive aphasia patients with 100% sensitivity. Verification of in vivo amyloid and/or autopsy-confirmed patients showed that the calculator correctly classified 10/13 (77%) semantic variant, 3/19 (16%) non-fluent variant and 4/17 (24%) logopenic variant patients. Importantly, for patients who were not classified, diagnostic probability values mostly pointed toward the correct clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, misclassified diagnoses of the primary progressive aphasia cohort were rare (1/49; 2%). Although 22 of the 68 Alzheimer's disease patients (32%) were misclassified with primary progressive aphasia, 19/22 were misclassified with the logopenic variant (i.e. falling within the same neuropathological entity). The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III primary progressive aphasia diagnostic calculator demonstrates sound accuracy in differentiating the variants based on an item-by-item Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III profile. This calculator represents a new frontier in using data-driven approaches to differentiate the primary progressive aphasia variants.

Characteristics of animal hoarding cases referred to the RSPCA in New South Wales, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of animal hoarding in New South Wales, Australia. DESIGN: Cross sectional study of consecutive referred cases. METHODS: Files of animal hoarding cases referred to RSPCA NSW in 2013-15 were examined. Details concerning animal hoarding cases and supportive services, living conditions and factors believed to have contributed to animal accumulation were recorded. Data were analysed. RESULTS: Data were available regarding 48 properties where 50 persons (78% female) were found to be hoarding animals. Most were over 50 years of age; 40% lived alone; 15 (30%) had contact with mental health services and/or community social services. Animal hoarders were categorised as 'breeders' (30%), 'overwhelmed caregiver' (24%), 'rescuers' (22%), 'exploiters' (10%) or 'incipient hoarders' (14%); 24% were associated with animal rescue networks. Accumulation of animals was attributed most commonly to unplanned breeding (60% of properties) and collecting strays (38%). Other reasons for accumulation included receiving donations of animals and planned breeding; in 38% of cases there was only one identified reason. The median number of animals was 35 (range, 6-300), with cats hoarded on 75% of properties and dogs on 52%. In 75% of cases, the living conditions of animals were rated as 'very unsanitary' or 'filthy'. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides reasons for recommending increased regulatory control of companion animal breeding and management, and training and support for veterinarians to help reduce the human and animal suffering caused by animal hoarding. There is widespread agreement that psychiatric and personality problems underlie cases of animal hoarding. Closer links between animal welfare organisations and mental health services are desirable.

SIRT1 is increased in affected brain regions and hypothalamic metabolic pathways are altered in Huntington disease.

AIMS: Metabolic dysfunction is involved in modulating the disease process in Huntington disease (HD) but the underlying mechanisms are not known. The aim of this study was to investigate if the metabolic regulators sirtuins are affected in HD. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions were used to assess levels of SIRT1-3 and downstream targets in post mortem brain tissue from HD patients and control cases as well as after selective hypothalamic expression of mutant huntingtin (HTT) using recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors in mice. RESULTS: We show that mRNA levels of the metabolic regulator SIRT1 are increased in the striatum and the cerebral cortex but not in the less affected cerebellum in post mortem HD brains. Levels of SIRT2 are only increased in the striatum and SIRT3 is not affected in HD. Interestingly, mRNA levels of SIRT1 are selectively increased in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) in HD. Further analyses of the LHA and VMH confirmed pathological changes in these regions including effects on SIRT1 downstream targets and reduced mRNA levels of orexin (hypocretin), prodynorphin and melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) in the LHA and of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the VMH. Analyses after selective hypothalamic expression of mutant HTT suggest that effects on BDNF, orexin, dynorphin and MCH are early and direct, whereas changes in SIRT1 require more widespread expression of mutant HTT. CONCLUSIONS: We show that SIRT1 expression is increased in HD-affected brain regions and that metabolic pathways are altered in the HD hypothalamus.

Predictors of survival and progression in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Predicting the course of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) remains a major clinical challenge. This study aimed to identify factors that predict survival and clinical progression in bvFTD. METHODS: Consecutive patients with clinically probable bvFTD were prospectively followed up over an 8-year period. Baseline neuropsychological variables, presence of a known pathogenic frontotemporal dementia gene mutation and a systematic visual magnetic resonance imaging assessment at baseline were examined as candidate predictors using multivariate modelling. RESULTS: After screening 121 cases, the study cohort consisted of 75 patients with probable bvFTD, with a mean age of 60.8 ± 8.5 years, followed up for a mean duration of 7.2 ± 3.5 years from symptom onset. Median survival time from disease onset was 10.8 years and median survival, prior to transition to nursing home, was 8.9 years. A total of 25 of the 75 patients died during the study follow-up period. Survival without dependence was predicted by shorter disease duration at presentation (hazard ratio, 0.49, P = 0.001), greater atrophy in the anterior cingulate cortex (hazard ratio, 1.75, P = 0.047), older age (hazard ratio, 1.07, P = 0.026) and a higher burden of behavioural symptoms (hazard ratio, 1.04, P = 0.015). In terms of disease progression, presence of a known pathogenic frontotemporal dementia mutation (ß = 0.46, P < 0.001) was the strongest predictor of progression. Deficits in letter fluency (ß = -0.43, P = 0.017) and greater atrophy in the motor cortex (ß = 0.51, P = 0.03) were also associated with faster progression. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel clinical predictors of survival and progression in bvFTD. Our findings are likely to have an impact on prognostication and care planning in this difficult disease.

Region- and Cell-specific Aneuploidy in Brain Aging and Neurodegeneration.

Variations in genomic DNA content, or aneuploidy, are a well-recognized feature of normal human brain development. Whether changes in the levels of aneuploidy are a factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is less clear, as the data reported to date vary substantially in the levels of aneuploidy detected (0.7-11.5%), possibly due to methodological limitations, but also influenced by individual, regional and cellular heterogeneity as well as variations in cell subtypes. These issues have not been adequately addressed to date. While it is known that the DNA damage response increases with age, the limited human studies investigating aneuploidy in normal aging also show variable results, potentially due to susceptibility to age-related neurodegenerative processes. Neuronal aneuploidy has recently been reported in multiple brain regions in Lewy body disease, but similar genomic changes are not a feature of all synucleinopathies and aneuploidy does not appear to be related to alpha-synuclein aggregation. Rather, aneuploidy was associated with Alzheimer's pathology in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex and neuronal degeneration in the substantia nigra. The association between Alzheimer's pathology and aneuploidy in regions with limited neurodegeneration is supported by a growing body of in vitro and in vivo data on aneuploidy and beta-amyloid and tau abnormalities. Large-scale studies using high-resolution techniques alongside other sensitive and specific methodologies are now required to assess the true extent of cell- and region-specific aneuploidy in aging and neurodegeneration, and to determine any associations with pathologies.

Multiple neuronal pathologies are common in young patients with pathologically proven Frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

AIMS: The past decade has seen a surge in studies identifying mixed pathologies in elderly populations. Importantly however, few studies have focussed on mixed pathology in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), particularly in younger cases. METHODS: The present study examined concomitant pathological neuronal inclusions of TDP-43, hyperphosphorylated tau and α-synuclein protein in the anterior cingulate, hippocampus and entorhinal cortex in young (≤65 years at death) vs. elderly (≥80 years at death) cases with pathologically confirmed FTLD (n = 52) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 47). RESULTS: Our results demonstrate the presence of additional neuronal pathologies not associated with the primary pathological diagnosis in a similar proportion of young and elderly FTLD cases, indicating that disease drivers rather than age are the major risk factors for multiple neuronal pathologies in FTLD. When only sporadic FTLD cases were considered, the proportion of cases with multiple neuronal pathologies across FTLD age cohorts remained similar, indicating that multiple neuronal pathologies in young FTLD cases is not driven by known genetic mutations. In contrast to these findings in FTLD, a significantly greater proportion of elderly compared to young AD cases demonstrated multiple neuronal pathologies, corroborating literature. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the present study reports for the first time that age is not a major risk factor for multiple neuronal pathologies in FTLD. These findings have significant implications for the development of protein-specific biomarkers and treatments for FTLD, and underscore the need for further research to identify the disease factors involved in driving multiple neuronal pathologies in FTLD.

Past, present, and future of Parkinson's disease: A special essay on the 200th Anniversary of the Shaking Palsy.

This article reviews and summarizes 200 years of Parkinson's disease. It comprises a relevant history of Dr. James Parkinson's himself and what he described accurately and what he missed from today's perspective. Parkinson's disease today is understood as a multietiological condition with uncertain etiopathogenesis. Many advances have occurred regarding pathophysiology and symptomatic treatments, but critically important issues are still pending resolution. Among the latter, the need to modify disease progression is undoubtedly a priority. In sum, this multiple-author article, prepared to commemorate the bicentenary of the shaking palsy, provides a historical state-of-the-art account of what has been achieved, the current situation, and how to progress toward resolving Parkinson's disease. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

The midbrain-to-pons ratio distinguishes progressive supranuclear palsy from non-fluent primary progressive aphasias.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To determine the clinical utility of the midbrain-to-pons (M/P) ratio as a clinical biomarker of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in patients with non-fluent primary progressive aphasia syndromes. METHODS: Patients with PSP, progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA) and logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA) were recruited. Patients were diagnosed clinically, but pathological confirmation was available in a proportion of patients. Midbrain and pons areas were measured using Osirix Lite, a free DICOM viewer. The M/P ratio and Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index were calculated and their diagnostic utility compared. RESULTS: A total of 72 participants were included (16 PSP, 18 PNFA, 16 LPA and 22 controls). Patients with PSP had motor features typical of the syndrome. Both the M/P ratio and Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index differed significantly in PSP compared with controls. The M/P ratio was disproportionately reduced in PSP compared with PNFA and LPA (PSP, 0.182 ± 0.043; PNFA, 0.255 ± 0.034; LPA, 0.258 ± 0.033; controls, 0.292 ± 0.031; P < 0.001). An M/P ratio of ≤0.215 produced a positive predictive value of 77.8% for the diagnosis of PSP syndrome. Pathological examination revealed Alzheimer's disease in three cases (all LPA), pathological PSP in two cases (one clinical PSP and one PNFA) and corticobasal degeneration in one case (PNFA). The M/P ratio was ≤0.215 in both pathological cases of PSP. CONCLUSIONS: The M/P ratio was disproportionately reduced in PSP, suggesting its potential as a clinical marker of the PSP syndrome. Larger studies of pathologically confirmed cases are needed to establish the M/P ratio as a biomarker of PSP pathology.

Putative presynaptic dopamine dysregulation in schizophrenia is supported by molecular evidence from post-mortem human midbrain.

The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia posits that increased subcortical dopamine underpins psychosis. In vivo imaging studies indicate an increased presynaptic dopamine synthesis capacity in striatal terminals and cell bodies in the midbrain in schizophrenia; however, measures of the dopamine-synthesising enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), have not identified consistent changes. We hypothesise that dopamine dysregulation in schizophrenia could result from changes in expression of dopamine synthesis enzymes, receptors, transporters or catabolic enzymes. Gene expression of 12 dopamine-related molecules was examined in post-mortem midbrain (28 antipsychotic-treated schizophrenia cases/29 controls) using quantitative PCR. TH and the synaptic dopamine transporter (DAT) proteins were examined in post-mortem midbrain (26 antipsychotic-treated schizophrenia cases per 27 controls) using immunoblotting. TH and aromatic acid decarboxylase (AADC) mRNA and TH protein were unchanged in the midbrain in schizophrenia compared with controls. Dopamine receptor D2 short, vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2) and DAT mRNAs were significantly decreased in schizophrenia, with no change in DRD3 mRNA, DRD3nf mRNA and DAT protein between diagnostic groups. However, DAT protein was significantly increased in putatively treatment-resistant cases of schizophrenia compared to putatively treatment-responsive cases. Midbrain monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) mRNA was increased, whereas MAOB and catechol-O-methyl transferase mRNAs were unchanged in schizophrenia. We conclude that, whereas some mRNA changes are consistent with increased dopamine action (decreased DAT mRNA), others suggest reduced dopamine action (increased MAOA mRNA) in the midbrain in schizophrenia. Here, we identify a molecular signature of dopamine dysregulation in the midbrain in schizophrenia that mainly includes gene expression changes of molecules involved in dopamine synthesis and in regulating the time course of dopamine action.

Inhibitor treatment of peripheral mononuclear cells from Parkinson's disease patients further validates LRRK2 dephosphorylation as a pharmacodynamic biomarker.

Activating mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are strongly associated with increased risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). Thus, LRRK2 kinase inhibitors are in development as potential Parkinson's disease therapeutics. A reduction in the constitutive levels of phosphorylation on leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is currently used to measure target engagement of LRRK2 kinase inhibitors in cell and animal models. We aimed to determine if reduced phosphorylation of LRRK2 following inhibitor treatment is also a valid measure of target engagement in peripheral mononuclear cells from Parkinson's disease patients. Peripheral mononuclear cells from idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients and controls were treated ex vivo with two structurally distinct inhibitors of LRRK2, at four different doses, and immunoblotting was used to assess the reduction in LRRK2 phosphorylation at Ser910, Ser935, Ser955 and Ser973. Both inhibitors showed no acute toxicity in primary cells and both inhibitors reduced the constitutive phosphorylation of LRRK2 at all measured residues equally in both control and Parkinson's disease groups. Measuring the reduction in LRRK2 phosphorylation resulting from LRRK2 kinase inhibition, is thus a valid measure of acute peripheral target engagement in Parkinson's disease patients. This is important if LRRK2 kinase inhibitors are to be used in a clinical setting.

Cognition and eating behavior in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: effect on survival.

It is increasingly recognized that metabolic factors influenced by eating behavior, may affect disease progression in neurodegeneration. In frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which shares a significant overlap with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), patients are well known to develop changes in eating behavior. Whether patients with pure ALS and those with cognitive and behavioral changes associated with ALS also develop similar changes is not known. The current study aimed to examine caloric intake, eating behavioral changes, body mass index, and using cox regression analyses survival across the spectrum of 118 ALS-FTD patients (29 pure ALS, 12 ALS-plus and 21 ALS-FTD, 56 behavioral variant FTD), compared with 25 control subjects. The current study found contrary to previous assumptions eating changes are not restricted to FTD, but a spectrum of eating behavioral changes occur in ALS, present in those with pure ALS and worsening as patients develop cognitive changes. ALS patients with cognitive impairment exhibited changes in food preference, with caloric intake and BMI increasing with the development of cognitive/behavioral changes. Both pure ALS and those with cognitive impairment demonstrated increased saturated fat intake. Survival analyses over the mean patient follow-up period of 6.9 years indicated that increasing eating behavioral changes were associated with an improved survival (threefold decrease risk of dying). Changes in eating behavior and metabolism occur in ALS in association with increasing cognitive impairment, perhaps exerting a protective survival influence. These changes provide insights into the common neural networks controlling eating and metabolism in FTD and ALS and provide potential targets to modify disease prognosis and progression.

Strand-specific RNA-sequencing analysis of multiple system atrophy brain transcriptome.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a sporadic neurodegenerative disease. The major pathological hallmark of MSA is the accumulation of α-synuclein in oligodendrocytes. In contrast to Parkinson's disease no definitive familial etiology for MSA has been determined. Yet, there is a growing body of evidence that perturbation of transcriptional processes leads to MSA pathology. Here we present the results of the first ribosomal-depleted strand-specific RNA-sequencing profile of the MSA brain frontal cortex tissue. Among the 123 differentially expressed genes over 50% were categorized as putative long intervening non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs). Along with the dysregulation of the non-coding portion of the transcriptome, the expression of protein coding genes was also affected, including serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade A (alpha-1 antiproteinase, antitrypsin), member 3 (SERPINA3), interleukin 1 receptor-like 1 (IL1RL1) and hemoglobin, beta (HBB). Also of interest was the alternative splicing of SNCA, along with the presence of an antisense transcript overlapping the 3' exon of SNCA. Moreover, we demonstrate widespread antisense transcription throughout the frontal cortex that is largely not affected by MSA-specific neurodegenerative process. MSA causes a large disruption of lincRNAs in the human brain along with protein coding genes related to iron metabolism and immune response regulation. Most of the lincRNAs specific for MSA were novel. Hence our study uncovers another level of complexity in transcriptional pathology of MSA.

Inflammation is genetically implicated in Parkinson's disease.

Inflammation has long been associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) but the extent to which it is a cause or consequence is sill debated. Over the past decade a number of genes have been implicated in PD. Relatively rare missense mutations in genes such as LRRK2, Parkin, SNCA and PINK1 are causative for familial PD whereas more common variation in genes, including LRRK2, SNCA and GBA, comprise risk factors for sporadic PD. Determining how the function of these genes and the proteins they encode are altered in PD has become a priority, as results will likely provide much needed insights into contributing causes. Accumulating evidence indicates that many of these genes function in pathways that regulate aspects of immunity, particularly inflammation, suggesting close associations between PD and immune homeostasis.

Tracing the fate of limbal epithelial progenitor cells in the murine cornea.

Stem cell (SC) division, deployment, and differentiation are processes that contribute to corneal epithelial renewal. Until now studying the destiny of these cells in a living mammal has not been possible. However, the advent of inducible multicolor genetic tagging and powerful imaging technologies has rendered this achievable in the translucent and readily accessible murine cornea. K14CreER(T2)-Confetti mice that harbor two copies of the Brainbow 2.1 cassette, yielding up to 10 colors from the stochastic recombination of fluorescent proteins, were used to monitor K-14(+) progenitor cell dynamics within the corneal epithelium in live animals. Multicolored columns of cells emerged from the basal limbal epithelium as they expanded and migrated linearly at a rate of 10.8 µm/day toward the central cornea. Moreover, the permanent expression of fluorophores, passed on from progenitor to progeny, assisted in discriminating individual clones as spectrally distinct streaks containing more than 1,000 cells within the illuminated area. The centripetal clonal expansion is suggestive that a single progenitor cell is responsible for maintaining a narrow corridor of corneal epithelial cells. Our data are in agreement with the limbus as the repository for SC as opposed to SC being distributed throughout the central cornea. This is the first report describing stem/progenitor cell fate determination in the murine cornea using multicolor genetic tracing. This model represents a powerful new resource to monitor SC kinetics and fate choice under homeostatic conditions, and may assist in assessing clonal evolution during corneal development, aging, wound-healing, disease, and following transplantation.

Biomarkers in dementia: clinical utility and new directions.

Imaging, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood-based biomarkers have the potential to improve the accuracy by which specific causes of dementia can be diagnosed in vivo, provide insights into the underlying pathophysiology, and may be used as inclusion criteria and outcome measures for clinical trials. While a number of imaging and CSF biomarkers are currently used for each of these purposes, this is an evolving field, with numerous potential biomarkers in varying stages of research and development. We review the currently available biomarkers for the three most common forms of neurodegenerative dementia, and give an overview of research techniques that may in due course make their way into the clinic.