Search results for "SCL"

Taking Advantage of Nature’s Gift: Can Endogenous Neural Stem Cells Improve Myelin Regeneration?

2016

Irreversible functional deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS) are directly correlated to axonal damage and loss. Neurodegeneration results from immune-mediated destruction of myelin sheaths and subsequent axonal demyelination. Importantly, oligodendrocytes, the myelinating glial cells of the central nervous system, can be replaced to some extent to generate new myelin sheaths. This endogenous regeneration capacity has so far mainly been attributed to the activation and recruitment of resident oligodendroglial precursor cells. As this self-repair process is limited and increasingly fails while MS progresses, much interest has evolved regarding the development of remyelination-promoting strateg…

IL-17 controls central nervous system autoimmunity through the intestinal microbiome

2021

Interleukin-17A- (IL-17A) and IL-17F-producing CD4(+) T helper cells (T(H)17 cells) are implicated in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). T-H 17 cells also orchestrate leukocyte invasion of the central nervous system (CNS) and subsequent tissue damage. However, the role of IL-17A and IL-17F as effector cytokines is still confused with the encephalitogenic function of the cells that produce these cytokines, namely, T-H 17 cells, fueling a long-standing debate in the neuroimmunology field. Here, we demonstrated that mice deficient for IL-17A/F lose their susceptibility to EAE, which…

Grey Matter Microstructural Integrity Alterations in Blepharospasm Are Partially Reversed by Botulinum Neurotoxin Therapy.

2016

OBJECTIVE Benign Essential Blepharospasm (BEB) and hemifacial spasm (HFS) are the most common hyperkinetic movement disorders of facial muscles. Although similar in clinical presentation different pathophysiological mechanisms are assumed. Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) is a standard evidence-based treatment for both conditions. In this study we aimed to assess grey matter microstructural differences between these two groups of patients and compared them with healthy controls. In patients we furthermore tracked the longitudinal morphometric changes associated with BoNT therapy. We hypothesized microstructural differences between the groups at the time point of maximum symptoms representation a…

Gut-CNS-Axis as Possibility to Modulate Inflammatory Disease Activity-Implications for Multiple Sclerosis.

2017

In the last decade the role of environmental factors as modulators of disease activity and progression has received increasing attention. In contrast to classical environmental modulators such as exposure to sun-light or fine dust pollution, nutrition is an ideal tool for a personalized human intervention. Various studies demonstrate a key role of dietary factors in autoimmune diseases including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In this review we discuss the connection between diet and inflammatory processes via the gut–CNS-axis. This axis describes a bi-directional communication syst…

Targeting Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels with Pregabalin Exerts a Direct Neuroprotective Effect in an Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis

2018

Background/aims Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prototypical autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) disease. Particularly progressive forms of MS (PMS) show significant neuroaxonal damage as consequence of demyelination and neuronal hyperexcitation. Immuno-modulatory treatment strategies are beneficial in relapsing MS (RMS), but mostly fail in PMS. Pregabalin (Lyrica®) is prescribed to MS patients to treat neuropathic pain. Mechanistically, it targets voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels and reduces harmful neuronal hyperexcitation in mouse epilepsy models. Studies suggest that GABA analogues like pregabalin exert neuroprotective effects in animal models of ischemia and trauma. Methods We tested t…

Return and Disclosure of Research Results: Parental Attitudes and Needs Over Time in Pediatric Oncology.

2017

Objectives To explore parental attitudes regarding the return and disclosure of research findings in pediatric cancer trials over time. Study design Two surveys were set up to evaluate the stability of parental attitudes. One survey was carried out among 581 parents whose child was diagnosed recently (response rate, 53.5%). A second, population-based survey was set up with a time interval of 4 years between first cancer diagnosis and survey in which 1465 parents were included (response rate, 55.1%). Results Almost all surveyed parents stated a parental right to receive aggregate research results. Fifty-five percent of the parents who recently participated in trials and 62% of those asked af…

A rare association of chronic lymphocytic leukemia with c-ANCA-positive Wegener’s granulomatosis: a case report

2016

Background Wegener’s granulomatosis is a systemic vasculitis of the small- and medium-sized vessels, produced by the action of ANCA, which involves the respiratory tract, kidneys, and eyes, with a potential for lethal evolution in the first year after diagnosis. Its association with chronic lymphocytic leukemia is rarely described in the literature, and it may be difficult to diagnose and to treat this association. Case presentation We present the case of a 73-year-old Caucasian patient, a rare case in which Wegener’s granulomatosis is associated in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, who is admitted in the Infectious Disease Department for fever, diplopia, headache, purulent and h…

2021

Every organism has an intrinsic biological rhythm that orchestrates biological processes in adjusting to daily environmental changes. Circadian rhythms are maintained by networks of molecular clocks throughout the core and peripheral tissues, including immune cells, blood vessels, and perivascular adipose tissues. Recent findings have suggested strong correlations between the circadian clock and cardiovascular diseases. Desynchronization between the circadian rhythm and body metabolism contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases including arteriosclerosis and thrombosis. Circadian rhythms are involved in controlling inflammatory processes and metabolisms, which can influence t…

2016

Focal demyelinated lesions, diffuse white matter (WM) damage and grey matter (GM) atrophy influence directly the disease progression in patients with multiple sclerosis. The aim of this study was to identify specific characteristics of GM and WM structural networks in subjects with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) in comparison to patients with early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Twenty patients with CIS, thirty three with RRMS and forty healthy subjects were investigated using 3 T-MRI. Diffusion tensor imaging was applied, together with probabilistic tractography and fractional anisotropy (FA) maps for WM and cortical thickness correlation analysis for GM, to determine t…

Analysis of Microstructure of the Cardiac Conduction System Based on Three-Dimensional Confocal Microscopy

2016

The specialised conducting tissues present in the ventricles are responsible for the fast distribution of the electrical impulse from the atrio-ventricular node to regions in the subendocardial myocardium. Characterisation of anatomical features of the specialised conducting tissues in the ventricles is highly challenging, in particular its most distal section, which is connected to the working myocardium via Purkinje-myocardial junctions. The goal of this work is to characterise the architecture of the distal section of the Purkinje network by differentiating Purkinje cells from surrounding tissue, performing a segmentation of Purkinje fibres at cellular scale, and mathematically describin…