Longitudinal changes in [F]FDG PET brain metabolism as a prognostic marker in autoimmune encephalitis.

Purpose: Recent advancements in autoimmune encephalitis (AE) have enhanced diagnosis and management, but predicting long-term outcomes remains challenging. This study aims to evaluate longitudinal changes in brain [F]FDG PET patterns in AE patients to identify specific regional metabolic variations and predict clinical outcomes.

Methods: This longitudinal study compared brain [F]FDG PET scans of 22 AE patients at baseline (BS) and after treatment follow-up (FU) using voxel-wise paired t-tests.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell secretome from patients with autoimmune encephalitis promotes seizures in vitro.

Objective: Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is characterized by inflammatory processes in the central nervous system and frequently presents with seizures. Even though an ictogenic potential has been shown for some antibodies against neuronal surface antigens (NSAbs), AE pathophysiology is complex, and NSAbs-independent mechanisms are likely to contribute to seizures. We investigated whether the secretome released by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from AE patients contributes to seizure generation independently of NSAbs.

Trends in epilepsy surgery in Italy before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide study.

Objective: To study the current practice of epilepsy surgery in Italy and the relative impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on it.

Methods: We launched a survey through the Italian National Virtual Epilepsy Institute, to identify centers with epilepsy surgery programs and collect data on the current preoperative and surgical practices. We reported changes in surgical volumes and complications and seizure outcomes between 2018 and 2022, that is, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Unveiling Cortical Criticality Changes along the Prodromal to the Overt Continuum of Alpha-Synucleinopathy.

Patients with idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) are in the prodromal stage of alpha-synucleinopathies. Neurodegeneration early affects subcortical structures, including the substantia nigra, in iRBD patients. However, it remains unclear whether there is also an early neurodegeneration process affecting the cerebral cortex.

[F]FDG PET metabolic correlates of cerebrospinal fluid TAR DNA-binding protein 43 in prodromal Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy neuropathological changes (LATE-NC) are characterized by phosphorylated TDP-43 aggregates in limbic regions, often co-occurring with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, amplifying clinical and neuroimaging alterations. In vivo biomarkers for LATE-NC are lacking, but changes in CSF TDP-43 levels may reflect LATE-NC in AD patients. This study explored the correlation between CSF TDP-43 and [F]FDG PET metrics in prodromal AD, providing insights into the impact of LATE-NC on AD brain metabolism.

Investigating the impact of the years of blindness on sleep rhythms, dream patterns, and spatial abilities: The BLINDREAM protocol.

Sleep health is a topic of great interest in recent years. However, it is still often undervalued in vulnerable populations, such as those with sensory disorders. A higher percentage of blind individuals experience circadian disorders, and their dreams have different sensory contents.

Distinct brain atrophy progression subtypes underlie phenoconversion in isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder.

Background: Synucleinopathies include a spectrum of disorders varying in features and severity, including idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Distinct brain atrophy patterns may already be seen in iRBD; however, how brain atrophy begins and progresses remains unclear.

Methods: A multicentric cohort of 1276 participants (451 polysomnography-confirmed iRBD, 142 PD with probable RBD, 87 DLB, and 596 controls) underwent T1-weighted MRI and longitudinal clinical assessments.

How can we define a brain health chart? A narrative review and a proposal.

In recent years, there has been a significant change in the type of patients referred to memory clinics, characterized by an increase in mildly symptomatic individuals and potentially even healthy people at risk of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases in this context. Additionally, there is growing interest in developing health services focused on brain health throughout the lifespan, particularly within a primary prevention framework. This effort has led to proposing dedicated "brain health services" for dementia risk reduction.

The Many Faces of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. Providing Evidence for a New Lexicon.

Background: People with idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) are highly heterogeneous, showing mild motor, cognitive, and dysautonomia symptoms. The aim of this study is to unveil the clinical heterogeneity of iRBD with a specific reference to overlapping features with prodromal Parkinson's disease (pPD) and prodromal dementia with Lewy bodies (pDLB) labels.

Methods: People with a polysomnography-confirmed diagnosis of iRBD were enrolled and followed over time.

Autonomic Dysfunction in REM Sleep Disorder: The Role of Respiration in HRV Analysis.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) has been suggested often associated with the isolated rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), with iRBD, and heart rate variability (HRV) is a commonly used tool to assess it. However, the accuracy of HRV is heavily influenced by respiratory rate (RespR), potentially causing misinterpretation of frequency domain HRV indices. This study compares sleep-related ANS function between iRBD patients and a control group (CG) using respiratory-adjusted HRV spectral analysis.

Clinical and metabolic profiles in behavioural frontotemporal dementia: Impact of age at onset.

Aim: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder, with considerable variability of age-at-onset. We explored clinical and metabolic differences between early- and late-onset behavioural FTD (bvFTD), assuming that they might represent different disease phenotypes.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively studied consecutive patients diagnosed with prodromal or overt bvFTD with [F]FDG PET scan, neuropsychological assessment (NPS), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) available at baseline.

Magnetic susceptibility components reveal different aspects of neurodegeneration in alpha-synucleinopathies.

Nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration in alpha-synucleinopathies is indirectly reflected by low dopamine transporter (DaT) uptake through [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT. Bulk magnetic susceptibility (χ) in the substantia nigra, from MRI-based quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), is a potential biomarker of nigrostriatal degeneration, however, QSM cannot disentangle paramagnetic (e.g.

CASPR2-related epilepsy: A distinctive and unrecognized form of epilepsy in adult and elderly males.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features of contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2)-IgG-associated seizures.

Methods: Nine patients were retrospectively collected from two epilepsy centers. For each patient we obtained a full clinical, neurophysiological, and MRI study along with detection of antineuronal autoantibodies from serum and CSF.

Clinical and biological underpinnings of longitudinal atrophy pattern progression in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has recently enabled to identify four distinct Alzheimer's disease (AD) subtypes: hippocampal sparing (HpSp), typical AD (tAD), limbic predominant (Lp), and minimal atrophy (MinAtr). To date, however, the natural history of these subtypes, especially regarding the presence of subjects switching to other MRI patterns and their clinical and biological differences, remains poorly understood.

Objective: To investigate the clinical and biological underpinnings of longitudinal atrophy pattern progression in AD.

Progression trajectories from prodromal to overt synucleinopathies: a longitudinal, multicentric brain [F]FDG-PET study.

The phenoconversion trajectory from idiopathic/isolated Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) towards either Parkinson's Disease (PD) or Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is currently uncertain. We investigated the capability of baseline brain [F]FDG-PET in differentiating between iRBD patients eventually phenoconverting to PD or DLB, by deriving the denovoPDRBD-related pattern (denovoPDRBD-RP) from 32 de novo PD patients; and the denovoDLBRBD-RP from 30 de novo DLB patients, both with evidence of RBD at diagnosis. To explore [F]FDG-PET phenoconversion trajectories prediction power, we applied these two patterns on a group of 115 iRBD patients followed longitudinally.

Systemic inflammatory markers and volume of enhancing tissue on post-contrast T1w MRI images in differentiating true tumor progression from pseudoprogression in high-grade glioma.

Background: High-grade glioma (HGG) patients post-radiotherapy often face challenges distinguishing true tumor progression (TTP) from pseudoprogression (PsP). This study evaluates the effectiveness of systemic inflammatory markers and volume of enhancing tissue on post-contrast T1 weighted (T1WCE) MRI images for this differentiation within the first six months after treatment.

Material And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis on a cohort of HGG patients from 2015 to 2021, categorized per WHO 2016 and 2021 criteria.

Metabolic and dopaminergic correlates of intellectual enrichment in de-novo Parkinson's disease patients.

Background: Cognitive reserve (CR) is an expression of brain resilience in response to damage. Education, occupational experience and leisure activities are thought to increase CR and have beneficial effects on global cognition and cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to disclose brain metabolic and dopaminergic correlates of CR in de-novo PD patients.

Rapid eye movement sleep and epilepsy: exploring interactions and therapeutic prospects.

While research interest in the relationship between sleep and epilepsy is growing, it primarily centres on the effects of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in favouring seizures. Nonetheless, a noteworthy aspect is the observation that, in the lives of patients with epilepsy, REM sleep represents the moment with the least epileptic activity and the lowest probability of having a seizure. Studies demonstrate a suppressive effect of phasic REM sleep on interictal epileptiform discharges, potentially offering insights into epilepsy localisation and management.

Automatic quantification of REM sleep without atonia reliably identifies patients with REM sleep behavior disorder: a possible screening tool?

Background: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is characterized by absence of physiological muscle atonia during REM sleep (REM sleep without atonia, RWA). Nigro-striatal dopaminergic impairment is a feature of Parkinson disease (PD) and can be identified in prodromal stages as well, such as idiopathic RBD (iRBD). Aims of this study are to explore the efficacy of an automatic RWA quantification in identifying RBD patients and the correlation between RWA and nigro-striatal dopaminergic function.

Presynaptic Dopaminergic Imaging Characterizes Patients with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Due to Synucleinopathy.

Objective: To apply a machine learning analysis to clinical and presynaptic dopaminergic imaging data of patients with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) to predict the development of Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

Methods: In this multicenter study of the International RBD study group, 173 patients (mean age 70.5 ± 6.