The 'full-blown' MRI of sudden hearing loss: 3D FLAIR in a patient with bilateral metastases in the internal auditory canals

We report a case of a 57-year-old man with bilateral masses in the internal auditory canal. The peculiar findings at magnetic resonance imaging with tridimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence combined with clinical data provided new insights into understanding the pathophysiology of the hearing loss

α-Synuclein Aggregated with Tau and β-Amyloid in Human Platelets from Healthy Subjects: Correlation with Physical Exercise

The loss of protein homeostasis that has been associated with aging leads to altered levels and conformational instability of proteins, which tend to form toxic aggregates. In particular, brain aging presents characteristic patterns of misfolded oligomers, primarily constituted of β-amyloid (Aβ), tau, and α-synuclein (α-syn), which can accumulate in neuronal membranes or extracellular compartments. Such aging-related proteins can also reach peripheral compartments, thus suggesting the possibility to monitor their accumulation in more accessible fluids. In this respect, we have demonstrated that α-syn forms detectable hetero-aggregates with Aβ or tau in red blood cells (RBCs) of healthy subjects. In particular, α-syn levels and its heteromeric interactions are modulated by plasma antioxidant capability (AOC), which increases in turn with physical activity. In order to understand if a specific distribution of misfolded proteins can occur in other blood cells, a cohort of human subjects was enrolled to establish a correlation among AOC, the level of physical exercise and the concentrations of aging-related proteins in platelets. The healthy subjects were divided depending on their level of physical exercise (i.e., athletes and sedentary subjects) and their age (young and older subjects). Herein, aging-related proteins (i.e., α-syn, tau and Aβ) were confirmed to be present in human platelets. Among such proteins, platelet tau concentration was demonstrated to decrease in athletes, while α-syn and Aβ did not correlate with physical exercise. For the first time, α-syn was shown to directly interact with Aβ and tau in platelets, forming detectable hetero-complexes. Interestingly, α-syn interaction with tau was inversely related to plasma AOC and to the level of physical activity. These results suggested that α-syn heterocomplexes, particularly with tau, could represent novel indicators to monitor aging-related proteins in platelets

Brain hemodynamic intermediate phenotype links Vitamin B12 to cognitive profile of healthy and mild cognitive impaired subjects

Vitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine are implicated in pivotal neurodegenerative mechanisms and partake in elders' mental decline. Findings on the association between vitamin-related biochemistry and cognitive abilities suggest that the structural and functional properties of the brain may represent an intermediate biomarker linking vitamin concentrations to cognition. Despite this, no previous study directly investigated whether vitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine levels are sufficient to explain individual neuropsychological profiles or, alternatively, whether the activity of brain regions modulated by these compounds better predicts cognition in elders. Here, we measured the relationship between vitamin blood concentrations, scores at seventeen neuropsychological tests, and brain activity of sixty-five elders spanning from normal to Mild Cognitive Impairment. We then evaluated whether task-related brain responses represent an intermediate phenotype, providing a better prediction of subjects' neuropsychological scores, as compared to the one obtained considering blood biochemistry only. We found that the hemodynamic activity of the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was positively associated (p value < 0 05 cluster corrected) with vitamin B12 concentrations, suggesting that elders with higher B12 levels had a more pronounced recruitment of this salience network region. Crucially, the activity of this area significantly predicted subjects' visual search and attention abilities (p value = 0 0023), whereas B12 levels per se failed to do so. Our results demonstrate that the relationship between blood biochemistry and elders' cognitive abilities is revealed when brain activity is included into the equation, thus highlighting the role of brain imaging as intermediate phenotype.Vitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine are implicated in pivotal neurodegenerative mechanisms and partake in elders' mental decline. Findings on the association between vitamin-related biochemistry and cognitive abilities suggest that the structural and functional properties of the brain may represent an intermediate biomarker linking vitamin concentrations to cognition. Despite this, no previous study directly investigated whether vitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine levels are sufficient to explain individual neuropsychological profiles or, alternatively, whether the activity of brain regions modulated by these compounds better predicts cognition in elders. Here, we measured the relationship between vitamin blood concentrations, scores at seventeen neuropsychological tests, and brain activity of sixty-five elders spanning from normal to Mild Cognitive Impairment. We then evaluated whether task-related brain responses represent an intermediate phenotype, providing a better prediction of subjects' neuropsychological scores, as compared to the one obtained considering blood biochemistry only. We found that the hemodynamic activity of the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was positively associated (p value < 0 05 cluster corrected) with vitamin B12 concentrations, suggesting that elders with higher B12 levels had a more pronounced recruitment of this salience network region. Crucially, the activity of this area significantly predicted subjects' visual search and attention abilities (p value = 0 0023), whereas B12 levels per se failed to do so. Our results demonstrate that the relationship between blood biochemistry and elders' cognitive abilities is revealed when brain activity is included into the equation, thus highlighting the role of brain imaging as intermediate phenotype

Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study

Age-related cognitive impairment and dementia are an increasing societal burden. Epidemiological studies indicate that lifestyle factors, e.g. physical, cognitive and social activities, correlate with reduced dementia risk; moreover, positive effects on cognition of physical/cognitive training have been found in cognitively unimpaired elders. Less is known about effectiveness and action mechanisms of physical/cognitive training in elders already suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for dementia. We assessed in 113 MCI subjects aged 65-89 years, the efficacy of combined physical-cognitive training on cognitive decline, Gray Matter (GM) volume loss and Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) in hippocampus and parahippocampal areas, and on brain-blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) activity elicited by a cognitive task, measured by ADAS-Cog scale, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) and fMRI, respectively, before and after 7 months of training vs. usual life. Cognitive status significantly decreased in MCI-no training and significantly increased in MCI-training subjects; training increased parahippocampal CBF, but no effect on GM volume loss was evident; BOLD activity increase, indicative of neural efficiency decline, was found only in MCI-no training subjects. These results show that a non pharmacological, multicomponent intervention improves cognitive status and indicators of brain health in MCI subjects

Regression of Benedikt's syndrome after single-stage removal of mesencephalic cavernoma and temporal meningioma: A case report

We herein report a unique association of midbrain cavernoma and Benedikt’s syndrome (BS) that was reversed after microsur- gical removal of the lesion

Psychosocial risk factors' impact pathway for social life cycle assessment: an application to citrus life cycles in South Italy

International audiencePurpose: Social life cycle assessment (SLCA) was the last tool to be developed within the framework of life cycle thinking, and since the beginning, there has been a struggle to reach a consensus on a standardized methodology. In fact, many different methodological proposals have been published, diverging on many points. The main difference lies in the epistemological position underlying these proposals. The aim of this study is to propose an impact pathway for assessing the social consequences of a product's life cycle'the psychosocial risk factor (PRF) impact pathway. The epistemological posture of this methodology is post-positivist, because it is based on an objective assessment of the possible consequences of the functioning of the life cycle, and therefore, it is in line with environmental LCA. Methods: Possible impacts on workers' health were measured in terms of risks, i.e., using the odds ratio, a statistical measure of the intensity of the association between two variables. Odds ratios explaining the relationships between working conditions and health troubles were retrieved from previously published empirical studies. These statistical relationships were used to build an impact pathway that links the product's life cycle to possible social impacts in a quantifiable and probabilistic way. Results and discussion: The PRF impact pathway was applied to citriculture in the Calabria region of South Italy. The results showed that the life cycle, from cradle to farm gate, of industrial oranges exposed workers to a risk for about 43,088 h against 54,110 h for the clementine life cycle. In general, musculoskeletal disorders are the highest concern for both products, followed by osteoarthritis, disability, and cardiovascular diseases. For all impact categories, the industrial oranges' life cycle showed the best performance, mainly due to the shorter duration of a single operation. The results are generalizable to other evaluation contexts. Conclusions: The PRF impact pathway was applied to the stakeholders group 'workers,' but can be extended to other typologies of actor, such as consumers and local residents. Further, it allowed for an objective assessment of the impacts principally linked to the functioning of the citruses' life cycles, by quantifying and qualifying the hours of work, and can be extended to other fields of application