Search results for "DEGENERATION"
showing 10 items of 601 documents
Myeloid Cells in the Central Nervous System
2017
The central nervous system (CNS) and its meningeal coverings accommodate a diverse myeloid compartment that includes parenchymal microglia and perivascular macrophages, as well as choroid plexus and meningeal macrophages, dendritic cells, and granulocytes. These myeloid populations enjoy an intimate relationship with the CNS, where they play an essential role in both health and disease. Although the importance of these cells is clearly recognized, their exact function in the CNS continues to be explored. Here, we review the subsets of myeloid cells that inhabit the parenchyma, meninges, and choroid plexus and discuss their roles in CNS homeostasis. We also discuss the role of these cells in…
The Relationship between Gray Matter Quantitative MRI and Disability in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
2016
Purpose: In secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS), global neurodegeneration as a driver of disability gains importance in comparison to focal inflammatory processes. However, clinical MRI does not visualize changes of tissue composition outside MS lesions. This quantitative MRI (qMRI) study investigated cortical and deep gray matter (GM) proton density (PD) values and T1 relaxation times to explore their potential to assess neuronal damage and its relationship to clinical disability in SPMS. Materials and Methods: 11 SPMS patients underwent quantitative T1 and PD mapping. Parameter values across the cerebral cortex and deep GM structures were compared with 11 healthy controls, and…
Molecular mechanisms linking neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in MS.
2013
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) and one of the leading causes of neurological deficits and disability in young adults in western countries. Current medical treatment mainly influences disease progression via immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive actions. Indeed, MS research has been foremost focused on inflammation in the CNS, but more recent evidence suggests that chronic disability in MS is caused by neurodegeneration. Imaging studies show an early involvement of neurodegeneration as brain atrophy and gray matter lesions can be observed at disease onset. Thus, neuroprotective treatment strategies and the eluc…
Possible Pathomechanisms Responsible for Injury to the Central Nervous System in the Settings of Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency
2012
The discovery of stenoses in the azygous and internal jugular veins, the so-called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency that accompanies multiple sclerosis, has enabled the reinterpretation of knowledge about this neurologic dis- ease. Pathologic venous outflow from the central nervous system appears to lead to two main problems. Firstly, it disas- sembles the blood-brain barrier and may allow the penetration of nervous parenchyma by glutamate and leukocytes. Sec- ondly, it may result in significant hypoperfusion of the brain and spinal cord. These two overlapping pathologies are likely to trigger plaques through caspase-1-driven pyroptosis of oligodendrocytes and to evoke neurodegene…
Understanding the Role of T Cells in CNS Homeostasis.
2015
T cells within the central nervous system (CNS) have been generally considered pathogenic, especially in the context of neuroinflammatory disease. However, recent findings have revealed varied functions for T cells in the healthy CNS, as well as more complex roles for these cells in infection and injury than previously appreciated. Here we review evidence indicating important roles for different T cell subsets in the maintenance of CNS homeostasis. We examine the contribution of T cells in limiting inflammation and damage upon CNS injury, infection, and in neurodegeneration, and discuss the current understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved. Insight into these processes…
Ozone Therapy as treatment for severe cases without good evolution in ophthalmology [abstract]
2019
PURPOSE: In ophthalmology many diseases lead to irreversible blindness, something that implies millions of dollars in care because people with these difficulties loose their autonomy, becoming dependent in all their everyday activities.
 This presentation will focus on clinical cases of the following pathologies treated with Ozone Therapy because all these were already being treated in a conventional way without signs of improvement. They are primary open-angle glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, occlusion of the central retinal artery, facial paralysis and herpetic polyneuropathy associated with orbital apex syndrome.
 
 CASE PRESENTATION: As an…
Degeneration of the Cerebellum in Huntington's Disease (HD): Possible Relevance for the Clinical Picture and Potential Gateway to Pathological Mechan…
2012
Huntington's disease (HD) is a polyglutamine disease and characterized neuropathologically by degeneration of the striatum and select layers of the neo- and allocortex. In the present study, we performed a systematic investigation of the cerebellum in eight clinically diagnosed and genetically confirmed HD patients. The cerebellum of all HD patients showed a considerable atrophy, as well as a consistent loss of Purkinje cells and nerve cells of the fastigial, globose, emboliform and dentate nuclei. This pathology was obvious already in HD brains assigned Vonsattel grade 2 striatal atrophy and did not correlate with the extent and distribution of striatal atrophy. Therefore, our findings sug…
Towards a unified analysis of brain maturation and aging across the entire lifespan: A MRI analysis
2017
Previous literature about the structural characterization of the human cerebellum is related to the context of a specific pathology or focused in a restricted age range. In fact, studies about the cerebellum maturation across the lifespan are scarce and most of them considered the cerebellum as a whole without investigating each lobule. This lack of study can be explained by the lack of both accurate segmentation methods and data availability. Fortunately, during the last years, several cerebellum segmentation methods have been developed and many databases comprising subjects of different ages have been made publically available. This fact opens an opportunity window to obtain a more extens…
The action of TH17 cells on blood brain barrier in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
2019
Th17 cells, known as a highly pro-inflammatory subtype of Th cells, are involved very early in numerous aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) neuropathology. A crucial event for the formation and accumulation of MS lesions is represented by the disruption of the blood brain barrier (BBB) in relapsing-remitting MS. Th17 cells also contribute to the progression of MS/EAE. These events will allow for the passage of inflammatory cells into the brain. Secondary to this, increased recruitment of neutrophils occurs, followed by increased protease activity that will continue to attract macrophages and monocytes, leading to brain inflammation with sus…
Protein/lipid coaggregates are formed during α-synuclein-induced disruption of lipid bilayers.
2014
Amyloid formation is associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Significant α-synuclein (αSN) deposition in lipid-rich Lewy bodies is a hallmark of PD. Nonetheless, an unraveling of the connection between neurodegeneration and amyloid fibrils, including the molecular mechanisms behind potential amyloid-mediated toxic effects, is still missing. Interaction between amyloid aggregates and the lipid cell membrane is expected to play a key role in the disease progress. Here, we present experimental data based on hybrid analysis of two-photon-microscopy, solution small-angle X-ray scattering and circular dichroism data. Data show in real time changes in liposome …