Thalamic activity that drives visual cortical plasticity

Manipulations of activity in one retina can profoundly affect binocular connections in the visual cortex. Retinal activity is relayed to the cortex by the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). We compared the qualities and amount of activity in the dLGN following monocular eyelid closure and monocular retinal inactivation in awake mice. Our findings substantially alter the interpretation of previous studies and define the afferent activity patterns that trigger cortical plasticity.National Eye InstituteNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (National Research Service Award fellowship

Effectiveness and safety of opicapone in Parkinson’s disease patients with motor fluctuations: the OPTIPARK open-label study

Background The efficacy and safety of opicapone, a once-daily catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor, have been established in two large randomized, placebo-controlled, multinational pivotal trials. Still, clinical evidence from routine practice is needed to complement the data from the pivotal trials. Methods OPTIPARK (NCT02847442) was a prospective, open-label, single-arm trial conducted in Germany and the UK under clinical practice conditions. Patients with Parkinson’s disease and motor fluctuations were treated with opicapone 50 mg for 3 (Germany) or 6 (UK) months in addition to their current levodopa and other antiparkinsonian treatments. The primary endpoint was the Clinician’s Global Impression of Change (CGI-C) after 3 months. Secondary assessments included Patient Global Impressions of Change (PGI-C), the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8), and the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS). Safety assessments included evaluation of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs). Results Of the 506 patients enrolled, 495 (97.8%) took at least one dose of opicapone. Of these, 393 (79.4%) patients completed 3 months of treatment. Overall, 71.3 and 76.9% of patients experienced any improvement on CGI-C and PGI-C after 3 months, respectively (full analysis set). At 6 months, for UK subgroup only (n = 95), 85.3% of patients were judged by investigators as improved since commencing treatment. UPDRS scores at 3 months showed statistically significant improvements in activities of daily living during OFF (mean ± SD change from baseline: − 3.0 ± 4.6, p < 0.0001) and motor scores during ON (− 4.6 ± 8.1, p < 0.0001). The mean ± SD improvements of − 3.4 ± 12.8 points for PDQ-8 and -6.8 ± 19.7 points for NMSS were statistically significant versus baseline (both p < 0.0001). Most of TEAEs (94.8% of events) were of mild or moderate intensity. TEAEs considered to be at least possibly related to opicapone were reported for 45.1% of patients, with dyskinesia (11.5%) and dry mouth (6.5%) being the most frequently reported. Serious TEAEs considered at least possibly related to opicapone were reported for 1.4% of patients. Conclusions Opicapone 50 mg was effective and generally well-tolerated in PD patients with motor fluctuations treated in clinical practice. Trial registration Registered in July 2016 at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02847442)

Rapid Structural Remodeling of Thalamocortical Synapses Parallels Experience-Dependent Functional Plasticity in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

Monocular lid closure (MC) causes a profound shift in the ocular dominance (OD) of neurons in primary visual cortex (V1). Anatomical studies in both cat and mouse V1 suggest that large-scale structural rearrangements of eye-specific thalamocortical (TC) axons in response to MC occur much more slowly than the shift in OD. Consequently, there has been considerable debate as to whether the plasticity of TC synapses, which transmit competing visual information from each eye to V1, contributes to the early functional consequences of MC or is simply a feature of long-term deprivation. Here, we used quantitative immuno-electron microscopy to examine the possibility that alterations of TC synapses occur rapidly enough to impact OD after brief MC. The effect of short-term deprivation on TC synaptic structure was examined in male C57BL/6 mice that underwent 3 and 7 d of MC or monocular retinal inactivation (MI) with tetrodotoxin. The data show that 3 d of MC is sufficient to induce substantial remodeling of TC synapses. In contrast, 3 d of MI, which alters TC activity but does not shift OD, does not significantly affect the structure of TC synapses. Our results support the hypothesis that the rapid plasticity of TC synapses is a key step in the sequence of events that shift OD in visual cortex.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (F31NS059189)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (K25NS052422)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (RO1EY12138)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (RO1EYO12309

URBAN GEOCHEMICAL STUDIES IN EUROPE

Urban soil is generally contaminated to a variable degree depending on its proximity to contamination sources. Traffic is one of the main sources of urban contamination; lead (Pb) from the use of leaded petrol, zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) from tyre wear, antimony (Sb) from break pads, and the platinum group elements (PGEs) from the wear of catalytic converters, are some typical elements that often reach high concentrations in the urban environment. Lead was also a key ingredient in white paint, and in towns with a high proportion of white wooden houses very high concentrations were found in soil. Crematoria can or have emitted mercury (Hg). Coal and heavy oil fired municipal power and heating stations emit sulphur (S), silver (Ag), vanadium (V), bromine (Br) and barium (Ba). The use of impregnated wood may have resulted in high concentrations of arsenic (As), especially in kindergartens (nursery schools) and playgrounds. Building materials (plaster and paint) may also contain high concentrations of organic contaminants, especially polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which again end up in urban soil. Coal and wood burning, the use of diesel fuel, and the production of coke, all lead to the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). There exist countless other sources of local contamination in towns, and there is thus every reason to be concerned about the quality of the urban environment, and the suitability of soil for sensitive land uses, such as schools, playgrounds, parks and vegetable gardens. Contaminated urban soil may contaminate indoor dust and, therefore, to an increased human exposure to toxic chemicals. Consequently, the distribution of toxic contaminants in urban soil needs to be documented and known by city administration to avoid costly mistakes in land use planning, and further spreading of highly contaminated materials. The EuroGeoSurveys \u2018Geochemistry\u2019 Expert Group during the compilation of a proposal to the Directors for a European wide urban geochemistry project, using a harmonised sampling and analytical methodology, it discovered that many urban geochemical studies have been performed in Europe by National Geological Surveys, which are not known to the wider geoscientific community. Since, the results of these studies are directly related to our quality of life, the EuroGeoSurveys \u2018Geo chemistry\u2019 Expert Group decided to publish at least one case study from each country in a book,which will be available in the second half of 2010. A concise description of some of these studies will be given in this paper

Geochemical atlases of Europe produced by the EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group: state of progress and potential uses.

An ‘Atlas’is a collection of maps usually published in a book form. A ‘Geochemical Atlas’is a thematic special purpose atlas with maps describing the geographical distribution of chemical elements and other physico-chemical parameters in different natural sample media, such as stream sediment, overbank or floodplain sediment, stream water, ground water, soil, plants, etc. Because our standard of living and health depend closely on the chemistry of near-surface materials, such atlases that provide data on the state of our environment are important for policy and decision makers, but also for researchers and citizens alike. The EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group is dedicated to provide harmonised multi-purpose geochemical data bases, and has already published the Geochemical Atlas of Europe, and is in the process of preparing the Atlas of Ground water eochemistry of Europe, and the Atlas of Agricultural and Grazing Land Soils. An important aspect is that all raw data, quality control information, statistics, maps and interpretation texts are freely available for downloading through the internet