The effects of propionate on blood pressure and arterial function.

Background: The short-chain fatty acid propionate has been shown to attenuate atherosclerosis, for example by modulating intestinal cholesterol metabolism. Beyond cholesterol metabolism, data from rodent models suggest a potential additional effect on blood pressure reduction.

Material And Methods: We conducted a prospective uncontrolled, exploratory, and observational study on 58 individuals receiving propionate supplementation (500 mg twice daily) without preexisting atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, assessing peripheral and central blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and endothelial function.

Tipping the balance: the PD1-axis as modulator in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Collapse of self-tolerance toward peripheral nervous system antigens initiates chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. This breakdown likely recurs, driving disease onset and flare-ups, providing a window to predict progression before symptoms worsen, yet the mechanisms behind self-tolerance maintenance or disruption remain underexplored. Using a transgenic mouse model with Schwann cell-restricted ovalbumin expression and adoptive transfer of ovalbumin reactive CD8 T-cells, we demonstrate that maintenance of immune tolerance to peripheral nervous system antigen is linked to PD1-axis activity.

Correction: The P2X7R-antagonist AFC-5128 ameliorates chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in a preventive and therapeutic paradigm.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.

Early Treatment With Intravenous Immunoglobulins and Outcomes of Patients With Anti-IgLON5 Disease.

Importance: Anti-IgLON5 disease is an autoimmune encephalopathy that often leads to severe disability or death. The efficacy of immunotherapy remains unknown.

Objective: To investigate whether early immunotherapy is associated with disability and death in anti-IgLON5 disease.

HLA-A∗03:01 as predictive genetic biomarker for glatiramer acetate treatment response in multiple sclerosis: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Background: Glatiramer acetate (GA) is a well-tolerated treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and comparable in its efficacy to high-dose interferon beta (IFN). As a lack of validated treatment response biomarkers for MS hampers progress in personalised treatment, the study goal was to search for biomarkers of a successful treatment response utilising the known observation of T-cell expansions after GA treatment.

Methods: T-cell receptor beta chain (TRB) sequencing was performed in 3021 patients with MS: a discovery cohort of 1627 patients with MS, 204 of whom had previously been treated with GA, and then validated in 1394 patients with MS, 424 of whom had previously been treated with GA.

User groups of inpatient multidisciplinary therapies for Parkinson's disease in Germany: a bicenter prospective observational study.

Background: In Germany, multidisciplinary care for people with Parkinson's disease (PwP, PD) is mainly provided in the inpatient setting. Differences in user groups between established and effective interventions like PD Multimodal Complex Therapy (PD-MCT) and Geriatric Complex Therapy (GCT) have not been investigated.

Methods: This real-world bicenter prospective observational study involved PwP undergoing 14-day inpatient multidisciplinary therapies at two German university hospitals providing either PD-MCT or GCT.

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells in treatment-refractory DAGLA antibody-associated encephalitis.

Background: Autoimmune encephalitides are a heterogeneous group of autoantibody-associated central nervous system disorders. The clinical course of autoimmune encephalitides can be life threatening, and treatment can be challenging.

Objective: This report describes a case of treatment-refractory, anti-diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DAGLA) antibody-associated autoimmune encephalitis successfully treated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.

Corrigendum: Switching to ublituximab from prior anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy: a case report series.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.

Comparison of imaging markers of nerve ultrasound and MR-neurography in a longitudinal course in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Background: The novel criteria for the diagnosis of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) have established imaging with nerve ultrasound (NUS) and magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) as complementary methods for CIDP diagnosis.

Objectives: Our goal was to investigate the role of MRN and NUS for CIDP monitoring.

Methods And Design: We longitudinally examined 12 CIDP patients from 2016 to 2022 using NUS, MRN, nerve conduction studies (NCS), and clinical parameters (inflammatory neuropathy cause and treatment (INCAT)/overall disability sum score (ODSS)).

Disease Characteristics and Treatments Associated with Outcome in Primary Angiitis of the Central Nervous System-A Multicenter Cohort Study in 163 Patients.

Objective: The aim was to determine patient, disease, and treatment characteristics associated with outcome in patients with primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) in a large multicenter German cohort.

Methods: In a retrospective, observational cohort study, we analyzed 163 adult patients who met the diagnostic criteria for PACNS. Data were collected from January 2004 to December 2018 in 13 tertiary care centers in Germany.

Education Research: Teaching Neurologic Emergencies Through Serious Games: A Randomized Comparative Intervention Study.

Background And Objectives: Serious games (SGs) are increasingly used in education, although data on their use in neurology education are limited. This study evaluates SG effect on knowledge retention, subjective impression of decision making, and learner satisfaction.

Methods: Using a 6-step approach to curriculum development, we designed a digital interactive course as a SG, incorporating realistic video simulations to teach neurologic emergencies.

Serum Neurofilament Light Chain as a Biomarker for CIDP Diagnosis, Severity, and Treatment Outcome.

Background And Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize serum neurofilament light chain (sNFL) levels in a large cohort of patients with autoimmune neuropathies to provide every-day clinical practice recommendations.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we recruited 191 patients with immune-mediated neuropathies from 2 referral centers. sNFL was measured using the Simoa NF-light kit (Quanterix), and age-corrected and BMI-corrected z-scores (zNFL) were calculated.

Endovascular treatment in ischemic stroke with active cancer: retrospective analysis of university stroke center data.

Introduction: Active cancer (AC) associates strongly with ischemic stroke (IS). Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is often contraindicated in AC, and endovascular treatment (EVT) is considered the gold treatment standard, although data on its safety and efficacy is scarce.

Methods: Digital records of patients receiving EVT in a tertiary university hospital with comprehensive stroke center from 2016 to 2022 were assessed.

Relevance of choroid plexus volumes in multiple sclerosis.

Background: The choroid plexus (ChP) plays a pivotal role in inflammatory processes that occur in multiple sclerosis (MS). The enlargement of the ChP in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is considered to be an indication of disease activity and has been associated with periventricular remyelination failure. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the relationship between ChP and periventricular tissue damage which occurs in MS, and to elucidate the role of neuroinflammation in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS).

The P2X7R-antagonist AFC-5128 ameliorates chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in a preventive and therapeutic paradigm.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by chronic inflammation driven by central nervous system (CNS)-resident immune cells such as microglia, especially during the progressive phase of the disease. The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R), a risk protein for MS, is ubiquitously expressed on immune cells. AFC-5128, a CNS-penetrating small molecule inhibitor of P2X7R, is a promising agent for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as MS.

Switching to ublituximab from prior anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy: a case report series.

Introduction: Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) differ in their molecular structures, epitope recognition, and mechanisms of CD20-positive (CD20+) cell lysis, which may impact clinical efficacy and tolerability and support within-class switching for patients with suboptimal response to a prior anti-CD20 mAb.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective case series of 7 individuals with MS treated in private practice or at an MS clinic who switched to ublituximab from a different anti-CD20 mAb therapy due to efficacy or tolerability concerns.

Case Descriptions: Details of each case, including clinical and/or radiological outcomes on initial anti-CD20 mAb therapy, reasons for switching, and outcomes after starting ublituximab therapy are provided.

Examination of Anti-Inflammatory Effects After Propionate Supplementation in the R6/2 Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

Huntington's disease is a progressive, untreatable neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the Huntingtin gene. Next to neurodegeneration, altered immune activation is involved in disease progression. Since central nervous system inflammation and dysfunction of immune cells are recognized as driving characteristics, immunomodulation might represent an additional therapeutic strategy.

Neurological disability and brain grey matter atrophy in primary progressive multiple sclerosis are determined by microstructural lesional changes, but not by lesion load.

Background: Conventional MRI measures, such as the number and volume of MS lesions, are histologically non-specific and cannot sufficiently explain clinical disability or brain atrophy in MS. Nevertheless, demyelinating plaques exhibit distinct histopathological features in relapsing and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) subtypes. The aim of this study was to assess microstructural characteristics of MS lesions using quantitative MRI and explore their associations with grey matter (GM) atrophy and clinical disability.

Lesion assessment in multiple sclerosis: a comparison between synthetic and conventional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging.

Background And Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based lesion quantification is essential for the diagnosis of and prognosis in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study compares an established software's performance for automated volumetric and numerical segmentation of MS brain lesions using synthetic T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI, based on a multi-dynamic, multi-echo sequence (MDME), vs. conventional FLAIR imaging.

Oral supplementation with propionate is reflected in the serum of healthy individuals.

Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including propionic acid (PA), are key in immunological research. Supplementing PA has shown benefits for autoimmune diseases. A comprehensive understanding of the PA pharmacokinetics is essential for the optimal design and execution of studies utilizing orally administered PA.

Effect of siponimod on retinal thickness, a marker of neurodegeneration, in participants with SPMS: Findings from the EXPAND OCT substudy.

Background: People with MS show abnormal thinning of the retinal layers, which is associated with clinical disability and brain atrophy, and is a potential surrogate marker of neurodegeneration and treatment effects.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of retinal thickness as a surrogate marker of neurodegeneration and treatment effect in participants with secondary progressive MS (SPMS) from the optical coherence tomography (OCT) substudy of the EXPAND Phase 3 clinical trial (siponimod versus placebo).

Methods: In the OCT substudy population (n = 159), treatment effects on change in the average thickness of the retinal layer, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL), and combined macular ganglion cell and inner plexiform layers (GCIPL) were analyzed by high-definition spectral domain OCT at months 3, 12, and 24.

Impact of disease-modifying therapies on pregnancy outcomes in multiple sclerosis: a prospective cohort study from the German multiple sclerosis and pregnancy registry.

Background: In recent decades, relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) became more treatable through new disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Identifying safe treatments with minimal fetal risks for family planning is needed.

Methods: In this prospective cohort from the German MS and Pregnancy Registry (DMSKW), we analyzed pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in MS-patients using descriptive statistics and logistic/linear regression models to compare DMT-exposed pregnancies to DMT-unexposed pregnancies.