Incidental Germinoma of the Basal Ganglia : A Neuropathologic Study

Neuropathologic findings of a case of an incipient germinoma in the basal ganglia incidentally found in a twelve-year-old boy who died of an accidental head trauma are described. Germinoma cells, in groups or singly, infiltrated mainly into the anterior part of the lateral division of the globus pallidus, and also into the anterior limb of the internal capsule, putamen, nucleus basalis of Meynert, anterior commissure, and the head of the caudate nucleus of the left cerebral hemisphere. Fundamental cerebral structures were well preserved. Tumor cells were positively stained for placental alkaline phosphatase by the PAP method, and could easily be discriminated from remaining nerve cells

Neuropathologic Studies of Acute Multiple Sclerosis Mimicking Acute Encephalitis

Neuropathologic findings of acute multiple sclerosis mimicking acute encephalitis were described. The patient was a 42-year-old man with acute febrile encephalitic symptoms and signs such as high fever, unconsciousness and convulsive seizures, and a monophasic course of 18 days duration. Pathologically, numerous inflammatory demyelinating lesions were scattered mainly in the cerebral and cerebellar white matter, the internal capsules, the putamen, the brainstem and the optic nerves. In particular, the demyelinating lesions of the brainstem were extensive and confluent, whereas those in the right occipital lobe were small and perivenous, reminiscent of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Axons in these demyelinating lesions were well preserved, with a considerable number of macrophages and partial proliferation of protoplasmic astrocytes. There were no demyelinating lesions of concentric sclerosis type, which may occur in cases with acute multiple sclerosis. Pathological features in this case were typical of acute multiple sclerosis despite the symptoms and signs mimicking acute encephalitis and a clinical course of only 18 days duration

A New Serum Biomarker Set to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease by Peptidome Technology

Background: Because dementia is an emerging problem in the world, biochemical markers of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and radio-isotopic analyses are helpful for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although blood sample is more feasible and plausible than CSF or radiological biomarkers for screening potential AD, measurements of serum amyloid- β (Aβ), plasma tau, and serum antibodies for Aβ1 - 42 are not yet well established. Objective: We aimed to identify a new serum biomarker to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD in comparison to cognitively healthy control by a new peptidome technology. Methods: With only 1.5μl of serum, we examined a new target plate “BLOTCHIP®” plus a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS) to discriminate control (n = 100), MCI (n = 60), and AD (n = 99). In some subjects, cognitive Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were compared to positron emission tomography (PET) with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) and the serum probability of dementia (SPD). The mother proteins of candidate serum peptides were examined in autopsied AD brains. Results: Apart from Aβ or tau, the present study discovered a new diagnostic 4-peptides-set biomarker for discriminating control, MCI, and AD with 87% of sensitivity and 65% of specificity between control and AD (***p  Conclusion: The present serum biomarker set provides a new, rapid, non-invasive, highly quantitative and low-cost clinical application for dementia screening, and also suggests an alternative pathomechanism of AD for neuroinflammation and neurovascular unit damage