Phenotypic Heterogeneity among GBA p.R202X Carriers in Lewy Body Spectrum Disorders

We describe the clinical and neuropathologic features of patients with Lewy body spectrum disorder (LBSD) carrying a nonsense variant, c.604C>T; p.R202X, in the glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA) gene. While this GBA variant is causative for Gaucher’s disease, the pathogenic role of this mutation in LBSD is unclear. Detailed neuropathologic evaluation was performed for one index case and a structured literature review of other GBA p.R202X carriers was conducted. Through the systematic literature search, we identified three additional reported subjects carrying the same GBA mutation, including one Parkinson’s disease (PD) patient with early disease onset, one case with neuropathologically-verified LBSD, and one unaffected relative of a Gaucher’s disease patient. Among the affected subjects carrying the GBA p.R202X, all males were diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, while the two females presented as PD. The clinical penetrance of GBA p.R202X in LBSD patients and families argues strongly for a pathogenic role for this variant, although presenting with a striking phenotypic heterogeneity of clinical and pathological features.

Detection and Functional Evaluation of the P2X7 Receptor in hiPSC Derived Neurons and Microglia-Like Cells

A large body of evidence suggests the involvement of the ATP-gated purinergic receptor P2X7 (P2X7R) in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. While it is well-described to be present and functional on microglia cells contributing to inflammatory responses, some reports suggest a neuronal expression of the receptor as well. Here, we present experimental results showing P2X7 receptors to be expressed on human hiPSC-derived microglia-like cells, hiPSC-derived neuronal progenitors and hiPSC-derived matured neuronal cells. By applying cell surface protein detection assays, we show that P2X7R is not localized on the cell membrane, despite being detected in neuronal cells and thus may not be available for directly mediating neurotoxicity. On hiPSC-derived microglia-like cells, a clear membranous expression was detected. Additionally, we have not observed differences in P2X7R functions between control and familial Alzheimer’s disease patient-derived neuronal cells. Functional assays employing a P2X7R antagonist JNJ 47965567 confirm these findings by showing P2X7R-dependent modulation of microglia-like cells viability upon treatment with P2X7R agonists ATP and BzATP, while the same effect was absent from neuronal cells. Since the majority of P2X7R research was done on rodent models, our work on human hiPSC-derived cells presents a valuable contribution to the field, extending the work on animal models to the human cellular system and toward clinical translation.

Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 3-D

Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against cell nuclei and involves many organ systems in the body. The etiopathology of SLE is thought to involve complex and multifactorial interactions between genetic variation and environmental factors. Hyperthyroidism is a disease due to increased thyroid hormone function followed by signs and symptoms that affect the body's metabolic system. Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of antibodies to TSHR (TRAb). Several coexisting autoimmune diseases have been classified under different syndromes. Case Presentation: A woman, 29 years-old, came to office with complaint of chest palpitation. Patient had history of fever, joint pain, hair loss, and malar rash. Patient had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism for 4 years and regularly taking propylthiouracil 100 mg and propranolol 10 mg. Titer ANA Test 1/100, Anti ds-DNA 68.08, C3-Complement 93 (N: 83-193), C4-Complement 11.2 (N: 15-57), Free T3 7.79 (N: 1.71-3.71), Free -T4 2.50 (N: 0.70-1.48), TSHs 0.0001 (N: 0.350-4.94), TRAb 3.38 (N: < 1.75). Patient was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and graves’ disease. Patient treated with methimazole 10 mg, propranolol 10 mg, myfortic 360 mg, and methylprednisolone 4 mg. Conclusion: Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndromes (APS) was at first characterized as different endocrine organ diseases related to an immune system disease in a subject. Hence, affiliation between illnesses in APS was noted not to be irregular but in specific combinations in which a few non-endocrine immune system diseases were moreover portion of the disorders.

Comprehensive Multi-cohort Transcriptional Meta-analysis of Muscle Diseases Identifies a Signature of Disease Severity

Muscle diseases share common pathological features suggesting common underlying mechanisms. We hypothesized there is a common set of genes dysregulated across muscle diseases compared to healthy muscle and that these genes correlate with severity of muscle disease. We performed meta-analysis of transcriptional profiles of muscle biopsies from human muscle diseases and healthy controls. Studies obtained from public microarray repositories fulfilling quality criteria were divided into six categories: i) Immobility, ii) inflammatory myopathies, iii) ICU acquired weakness (ICUAW), iv) congenital muscle diseases, v) chronic systemic diseases, vi) motor neuron disease. Patient cohorts were separated in discovery and validation cohorts retaining roughly equal proportions of samples for the disease categories. To remove bias towards a specific muscle disease category we repeated the meta-analysis five times by removing data sets corresponding to one muscle disease class at a time in a “leave-one-disease-out” analysis. We used 636 muscle tissue samples from 30 independent cohorts to identify a 52 gene signature (36 up-regulated and 16 down-regulated genes). We validated the discriminatory power of this signature in 657 muscle biopsies from 12 additional patient cohorts encompassing five categories of muscle diseases with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.91, 83% sensitivity, and 85.3% specificity. The expression score of the gene signature inversely correlated with quadriceps muscle mass (r =-0.50, p-value = 0.011) in ICUAW and shoulder abduction strength (r=-0.77, p-value = 0.014) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The signature also positively correlated with histologic assessment of muscle atrophy in ALS (r=0.88, p-value=1.62x10−3) and fibrosis in muscular dystrophy (Jonckheere trend test p-value = 4.45 x 10−9). Our results identify a conserved transcriptional signature associated with clinical and histologic muscle disease severity. Several genes in this conserved signature have not been previously associated with muscle disease severity.

Complete pathological response of colorectal peritoneal metastases in Lynch syndrome after immunotherapy case report: is a paradigm shift in cytoreductive surgery needed?

Background We report the first case of a patient affected by peritoneal metastases from colon cancer, arising in the context of Lynch syndrome with pathological complete response. The patient was treated with immunotherapy and cytoreductive surgery. This paper discusses the implications of these novel therapies for the management of PM. Case presentation A 50-year-old man affected by Lynch syndrome was referred to our institution for metachronous peritoneal recurrence of ascending colon adenocarcinoma. As a second-line treatment, he received Nivolumab therapy with stable disease. Patient underwent cytoreductive surgery with residual disease and a pathological complete response. Flow cytometry described a particular immune sub-population response. There was no evidence of disease progression after nine months. Conclusion This is the first report of a Lynch patient affected by peritoneal metastases of colorectal cancer, treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and resulting in a pathological complete response after immune checkpoint inhibitors treatment (ICIs). This case report may suggest that patients with peculiar immunological features could benefit from a tailored approach, since “classical” CRS paradigms may not effectively predict the clinical outcome. Further large-scale studies are needed to determine the correct operative management of such patients (tailored or “standard” CRS), defining the correct surgical timing and eventual discontinuation of ICI therapy after surgery.

Polyglandular Autoimmune Syndrome Type 3D : A Case Report

Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against cell nuclei and involves many organ systems in the body. The etiopathology of SLE is thought to involve complex and multifactorial interactions between genetic variation and environmental factors. Hyperthyroidism is a disease due to increased thyroid hormone function followed by signs and symptoms that affect the body's metabolic system. Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of antibodies to TSHR (TRAb). Several coexisting autoimmune diseases have been classified under different syndromes. Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome (PGAS),Case Presentation: A woman, 29 years-old, came to office with complaint of chest palpitation. Patient had history of fever, joint pain, hair loss, and malar rash. Patient had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism for 4 years and regularly taking propylthiouracil 100 mg and propranolol 10 mg. Titer ANA Test 1/100, Anti ds-DNA 68.08, C3-Complement 93 (N: 83-193), C4-Complement 11.2 (N: 15-57), Free T3 7.79 (N: 1.71-3.71), Free -T4 2.50 (N: 0.70-1.48), TSHs 0.0001 (N: 0.350-4.94), TRAb 3.38 (N: &lt; 1.75). Patient was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and grave's disease. Patient treated with methimazole 10 mg, propranolol 10 mg, myfortic 360 mg, and methylprednisolone 4 mg.Conclusion: Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndromes (APS) was at first characterized as different endocrine organ diseases related to an immune system disease in a subject. Hence, affiliation between illnesses in APS was noted not to be irregular but in specific combinations in which a few non-endocrine immune system diseases were moreover portion of the disorders.

Case Report: Bilateral Deep Brain Stimulation Implantation on Different Targets for a Parkinson's Disease Patient With a Bullet in the Brain

Patients requiring deep brain stimulation due to intracerebral metallic foreign substances have not been reported elsewhere in the world. Additionally, the long-term effects of metallic foreign bodies on deep brain stimulation (DBS) are unknown. A 79-year-old man with a 5-year history of Parkinson's disease (PD) reported that, 40 years ago, while playing with a pistol, a metallic bullet was accidentally discharged into the left brain through the edge of the left eye, causing no discomfort other than blurry vision in the left eye. DBS was performed due to the short duration of efficacy for oral medication. Because the bullet was on the left subthalamic nucleus (STN) electrode trajectory and the patient's right limb was primarily stiff, the patient received globus pallidus interna (GPi)-DBS implantation in the left hemisphere and STN-DBS implantation in the right hemisphere. During a 6-month postoperative follow-up, the patient's PD symptoms were effectively managed with no noticeable discomfort.

A Crohn’s Disease Patient with Extraintestinal Manifestations: A Case Report

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic debilitating inflammatory disease which mostly affect gastrointestinal tract, but due to its unique features, CD enables to affect extraintestinal organs. Pathophysiology of extraintestinal manifestations is still debatable as many experts propose immune-related hypotheses. It is still unpredictable which manifestation precedes another as studies ongoing. Diagnosing CD is difficult since no gold standards available, therefore clinicians must combine history taking, diagnostic modalities, and a good clinical judgement to diagnose CD. Treatment for CD is not only to treat disease activity, but also to prevent complications to preserve patients’ quality of life.

New Nutritional Perspectives in the Context of Chronic Disease Patient Management

As living standards change with the development of modern industry and social encounters, people tend to change their lifestyle and environment exposure along with their psychophysiological factors, leading to an imbalance of homeostasis and increasing the risk for chronic diseases. In addition to ingredients, methods, and food conditions storage and processing, the use of additives and certain new foods have facilitated the increased occurrence of chronic diseases in children or adults. The interaction of some components of the food system with enzymes that metabolize different types of drugs can affect the body's clearance and therapeutic index.The objective of this chapter was to present the general principles of food development for special nutritional conditions, also the adjuvants used for chronic disease status improvement, under the condition of nutritional nutrivigilence and food safety standards, and specific to introduce an adjuvant food for atopic dermatitis management.