Cost of Brain Disorders in Italy – A Review

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Maura Pugliatti ◽  
Paola Cossu ◽  
Patrik Sobocki ◽  
Ettore Beghi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
European Brain ◽  
Socioeconomic Burden ◽  
The Brain

Brain disorders represent 35% of the total disease burden in Europe and 37% of the total disease burden in European regions with very low child mortality and low adult mortality; the latter group includes Italy. The negative socioeconomic impact of this burden is reflected in two fundamental issues: consumption of resources and state of health. In recent years, the European Brain Council (EBC), a co-ordinating council formed by European organisations and patient associations in neurological disorders, has encouraged and supported projects aimed at analysing the socioeconomic burden of brain disorders in Europe. Within the EBC, the pan-European study on Cost of Disorders of the Brain in Europe (CDBE) aimed at reporting the best possible estimates of the societal cost of 12 brain disorders (addiction, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, tumours, dementia, epilepsy, migraine and other headaches, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, psychotic disorders, stroke and trauma) based on the existing literature, using an ad hoc cost model. The aggregated results for Italy from the CDBE study are reviewed in this paper.

scholarly journals Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 360 (6395) ◽  
pp. eaap8757 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Verneri Anttila ◽  
Brendan Bulik-Sullivan ◽  
Hilary K. Finucane ◽  
Raymond K. Walters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Cognitive Measures ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
The Brain

Disorders of the brain can exhibit considerable epidemiological comorbidity and often share symptoms, provoking debate about their etiologic overlap. We quantified the genetic sharing of 25 brain disorders from genome-wide association studies of 265,218 patients and 784,643 control participants and assessed their relationship to 17 phenotypes from 1,191,588 individuals. Psychiatric disorders share common variant risk, whereas neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another and from the psychiatric disorders. We also identified significant sharing between disorders and a number of brain phenotypes, including cognitive measures. Further, we conducted simulations to explore how statistical power, diagnostic misclassification, and phenotypic heterogeneity affect genetic correlations. These results highlight the importance of common genetic variation as a risk factor for brain disorders and the value of heritability-based methods in understanding their etiology.

scholarly journals N-Acetylaspartate Is an Important Brain Osmolyte

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Warepam ◽  
Khurshid Ahmad ◽  
Safikur Rahman ◽  
Hamidur Rahaman ◽  
Kritika Kumari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Protein Stability ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Thermal Denaturation ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Ph Values ◽  
Neurological Conditions ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

Most of the human diseases related to various proteopathies are confined to the brain, which leads to the development of various forms of neurological disorders. The human brain consists of several osmolytic compounds, such as N-Acetylaspartate (NAA), myo-inositol (mI), glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), creatine (Cr), and choline-containing compounds (Cho). Among these osmolytes, the level of NAA drastically decreases under neurological conditions, and, hence, NAA is considered to be one of the most widely accepted neuronal biomarkers in several human brain disorders. To date, no data are available regarding the effect of NAA on protein stability, and, therefore, the possible effect of NAA under proteopathic conditions has not been fully uncovered. To gain an insight into the effect of NAA on protein stability, thermal denaturation and structural measurements were carried out using two model proteins at different pH values. The results indicate that NAA increases the protein stability with an enhancement of structure formation. We also observed that the stabilizing ability of NAA decreases in a pH-dependent manner. Our study indicates that NAA is an efficient protein stabilizer at a physiological pH.

scholarly journals Brain/MINDS Beyond Human Brain MRI Project: A Protocol for Multi-Site Harmonization across Brain Disorders Throughout the Lifespan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinsuke Koike ◽  
Saori C Tanaka ◽  
Tomohisa Okada ◽  
Toshihiko Aso ◽  
Michiko Asano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Imaging Biomarkers ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
The Brain

AbstractPsychiatric and neurological disorders are afflictions of the brain that can affect individuals throughout their lifespan. Many brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have been conducted; however, imaging-based biomarkers are not yet well established for diagnostic and therapeutic use. This article describes an outline of the planned study, the Brain/MINDS Beyond human brain MRI project (FY2018 ∼ FY2023), which aims to establish clinically-relevant imaging biomarkers with multi-site harmonization by collecting data from healthy traveling subjects (TS) at 13 research sites. Collection of data in psychiatric and neurological disorders across the lifespan is also scheduled at 13 sites, whereas designing measurement procedures, developing and analyzing neuroimaging protocols, and databasing are done at three research sites. The Harmonization protocol (HARP) was established for five high-quality 3T scanners to obtain multimodal brain images including T1 and T2-weighted, resting state and task functional and diffusion-weighted MRI. Data are preprocessed and analyzed using approaches developed by the Human Connectome Project. Preliminary results in 30 TS demonstrated cortical thickness, myelin, functional connectivity measures are comparable across 5 scanners, providing high reproducibility and sensitivity to subject-specific connectome. A total of 75 TS, as well as patients with various psychiatric and neurological disorders, are scheduled to participate in the project, allowing a mixed model statistical harmonization. The HARP protocols are publicly available online, and all the imaging, demographic and clinical information, harmonizing database will also be made available by 2024. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first project to implement a rigorous, prospective harmonization protocol with multi-site TS data. It explores intractable brain disorders across the lifespan and may help to identify the disease-specific pathophysiology and imaging biomarkers for clinical practice.

scholarly journals Analysis of Shared Heritability in Common Disorders of the Brain

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Anttila ◽  
B Bulik-Sullivan ◽  
H Finucane ◽  
R Walters ◽  
J Bras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Personality Types ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Cognitive Measures ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
The Brain

AbstractDisorders of the brain exhibit considerable epidemiological comorbidity and frequently share symptoms, provoking debate about the extent of their etiologic overlap. We quantified the genetic sharing of 25 brain disorders based on summary statistics from genome-wide association studies of 215,683 patients and 657,164 controls, and their relationship to 17 phenotypes from 1,191,588 individuals. Psychiatric disorders show substantial sharing of common variant risk, while neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another. We observe limited evidence of sharing between neurological and psychiatric disorders, but do identify robust sharing between disorders and several cognitive measures, as well as disorders and personality types. We also performed extensive simulations to explore how power, diagnostic misclassification and phenotypic heterogeneity affect genetic correlations. These results highlight the importance of common genetic variation as a source of risk for brain disorders and the value of heritability-based methods in understanding their etiology.

scholarly journals Prognosis of Neurological Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 5305-5311
Keyword(s):  
Expert System ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Neurological Disorder ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Weighting Factor ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Abnormal Growth ◽  
Patient Will ◽  
The Brain

Neurological disorders of the brain are generally difficult to diagnose at the early stages. Since common symptoms like headaches, fatigue or difficulty in speaking and understanding can be related to any neurological disorder. It can be noted that most of the neurological disorders are curable if detected at an early stage. Thus, the life expectancy of the patient will be increased through an early detection and an early start of the curative procedure. An accurate identification of the disorder can be done by processing the MRI images of the patient. While brain disorders like tumor, stroke can be classified with an abnormal growth of the brain tissue., disorders like Alzheimer’s occur due to degeneration of brain cells. Since all the neurological disorders have common symptoms differentiating them at the beginning stages is considered a challenge. A rule based expert system with a set of rules is used for processing the symptom experienced by the patient. Each symptom is associated with a weighting factor that determines the risk to a particular disorder. Once the risk factor is evaluated the MRI images of the patient is scanned to obtain the severity of the disorder. By utilizing an expert system for analysis of symptom and image processing to detect the region of abnormality we may derive accurate results. Thus an effective prognosis can help patients get into the treatment at the earliest.

scholarly journals Glutathione in Brain Disorders and Aging

Molecules ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 324
Author(s):  
Igor Y. Iskusnykh ◽  
Anastasia A. Zakharova ◽  
Dhruba Pathak
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Signaling Cascades ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Cellular Homeostasis ◽  
Physiological Conditions ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Brain

Glutathione is a remarkably functional molecule with diverse features, which include being an antioxidant, a regulator of DNA synthesis and repair, a protector of thiol groups in proteins, a stabilizer of cell membranes, and a detoxifier of xenobiotics. Glutathione exists in two states—oxidized and reduced. Under normal physiological conditions of cellular homeostasis, glutathione remains primarily in its reduced form. However, many metabolic pathways involve oxidization of glutathione, resulting in an imbalance in cellular homeostasis. Impairment of glutathione function in the brain is linked to loss of neurons during the aging process or as the result of neurological diseases such as Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. The exact mechanisms through which glutathione regulates brain metabolism are not well understood. In this review, we will highlight the common signaling cascades that regulate glutathione in neurons and glia, its functions as a neuronal regulator in homeostasis and metabolism, and finally a mechanistic recapitulation of glutathione signaling. Together, these will put glutathione’s role in normal aging and neurological disorders development into perspective.

Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: New Therapeutic Opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 477-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitríona Long-Smith ◽  
Kenneth J. O'Riordan ◽  
Gerard Clarke ◽  
Catherine Stanton ◽  
Timothy G. Dinan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Drug Side Effects ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Pharmacology And Toxicology ◽  
Traditional Fields ◽  
The Brain

The traditional fields of pharmacology and toxicology are beginning to consider the substantial impact our gut microbiota has on host physiology. The microbiota-gut-brain axis is emerging as a particular area of interest and a potential new therapeutic target for effective treatment of central nervous system disorders, in addition to being a potential cause of drug side effects. Microbiota-gut-brain axis signaling can occur via several pathways, including via the immune system, recruitment of host neurochemical signaling, direct enteric nervous system routes and the vagus nerve, and the production of bacterial metabolites. Altered gut microbial profiles have been described in several psychiatric and neurological disorders. Psychobiotics, live biotherapeutics or substances whose beneficial effects on the brain are bacterially mediated, are currently being investigated as direct and/or adjunctive therapies for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders and possibly for neurodegenerative disease, and they may emerge as new therapeutic options in the clinical management of brain disorders.

Moving past the vaccine/autism controversy - to examine potential vaccine neurological harms

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Peter R. Breggin
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Psychosocial Disorders ◽  
The Us ◽  
Potential Vaccine ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The Brain ◽  
New Vaccines

BACKGROUND: The vaccine/autism controversy has caused vast scientific and public confusion, and it has set back research and education into genuine vaccine-induced neurological disorders. The great strawman of autism has been so emphasized by the vaccine industry that it, and it alone, often appears in authoritative discussions of adverse effects of the MMR and other vaccines. By dismissing the chimerical vaccine/autism controversy, vaccine defenders often dismiss all genuinely neurological aftereffects of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and other vaccines, including well-documented events, such as relatively rare cases of encephalopathy and encephalitis. OBJECTIVE: This report explains that autism is not a physical or neurological disorder. It is not caused by injury or disease of the brain. It is a developmental disorder that has no physical origins and no physical symptoms. It is extremely unlikely that vaccines are causing autism; but it is extremely likely that they are causing more neurological damage than currently appreciated, some of it resulting in psychosocial disabilities that can be confused with autism and other psychosocial disorders. This confusion between a developmental, psychosocial disorder and a physical neurological disease has played into the hands of interest groups who want to deny that vaccines have any neurological and associated neuropsychiatric effects. METHODS: A review of the scientific literature, textbooks, and related media commentary is integrated with basic clinical knowledge. RESULTS: This report shows how scientific sources have used the vaccine/autism controversy to avoid dealing with genuine neurological risks associated with vaccines and summarizes evidence that vaccines, including the MMR, can cause serious neurological disorders. Manufacturers have been allowed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gain vaccine approval without placebo-controlled clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS: The misleading vaccine autism controversy must be set aside in favor of examining actual neurological harms associated with vaccines, including building on existing research that has been ignored. Manufacturers of vaccines must be required to conduct placebo-controlled clinical studies for existing vaccines and for government approval of new vaccines. Many probable or confirmed neurological adverse events occur within a few days or weeks after immunization and could be detected if the trials were sufficiently large. Contrary to current opinion, large, long-term placebo-controlled trials of existing and new vaccines would be relatively easy and safe to conduct.

scholarly journals Beyond Oncological Hyperthermia: Physically Drivable Magnetic Nanobubbles as Novel Multipurpose Theranostic Carriers in the Central Nervous System

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Ficiarà ◽  
Shoeb Anwar Ansari ◽  
Monica Argenziano ◽  
Luigi Cangemi ◽  
Chiara Monge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Brain Tumors ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide ◽  
Conventional Radiotherapy ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
The Brain

Magnetic Oxygen-Loaded Nanobubbles (MOLNBs), manufactured by adding Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) on the surface of polymeric nanobubbles, are investigated as theranostic carriers for delivering oxygen and chemotherapy to brain tumors. Physicochemical and cyto-toxicological properties and in vitro internalization by human brain microvascular endothelial cells as well as the motion of MOLNBs in a static magnetic field were investigated. MOLNBs are safe oxygen-loaded vectors able to overcome the brain membranes and drivable through the Central Nervous System (CNS) to deliver their cargoes to specific sites of interest. In addition, MOLNBs are monitorable either via Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Ultrasound (US) sonography. MOLNBs can find application in targeting brain tumors since they can enhance conventional radiotherapy and deliver chemotherapy being driven by ad hoc tailored magnetic fields under MRI and/or US monitoring.

scholarly journals Effects of Ad-hoc Data Truncation and Homogeneous Preferences on Recreational Demand and Values: An Application to the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Kavita Sardana ◽  
John C. Bergstrom ◽  
J. M. Bowker
Keyword(s):  
Latent Class ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Consumer Surplus ◽  
Poisson Model ◽  
Travel Cost ◽  
National Forests ◽  
Heterogeneous Preferences ◽  
George Washington ◽  
Travel Cost Model

Abstract We estimate a travel cost model for the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests using an On-Site Latent Class Poisson Model. We show that the constraints of ad-hoc truncation and homogenous preferences significantly impact consumer surplus estimates derived from the on-site travel cost model. By relaxing the constraints, we show that more than one class of visitors with unique preferences exists in the population. The resulting demand functions, price responsive behaviors, and consumer surplus estimates reflect differences across these classes of visitors. With heterogeneous preferences, a group of ‘local residents’ exists with a probability of 8% and, on average take 113 visits.

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