scholarly journals Entropy and Complexity Analyses in Alzheimer’s Disease: An MEG Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Gómez ◽  
Roberto Hornero

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most frequent disorders among elderly population and it is considered the main cause of dementia in western countries. This irreversible brain disorder is characterized by neural loss and the appearance of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. The aim of the present study was the analysis of the magnetoencephalogram (MEG) background activity from AD patients and elderly control subjects. MEG recordings from 36 AD patients and 26 controls were analyzed by means of six entropy and complexity measures: Shannon spectral entropy (SSE), approximate entropy (ApEn), sample entropy (SampEn), Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD), Maragos and Sun’s fractal dimension (MSFD), and Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC). SSE is an irregularity estimator in terms of the flatness of the spectrum, whereas ApEn and SampEn are embbeding entropies that quantify the signal regularity. The complexity measures HFD and MSFD were applied to MEG signals to estimate their fractal dimension. Finally, LZC measures the number of different substrings and the rate of their recurrence along the original time series. Our results show that MEG recordings are less complex and more regular in AD patients than in control subjects. Significant differences between both groups were found in several brain regions using all these methods, with the exception of MSFD (p-value < 0.05, Welch’s t-test with Bonferroni’s correction). Using receiver operating characteristic curves with a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure, the highest accuracy was achieved with SSE: 77.42%. We conclude that entropy and complexity analyses from MEG background activity could be useful to help in AD diagnosis.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Soo Jang ◽  
Hee Jung Chung

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible brain disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline and neurodegeneration of brain regions that are crucial for learning and memory. Although intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular senile plaques, composed of insoluble amyloid-β(Aβ) peptides, have been the hallmarks of postmortem AD brains, memory impairment in early AD correlates better with pathological accumulation of soluble Aβoligomers and persistent weakening of excitatory synaptic strength, which is demonstrated by inhibition of long-term potentiation, enhancement of long-term depression, and loss of synapses. However, current, approved interventions aiming to reduce Aβlevels have failed to retard disease progression; this has led to a pressing need to identify and target alternative pathogenic mechanisms of AD. Recently, it has been suggested that the disruption of Hebbian synaptic plasticity in AD is due to aberrant metaplasticity, which is a form of homeostatic plasticity that tunes the magnitude and direction of future synaptic plasticity based on previous neuronal or synaptic activity. This review examines emerging evidence for aberrant metaplasticity in AD. Putative mechanisms underlying aberrant metaplasticity in AD will also be discussed. We hope this review inspires future studies to test the extent to which these mechanisms contribute to the etiology of AD and offer therapeutic targets.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Sharifa Hasana ◽  
Jamil Ahmad ◽  
Md. Farhad Hossain ◽  
Md. Mosiqur Rahman ◽  
...  

: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irrevocable chronic brain disorder featured by neuronal loss, microglial accumulation, and progressive cognitive impairment. The proper pathophysiology of this life-threatening disorder is not completely understood and no exact remedies are found yet. Over the last few decades, research on AD has mainly highlighted in pathomechanisms linked to a couple of the major pathological hallmarks, including extracellular senile plaques, made of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), made of tau proteins. Aβ can induce apoptosis, trigger an inflammatory response, and inhibit the synaptic plasticity of the hippocampus, which ultimately contributes to reducing cognitive functions and memory impairment. Recently, a third disease hallmark, the neuroinflammatory reaction that is mediated by cerebral innate immune cells, has become a spotlight in the current research area, assured by pre-clinical, clinical, and genetic investigations. Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), a cytokine producer, is significantly associated with physiological inflammatory proceedings and thus showing a promising candidate for inflammation-based AD therapy. Recent data reveal that phytochemicals mainly polyphenols compounds exhibit potential neuroprotective functions and it may be considered as a vital resource for discovering several drug candidates against AD. Interestingly, phytochemicals can easily interfere with the signaling pathway of NF-κB. This review represents the anti-neuroinflammatory potential of polyphenols as inhibitors of NF-κB to combat AD pathogenesis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (52) ◽  
pp. E12427-E12434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hualong Wang ◽  
Xia Liu ◽  
Shengdi Chen ◽  
Keqiang Ye

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neuropathological hallmarks include senile plaques with aggregated amyloid beta as a major component, neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) containing truncated and hyperphosphorylated Tau, extensive neuronal loss, and chronic neuroinflammation. However, the key molecular mechanism that dominates the pathogenesis of AD remains elusive for AD. Here we show that the C/EBPβ/δ-secretase axis is activated in an age-dependent manner in different brain regions of the 3×Tg AD mouse model, elevating δ-secretase–truncated APP and Tau proteolytic truncates and promoting senile plaques and NFT formation in the brain, associated with gradual neuronal loss and chronic neuroinflammation. Depletion of inflammatory cytokine-regulated transcription factor C/EBPβ from 3×Tg mice represses APP, Tau, and δ-secretase expression, which subsequently inhibits APP and Tau cleavage, leading to mitigation of AD pathologies. Knockout of δ-secretase from 3×Tg mice strongly blunts AD pathogenesis. Consequently, inactivation of the C/EBPβ/δ-secretase axis ameliorates cognitive dysfunctions in 3×Tg mice by blocking APP and Tau expression and their pathological fragmentation. Thus, our findings support the notion that C/EBPβ/δ-secretase axis plays a crucial role in AD pathogenesis.


PPAR Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
María José Pérez ◽  
Rodrigo A. Quintanilla

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial metabolic brain disorder characterized by protein aggregates, synaptic failure, and cognitive impairment. In the AD brain is common to observe the accumulation of senile plaques formed by amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide and the neurofibrillary tangles composed of modified tau protein, which both lead to cellular damage and progressive neurodegeneration. Currently, there is no effective therapy for AD; however several studies have shown that the treatments with the peroxisome proliferators activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) agonists known as thiazolidinedione drugs (TZDs), like rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, attenuate neurodegeneration and improve cognition in mouse models and patients with mild-to-moderate AD. Furthermore, studies on animal models have shown that TZDs inhibit neuroinflammation, facilitate amyloid-βplaque clearance, enhance mitochondrial function, improve synaptic plasticity, and, more recently, attenuate tau hyperphosphorylation. How TZDs may improve or reduce these pathologic signs of AD and what the mechanisms and the implicated pathways in which these drugs work are are questions that remain to be answered. However, in this review, we will discuss several cellular targets, in which TZDs can be acting against the neurodegeneration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (25) ◽  
pp. 2263-2278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Md. Tanvir Kabir ◽  
Md. Jakaria ◽  
Eduardo Sobarzo-Sánchez ◽  
George E. Barreto ◽  
...  

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is progressive brain amyloidosis that damages brain regions associated with memory, thinking, behavioral and social skills. Neuropathologically, AD is characterized by intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated tau inclusions as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and buildup of extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide as senile plaques. Several biomarker tests capturing these pathologies have been developed. However, for the full clinical expression of the neurodegenerative events of AD, there exist other central molecular pathways. In terms of understanding the unidentified underlying processes for the progression and development of AD, a complete comprehension of the structure and composition of atypical aggregation of proteins is essential. Presently, to aid the prognosis, diagnosis, detection, and development of drug targets in AD, neuroproteomics is elected as one of the leading essential tools for the efficient exploratory discovery of prospective biomarker candidates estimated to play a crucial role. Therefore, the aim of this review is to present the role of neuroproteomics to analyze the complexity of AD.


2005 ◽  
Vol 116 (8) ◽  
pp. 1826-1834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Abásolo ◽  
Roberto Hornero ◽  
Pedro Espino ◽  
Jesús Poza ◽  
Clara I. Sánchez ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 352 (1363) ◽  
pp. 1781-1792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian H. Anderton

The brains of individuals, who are cognitively normal, show age–related changes that include an overall reduction in brain volume and weight, which are associated with gyral atrophy and widening of the sulci of the cerebral cortex, and enlargement of the brain ventricles. These changes are partly the result of nerve cell loss but accurate estimates of neuronal loss are notoriously difficult to make. Microscopically, there are increasing amounts of the age–related pigment, lipofuscin, granulovacuolar degeneration in neurons, Hirano bodies, variable amounts of diffuse deposits of β–amyloid in the parenchyma, the presence of neurofibrillary tangles mainly confined to the hippocampus and amygdala, and sparse numbers of senile plaques in these brain regions and also in other cortical areas. Of these changes, neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques are the neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease in which they are more abundant and widespread. Alzheimer's disease has therefore been regarded as accelerated brain ageing; however, the realization that there is a strong genetic contribution to developing the disease at least implies that it may not be the inevitable, even if frequent, consequence of old age. Understanding the molecular basis of plaque and tangle formation is advancing greatly and is the main focus of research into the cellular and molecular changes observed in the ageing brain.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Sordo ◽  
Alessandra C. Martini ◽  
E. Fiona Houston ◽  
Elizabeth Head ◽  
Danièlle Gunn-Moore

Elderly cats develop age-related behavioral and neuropathological changes that ultimately lead to cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). These neuropathologies share similarities to those seen in the brains of humans with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including the extracellular accumulation of ß-amyloid (Aβ) and intraneuronal deposits of hyperphosphorylated tau, which are considered to be the two major hallmarks of AD. The present study assessed the presence and distribution of Aβ and tau hyperphosphorylation within the cat brain (n = 55 cats), and how the distribution of these proteins changes with age and the presence of CDS. For this, immunohistochemistry was performed on seven brain regions from cats of various ages, with and without CDS (n = 10 with CDS). Cats accumulate both intracytoplasmic and extracellular deposits of Aβ, as well as intranuclear and intracytoplasmic hyperphosphorylated tau deposits. Large extracellular aggregates of Aβ were found in elderly cats, mainly in the cortical brain areas, with occasional hippocampal aggregates. This may suggest that these aggregates start in cortical areas and later progress to the hippocampus. While Aβ senile plaques in people with AD have a dense core, extracellular Aβ deposits in cats exhibited a diffuse pattern, similar to the early stages of plaque pathogenesis. Intraneuronal Aβ deposits were also observed, occurring predominantly in cortical brain regions of younger cats, while older cats had few to no intraneuronal Aβ deposits, especially when extracellular aggregates were abundant. Intracytoplasmic hyperphosphorylated tau was found within neurons in the brains of elderly cats, particularly in those with CDS. Due to their ultrastructural features, these deposits are considered to be pre-tangles, which are an early stage of the neurofibrillary tangles seen in AD. The largest numbers of pre-tangles are found mainly in the cerebral cortex of elderly cats, whereas lower numbers were found in other regions (i.e., entorhinal cortex and hippocampus). For the first time, intranuclear tau was found in both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated states within neurons in the cat brain. The highest numbers of intranuclear deposits were found in the cortex of younger cats, and this tended to decrease with age. In contrast, elderly cats with pre-tangles had only occasional or no nuclear labelling.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 882
Author(s):  
Paola Castrogiovanni ◽  
Cristina Sanfilippo ◽  
Rosa Imbesi ◽  
Grazia Maugeri ◽  
Debora Lo Furno ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, devastating, and irreversible brain disorder that, day by day, destroys memory skills and social behavior. Despite this, the number of known genes suitable for discriminating between AD patients is insufficient. Among the genes potentially involved in the development of AD, there are the chitinase-like proteins (CLPs) CHI3L1, CHI3L2, and CHID1. The genes of the first two have been extensively investigated while, on the contrary, little information is available on CHID1. In this manuscript, we conducted transcriptome meta-analysis on an extensive sample of brains of healthy control subjects (n = 1849) (NDHC) and brains of AD patients (n = 1170) in order to demonstrate CHID1 involvement. Our analysis revealed an inverse correlation between the brain CHID1 expression levels and the age of NDHC subjects. Significant differences were highlighted comparing CHID1 expression of NDHC subjects and AD patients. Exclusive in AD patients, the CHID1 expression levels were correlated positively to calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1) levels. Furthermore, both in NDHC and in AD patient’s brains, the CHID1 expression levels were directly correlated with calbindin 1 (CALB1) and neurogranin (NRGN). According to brain regions, correlation differences were shown between the expression levels of CHID1 in prefrontal, frontal, occipital, cerebellum, temporal, and limbic system. Sex-related differences were only highlighted in NDHC. CHID1 represents a new chitinase potentially involved in the principal processes underlying Alzheimer’s disease.


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