Human neural stem cell transplantation in ALS: initial results from a phase I trial

We report the initial results from a phase I clinical trial for ALS. We transplanted GMP-grade, fetal human neural stem cells from natural in utero death (hNSCs) into the anterior horns of the spinal cord to test for the safety of both cells and neurosurgical procedures in these patients. The trial was approved by the Istituto Superiore di Sanit\ue0 and the competent Ethics Committees and was monitored by an external Safety Board

Prokaryotic Response to Phytodetritus-Derived Organic Material in Epi- and Mesopelagic Antarctic Waters

Particulate organic matter (POM) export represents the underlying principle of the biological carbon pump, driving the carbon flux from the sunlit to the dark ocean. The efficiency of this process is tightly linked to the prokaryotic community, as >70% of POM respiration is carried out by particle-associated prokaryotes. In the Ross Sea, one of the most productive areas of the Southern Ocean, up to 50% of the surface primary production is exported to the mesopelagic ocean as POM. Recent evidence suggests that a significant fraction of the POM in this area is composed of intact phytoplankton cells. During austral summer 2017, we set up bottle enrichment experiments in which we amended free-living surface and deep prokaryotic communities with organic matter pools generated from native microplankton, mimicking the particle export that may derive from mild (1 \u3bcg of Chlorophyll a L-1) and intense (10 \u3bcg of Chlorophyll a L-1) phytoplankton bloom. Over a course of 4 days, we followed free-living and particle-attached prokaryotes' abundance, the degradation rates of polysaccharides, proteins and lipids, heterotrophic production as well as inorganic carbon utilization and prokaryotic community structure dynamics. Our results showed that several rare or undetected taxa in the initial community became dominant during the time course of the incubations and that different phytodetritus-derived organic matter sources induced specific changes in microbial communities, selecting for peculiar degradation and utilization processes spectra. Moreover, the features of the supplied detritus (in terms of microplankton taxa composition) determined different colonization dynamics and organic matter processing modes. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms underlying the prokaryotic utilization of phytodetritus, a significant pool of organic matter in the dark ocean

Abnormal motor cortex plasticity in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

AbstractPurposeAbnormal cortical plasticity has been hypothesized to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). To study the motor cortical plasticity we used paired associative stimulation (PAS). When a repetitive electrical stimulus to the median nerve is paired with a transcranial magnetic stimulus (TMS) pulse over the controlateral motor cortex with at an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 21.5–25ms, a long term potentiation (LTP)-like synaptic plasticity is induced in the corticospinal system.Aim of this study was to investigate the motor cortex LTP-like synaptic plasticity by means of PAS in patients with JME.MethodsTwelve adult patients with JME were compared with 13 healthy subjects of similar age and sex. PAS consisted of 180 electrical stimuli of the right median nerve paired with a single TMS over the hotspot of right abductor pollicis brevis (APB) at an ISI of 25ms (PAS25). We measured motor evoked potentials (MEPs) before and after each intervention for up to 30min.ResultsIn healthy subjects the PAS25 protocol was followed by a significant increase of the MEP amplitude (p<0.001). On the contrary, in patients with JME, the MEP amplitude did not change.ConclusionDefective motor cortex plasticity is likely involved in the pathogenesis of JME