TY - JOUR A1 - Hiew, Shawn A1 - Eibeck, Leila A1 - Nguemeni, Carine A1 - Zeller, Daniel T1 - The influence of age and physical activity on locomotor adaptation JF - Brain Sciences N2 - Background: Aging increases individual susceptibility to falls and injuries, suggesting poorer adaptation of balance responses to perturbation during locomotion, which can be measured with the locomotor adaptation task (LAT). However, it is unclear how aging and lifestyle factors affect these responses during walking. Hence, the present study investigates the relationship between balance and lifestyle factors during the LAT in healthy individuals across the adult lifespan using a correlational design. Methods: Thirty participants aged 20–78 years performed an LAT on a split-belt treadmill (SBT). We evaluated the magnitude and rate of adaptation and deadaptation during the LAT. Participants reported their lifelong physical and cognitive activity. Results: Age positively correlated with gait-line length asymmetry at the late post-adaptation phase (p = 0.007). These age-related effects were mediated by recent physical activity levels (p = 0.040). Conclusion: Our results confirm that locomotor adaptive responses are preserved in aging, but the ability to deadapt newly learnt balance responses is compromised with age. Physical activity mediates these age-related effects. Therefore, gait symmetry post-adaptation could effectively measure the risk of falling, and maintaining physical activity could protect against declines in balance. KW - locomotor adaptation KW - walking KW - physical activity KW - exercise KW - aging KW - balance Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-362478 SN - 2076-3425 VL - 13 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Odorfer, Thorsten M. A1 - Volkmann, Jens T1 - Deep brain stimulation for focal or segmental craniocervical dystonia in patients who have failed botulinum neurotoxin therapy - a narrative review of the literature JF - Toxins N2 - (1) Background: The first-line treatment for patients with focal or segmental dystonia with a craniocervical distribution is still the intramuscular injection of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT). However, some patients experience primary or secondary treatment failure from this potential immunogenic therapy. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) may then be used as a backup strategy in this situation. (2) Methods: Here, we reviewed the current study literature to answer a specific question regarding the efficacy and safety of the use of DBS, particularly for cervical dystonia (CD) and Meige syndrome (MS) in patients with documented treatment failure under BoNT. (3) Results: There are only two studies with the highest level of evidence in this area. Despite this clear limitation, in the context of the narrowly defined research question of this paper, it is possible to report 161 patients with CD or MS who were included in studies that were able to show a statistically significant reduction in dystonic symptoms using DBS. Safety and tolerability data appeared adequate. However, much of the information is based on retrospective observations. (4) Conclusions: The evidence base in this area is in need of further scientific investigation. Most importantly, more randomized, controlled and double-blind trials are needed, possibly including a head-to-head comparison of DBS and BoNT. KW - cervical dystonia KW - Meige syndrome KW - deep brain stimulation KW - internal globus pallidus KW - subthalamic nucleus KW - botulinum neurotoxin KW - medication therapy failure KW - symptom control KW - safety and tolerability Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357707 SN - 2072-6651 VL - 15 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rauschenberger, Vera A1 - Piro, Inken A1 - Kasaragod, Vikram Babu A1 - Hörlin, Verena A1 - Eckes, Anna-Lena A1 - Kluck, Christoph J. A1 - Schindelin, Hermann A1 - Meinck, Hans-Michael A1 - Wickel, Jonathan A1 - Geis, Christian A1 - Tüzün, Erdem A1 - Doppler, Kathrin A1 - Sommer, Claudia A1 - Villmann, Carmen T1 - Glycine receptor autoantibody binding to the extracellular domain is independent from receptor glycosylation JF - Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience N2 - Glycine receptor (GlyR) autoantibodies are associated with stiff-person syndrome and the life-threatening progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus in children and adults. Patient histories show variability in symptoms and responses to therapeutic treatments. A better understanding of the autoantibody pathology is required to develop improved therapeutic strategies. So far, the underlying molecular pathomechanisms include enhanced receptor internalization and direct receptor blocking altering GlyR function. A common epitope of autoantibodies against the GlyRα1 has been previously defined to residues 1A-33G at the N-terminus of the mature GlyR extracellular domain. However, if other autoantibody binding sites exist or additional GlyR residues are involved in autoantibody binding is yet unknown. The present study investigates the importance of receptor glycosylation for binding of anti-GlyR autoantibodies. The glycine receptor α1 harbors only one glycosylation site at the amino acid residue asparagine 38 localized in close vicinity to the identified common autoantibody epitope. First, non-glycosylated GlyRs were characterized using protein biochemical approaches as well as electrophysiological recordings and molecular modeling. Molecular modeling of non-glycosylated GlyRα1 did not show major structural alterations. Moreover, non-glycosylation of the GlyRα1N38Q did not prevent the receptor from surface expression. At the functional level, the non-glycosylated GlyR demonstrated reduced glycine potency, but patient GlyR autoantibodies still bound to the surface-expressed non-glycosylated receptor protein in living cells. Efficient adsorption of GlyR autoantibodies from patient samples was possible by binding to native glycosylated and non-glycosylated GlyRα1 expressed in living not fixed transfected HEK293 cells. Binding of patient-derived GlyR autoantibodies to the non-glycosylated GlyRα1 offered the possibility to use purified non-glycosylated GlyR extracellular domain constructs coated on ELISA plates and use them as a fast screening readout for the presence of GlyR autoantibodies in patient serum samples. Following successful adsorption of patient autoantibodies by GlyR ECDs, binding to primary motoneurons and transfected cells was absent. Our results indicate that the glycine receptor autoantibody binding is independent of the receptor’s glycosylation state. Purified non-glycosylated receptor domains harbouring the autoantibody epitope thus provide, an additional reliable experimental tool besides binding to native receptors in cell-based assays for detection of autoantibody presence in patient sera. KW - glycine receptor KW - autoantibodies KW - glycosylation KW - extracellular domain KW - adsorption Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304206 VL - 16 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Göpfert, Dennis A1 - Traub, Jan A1 - Sell, Roxane A1 - Homola, György A. A1 - Vogt, Marius A1 - Pham, Mirko A1 - Frantz, Stefan A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Stoll, Guido A1 - Frey, Anna T1 - Profiles of cognitive impairment in chronic heart failure—A cluster analytic approach JF - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience N2 - Background Cognitive impairment is a major comorbidity in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) with a wide range of phenotypes. In this study, we aimed to identify and compare different clusters of cognitive deficits. Methods The prospective cohort study “Cognition.Matters-HF” recruited 147 chronic HF patients (aged 64.5 ± 10.8 years; 16.2% female) of any etiology. All patients underwent extensive neuropsychological testing. We performed a hierarchical cluster analysis of the cognitive domains, such as intensity of attention, visual/verbal memory, and executive function. Generated clusters were compared exploratively with respect to the results of cardiological, neurological, and neuroradiological examinations without correction for multiple testing. Results Dendrogram and the scree plot suggested three distinct cognitive profiles: In the first cluster, 42 patients (28.6%) performed without any deficits in all domains. Exclusively, the intensity of attention deficits was seen in the second cluster, including 55 patients (37.4%). A third cluster with 50 patients (34.0%) was characterized by deficits in all cognitive domains. Age (p = 0.163) and typical clinical markers of chronic HF, such as ejection fraction (p = 0.222), 6-min walking test distance (p = 0.138), NT-proBNP (p = 0.364), and New York Heart Association class (p = 0.868) did not differ between clusters. However, we observed that women (p = 0.012) and patients with previous cardiac valve surgery (p = 0.005) prevailed in the “global deficits” cluster and the “no deficits” group had a lower prevalence of underlying arterial hypertension (p = 0.029). Total brain volume (p = 0.017) was smaller in the global deficit cluster, and serum levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein were increased (p = 0.048). Conclusion Apart from cognitively healthy and globally impaired HF patients, we identified a group with deficits only in the intensity of attention. Women and patients with previous cardiac valve surgery are at risk for global cognitive impairment when suffering HF and could benefit from special multimodal treatment addressing the psychosocial condition. KW - chronic heart failure KW - cluster analysis KW - cognitive impairment KW - intensity of attention KW - glial fibrillary acidic protein Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313429 VL - 17 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehrieder, Dominik A1 - Zapantis, Nikolaos A1 - Pham, Mirko A1 - Schuhmann, Michael Klaus A1 - Haarmann, Axel T1 - Treating seronegative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with inebilizumab: a case report JF - Frontiers in Neurology N2 - Background Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a devastating inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that is often severely disabling from the outset. The lack of pathognomonic aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies in seronegative NMOSD not only hinders early diagnosis, but also limits therapeutic options, in contrast to AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD, where the therapeutic landscape has recently evolved massively. Case presentation We report a 56-year-old woman with bilateral optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive myelitis as the index events of a seronegative NMOSD, who was successfully treated with inebilizumab. Conclusion Treatment with inebilizumab may be considered in aggressive seronegative NMOSD. Whether broader CD19-directed B cell depletion is more effective than treatment with rituximab remains elusive. KW - NMOSD KW - inebilizumab KW - AQP4 KW - longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis KW - optic neuritis KW - case report KW - CD19 KW - seronegative Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-354031 VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hecker, Katharina A1 - Grüner, Julia A1 - Hartmannsberger, Beate A1 - Appeltshauser, Luise A1 - Villmann, Carmen A1 - Sommer, Claudia A1 - Doppler, Kathrin T1 - Different binding and pathogenic effect of neurofascin and contactin–1 autoantibodies in autoimmune nodopathies JF - Frontiers in Immunology N2 - Introduction IgG4 autoantibodies against paranodal proteins are known to induce acute-onset and often severe sensorimotor autoimmune neuropathies. How autoantibodies reach their antigens at the paranode in spite of the myelin barrier is still unclear. Methods We performed in vitro incubation experiments with patient sera on unfixed and unpermeabilized nerve fibers and in vivo intraneural and intrathecal passive transfer of patient IgG to rats, to explore the access of IgG autoantibodies directed against neurofascin-155 and contactin-1 to the paranodes and their pathogenic effect. Results We found that in vitro incubation resulted in weak paranodal binding of anti-contactin-1 autoantibodies whereas anti-neurofascin-155 autoantibodies bound to the nodes more than to the paranodes. After short-term intraneural injection, no nodal or paranodal binding was detectable when using anti-neurofascin-155 antibodies. After repeated intrathecal injections, nodal more than paranodal binding could be detected in animals treated with anti-neurofascin-155, accompanied by sensorimotor neuropathy. In contrast, no paranodal binding was visible in rats intrathecally injected with anti-contactin-1 antibodies, and animals remained unaffected. Conclusion These data support the notion of different pathogenic mechanisms of anti-neurofascin-155 and anti-contactin-1 autoantibodies and different accessibility of paranodal and nodal structures. KW - autoimmune nodopathy KW - IgG4 KW - neurofascin KW - contactin KW - node of ranvier KW - inflammatory neuropathy KW - passive transfer Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-320395 VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - García-Fernández, Patricia A1 - Höfflin, Klemens A1 - Rausch, Antonia A1 - Strommer, Katharina A1 - Neumann, Astrid A1 - Cebulla, Nadine A1 - Reinhold, Ann-Kristin A1 - Rittner, Heike A1 - Üçeyler, Nurcan A1 - Sommer, Claudia T1 - Systemic inflammatory markers in patients with polyneuropathies JF - Frontiers in Immunology N2 - Introduction In patients with peripheral neuropathies (PNP), neuropathic pain is present in 50% of the cases, independent of the etiology. The pathophysiology of pain is poorly understood, and inflammatory processes have been found to be involved in neuro-degeneration, -regeneration and pain. While previous studies have found a local upregulation of inflammatory mediators in patients with PNP, there is a high variability described in the cytokines present systemically in sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We hypothesized that the development of PNP and neuropathic pain is associated with enhanced systemic inflammation. Methods To test our hypothesis, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the protein, lipid and gene expression of different pro- and anti-inflammatory markers in blood and CSF from patients with PNP and controls. Results While we found differences between PNP and controls in specific cytokines or lipids, such as CCL2 or oleoylcarnitine, PNP patients and controls did not present major differences in systemic inflammatory markers in general. IL-10 and CCL2 levels were related to measures of axonal damage and neuropathic pain. Lastly, we describe a strong interaction between inflammation and neurodegeneration at the nerve roots in a specific subgroup of PNP patients with blood-CSF barrier dysfunction. Conclusion In patients with PNP systemic inflammatory, markers in blood or CSF do not differ from controls in general, but specific cytokines or lipids do. Our findings further highlight the importance of CSF analysis in patients with peripheral neuropathies. KW - cytokines KW - polyneuropathy KW - cerebrospinal fluid KW - neurofilament light chain KW - blood CSF barrier Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304217 VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Andreska, Thomas A1 - Lüningschrör, Patrick A1 - Wolf, Daniel A1 - McFleder, Rhonda L. A1 - Ayon-Olivas, Maurilyn A1 - Rattka, Marta A1 - Drechsler, Christine A1 - Perschin, Veronika A1 - Blum, Robert A1 - Aufmkolk, Sarah A1 - Granado, Noelia A1 - Moratalla, Rosario A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Monoranu, Camelia A1 - Volkmann, Jens A1 - Ip, Chi Wang A1 - Stigloher, Christian A1 - Sendtner, Michael T1 - DRD1 signaling modulates TrkB turnover and BDNF sensitivity in direct pathway striatal medium spiny neurons JF - Cell Reports N2 - Highlights • Dopamine receptor-1 activation induces TrkB cell-surface expression in striatal neurons • Dopaminergic deficits cause TrkB accumulation and clustering in the ER • TrkB clusters colocalize with cargo receptor SORCS-2 in direct pathway striatal neurons • Intracellular TrkB clusters fail to fuse with lysosomes after dopamine depletion Summary Disturbed motor control is a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Cortico-striatal synapses play a central role in motor learning and adaption, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from cortico-striatal afferents modulates their plasticity via TrkB in striatal medium spiny projection neurons (SPNs). We studied the role of dopamine in modulating the sensitivity of direct pathway SPNs (dSPNs) to BDNF in cultures of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-enriched D1-expressing SPNs and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated rats. DRD1 activation causes enhanced TrkB translocation to the cell surface and increased sensitivity for BDNF. In contrast, dopamine depletion in cultured dSPN neurons, 6-OHDA-treated rats, and postmortem brain of patients with PD reduces BDNF responsiveness and causes formation of intracellular TrkB clusters. These clusters associate with sortilin related VPS10 domain containing receptor 2 (SORCS-2) in multivesicular-like structures, which apparently protects them from lysosomal degradation. Thus, impaired TrkB processing might contribute to disturbed motor function in PD. KW - motor learning KW - cortico-striatal synapse KW - basal ganglia KW - direct pathway KW - DRD1 KW - dSPN KW - BDNF KW - TrkB KW - synaptic plasticity KW - GPCR Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349932 VL - 42 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grotemeyer, Alexander A1 - Fischer, Judith F. A1 - Koprich, James B. A1 - Brotchie, Jonathan M. A1 - Blum, Robert A1 - Volkmann, Jens A1 - Ip, Chi Wang T1 - Inflammasome inhibition protects dopaminergic neurons from α-synuclein pathology in a model of progressive Parkinson’s disease JF - Journal of Neuroinflammation N2 - Neuroinflammation has been suggested as a pathogenetic mechanism contributing to Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, anti-inflammatory treatment strategies have not yet been established as a therapeutic option for PD patients. We have used a human α-synuclein mouse model of progressive PD to examine the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of inflammasome inhibition on dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). As the NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing 3)-inflammasome is a core interface for both adaptive and innate inflammation and is also highly druggable, we investigated the implications of its inhibition. Repeat administration of MCC950, an inhibitor of NLRP3, in a PD model with ongoing pathology reduced CD4\(^+\) and CD8\(^+\) T cell infiltration into the SN. Furthermore, the anti-inflammasome treatment mitigated microglial activation and modified the aggregation of α-synuclein protein in DA neurons. MCC950-treated mice showed significantly less neurodegeneration of DA neurons and a reduction in PD-related motor behavior. In summary, early inflammasome inhibition can reduce neuroinflammation and prevent DA cell death in an α-synuclein mouse model for progressive PD. KW - neurodegeneration KW - movement disorder KW - neuroinflammation KW - Parkinson’s disease KW - inflammasome KW - dopaminergic cells KW - NLRP3 KW - MCC950 KW - microglia KW - T cells Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357652 VL - 20 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schuhmann, Michael K. A1 - Langhauser, Friederike A1 - Zimmermann, Lena A1 - Bellut, Maximilian A1 - Kleinschnitz, Christoph A1 - Fluri, Felix T1 - Dimethyl fumarate attenuates lymphocyte infiltration and reduces infarct size in experimental stroke JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - Ischemic stroke is associated with exacerbated tissue damage caused by the activation of immune cells and the initiation of other inflammatory processes. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is known to modulate the immune response, activate antioxidative pathways, and improve the blood–brain barrier (BBB) after stroke. However, the specific impact of DMF on immune cells after cerebral ischemia remains unclear. In our study, male mice underwent transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) for 30 min and received oral DMF (15 mg/kg) or a vehicle immediately after tMCAO, followed by twice-daily administrations for 7 days. Infarct volume was assessed on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images on days 1 and 7 after tMCAO. Brain-infiltrating immune cells (lymphocytes, monocytes) and microglia were quantified using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. DMF treatment significantly reduced infarct volumes and brain edema. On day 1 after tMCAO, DMF-treated mice showed reduced lymphocyte infiltration compared to controls, which was not observed on day 7. Monocyte and microglial cell counts did not differ between groups on either day. In the acute phase of stroke, DMF administration attenuated lymphocyte infiltration, probably due to its stabilizing effect on the BBB. This highlights the potential of DMF as a therapeutic candidate for mitigating immune cell-driven damage in stroke. KW - experimental stroke KW - transient middle cerebral artery occlusion model KW - dimethyl fumarate KW - cerebral inflammation Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357731 VL - 24 IS - 21 ER -