Dural arteriovenous fistula and sinus thrombosis presenting as parkinsonism and dementia: a case report with literature review

IntroductionDural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) is an uncommon malformation involving an abnormal connection between dural arteries, or the pachymeningeal branches of cerebral arteries, and dural veins. Its exact pathogenesis remains elusive. Known potential triggers for DAVF include cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), trauma, ear infections, and cranial surgeries. Due to its rarity and diverse clinical presentations, diagnosing DAVF can be a challenge.Case descriptionWe present a case of DAVF associated with CVST, manifesting as rapidly advancing parkinsonism accompanied by dementia over a month. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed bilateral symmetric T2 hyperintensities in the basal ganglia and brain stem. Cerebral angiography further confirmed a fistula between the torcular herophili and the transverse-sigmoid sinuses. Despite strong recommendations for transvenous embolization of the fistula, the patient declined the procedure. The anticoagulant therapy and symptomatic treatments administered did not yield any improvement in the patient’s condition. Additionally, we reviewed 27 DAVF-derived parkinsonism and dementia cases.ConclusionDAVF must be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases of rapidly progressive parkinsonism with concurrent dementia. Given its potential for treatment and reversibility, timely diagnosis and intervention for DAVF are paramount

Building Pathways: Nurturing a Female Generation of School Leaders in China

International feminist perspectives recognize the continuing inequalities of power between men and women across all classes. In China’s male-dominant society, for example, women often have been inhibited from pursuing leadership positions. One particular reason that has been drawing increasing attention across the world is the lack of appropriate training and guidance in young women’s leadership. This paper probes in greater depth one of the most important, yet largely overlooked aspects in the educational leadership of China – women’s leadership roles in education and young women’s leadership preparation. Drawing from published data, literature, and the data collected by the authors, the paper provides an overview of women’ leadership roles in education and the barriers to young women’s leadership aspirations, highlights gaps in young females’ leadership preparation in China, and identifies the implications for future research and practice. By capturing these views, insights and knowledge, the paper explores the promise and potential of nurturing a new female generation of educational leaders. Although there are past studies focusing on women’s leadership in China, relatively little is known about Chinese women in education leadership especially their leadership development in education. This paper fills a gap in the literature and brings light to an overlooked aspect involving China’s school leader development

Biosensing Technologies for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Detection: Status and New Developments

Biosensing technologies promise to improve Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) detection and management in clinical diagnosis, food analysis, bioprocess, and environmental monitoring. A variety of portable, rapid, and sensitive biosensors with immediate “on-the-spot” interpretation have been developed for M. tuberculosis detection based on different biological elements recognition systems and basic signal transducer principles. Here, we present a synopsis of current developments of biosensing technologies for M. tuberculosis detection, which are classified on the basis of basic signal transducer principles, including piezoelectric quartz crystal biosensors, electrochemical biosensors, and magnetoelastic biosensors. Special attention is paid to the methods for improving the framework and analytical parameters of the biosensors, including sensitivity and analysis time as well as automation of analysis procedures. Challenges and perspectives of biosensing technologies development for M. tuberculosis detection are also discussed in the final part of this paper

Vestibular dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease: a neglected topic

Dizziness and postural instability are frequently observed symptoms in patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD), potentially linked to vestibular dysfunction. Despite their significant impact on quality of life, these symptoms are often overlooked and undertreated in clinical practice. This review aims to summarize symptoms associated with vestibular dysfunction in patients with PD and discusses vestibular-targeted therapies for managing non-specific dizziness and related symptoms. We conducted searches in PubMed and Web of Science using keywords related to vestibular dysfunction, Parkinson’s disease, dizziness, and postural instability, alongside the reference lists of relevant articles. The available evidence suggests the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction-related symptoms in patients with PD and supports the idea that vestibular-targeted therapies may be effective in improving PD symptoms

Case report: Reversible encephalopathy caused by dyskinesia-hyperpyrexia syndrome

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder. Some patients with advanced-stage disease are accompanied by emergencies and critical issues such as dyskinesia-hyperpyrexia syndrome (DHS), parkinsonism-hyperpyrexia syndrome (PHS), and serotonin syndrome (SS). In this study, we report a patient with reversible encephalopathy caused by DHS who presented with an acute onset of fidgetiness, dyskinesia, and hyperpyrexia after antiparkinsonian drug abuse. In the present case, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple abnormal signals in the cortex and subcortex of the bilateral parietal and occipital lobes that resolved within weeks, which coincided with the characteristic MRI findings in posterior reversible encephalopathy (PRES). Our report expands on the neuroimaging features of DHS and highlights the importance of early identification, diagnosis, and treatment to improve patient prognosis

Application of weighted gene co-expression network and immune infiltration for explorations of key genes in the brain of elderly COVID-19 patients

IntroductionAlthough many studies have demonstrated the existing neurological symptoms in COVID-19 patients, the mechanisms are not clear until now. This study aimed to figure out the critical molecular and immune infiltration situations in the brain of elderly COVID-19 patients.MethodsGSE188847 was used for the differential analysis, WGCNA, and immune infiltration analysis. We also performed GO, KEGG, GSEA, and GSVA for the enrich analysis.Results266 DEGs, obtained from the brain samples of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients whose ages were over 70 years old, were identified. GO and KEGG analysis revealed the enrichment in synapse and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction in COVID-19 patients. Further analysis found that asthma and immune system signal pathways were significant changes based on GSEA and GSVA. Immune infiltration analysis demonstrated the imbalance of CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, and HLA. The MEpurple module genes were the most significantly different relative to COVID-19. Finally, RPS29, S100A10, and TIMP1 were the critical genes attributed to the progress of brain damage.ConclusionRPS29, S100A10, and TIMP1 were the critical genes in the brain pathology of COVID-19 in elderly patients. Our research has revealed a new mechanism and a potential therapeutic target

Case report: Desquamating dermatitis, bilateral cerebellar lesions in a late-onset methylmalonic acidemia patient

IntroductionCobalamin C (cblC) deficiency is a rare hereditary disorder affecting intracellular cobalamin metabolism, primarily caused by mutations in MMACHC. This condition is characterized by combined methylmalonic acidemia and hyperhomocysteinemia, displaying a wide range of clinical manifestations involving multiple organs. Owing to its uncommon occurrence and diverse clinical phenotypes, diagnosing cblC deficiency is challenging and often leads to delayed or missed diagnoses.Case descriptionIn this report, we present a case of late-onset cblC deficiency with brown desquamating dermatitis on the buttocks. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed bilateral cerebellar abnormalities. The suspicion of an inherited metabolic disorder was raised by abnormal serum amino acid and acylcarnitine levels, along with increased urine methylmalonic acid and serum homocysteine levels. Whole-exome sequencing helped identify a homozygous variant (c.482G>A) in MMACHC, confirming the diagnosis of cblC deficiency. However, despite receiving treatment with hydroxocobalamin and betaine, the patient did not experience clinical improvement, which may be attributed to the delayed diagnosis as indicated by the declining homocysteine and methylmalonic acid levels.ConclusionCollectively, we emphasize the significance of recognizing the skin lesions and observing serial MRI changes in patients with cblC deficiency. Our case underscores the importance of early diagnosis and timely therapeutic intervention for this severe yet frequently manageable condition

Electrophysiological correlates of emotional source memory in high-trait-anxiety individuals

The interaction between recognition memory and emotion has become a research hotspot in recent years. Dual process theory posits that familiarity and recollection are two separate processes contributing to recognition memory, but further experimental evidence is needed. The present study explored the emotional context effects on successful and unsuccessful source retrieval amongst 15 high-trait-anxiety college students by using event-related potentials (ERPs) measurement. During study, a happy, fearful, or neutral face picture first was displayed, then a Chinese word was superimposed centrally on the picture and subjects were asked to remember the word and the corresponding type of picture. During the test participants were instructed to press one of four buttons to indicate whether the displayed word was an old or new word. And then, for the old word, indicate whether it had been shown with a fearful, happy, or neutral face during the study. ERPs were generally more positive for remembered words than for new words and the ERP difference was termed as an old/new effect. It was found that, for successful source retrieval (it meant both the item and the source were remembered accurately) between 500 and 700 ms (corresponding to a late positive component, LPC), there were significant old/new effects in all contexts. However, for unsuccessful source retrieval (it meant the correct recognition of old items matched with incorrect source attribution), there were no significant old/new effects in happy and neutral contexts, though significant old/new effects were observed in the fearful context. Between 700 and 1200 ms (corresponding to a late slow wave, LSW), there were significant old/new effects for successful source retrieval in happy and neutral contexts. However, in the fearful context, the old/new effects were reversed, ERPs were more negative for successful source retrieval compared to correct rejections. Moreover, there were significant emotion effects for successful source retrieval at this time window. Further analysis showed ERPs of old items were more negative in fearful context than in neutral context. The results showed that early unsuccessful fearful source retrieval processes (related to familiarity) were enhanced, but late successful fearful source retrieval processes during source retrieval monitoring (related to recollection) were weakened. This provided preliminary evidence for the dual processing theory

Comparative studies of salinomycin-loaded nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation and single emulsion method

To establish a satisfactory delivery system for the delivery of salinomycin (Sal), a novel, selective cancer stem cell inhibitor with prominent toxicity, gelatinase-responsive core-shell nanoparticles (NPs), were prepared by nanoprecipitation method (NR-NPs) and single emulsion method (SE-NPs). The gelatinase-responsive copolymer was prepared by carboxylation and double amination method. We studied the stability of NPs prepared by nanoprecipitation method with different proportions of F68 in aqueous phase to determine the best proportion used in our study. Then, the NPs were prepared by nanoprecipitation method with the best proportion of F68 and single emulsion method, and their physiochemical traits including morphology, particle size, zeta potential, drug loading content, stability, and in vitro release profiles were studied. The SE-NPs showed significant differences in particle size, drug loading content, stability, and in vitro release profiles compared to NR-NPs. The SE-NPs presented higher drug entrapment efficiency and superior stability than the NR-NPs. The drug release rate of SE-NPs was more sustainable than that of the NR-NPs, and in vivo experiment indicated that NPs could prominently reduce the toxicity of Sal. Our study demonstrates that the SE-NPs could be a satisfactory method for the preparation of gelatinase-responsive NPs for intelligent delivery of Sal