Increased interleukin-17 in the cerebrospinal fluid in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a case-control study of rapidly progressive dementia.

Background: Inflammatory responses in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) remain elusive.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study, in which 14 patients with sCJD, 14 with noninflammatory neurological disorders, and 14 with autoimmune encephalitis were enrolled. We used the suspension array system to measure the concentrations of 27 cytokines in CSF.

Effect of age and sex differences on wild-type transthyretin amyloid formation in familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy: a proteomic approach.

Background: Age and sex differences are closely related to the onset of senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) caused by wild-type (WT) transthyretin (TTR). However, the effects of these differences on the amyloid formation mechanism in familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) caused by variant TTR, have remained unclear. To elucidate age and sex differences in FAP, we investigated biochemical characteristics of amyloid deposits in different tissue sites of FAP by proteomic analysis.

ERBB4 mutations that disrupt the neuregulin-ErbB4 pathway cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 19.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurological disorder characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons and typically results in death within 3-5 years from onset. Familial ALS (FALS) comprises 5%-10% of ALS cases, and the identification of genes associated with FALS is indispensable to elucidating the molecular pathogenesis. We identified a Japanese family affected by late-onset, autosomal-dominant ALS in which mutations in genes known to be associated with FALS were excluded.

Immunohistochemical localization of spatacsin in α-synucleinopathies.

Spatacsin (SPG11) is a major mutated gene in autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia with thin corpus callosum (ARHSP-TCC) and is responsible for juvenile Parkinsonism. To elucidate the role of spatacsin in the pathogenesis of α-synucleinopathies, an immunohistochemical investigation was performed on the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) using anti-spatacsin antibody. In PD, Lewy bodies (LBs) in the brain stem were positive for spatacsin.

Positive feedback loop via astrocytes causes chronic inflammation in virus-associated myelopathy.

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the spinal cord. We hypothesized that a positive feedback loop driven by chemokines may be responsible for the chronic inflammation in HAM/TSP. We aimed to determine the identity of these chemokines, where they are produced, and how they drive chronic inflammation in HAM/TSP.

ALS-associated protein FIG4 is localized in Pick and Lewy bodies, and also neuronal nuclear inclusions, in polyglutamine and intranuclear inclusion body diseases.

FIG4 is a phosphatase that regulates intracellular vesicle trafficking along the endosomal-lysosomal pathway. Mutations of FIG4 lead to the development of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4J and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Moreover, ALS-associated proteins (transactivation response DNA protein 43 (TDP-43), fused in sarcoma (FUS), optineurin, ubiquilin-2, charged mutivesicular body protein 2b (CHMP2B) and valosin-containing protein) are involved in inclusion body formation in several neurodegenerative diseases.

Prion-like properties of pathological TDP-43 aggregates from diseased brains.

TDP-43 is the major component protein of ubiquitin-positive inclusions in brains of patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-TDP) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we report the characterization of prion-like properties of aggregated TDP-43 prepared from diseased brains. When insoluble TDP-43 from ALS or FTLD-TDP brains was introduced as seeds into SH-SY5Y cells expressing TDP-43, phosphorylated and ubiquitinated TDP-43 was aggregated in a self-templating manner.

Valosin-containing protein immunoreactivity in tauopathies, synucleinopathies, polyglutamine diseases and intranuclear inclusion body disease.

Valosin-containing protein (VCP) is associated with multiple cellular functions, including ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation. Mutations in VCP are known to cause inclusion body myopathy with Paget's disease and frontotemporal dementia and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS; ALS14), both of which are characterized by trans-activation response DNA protein 43 (TDP-43)-positive neuronal cytoplasmic and nuclear inclusions. Recently, immunoreactivity for fALS-associated proteins (TDP-43, fused in sarcoma (FUS), optineurin and ubiquilin-2) were reported to be present in cytoplasmic and nuclear inclusions in various neurodegenerative diseases.

[An autopsied case of argyrophilic grain dementia with parkinsonism due to multiple lacunar infarctions].

A 77-year-old Japanese woman developed parkinsonism and showed tremor in the upper extremities, bradykinesia, and gait disturbance. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Treatment with L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) was ineffective.

Early detection of abnormal prion protein in genetic human prion diseases now possible using real-time QUIC assay.

Introduction: The definitive diagnosis of genetic prion diseases (gPrD) requires pathological confirmation. To date, diagnosis has relied upon the finding of the biomarkers 14-3-3 protein and total tau (t-tau) protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but many researchers have reported that these markers are not sufficiently elevated in gPrD, especially in Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). We recently developed a new in vitro amplification technology, designated "real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QUIC)", to detect the abnormal form of prion protein in CSF from sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) patients.

An autopsied case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with mutation in the prion protein gene codon 232 and type 1+2 prion protein.

A 68-year-old Japanese man gradually showed abnormal behavior and gait disturbance with bradykinesia. Slowly progressive dementia, including memory disturbance and disorientation, was also observed. Cerebral cortical hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted MRI was observed 6 months after onset.

An autopsied case of progressive supranuclear palsy presenting with cerebellar ataxia and severe cerebellar involvement.

A Japanese male patient presented with gait disturbance at the age of 69 years. His principal symptom was cerebellar ataxia for several years. He was initially diagnosed as having olivopontocerebellar atrophy because dysarthria and ataxia gradually developed, and head CT scan showed apparent atrophy of the cerebellum and brainstem and dilatation of the fourth ventricle.

[Practical approach to neuropathology required for experts].

Neuropathology is essential for neurology since disease concepts of neurological disorders have been based on the neuropathological findings. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson disease, multiple system atrophy and Alzheimer's disease have been established on the pathological findings. Neuropathology has been still important, even if diagnostic procedure has progressed in neuroimaging and genetic screening.

CSF1R mutations identified in three families with autosomal dominantly inherited leukoencephalopathy.

Genetic and phenotypic heterogeneities are considerably high in adult-onset leukoencephalopathy, in which comprehensive mutational analyses of the candidate genes by conventional methods are too laborious. We applied exome sequencing to conduct a comprehensive mutational analysis of genes for autosomal dominant leukoencephalopathies. Genomic DNA samples from four patients of three families with autosomal dominantly inherited adult-onset leukodystrophy were subjected to exome sequencing.

Molecular analysis and biochemical classification of TDP-43 proteinopathy.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa pathology are progressive neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by intracytoplasmic aggregates of hyperphosphorylated TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa. These TAR DNA-binding protein 43 proteinopathies can be classified into subtypes, which are closely correlated with clinicopathological phenotypes, although the differences in the molecular species of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 in these diseases and the biological significance thereof, remain to be clarified. Here, we have shown that although the banding patterns of abnormally phosphorylated C-terminal fragments of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 differ between the neuropathological subtypes, these are indistinguishable between multiple brain regions and spinal cord in individual patients.

[Clinicopathologic findings of argyrophilic-grain dementia in a case of mild cognitive impairment converting to dementia].

An 84-year-old Japanese woman with no family history of dementia visited our memory clinic complaining of memory disturbance. Neurological examination revealed no apparent motor abnormalities, focal cerebral signs, parkinsonism, or cerebellar dysfunction. Hasegawa's Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R) and Mini mental state examination (MMSE) scores were 24 and 23 points, respectively.

[An autopsied case of dementia with lewy bodies presenting with hemispheric cerebral cortical atrophy with selective neuronal necrosis after status epilepticus].

We report on a 72-year-old-Japanese man with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) who presented with hemispheric cerebral cortical atrophy with selective neuronal necrosis after status epilepticus. His disease manifested with psychiatric symptoms, such as a "hot feeling" in the abdomen, at the age of 68 years. He was found to have hypochondriasis and anxiety disorder and was treated in the Department of Psychiatry.

The TRK-fused gene is mutated in hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy with proximal dominant involvement.

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy with proximal dominant involvement (HMSN-P) is an autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by widespread fasciculations, proximal-predominant muscle weakness, and atrophy followed by distal sensory involvement. To date, large families affected by HMSN-P have been reported from two different regions in Japan. Linkage and haplotype analyses of two previously reported families and two new families with the use of high-density SNP arrays further defined the minimum candidate region of 3.

[An autopsy case of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus-associated encephalopathy].

A 16-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of fever, altered consciousness and subsequent tonic convulsions of upper and lower extremities. A head CT scan revealed evidence of diffuse brain edema. Novel influenza H1N1 viral RNA was detected in nasopharyngeal specimens by specific PCR examination.

Antibodies to N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients.

Psychiatric symptom can be a prominent feature early in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which is also common in autoantibody-mediated limbic encephalitis. We hypothesized that anti-neuronal autoantibodies, especially those against N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors (NMDAR), can also be associated with CJD. Thirteen patients with CJD and 13 patients with limbic encephalitis were enrolled.

[Decreased myocardial uptake of meta-iodobenzylguanidine in an autopsy-confirmed case of corticobasal degeneration with Lewy bodies restricted to the sympathetic ganglia].

We report on an autopsy case of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) with Lewy bodies in only the sympathetic ganglia. A 79-year-old man showed walking disturbance as an initial symptom, and developed dementia and bradykinesia within the next 2 years. Neurological examination revealed parkinsonism-like akinesia and rigidity in the trunk and neck without resting tremor.