1
|
Adams JW, Kirsch D, Calderazzo SM, Tuz-Zahra F, Tripodis Y, Mez J, Alosco ML, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Kubilus C, Cormier KA, Nicks R, Uretsky M, Nair E, Kuzyk E, Aytan N, Cherry JD, Crary JF, Daneshvar DH, Nowinski CJ, Goldstein LE, Dwyer B, Katz DI, Cantu RC, Stern RA, McKee AC, Stein TD. Substantia Nigra Pathology, Contact Sports Play, and Parkinsonism in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. JAMA Neurol 2024; 81:916-924. [PMID: 39008284 PMCID: PMC11250391 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.2166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Importance Parkinsonism is associated with traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impact (RHI) exposure, but the neuropathologic substrates that underlie parkinsonism in individuals with CTE are yet to be defined. Objective To evaluate the frequency of parkinsonism in individuals with CTE and the association of RHI and neuropathologic substrates with parkinsonism in these individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study included brain donors with neuropathologically diagnosed CTE without other significant neurodegenerative disease and with information on parkinsonism from the Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy brain bank between July 2015 and May 2022. Exposure Years of contact sports participation as a proxy for RHI. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcomes were frequency of parkinsonism in individuals with CTE and associations between (1) RHI with substantia nigra (SN) Lewy bodies (LBs) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs); (2) LBs, NFTs, and arteriolosclerosis with SN neuronal loss; and (3) SN neuronal loss, LBs, NFTs, and arteriolosclerosis with parkinsonism, tested by age-adjusted logistic regressions. Results Of 481 male brain donors with neuropathologically diagnosed CTE, parkinsonism occurred frequently in individuals with CTE (119 [24.7%]; 362 [75.3%] did not have parkinsonism). Participants with parkinsonism had a higher mean (SD) age at death (71.5 [13.0] years) than participants without parkinsonism (54.1 [19.3] years) (P < .001) and higher rates of dementia (104 [87.4%] vs 105 [29.0%]), visual hallucinations (45 [37.8%] vs 51 [14.1%]), and probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (52 [43.7%] vs 58 [16.0%]) (P < .001 for all). Participants with parkinsonism had a more severe CTE stage (eg, stage IV: 35 [29.4%] vs 39 [10.8%]) and nigral pathology than those without parkinsonism (NFTs: 50 of 117 [42.7%] vs 103 of 344 [29.9%]; P = .01; neuronal loss: 61 of 117 [52.1%] vs 59 of 344 [17.1%]; P < .001; and LBs: 28 of 116 [24.1%] vs 20 of 342 [5.8%]; P < .001). Years of contact sports participation were associated with SN NFTs (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00-1.07; P = .03) and neuronal loss (AOR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.08; P = .02). Nigral neuronal loss (AOR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.52-4.47; P < .001) and LBs (AOR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.15-4.57; P = .02) were associated with parkinsonism. However, SN neuronal loss was associated with SN LBs (AOR, 4.48; 95% CI, 2.25-8.92; P < .001), SN NFTs (AOR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.52-4.15; P < .001), and arteriolosclerosis (AOR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.33-3.85; P = .002). In American football players, regression analysis demonstrated that SN NFTs and neuronal loss mediated the association between years of play and parkinsonism in the context of CTE (β, 0.012; 95% CI, 0.001-0.038). Conclusions and Relevance In this cross-sectional study of contact sports athletes with CTE, years of contact sports participation were associated with SN tau pathology and neuronal loss, and these pathologies were associated with parkinsonism. Repetitive head impacts may incite neuropathologic processes that lead to symptoms of parkinsonism in individuals with CTE.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jason W. Adams
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla
| | - Daniel Kirsch
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Samantha M. Calderazzo
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Fatima Tuz-Zahra
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Michael L. Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Caroline Kubilus
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Kerry A. Cormier
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Raymond Nicks
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Madeline Uretsky
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Evan Nair
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Eva Kuzyk
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Nurgul Aytan
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jonathan D. Cherry
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - John F. Crary
- Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Daniel H. Daneshvar
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mass General Brigham-Spaulding Rehabilitation, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher J. Nowinski
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Lee E. Goldstein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Brigid Dwyer
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Brain Injury Program, Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts
| | - Douglas I. Katz
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Brain Injury Program, Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts
| | - Robert C. Cantu
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Massachusetts
| | - Robert A. Stern
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ann C. McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Thor D. Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Di Lazzaro V, Ranieri F, Bączyk M, de Carvalho M, Dileone M, Dubbioso R, Fernandes S, Kozak G, Motolese F, Ziemann U. Novel approaches to motoneuron disease/ALS treatment using non-invasive brain and spinal stimulation: IFCN handbook chapter. Clin Neurophysiol 2024; 158:114-136. [PMID: 38218077 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2023.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques have been exploited in motor neuron disease (MND) with multifold objectives: to support the diagnosis, to get insights in the pathophysiology of these disorders and, more recently, to slow down disease progression. In this review, we consider how neuromodulation can now be employed to treat MND, with specific attention to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form with upper motoneuron (UMN) involvement, taking into account electrophysiological abnormalities revealed by human and animal studies that can be targeted by neuromodulation techniques. This review article encompasses repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation methods (including low-frequency, high-frequency, and pattern stimulation paradigms), transcranial direct current stimulation as well as experimental findings with the newer approach of trans-spinal direct current stimulation. We also survey and discuss the trials that have been performed, and future perspectives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Di Lazzaro
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Roma, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Roma, Italy.
| | - Federico Ranieri
- Neurology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, P.Le L.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy
| | - Marcin Bączyk
- Department of Neurobiology, Poznań University of Physical Education, Królowej Jadwigi Street 27/39, 61-871 Poznań, Poland
| | - Mamede de Carvalho
- Institute of Physiology, Institute of Molecular Medicine-JLA, Egas Moniz Study Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon 1649-028, Portugal; Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, CHULN, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Michele Dileone
- Faculty of Health Sciences, UCLM Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain; Neurology Department, Hospital Nuestra Señora del Prado, Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain
| | - Raffaele Dubbioso
- Neurophysiology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples "Federico II", Napoli, Italy
| | - Sofia Fernandes
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016-Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Gabor Kozak
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Hertie-Institute of Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Francesco Motolese
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Roma, Italy
| | - Ulf Ziemann
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Hertie-Institute of Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
McKee AC, Mez J, Abdolmohammadi B, Butler M, Huber BR, Uretsky M, Babcock K, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Martin B, Tripodis Y, Palmisano JN, Cormier KA, Kubilus CA, Nicks R, Kirsch D, Mahar I, McHale L, Nowinski C, Cantu RC, Stern RA, Daneshvar D, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Kowall NW, Dwyer B, Stein TD, Alosco ML. Neuropathologic and Clinical Findings in Young Contact Sport Athletes Exposed to Repetitive Head Impacts. JAMA Neurol 2023; 80:1037-1050. [PMID: 37639244 PMCID: PMC10463175 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Importance Young contact sport athletes may be at risk for long-term neuropathologic disorders, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Objective To characterize the neuropathologic and clinical symptoms of young brain donors who were contact sport athletes. Design, Setting, and Participants This case series analyzes findings from 152 of 156 brain donors younger than 30 years identified through the Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy (UNITE) Brain Bank who donated their brains from February 1, 2008, to September 31, 2022. Neuropathologic evaluations, retrospective telephone clinical assessments, and online questionnaires with informants were performed blinded. Data analysis was conducted between August 2021 and June 2023. Exposures Repetitive head impacts from contact sports. Main Outcomes and Measures Gross and microscopic neuropathologic assessment, including diagnosis of CTE, based on defined diagnostic criteria; and informant-reported athletic history and informant-completed scales that assess cognitive symptoms, mood disturbances, and neurobehavioral dysregulation. Results Among the 152 deceased contact sports participants (mean [SD] age, 22.97 [4.31] years; 141 [92.8%] male) included in the study, CTE was diagnosed in 63 (41.4%; median [IQR] age, 26 [24-27] years). Of the 63 brain donors diagnosed with CTE, 60 (95.2%) were diagnosed with mild CTE (stages I or II). Brain donors who had CTE were more likely to be older (mean difference, 3.92 years; 95% CI, 2.74-5.10 years) Of the 63 athletes with CTE, 45 (71.4%) were men who played amateur sports, including American football, ice hockey, soccer, rugby, and wrestling; 1 woman with CTE played collegiate soccer. For those who played football, duration of playing career was significantly longer in those with vs without CTE (mean difference, 2.81 years; 95% CI, 1.15-4.48 years). Athletes with CTE had more ventricular dilatation, cavum septum pellucidum, thalamic notching, and perivascular pigment-laden macrophages in the frontal white matter than those without CTE. Cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms were frequent among all brain donors. Suicide was the most common cause of death, followed by unintentional overdose; there were no differences in cause of death or clinical symptoms based on CTE status. Conclusions and Relevance This case series found that young brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts were highly symptomatic regardless of CTE status, and the causes of symptoms in this sample are likely multifactorial. Future studies that include young brain donors unexposed to repetitive head impacts are needed to clarify the association among exposure, white matter and microvascular pathologic findings, CTE, and clinical symptoms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ann C. McKee
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jesse Mez
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Bobak Abdolmohammadi
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Morgane Butler
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Bertrand Russell Huber
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Madeline Uretsky
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Katharine Babcock
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jonathan D. Cherry
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Brett Martin
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Joseph N. Palmisano
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Kerry A. Cormier
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Caroline A. Kubilus
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Raymond Nicks
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel Kirsch
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ian Mahar
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Lisa McHale
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher Nowinski
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert C. Cantu
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert A. Stern
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel Daneshvar
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Lee E. Goldstein
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Psychiatry, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biomedical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Douglas I. Katz
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts
| | - Neil W. Kowall
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Brigid Dwyer
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts
| | - Thor D. Stein
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Michael L. Alosco
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Daneshvar DH, Nair ES, Baucom ZH, Rasch A, Abdolmohammadi B, Uretsky M, Saltiel N, Shah A, Jarnagin J, Baugh CM, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Weuve J, Nowinski CJ, Cantu RC, Zafonte RD, Dwyer B, Crary JF, Goldstein LE, Kowall NW, Katz DI, Stern RA, Tripodis Y, Stein TD, McClean MD, Alosco ML, McKee AC, Mez J. Leveraging football accelerometer data to quantify associations between repetitive head impacts and chronic traumatic encephalopathy in males. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3470. [PMID: 37340004 PMCID: PMC10281995 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39183-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative tauopathy associated with repetitive head impacts (RHI), but the components of RHI exposure underlying this relationship are unclear. We create a position exposure matrix (PEM), composed of American football helmet sensor data, summarized from literature review by player position and level of play. Using this PEM, we estimate measures of lifetime RHI exposure for a separate cohort of 631 football playing brain donors. Separate models examine the relationship between CTE pathology and players' concussion count, athletic positions, years of football, and PEM-derived measures, including estimated cumulative head impacts, linear accelerations, and rotational accelerations. Only duration of play and PEM-derived measures are significantly associated with CTE pathology. Models incorporating cumulative linear or rotational acceleration have better model fit and are better predictors of CTE pathology than duration of play or cumulative head impacts alone. These findings implicate cumulative head impact intensity in CTE pathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel H Daneshvar
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mass General Brigham-Spaulding Rehabilitation, Charlestown, MA, USA.
| | - Evan S Nair
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zachary H Baucom
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Abigail Rasch
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bobak Abdolmohammadi
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Madeline Uretsky
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicole Saltiel
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Arsal Shah
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Johnny Jarnagin
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christine M Baugh
- Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Brett M Martin
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph N Palmisano
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jonathan D Cherry
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Victor E Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
| | - Bertrand R Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer Weuve
- Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher J Nowinski
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert C Cantu
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA, USA
| | - Ross D Zafonte
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mass General Brigham-Spaulding Rehabilitation, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brigid Dwyer
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - John F Crary
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research Core, Department of Pathology, Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lee E Goldstein
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Neil W Kowall
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Douglas I Katz
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert A Stern
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thor D Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael D McClean
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael L Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ann C McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research and CTE Centers, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Alosco ML, Ly M, Mosaheb S, Saltiel N, Uretsky M, Tripodis Y, Martin B, Palmisano J, Delano-Wood L, Bondi MW, Meng G, Xia W, Daley S, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Nowinski C, Cantu RC, Kowall NW, Stern RA, Alvarez VE, Mez J, Huber BR, McKee AC, Stein TD. Decreased myelin proteins in brain donors exposed to football-related repetitive head impacts. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad019. [PMID: 36895961 PMCID: PMC9990992 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
American football players and other individuals exposed to repetitive head impacts can exhibit a constellation of later-life cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. While tau-based diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy can underpin certain symptoms, contributions from non-tau pathologies from repetitive head impacts are increasingly recognized. We examined cross-sectional associations between myelin integrity using immunoassays for myelin-associated glycoprotein and proteolipid protein 1 with risk factors and clinical outcomes in brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts from American football. Immunoassays for myelin-associated glycoprotein and proteolipid protein 1 were conducted on dorsolateral frontal white matter tissue samples of 205 male brain donors. Proxies of exposure to repetitive head impacts included years of exposure and age of first exposure to American football play. Informants completed the Functional Activities Questionnaire, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (Behavioral Regulation Index), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11. Associations between myelin-associated glycoprotein and proteolipid protein 1 with exposure proxies and clinical scales were tested. Of the 205 male brain donors who played amateur and professional football, the mean age was 67.17 (SD = 16.78), and 75.9% (n = 126) were reported by informants to be functionally impaired prior to death. Myelin-associated glycoprotein and proteolipid protein 1 correlated with the ischaemic injury scale score, a global indicator of cerebrovascular disease (r = -0.23 and -0.20, respectively, Ps < 0.01). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy was the most common neurodegenerative disease (n = 151, 73.7%). Myelin-associated glycoprotein and proteolipid protein 1 were not associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy status, but lower proteolipid protein 1 was associated with more severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (P = 0.03). Myelin-associated glycoprotein and proteolipid protein 1 were not associated with other neurodegenerative disease pathologies. More years of football play was associated with lower proteolipid protein 1 [beta = -2.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-4.52, -0.38]] and compared with those who played <11 years of football (n = 78), those who played 11 or more years (n = 128) had lower myelin-associated glycoprotein (mean difference = 46.00, 95% CI [5.32, 86.69]) and proteolipid protein 1 (mean difference = 24.72, 95% CI [2.40, 47.05]). Younger age of first exposure corresponded to lower proteolipid protein 1 (beta = 4.35, 95% CI [0.25, 8.45]). Among brain donors who were aged 50 or older (n = 144), lower proteolipid protein 1 (beta = -0.02, 95% CI [-0.047, -0.001]) and myelin-associated glycoprotein (beta = -0.01, 95% CI [-0.03, -0.002]) were associated with higher Functional Activities Questionnaire scores. Lower myelin-associated glycoprotein correlated with higher Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 scores (beta = -0.02, 95% CI [-0.04, -0.0003]). Results suggest that decreased myelin may represent a late effect of repetitive head impacts that contributes to the manifestation of cognitive symptoms and impulsivity. Clinical-pathological correlation studies with prospective objective clinical assessments are needed to confirm our findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Monica Ly
- Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sydney Mosaheb
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicole Saltiel
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Madeline Uretsky
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brett Martin
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph Palmisano
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lisa Delano-Wood
- Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Mark W Bondi
- Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Weiming Xia
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Daley
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lee E Goldstein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Departments of Biomedical, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Douglas I Katz
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, MA, USA
| | - Brigid Dwyer
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, MA, USA
| | - Daniel H Daneshvar
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Robert C Cantu
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA, USA
| | - Neil W Kowall
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert A Stern
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Victor E Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bertrand Russell Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ann C McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
- Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thor D Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
- Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hickman RA, Traynor BJ, Marder KS, Vonsattel JP. Reply: More than a co-incidence? Exploring the increased frequency of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Huntington disease. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 145:259-261. [PMID: 36542109 PMCID: PMC10132522 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-022-02532-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Hickman
- Department of Defense/Uniformed Services University Brain Tissue Repository, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA.
- Human Oncogenesis and Pathogenesis Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
| | - Bryan J Traynor
- Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Karen S Marder
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Jean-Paul Vonsattel
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, 710 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zheng X, Wang S, Huang J, Lin J, Yang T, Xiao Y, Jiang Q, Huang R, Li C, Shang H. Physical activity as risk factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurol 2023; 270:2438-2450. [PMID: 36670248 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-022-11555-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with rapid progression and high mortality. Physical activity (PA) has been identified as a major risk factor for ALS. However, the results across studies are still controversial. We aimed to explore the association between different types of PA and ALS. METHODS The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for case-control and cohort studies which explored the relationship between PA and ALS from inception to October 2022. The data were analyzed to generate a pooled effect and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS A total of 16,686 articles were included in the systematic search. After filtering, 28 studies from online database and 6 studies from references of relevant articles remained in the analysis. Individuals with a history of vigorous physical activity (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.49), occupational-related activity (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.04-1.25), leisure time activity (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.12), unclassified PA (OR 1.05 95% CI 1.02-1.09) and professional athletes (SMR 5.23, 95% CI 2.67-10.25; SIR 2.54, 95% CI 1.37-4.69) were in higher risk of developing ALS. In contrast, sport-related activity (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.76-1.26) was not associated with ALS. CONCLUSIONS Vigorous physical activity, occupational-related activity, leisure time activity, unclassified PA and professional athletes were associated with a higher risk of ALS, while sport-related activity showed no association with ALS. Our findings clarified the relation between different types of PA and ALS and provided some practicable advice for the lifestyle of high-risk populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoting Zheng
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Shichan Wang
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Jingxuan Huang
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Junyu Lin
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Tianmi Yang
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Yi Xiao
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Qirui Jiang
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Rui Huang
- Department of Neurology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Science and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, 610031, China
| | - Chunyu Li
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
| | - Huifang Shang
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
More than a co-incidence? Comment on: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is over-represented in two Huntington's disease brain bank cohorts: further evidence to support genetic pleiotropy of pathogenic HTT gene expansion. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 145:257-258. [PMID: 36335527 PMCID: PMC9849160 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-022-02517-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
9
|
Younger DS. Spinal cord motor disorders. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 196:3-42. [PMID: 37620076 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-98817-9.00007-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Spinal cord diseases are frequently devastating due to the precipitous and often permanently debilitating nature of the deficits. Spastic or flaccid paraparesis accompanied by dermatomal and myotomal signatures complementary to the incurred deficits facilitates localization of the insult within the cord. However, laboratory studies often employing disease-specific serology, neuroradiology, neurophysiology, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis aid in the etiologic diagnosis. While many spinal cord diseases are reversible and treatable, especially when recognized early, more than ever, neuroscientists are being called to investigate endogenous mechanisms of neural plasticity. This chapter is a review of the embryology, neuroanatomy, clinical localization, evaluation, and management of adult and childhood spinal cord motor disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David S Younger
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Neuroscience, CUNY School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Department of Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine and Neurology, White Plains Hospital, White Plains, NY, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Alosco ML, Su Y, Stein TD, Protas H, Cherry JD, Adler CH, Balcer LJ, Bernick C, Pulukuri SV, Abdolmohammadi B, Coleman MJ, Palmisano JN, Tripodis Y, Mez J, Rabinovici GD, Marek KL, Beach TG, Johnson KA, Huber BR, Koerte I, Lin AP, Bouix S, Cummings JL, Shenton ME, Reiman EM, McKee AC, Stern RA. Associations between near end-of-life flortaucipir PET and postmortem CTE-related tau neuropathology in six former American football players. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2023; 50:435-452. [PMID: 36152064 PMCID: PMC9816291 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-022-05963-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Flourine-18-flortaucipir tau positron emission tomography (PET) was developed for the detection for Alzheimer's disease. Human imaging studies have begun to investigate its use in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Flortaucipir-PET to autopsy correlation studies in CTE are needed for diagnostic validation. We examined the association between end-of-life flortaucipir PET and postmortem neuropathological measurements of CTE-related tau in six former American football players. METHODS Three former National Football League players and three former college football players who were part of the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project died and agreed to have their brains donated. The six players had flortaucipir (tau) and florbetapir (amyloid) PET prior to death. All brains from the deceased participants were neuropathologically evaluated for the presence of CTE. On average, the participants were 59.0 (SD = 9.32) years of age at time of PET. PET scans were acquired 20.33 (SD = 13.08) months before their death. Using Spearman correlation analyses, we compared flortaucipir standard uptake value ratios (SUVRs) to digital slide-based AT8 phosphorylated tau (p-tau) density in a priori selected composite cortical, composite limbic, and thalamic regions-of-interest (ROIs). RESULTS Four brain donors had autopsy-confirmed CTE, all with high stage disease (n = 3 stage III, n = 1 stage IV). Three of these four met criteria for the clinical syndrome of CTE, known as traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES). Two did not have CTE at autopsy and one of these met criteria for TES. Concomitant pathology was only present in one of the non-CTE cases (Lewy body) and one of the CTE cases (motor neuron disease). There was a strong association between flortaucipir SUVRs and p-tau density in the composite cortical (ρ = 0.71) and limbic (ρ = 0.77) ROIs. Although there was a strong association in the thalamic ROI (ρ = 0.83), this is a region with known off-target binding. SUVRs were modest and CTE and non-CTE cases had overlapping SUVRs and discordant p-tau density for some regions. CONCLUSIONS Flortaucipir-PET could be useful for detecting high stage CTE neuropathology, but specificity to CTE p-tau is uncertain. Off-target flortaucipir binding in the hippocampus and thalamus complicates interpretation of these associations. In vivo biomarkers that can detect the specific p-tau of CTE across the disease continuum are needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yi Su
- Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Arizona State University, and Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Thor D Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
| | - Hillary Protas
- Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Jonathan D Cherry
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Charles H Adler
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
| | - Laura J Balcer
- Departments of Neurology, Population Health and Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Charles Bernick
- Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Surya Vamsi Pulukuri
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bobak Abdolmohammadi
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael J Coleman
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph N Palmisano
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA
| | - Gil D Rabinovici
- Memory & Aging Center, Departments of Neurology, Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kenneth L Marek
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders, Invicro, LLC, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Thomas G Beach
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, Arizona, USA
| | - Keith A Johnson
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Boston, MA, USA
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bertrand Russell Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
| | - Inga Koerte
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- cBRAIN, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
- NICUM (NeuroImaging Core Unit Munich), Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
| | - Alexander P Lin
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sylvain Bouix
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey L Cummings
- Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Martha E Shenton
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eric M Reiman
- Banner Alzheimer's Institute, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Translational Genomics Research Institute, and Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Ann C McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA
- VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA
| | - Robert A Stern
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University CTE Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
- Departments of Neurosurgery, and Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Strong MJ, Swash M. Finding Common Ground on the Site of Onset of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Neurology 2022; 99:1042-1048. [PMID: 36261296 PMCID: PMC9754652 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000201387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The fundamental origin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has remained an enigma since its earliest description as a relentlessly progressive degeneration with prominent neuromuscular manifestations that are associated with upper and lower motor neuron dysfunction. Although this remains the hallmark of ALS, a significant proportion of patients will also demonstrate one or more features of frontotemporal dysfunction, including a frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Understanding whether these 2 seemingly disparate syndromes are simply reflective of the co-occurrence of 2 distinct pathologic processes or the clinical manifestations of a common pathophysiologic derangement involving the brain more widely has gripped contemporary ALS researchers. Supporting a commonality of causation, both ALS and FTD show an alteration in the metabolism of TAR DNA-binding protein 43, marked by a shift in nucleocytoplasmic localization alongside a broad range of neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions consisting of pathologic aggregates of RNA-binding proteins. Similarly, several disease-associated or disease-modifying genetic variants that are shared between the 2 disorders suggest shared underlying mechanisms. In both, a prominent glial response has been postulated to contribute to non-cell-autonomous spread. A more contemporary hypothesis, however, suggests that syndromes of cortical and subcortical dysfunction are driven by impairments in discrete neural networks. This postulates that such networks, including networks subserving motor or cognitive function, possess unique and selective vulnerabilities to either single molecular toxicities or combinations thereof. The co-occurrence of one or more network dysfunctions in ALS and FTD is thus a reflection not of unique neuroanatomic correlates but rather of shared molecular vulnerabilities. The basis of such shared vulnerabilities becomes the fulcrum around which the next advances in our understanding of ALS and its possible therapy will develop.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Strong
- From the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences (M.J.S.), Western University, London, Canada; Department of Neurology (M.S.), Barts and the London School of Medicine QMUL, United Kingdom; and Institute of Neuroscience (M.S.), University of Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Michael Swash
- From the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences (M.J.S.), Western University, London, Canada; Department of Neurology (M.S.), Barts and the London School of Medicine QMUL, United Kingdom; and Institute of Neuroscience (M.S.), University of Lisbon, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Hermann A, Tarakdjian GN, Temp AGM, Kasper E, Machts J, Kaufmann J, Vielhaber S, Prudlo J, Cole JH, Teipel S, Dyrba M. Cognitive and behavioural but not motor impairment increases brain age in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac239. [PMID: 36246047 PMCID: PMC9556938 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Age is the most important single risk factor of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuroimaging together with machine-learning algorithms allows estimating individuals' brain age. Deviations from normal brain-ageing trajectories (so called predicted brain age difference) were reported for a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. While all of them showed increased predicted brain-age difference, there is surprisingly few data yet on it in motor neurodegenerative diseases. In this observational study, we made use of previously trained algorithms of 3377 healthy individuals and derived predicted brain age differences from volumetric MRI scans of 112 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and 70 healthy controls. We correlated predicted brain age difference scores with voxel-based morphometry data and multiple different motoric disease characteristics as well as cognitive/behavioural changes categorized according to Strong and Rascovsky. Against our primary hypothesis, there was no higher predicted brain-age difference in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients as a group. None of the motoric phenotypes/characteristics influenced predicted brain-age difference. However, cognitive/behavioural impairment led to significantly increased predicted brain-age difference, while slowly progressive as well as cognitive/behavioural normal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients had even younger brain ages than healthy controls. Of note, the cognitive/behavioural normal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients were identified to have increased cerebellar brain volume as potential resilience factor. Younger brain age was associated with longer survival. Our results raise the question whether younger brain age in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with only motor impairment provides a cerebral reserve against cognitive and/or behavioural impairment and faster disease progression. This new conclusion needs to be tested in subsequent samples. In addition, it will be interesting to test whether a potential effect of cerebral reserve is specific for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or can also be found in other neurodegenerative diseases with primary motor impairment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Hermann
- Translational Neurodegeneration Section “Albrecht Kossel”, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
- Center for Transdisciplinary Neurosciences Rostock (CTNR), University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE)Rostock/Greifswald, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| | - Gaël Nils Tarakdjian
- Translational Neurodegeneration Section “Albrecht Kossel”, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE)Rostock/Greifswald, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| | - Anna Gesine Marie Temp
- Translational Neurodegeneration Section “Albrecht Kossel”, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE)Rostock/Greifswald, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Kasper
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| | - Judith Machts
- Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences CBBS, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Jörn Kaufmann
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Vielhaber
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Johannes Prudlo
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| | - James H Cole
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, UCL, London, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, UK
| | - Stefan Teipel
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE)Rostock/Greifswald, 18147 Rostock, Germany
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| | - Martin Dyrba
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE)Rostock/Greifswald, 18147 Rostock, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Colvin LE, Foster ZW, Stein TD, Thakore-James M, Salajegheh MK, Carr K, Spencer KR, Rauf NA, Adams L, Averill JG, Walker SE, Robey I, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, McKee AC, Kowall NW, Brady CB. Utility of the ALSFRS-R for predicting ALS and comorbid disease neuropathology: The Veterans Affairs Biorepository Brain Bank. Muscle Nerve 2022; 66:167-174. [PMID: 35585776 PMCID: PMC9308705 DOI: 10.1002/mus.27635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/AIMS The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS-R) is commonly used to track ALS disease progression; however, there are gaps in the literature regarding the extent to which the ALSFRS-R relates to underlying central nervous system (CNS) pathology. The current study explored the association between ALSFRS-R (total and subdomain) scores and postmortem neuropathology (both ALS-specific and comorbid disease). METHODS Within our sample of 93 military veterans with autopsy-confirmed ALS, we utilized hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to identify discrete profiles of motor dysfunction based on ALSFRS-R subdomain scores. We examined whether emergent clusters were associated with neuropathology. Separate analyses of variance and covariance with post-hoc comparisons were performed to examine relevant cluster differences. RESULTS Analyses revealed significant correlations between ALSFRS-R total and subdomain scores with some, but not all, neuropathological variables. The HCA illustrated three groups: Cluster 1-predominantly diffuse functional impairment; Cluster 2-spared respiratory/bulbar and impaired motor function; and Cluster 3-spared bulbar and impaired respiratory, and fine and gross motor function. Individuals in Cluster 1 (and to a lesser degree, Cluster 3) exhibited greater accumulation of ALS-specific neuropathology and less comorbid neuropathology than those in Cluster 2. DISCUSSION These results suggest that discrete patterns of motor dysfunction based on ALSFRS-R subdomain scores are related to postmortem neuropathology. Findings support use of ALSFRS-R subdomain scores to capture the heterogeneity of clinical presentation and disease progression in ALS, and may assist researchers in identifying endophenotypes for separate assessment in clinical trials.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thor D. Stein
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - Manisha Thakore-James
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - M. Kian Salajegheh
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ian Robey
- Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA
| | - Ann C. McKee
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - Neil W. Kowall
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - Christopher B. Brady
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Swash M. Modulation of spinal inhibition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2022; 234:e13801. [PMID: 35170853 DOI: 10.1111/apha.13801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Swash
- Department of Neurology Barts and the London School of Medicine Queen Mary University of London London UK
- Institute of Neuroscience (Physiology) University of Lisbon Lisbon Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Hickman RA, Dewan R, Cortes E, Traynor BJ, Marder K, Vonsattel JP. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is over-represented in two Huntington's disease brain bank cohorts: further evidence to support genetic pleiotropy of pathogenic HTT gene expansion. Acta Neuropathol 2022; 143:105-108. [PMID: 34800149 PMCID: PMC8918027 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02385-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Hickman
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital, 630 W 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
| | - Ramita Dewan
- Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Etty Cortes
- Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Bryan J Traynor
- Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Karen Marder
- Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, 710 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Jean-Paul Vonsattel
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital, 630 W 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, 710 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Liu E, Karpf L, Bohl D. Neuroinflammation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia and the Interest of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Study Immune Cells Interactions With Neurons. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 14:767041. [PMID: 34970118 PMCID: PMC8712677 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.767041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammation is a shared hallmark between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). For long, studies were conducted on tissues of post-mortem patients and neuroinflammation was thought to be only bystander result of the disease with the immune system reacting to dying neurons. In the last two decades, thanks to improving technologies, the identification of causal genes and the development of new tools and models, the involvement of inflammation has emerged as a potential driver of the diseases and evolved as a new area of intense research. In this review, we present the current knowledge about neuroinflammation in ALS, ALS-FTD, and FTD patients and animal models and we discuss reasons of failures linked to therapeutic trials with immunomodulator drugs. Then we present the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and its interest as a new tool to have a better immunopathological comprehension of both diseases in a human context. The iPSC technology giving the unique opportunity to study cells across differentiation and maturation times, brings the hope to shed light on the different mechanisms linking neurodegeneration and activation of the immune system. Protocols available to differentiate iPSC into different immune cell types are presented. Finally, we discuss the interest in studying monocultures of iPS-derived immune cells, co-cultures with neurons and 3D cultures with different cell types, as more integrated cellular approaches. The hope is that the future work with human iPS-derived cells helps not only to identify disease-specific defects in the different cell types but also to decipher the synergistic effects between neurons and immune cells. These new cellular tools could help to find new therapeutic approaches for all patients with ALS, ALS-FTD, and FTD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elise Liu
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, INSERM, CNRS, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Léa Karpf
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, INSERM, CNRS, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Delphine Bohl
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, INSERM, CNRS, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Ibáñez J, Del Vecchio A, Rothwell JC, Baker SN, Farina D. Only the Fastest Corticospinal Fibers Contribute to β Corticomuscular Coherence. J Neurosci 2021; 41:4867-4879. [PMID: 33893222 PMCID: PMC8260170 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2908-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Human corticospinal transmission is commonly studied using brain stimulation. However, this approach is biased to activity in the fastest conducting axons. It is unclear whether conclusions obtained in this context are representative of volitional activity in mild-to-moderate contractions. An alternative to overcome this limitation may be to study the corticospinal transmission of endogenously generated brain activity. Here, we investigate in humans (N = 19; of either sex), the transmission speeds of cortical β rhythms (∼20 Hz) traveling to arm (first dorsal interosseous) and leg (tibialis anterior; TA) muscles during tonic mild contractions. For this purpose, we propose two improvements for the estimation of corticomuscular β transmission delays. First, we show that the cumulant density (cross-covariance) is more accurate than the commonly-used directed coherence to estimate transmission delays in bidirectional systems transmitting band-limited signals. Second, we show that when spiking motor unit activity is used instead of interference electromyography, corticomuscular transmission delay estimates are unaffected by the shapes of the motor unit action potentials (MUAPs). Applying these improvements, we show that descending corticomuscular β transmission is only 1-2 ms slower than expected from the fastest corticospinal pathways. In the last part of our work, we show results from simulations using estimated distributions of the conduction velocities for descending axons projecting to lower motoneurons (from macaque histologic measurements) to suggest two scenarios that can explain fast corticomuscular transmission: either only the fastest corticospinal axons selectively transmit β activity, or else the entire pool does. The implications of these two scenarios for our understanding of corticomuscular interactions are discussed.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We present and validate an improved methodology to measure the delay in the transmission of cortical β activity to tonically-active muscles. The estimated corticomuscular β transmission delays obtained with this approach are remarkably similar to those expected from transmission in the fastest corticospinal axons. A simulation of β transmission along a pool of corticospinal axons using an estimated distribution of fiber diameters suggests two possible mechanisms by which fast corticomuscular transmission is achieved: either a very small fraction of the fastest descending axons transmits β activity to the muscles or, alternatively, the entire population does and natural cancellation of slow channels occurs because of the distribution of axon diameters in the corticospinal tract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Ibáñez
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical and Movement Disorders, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
| | - A Del Vecchio
- Department Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen 91052, Germany
| | - J C Rothwell
- Department of Clinical and Movement Disorders, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
| | - S N Baker
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, United Kingdom
| | - D Farina
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Mez J, Alosco ML, Daneshvar DH, Saltiel N, Baucom Z, Abdolmohammadi B, Uretsky M, Nicks R, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Nowinski CJ, Montenigro P, Solomon TM, Mahar I, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Dwyer B, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Cantu RC, Kowall NW, Tripodis Y, Huber BR, Stein TD, Stern RA, McKee AC. Validity of the 2014 traumatic encephalopathy syndrome criteria for CTE pathology. Alzheimers Dement 2021; 17:1709-1724. [PMID: 33826224 PMCID: PMC8596795 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Validity of the 2014 traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES) criteria, proposed to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in life, has not been assessed. Methods A total of 336 consecutive brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts from contact sports, military service, and/or physical violence were included. Blinded to clinical information, neuropathologists applied National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering CTE criteria. Blinded to neuropathological information, clinicians interviewed informants and reviewed medical records. An expert panel adjudicated TES diagnoses. Results A total of 309 donors were diagnosed with TES; 244 donors had CTE pathology. TES criteria demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 0.97 and 0.21, respectively. Cognitive (odds ratio [OR] = 3.6; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2–5.1), but not mood/behavior or motor symptoms, were significantly associated with CTE pathology. Having Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology was significantly associated with reduced TES accuracy (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.12–0.59). Discussion TES criteria provided good evidence to rule out, but limited evidence to rule in, CTE pathology. Requiring cognitive symptoms in revised criteria and using AD biomarkers may improve CTE pathology prediction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael L Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Daniel H Daneshvar
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nicole Saltiel
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Zachary Baucom
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Boston University Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bobak Abdolmohammadi
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Madeline Uretsky
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Raymond Nicks
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brett M Martin
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Biostatistics & Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Joseph N Palmisano
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Biostatistics & Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christopher J Nowinski
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Philip Montenigro
- Department of Neuropsychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Todd M Solomon
- Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc, Aliso Viejo, California, USA
| | - Ian Mahar
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jonathan D Cherry
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Victor E Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brigid Dwyer
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lee E Goldstein
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Departments of Biomedical, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Douglas I Katz
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Robert C Cantu
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Neil W Kowall
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Boston University Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bertrand R Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Thor D Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Robert A Stern
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ann C McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Eisen A. The Dying Forward Hypothesis of ALS: Tracing Its History. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11030300. [PMID: 33673524 PMCID: PMC7997258 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11030300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The site of origin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), although unsettled, is increasingly recognized as being cortico-fugal, which is a dying-forward process primarily starting in the corticomotoneuronal system. A variety of iterations of this concept date back to over 150 years. Recently, the hallmark TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) pathology, seen in >95% of patients with ALS, has been shown to be largely restricted to corticofugal projecting neurons (“dying forward”). Possibly, soluble but toxic cytoplasmic TDP-43 could enter the axoplasm of Betz cells, subsequently causing dysregulation of nuclear protein in the lower brainstem and spinal cord anterior horn cells. As the disease progresses, cortical involvement in ALS becomes widespread, including or starting with frontotemporal dementia, implying a broader view of ALS as a brain disease. The onset at the motor and premotor cortices should be considered a nidus at the edge of multiple cortical networks which eventually become disrupted, causing failure of a widespread cortical connectome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Eisen
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Conte G, Contarino VE, Casale S, Morelli C, Sbaraini S, Scola E, Trogu F, Siggillino S, Cinnante CM, Caschera L, Lo Russo FM, Triulzi FM, Silani V. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis phenotypes significantly differ in terms of magnetic susceptibility properties of the precentral cortex. Eur Radiol 2021; 31:5272-5280. [PMID: 33399906 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-020-07547-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to investigate whether the magnetic susceptibility varies according to the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) phenotypes based on the predominance of upper motor neuron (UMN)/lower motor neuron (LMN) impairment. METHODS We retrospectively collected imaging and clinical data of 47 ALS patients (12 with UMN predominance (UMN-ALS), 16 with LMN predominance (LMN-ALS), and 19 with no clinically defined predominance (Np-ALS)). We further enrolled 23 healthy controls (HC) and 15 ALS mimics (ALS-Mim). These participants underwent brain 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (3-T MRI) with T1-weighted and gradient-echo multi-echo sequences. Automatic segmentation and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) were performed. The skewness of the susceptibility values in the precentral cortex (SuscSKEW) was automatically computed, compared among the groups, and correlated to the clinical variables. RESULTS The Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences in terms of SuscSKEW among groups (χ2(3) = 24.2, p < 0.001), and pairwise tests showed that SuscSKEW was higher in UMN-ALS compared to those in LMN-ALS (p < 0.001), HC (p < 0.001), Np-ALS (p = 0.012), and ALS-Mim (p < 0.001). SuscSKEW was highly correlated with the Penn UMN score (Spearman's rho 0.612, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that the clinical ALS phenotypes based on UMN/LMN sign predominance significantly differ in terms of magnetic susceptibility properties of the precentral cortex. Combined MRI-histopathology investigations are strongly encouraged to confirm whether this evidence is due to iron overload in UMN-ALS, unlike in LMN-ALS. KEY POINTS • Magnetic susceptibility in the precentral cortex reflects the prevalence of UMN/LMN impairment in the clinical ALS phenotypes. • The degree of UMN/LMN impairment might be well described by the automatically derived measure of SuscSKEW in the precentral cortex. • Increased SuscSKEW in the precentral cortex is more relevant in UMN-ALS patients compared to those in Np-ALS and LMN-ALS patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Conte
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Valeria Elisa Contarino
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Casale
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy.
| | - Claudia Morelli
- Department of Neurology-Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, piazzale Brescia 20, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Sbaraini
- Neuroradiology Unit, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, Via Pio II 3, Milan, Italy
| | - Elisa Scola
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Trogu
- Department of Neurology-Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, piazzale Brescia 20, Milan, Italy.,Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Siggillino
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Claudia Maria Cinnante
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Caschera
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Maria Lo Russo
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabio Maria Triulzi
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, Milan, Italy.,Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Silani
- Department of Neurology-Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, piazzale Brescia 20, Milan, Italy.,Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Cheng L, Tang X, Luo C, Liu D, Zhang Y, Zhang J. Fiber-specific white matter reductions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 28:102516. [PMID: 33396003 PMCID: PMC7724379 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of both upper and lower motor neurons. Studies using metrics derived from the diffusion tensor model have documented decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased mean diffusivity in the corticospinal tract (CST) and the corpus callosum (CC) in ALS. These studies, however, only focused on microstructural white matter (WM) changes, while the macrostructural alterations of WM tracts in ALS remain unknown. Moreover, studies conducted based on the diffusion tensor model cannot provide information related to specific fiber bundles and fail to clarify which biological characteristics are changing. Using a novel fixel-based analytical method that can characterize the fiber density (FD) and the fiber-bundle cross-section (FC), this study investigated both microstructural and macrostructural changes in the WM in a large cohort of patients with ALS (N = 60) compared with demographically matched healthy controls (N = 60). Compared with healthy controls, we found decreased FD, FC and fiber density and cross-section (FDC, a combined measure of the FD and FC) values in the bilateral CST and the middle posterior body of the CC in patients with ALS, suggesting not only microstructural but also macrostructural abnormalities in these fiber bundles. Additionally, we found that the mean FD and FDC values in the bilateral CST were positively correlated with the revised ALS Functional Rating Scale, indicating that these two indices may serve as potential markers for assessing the clinical severity of ALS. Thus, these findings provide initial evidence for the existence of microstructural and macrostructural abnormalities of the fiber bundles in ALS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luqi Cheng
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China
| | - Xie Tang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China
| | - Chunxia Luo
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400308, PR China
| | - Daihong Liu
- Department of Radiology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, PR China
| | - Yuanchao Zhang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China.
| | - Jiuquan Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Alosco ML, Cherry JD, Huber BR, Tripodis Y, Baucom Z, Kowall NW, Saltiel N, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Palmisano JN, Martin B, Cantu RC, Stern RA, Alvarez VE, Mez J, Stein TD, McKee AC. Characterizing tau deposition in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE): utility of the McKee CTE staging scheme. Acta Neuropathol 2020; 140:495-512. [PMID: 32778942 PMCID: PMC7914059 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-020-02197-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a tauopathy associated with repetitive head impacts (RHI) that has been neuropathologically diagnosed in American football players and other contact sport athletes. In 2013, McKee and colleagues proposed a staging scheme for characterizing the severity of the hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) pathology, the McKee CTE staging scheme. The staging scheme defined four pathological stages of CTE, stages I(mild)-IV(severe), based on the density and regional deposition of p-tau. The objective of this study was to test the utility of the McKee CTE staging scheme, and provide a detailed examination of the regional distribution of p-tau in CTE. We examined the relationship between the McKee CTE staging scheme and semi-quantitative and quantitative assessments of regional p-tau pathology, age at death, dementia, and years of American football play among 366 male brain donors neuropathologically diagnosed with CTE (mean age 61.86, SD 18.90). Spearman's rho correlations showed that higher CTE stage was associated with higher scores on all semi-quantitative and quantitative assessments of p-tau severity and density (p's < 0.001). The severity and distribution of CTE p-tau followed an age-dependent progression: older age was associated with increased odds for having a higher CTE stage (p < 0.001). CTE stage was independently associated with increased odds for dementia (p < 0.001). K-medoids cluster analysis of the semi-quantitative scales of p-tau across 14 regions identified 5 clusters of p-tau that conformed to increasing CTE stage (stage IV had 2 slightly different clusters), age at death, dementia, and years of American football play. There was a predilection for p-tau pathology in five regions: dorsolateral frontal cortex (DLF), superior temporal cortex, entorhinal cortex, amygdala, and locus coeruleus (LC), with CTE in the youngest brain donors and lowest CTE stage restricted to DLF and LC. These findings support the usefulness of the McKee CTE staging scheme and demonstrate the regional distribution of p-tau in CTE.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Alosco
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
| | - Jonathan D Cherry
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
| | - Bertrand Russell Huber
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare, Boston, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Zachary Baucom
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Neil W Kowall
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
| | - Nicole Saltiel
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
| | - Lee E Goldstein
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, USA
| | - Douglas I Katz
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, MA, USA
| | - Brigid Dwyer
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, MA, USA
| | - Daniel H Daneshvar
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
| | - Joseph N Palmisano
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Brett Martin
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Robert C Cantu
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, USA
| | - Robert A Stern
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
| | - Victor E Alvarez
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Mez
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
| | - Thor D Stein
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA
| | - Ann C McKee
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Centers, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA.
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA.
- VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA.
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Cherry JD, Kim SH, Stein TD, Pothast MJ, Nicks R, Meng G, Huber BR, Mez J, Alosco ML, Tripodis Y, Farrell K, Alvarez VE, McKee AC, Crary JF. Evolution of neuronal and glial tau isoforms in chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Brain Pathol 2020; 30:913-925. [PMID: 32500646 PMCID: PMC7484331 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative tauopathy characterized by accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) in perivascular aggregates in neurons and glia at the depths of neocortical sulci and progresses to diffuse neocortical, allocortical and brainstem structures. The strongest risk factor is exposure to repetitive head impacts acquired most commonly through contact sports and military service. Given that CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after death, a better understanding of the cellular and molecular changes in CTE brains may lead to identification of mechanisms that could be used for novel biomarkers, monitoring progression or therapeutic development. Disruption of alternative pre-mRNA splicing of tau mRNA plays a pathogenic role in tauopathy, with multiple characteristic patterns of isoform accumulation varying among tauopathies. Limited data are available on CTE, particularly at early stages. Using biochemical and histological approaches, we performed a detailed characterization of tau isoform signatures in post-mortem human brain tissue from individuals with a range of CTE stages (n = 99). In immunoblot analyses, severity was associated with decreased total monomeric tau and increased total oligomeric tau. Immunoblot with isoform-specific antisera revealed that oligomeric tau with three and four microtubule binding domain repeats (3R and 4R) also increased with CTE severity. Similarly, immunohistochemical studies revealed p-tau accumulation consisting of both 3R and 4R in perivascular lesions. When the ratio of 4R:3R was analyzed, there was mixed expression throughout CTE stages, although 4R predominated in early CTE stages (I-II), a 3R shift was observed in later stages (III-IV). While neurons were found to contain both 3R and 4R, astrocytes only contained 4R. These 4R-positive cells were exclusively neuronal at early stages. Overall, these findings demonstrate that CTE is a mixed 4R/3R tauopathy. Furthermore, histologic analysis reveals a progressive shift in tau isoforms that correlates with CTE stage and extent of neuronal pathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D. Cherry
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
| | - Soong Ho Kim
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research CoREDepartment of PathologyNash Family Department of NeuroscienceRonald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's DiseaseFriedman Brain InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNY
| | - Thor D. Stein
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Morgan J. Pothast
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
| | - Raymond Nicks
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Gaoyuan Meng
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Jesse Mez
- Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Framingham Heart StudyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
| | - Michael L. Alosco
- Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Department of BiostatisticsSchool of Public HealthBoston UniversityBostonMA
| | - Kurt Farrell
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research CoREDepartment of PathologyNash Family Department of NeuroscienceRonald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's DiseaseFriedman Brain InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNY
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Ann C. McKee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE CentersBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemU.S. Department of Veteran AffairsBostonMA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - John F. Crary
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research CoREDepartment of PathologyNash Family Department of NeuroscienceRonald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's DiseaseFriedman Brain InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNY
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Kamiya K, Hori M, Aoki S. NODDI in clinical research. J Neurosci Methods 2020; 346:108908. [PMID: 32814118 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 08/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Diffusion MRI (dMRI) has proven to be a useful imaging approach for both clinical diagnosis and research investigating the microstructures of nervous tissues, and it has helped us to better understand the neurophysiological mechanisms of many diseases. Though diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has long been the default tool to analyze dMRI data in clinical research, acquisition with stronger diffusion weightings beyond the DTI regimen is now possible with modern clinical scanners, potentially enabling even more detailed characterization of tissue microstructures. To take advantage of such data, neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) has been proposed as a way to relate the dMRI signal to tissue features via biophysically inspired modeling. The number of reports demonstrating the potential clinical utility of NODDI is rapidly increasing. At the same time, the pitfalls and limitations of NODDI, and general challenges in microstructure modeling, are becoming increasingly recognized by clinicians. dMRI microstructure modeling is a rapidly evolving field with great promise, where people from different scientific backgrounds, such as physics, medicine, biology, neuroscience, and statistics, are collaborating to build novel tools that contribute to improving human healthcare. Here, we review the applications of NODDI in clinical research and discuss future perspectives for investigations toward the implementation of dMRI microstructure imaging in clinical practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kouhei Kamiya
- Department of Radiology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Radiology, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Radiology, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Masaaki Hori
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Radiology, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeki Aoki
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Spencer KR, Foster ZW, Rauf NA, Guilderson L, Collins D, Averill JG, Walker SE, Robey I, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, McKee AC, Kowall NW, Brady CB, Stein TD. Neuropathological profile of long-duration amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in military Veterans. Brain Pathol 2020; 30:1028-1040. [PMID: 32633852 PMCID: PMC8018169 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting both the upper and lower motor neurons. Although ALS typically leads to death within 3 to 5 years after initial symptom onset, approximately 10% of patients with ALS live more than 10 years after symptom onset. We set out to determine similarities and differences in clinical presentation and neuropathology in persons with ALS with long vs. those with standard duration. Participants were United States military Veterans with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of ALS (n = 179), dichotomized into standard duration (<10 years) and long-duration (≥10 years). The ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) was administered at study entry and semi-annually thereafter until death. Microglial density was determined in a subset of participants. long-duration ALS occurred in 76 participants (42%) with a mean disease duration of 16.3 years (min/max = 10.1/42.2). Participants with long-duration ALS were younger at disease onset (P = 0.002), had a slower initial ALS symptom progression on the ALSFRS-R (P < 0.001) and took longer to diagnose (P < 0.002) than standard duration ALS. Pathologically, long-duration ALS was associated with less frequent TDP-43 pathology (P < 0.001). Upper motor neuron degeneration was similar; however, long-duration ALS participants had less severe lower motor neuron degeneration at death (P < 0.001). In addition, the density of microglia was decreased in the corticospinal tract (P = 0.017) and spinal cord anterior horn (P = 0.009) in long-duration ALS. Notably, many neuropathological markers of ALS were similar between the standard and long-duration groups and there was no difference in the frequency of known ALS genetic mutations. These findings suggest that the lower motor neuron system is relatively spared in long-duration ALS and that pathological progression is likely slowed by as yet unknown genetic and environmental modifiers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ian Robey
- Southern Arizona VA Healthcare SystemTucsonAZ
| | - Jonathan D. Cherry
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Ann C. McKee
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| | - Neil W. Kowall
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA
| | - Christopher B. Brady
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Division of AgingBrigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMA
| | - Thor D. Stein
- VA Boston Healthcare SystemBostonMA,Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineBoston University School of MedicineBostonMA,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical CenterBedfordMA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
McColgan P, Joubert J, Tabrizi SJ, Rees G. The human motor cortex microcircuit: insights for neurodegenerative disease. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21:401-415. [PMID: 32555340 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0315-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The human motor cortex comprises a microcircuit of five interconnected layers with different cell types. In this Review, we use a layer-specific and cell-specific approach to integrate physiological accounts of this motor cortex microcircuit with the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases affecting motor functions. In doing so we can begin to link motor microcircuit pathology to specific disease stages and clinical phenotypes. Based on microcircuit physiology, we can make future predictions of axonal loss and microcircuit dysfunction. With recent advances in high-resolution neuroimaging we can then test these predictions in humans in vivo, providing mechanistic insights into neurodegenerative disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter McColgan
- Huntington's Disease Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Julie Joubert
- Huntington's Disease Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah J Tabrizi
- Huntington's Disease Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
| | - Geraint Rees
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Gabel MC, Broad RJ, Young AL, Abrahams S, Bastin ME, Menke RAL, Al‐Chalabi A, Goldstein LH, Tsermentseli S, Alexander DC, Turner MR, Leigh PN, Cercignani M. Evolution of white matter damage in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2020; 7:722-732. [PMID: 32367696 PMCID: PMC7261765 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To characterize disease evolution in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using an event-based model designed to extract temporal information from cross-sectional data. Conventional methods for understanding mechanisms of rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorders are limited by the subjectivity inherent in the selection of a limited range of measurements, and the need to acquire longitudinal data. METHODS The event-based model characterizes a disease as a series of events, each comprising a significant change in subject state. The model was applied to data from 154 patients and 128 healthy controls selected from five independent diffusion MRI datasets acquired in four different imaging laboratories between 1999 and 2016. The biomarkers modeled were mean fractional anisotropy values of white matter tracts implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The cerebral portion of the corticospinal tract was divided into three segments. RESULTS Application of the model to the pooled datasets revealed that the corticospinal tracts were involved before other white matter tracts. Distal corticospinal tract segments were involved earlier than more proximal (i.e., cephalad) segments. In addition, the model revealed early ordering of fractional anisotropy change in the corpus callosum and subsequently in long association fibers. INTERPRETATION These findings represent data-driven evidence for early involvement of the corticospinal tracts and body of the corpus callosum in keeping with conventional approaches to image analysis, while providing new evidence to inform directional degeneration of the corticospinal tracts. This data-driven model provides new insight into the dynamics of neuronal damage in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matt C. Gabel
- Department of NeuroscienceClinical Imaging Sciences CentreBrighton and Sussex Medical SchoolUniversity of SussexBrightonEast SussexUnited Kingdom
| | - Rebecca J. Broad
- Department of NeuroscienceTrafford CentreBrighton and Sussex Medical SchoolUniversity of SussexBrightonEast SussexUnited Kingdom
| | - Alexandra L. Young
- Centre for Medical Image ComputingDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity College LondonGower StreetLondonWC1E 6BTUnited Kingdom
| | - Sharon Abrahams
- Department of PsychologySchool of Philosophy, Psychology & Language SciencesEuan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease ResearchUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Mark E. Bastin
- Department of PsychologySchool of Philosophy, Psychology & Language SciencesEuan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease ResearchUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Ricarda A. L. Menke
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative NeuroimagingFMRIBNuffield Department of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Nuffield Department of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Ammar Al‐Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical NeuroscienceKing's College LondonMaurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience InstituteLondonUnited Kingdom
- Department of NeurologyKing’s College HospitalLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Laura H. Goldstein
- Department of PsychologyInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Daniel C. Alexander
- Centre for Medical Image ComputingDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity College LondonGower StreetLondonWC1E 6BTUnited Kingdom
| | - Martin R. Turner
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative NeuroimagingFMRIBNuffield Department of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Nuffield Department of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - P. Nigel Leigh
- Department of NeuroscienceTrafford CentreBrighton and Sussex Medical SchoolUniversity of SussexBrightonEast SussexUnited Kingdom
| | - Mara Cercignani
- Department of NeuroscienceClinical Imaging Sciences CentreBrighton and Sussex Medical SchoolUniversity of SussexBrightonEast SussexUnited Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Nardone R, Golaszewski S, Thomschewski A, Sebastianelli L, Versace V, Brigo F, Orioli A, Saltuari L, Höller Y, Trinka E. Disinhibition of sensory cortex in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurosci Lett 2020; 722:134860. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.134860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
|
29
|
Swash M, Burke D, Turner MR, Grosskreutz J, Leigh PN, deCarvalho M, Kiernan MC. Occasional essay: Upper motor neuron syndrome in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2020; 91:227-234. [PMID: 32054724 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Swash
- Barts and the London School of Medicine, QMUL, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Univeridade de Lisboa, London, UK
| | - David Burke
- University of Sydney and Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Martin R Turner
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Julian Grosskreutz
- Universitätsklinikum Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - P Nigel Leigh
- Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research, Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Mamede deCarvalho
- Instituto de Fisiologia, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Univeridade de Lisboa, and Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Norte, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Matthew C Kiernan
- University of Sydney and Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Mez J, Daneshvar DH, Abdolmohammadi B, Chua AS, Alosco ML, Kiernan PT, Evers L, Marshall L, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Nowinski CJ, Mahar I, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Dwyer B, Huber BR, Stein TD, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Cantu RC, Au R, Kowall NW, Stern RA, McClean MD, Weuve J, Tripodis Y, McKee AC. Duration of American Football Play and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Ann Neurol 2020; 87:116-131. [PMID: 31589352 PMCID: PMC6973077 DOI: 10.1002/ana.25611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with exposure to contact and collision sports, including American football. We hypothesized a dose-response relationship between duration of football played and CTE risk and severity. METHODS In a convenience sample of 266 deceased American football players from the Veterans Affairs-Boston University-Concussion Legacy Foundation and Framingham Heart Study Brain Banks, we estimated the association of years of football played with CTE pathological status and severity. We evaluated the ability of years played to classify CTE status using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Simulation analyses quantified conditions that might lead to selection bias. RESULTS In total, 223 of 266 participants met neuropathological diagnostic criteria for CTE. More years of football played were associated with having CTE (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30 per year played, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19-1.41; p = 3.8 × 10-9 ) and with CTE severity (severe vs mild; OR = 1.14 per year played, 95% CI = 1.07-1.22; p = 3.1 × 10-4 ). Participants with CTE were 1/10th as likely to have played <4.5 years (negative likelihood ratio [LR] = 0.102, 95% CI = 0.100-0.105) and were 10 times as likely to have played >14.5 years (positive LR = 10.2, 95% CI = 9.8-10.7) compared with participants without CTE. Sensitivity and specificity were maximized at 11 years played. Simulation demonstrated that years played remained adversely associated with CTE status when years played and CTE status were both related to brain bank selection across widely ranging scenarios. INTERPRETATION The odds of CTE double every 2.6 years of football played. After accounting for brain bank selection, the magnitude of the relationship between years played and CTE status remained consistent. ANN NEUROL 2020;87:116-131.
Collapse
|
31
|
Takeda T, Kitagawa K, Arai K. Phenotypic variability and its pathological basis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuropathology 2019; 40:40-56. [PMID: 31802540 DOI: 10.1111/neup.12606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by its inherent clinicopathological variability. The concurrence of upper and lower motor neuron signs is a common feature in the majority of patients with ALS. However, some patients manifest an atypical clinical course, with only upper or lower motor neuron signs, or various extra-motor symptoms including cognitive dysfunction, parkinsonism, autonomic dysfunction, or ophthalmoparesis. This variability indicates different manifestations of ALS and is reflected by ALS pathology spreading into the central nervous system. The presence of cytoplasmic inclusions positive for transactivation response DNA-binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43) is a key feature in ALS. Loss of TDP-43 from the nucleus and its subsequent aggregation in the cytoplasm may occur in susceptible regions and may be associated with neuronal loss. However, in some regions, there is no apparent neuronal loss while TDP-43 accumulation is evident; in contrast, in other regions, neuronal loss is apparent without any evidence of TDP-43 accumulation. Therefore, in addition to TDP-43 dysfunction, underlying region-specific cellular vulnerability may exist in the upper and lower motor neurons and frontotemporal system in patients with ALS. The microscopic discrepancy and selective vulnerability may be linked to the macroscopic propensities of the sites of onset, and may also determine the direction and rate of progression of the lesions. Thus, there may be multicentric sites of onset, region-oriented disease development, and different speeds of disease progression across patients with ALS. ALS lesions occur in motor-related areas but may spread to neighboring areas. However, since lesions may spread in a discontinuous manner, and the dynamics of disease propagation have not been able to be identified, it remains controversial whether the stepwise appearance of TDP-43-positive inclusions is based on direct cell-to-cell protein propagation. Further understanding of the phenotypic variability of ALS and its pathological basis may serve as a guide for investigating the underlying pathogenesis of ALS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Takeda
- Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization Chibahigashi National Hospital, Chiba, Japan.,Department of Neurology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuo Kitagawa
- Department of Neurology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kimihito Arai
- Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization Chibahigashi National Hospital, Chiba, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Donatelli G, Caldarazzo Ienco E, Costagli M, Migaleddu G, Cecchi P, Siciliano G, Cosottini M. MRI cortical feature of bulbar impairment in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 24:101934. [PMID: 31377555 PMCID: PMC6698695 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The decline of voluntary bulbar functions such as speech and swallowing are among the clinical manifestations of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) influencing a worst prognosis. Differential diagnosis between the contribution of upper motor neuron (UMN) and lower motor neuron degeneration to the bulbar impairment is often hard. Thinning and T2* hypointensity of the primary motor cortex have been recently suggested as possible MRI markers of UMN impairment in ALS patients, but little research has purposely targeted the orofacial region of the primary motor cortex (fM1). With the aim of finding an MRI marker of UMN impairment responsible for bulbar dysfunction, we investigated the T2* signal intensity of fM1 and the relationship with bulbar impairment in ALS patients. Fifty-five ALS patients were examined with 3 T MRI. Their fM1 was evaluated both qualitatively in terms of T2* signal intensity and quantitatively by measuring its magnetic susceptibility with Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM). Bulbar functions were assessed clinically, by neurological examination and using the items 1–3 of the ALSFRS-R, and with neurophysiological tests. The marked hypointensity of fM1 was detected in 25% of ALS patients, including all patients with bulbar onset, and was 74% sensitive, 100% specific and 91% accurate in diagnosing functional bulbar impairment. Such hypointensity involved the middle and ventral part of fM1 and was usually visible in both hemispheres. The magnetic susceptibility was significantly higher in patients with marked fM1 hypointensity than in the other patients (p ≤ .001). The relationship with clinical and neurophysiological data suggests that such feature could be a marker of UMN degeneration for voluntary bulbar functions. T2* hypointensity was assessed in the orofacial region of M1 (fM1) of ALS patients. All ALS patients with marked T2* hypointensity of fM1 had bulbar impairment (BI). The marked T2* hypointensity of fM1 was 91% accurate in diagnosing BI. fM1 hypointensity can be a marker of upper motor neuron degeneration causing BI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Graziella Donatelli
- Imago7 Research Foundation, Pisa, Italy; Neuroradiology Unit, Azienda Ospadaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italy
| | - Elena Caldarazzo Ienco
- Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Mauro Costagli
- Imago7 Research Foundation, Pisa, Italy; Laboratory of Medical Physics and Magnetic Resonance, IRCCS Stella Maris, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Gianmichele Migaleddu
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Paolo Cecchi
- Neuroradiology Unit, Azienda Ospadaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italy
| | - Gabriele Siciliano
- Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Mirco Cosottini
- Neuroradiology Unit, Azienda Ospadaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italy; Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Huang NX, Zou ZY, Xue YJ, Chen HJ. Abnormal cerebral microstructures revealed by diffusion kurtosis imaging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Magn Reson Imaging 2019; 51:554-562. [PMID: 31206873 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.26843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Revised: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease in which cerebral structural impairment is a consistent feature. PURPOSE To investigate cerebral microstructural changes in ALS using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for the first time. STUDY TYPE Prospective. SUBJECTS Eighteen ALS patients and 20 healthy controls. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE DKI images were obtained by a spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence on a 3T MRI scanner, with three b-values (0, 1000, and 2000 s/mm2 ) and 64 diffusion encoding directions. ASSESSMENT The revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) was administered to assess disease severity, and the symptom duration and disease progression rate were also recorded. Voxel-based analysis was applied to examine the alteration of DKI metrics (ie, mean kurtosis metrics [MK], axial kurtosis [AK], and radial kurtosis [RK]) and the conventional diffusion metrics (ie, fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity). STATISTICAL TESTS Student's t-test, chi-square test, and Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS ALS patients showed MK reductions in gray matter areas, including the bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral paracentral lobule, and left anterior cingulate gyrus; they also showed decreased MK values in white matter (WM) in the bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral corona radiata, bilateral middle corpus callosum, left occipital lobe, and right superior parietal lobule. The spatial distribution of the regions with reduced RK was similar to those with decreased MK. No significant AK difference was found between groups. The correlation analysis revealed significant associations between DKI metrics and clinical assessments such as ALSFRS-R score and disease duration. Additionally, several WM regions showed between-group differences in conventional diffusion metrics; but the spatial extent was smaller than that with reduced DKI metrics. DATA CONCLUSION The reduction in DKI metrics indicates decreased microstructural complexity in ALS, involving both motor-related areas and extramotor regions. DKI metrics can serve as potential biomarkers for assessing disease severity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;51:554-562.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nao-Xin Huang
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Zhang-Yu Zou
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yun-Jing Xue
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hua-Jun Chen
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Broad RJ, Gabel MC, Dowell NG, Schwartzman DJ, Seth AK, Zhang H, Alexander DC, Cercignani M, Leigh PN. Neurite orientation and dispersion density imaging (NODDI) detects cortical and corticospinal tract degeneration in ALS. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2019; 90:404-411. [PMID: 30361295 PMCID: PMC6581155 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2018-318830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Corticospinal tract (CST) degeneration and cortical atrophy are consistent features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We hypothesised that neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), a multicompartment model of diffusion MRI, would reveal microstructural changes associated with ALS within the CST and precentral gyrus (PCG) 'in vivo'. METHODS 23 participants with sporadic ALS and 23 healthy controls underwent diffusion MRI. Neurite density index (NDI), orientation dispersion index (ODI) and free water fraction (isotropic compartment (ISO)) were derived. Whole brain voxel-wise analysis was performed to assess for group differences. Standard diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters were computed for comparison. Subgroup analysis was performed to investigate for NODDI parameter differences relating to bulbar involvement. Correlation of NODDI parameters with clinical variables were also explored. The results were accepted as significant where p<0.05 after family-wise error correction at the cluster level, clusters formed with p<0.001. RESULTS In the ALS group NDI was reduced in the extensive regions of the CST, the corpus callosum and the right PCG. ODI was reduced in the right anterior internal capsule and the right PCG. Significant differences in NDI were detected between subgroups stratified according to the presence or absence of bulbar involvement. ODI and ISO correlated with disease duration. CONCLUSIONS NODDI demonstrates that axonal loss within the CST is a core feature of degeneration in ALS. This is the main factor contributing to the altered diffusivity profile detected using DTI. NODDI also identified dendritic alterations within the PCG, suggesting microstructural cortical dendritic changes occur together with CST axonal damage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Broad
- Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK .,Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, UK
| | - Matt C Gabel
- Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
| | - Nicholas G Dowell
- Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Anil K Seth
- Sackler Centre Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Hui Zhang
- Centre for Medical Image Computing and Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Daniel C Alexander
- Centre for Medical Image Computing and Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Mara Cercignani
- Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.,Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - P Nigel Leigh
- Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.,Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Mathis S, Goizet C, Soulages A, Vallat JM, Masson GL. Genetics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A review. J Neurol Sci 2019; 399:217-226. [PMID: 30870681 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2019.02.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder of the motor pathways, invariably leading to death within a few years of onset. Most cases of ALS are sporadic, but familial forms of the disease (FALS) constitute 10% of the cases. Since the first identification of a causative gene in the 1990s and with recent advances in genetics, more than twenty genes have now been linked to FALS. This increased number of genes led to a tremendous amount of research, clearly contributed to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder, and paved the way for the development of new therapeutics and new hope for this fatal disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stéphane Mathis
- Department of Neurology, Nerve-Muscle Unit, CHU Bordeaux, (Pellegrin Hospital), University of Bordeaux, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; ALS Center, Nerve-Muscle Unit, CHU Bordeaux, (Pellegrin Hospital), University of Bordeaux, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.
| | - Cyril Goizet
- Department of Medical Genetics, 'Centre de Référence Maladies Rares Neurogénétique', CHU Bordeaux (Pellegrin Hospital), University of Bordeaux, 33000 Bordeaux, France; Laboratoire MRGM, INSERM U1211, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Antoine Soulages
- Department of Neurology, Nerve-Muscle Unit, CHU Bordeaux, (Pellegrin Hospital), University of Bordeaux, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Jean-Michel Vallat
- Department of Neurology, 'Centre de référence neuropathies rares', 2 avenue Martin Luther King, F-87000 Limoges, France
| | - Gwendal Le Masson
- Department of Neurology, Nerve-Muscle Unit, CHU Bordeaux, (Pellegrin Hospital), University of Bordeaux, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; Neurocentre Magendie, 'Physiopathologie de la Plasticité Neuronale', University of Bordeaux, U862, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, 'Physiopathologie de la Plasticité Neuronale', U862, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Turner MR. The reunification of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2019; 90:122-123. [PMID: 30297521 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2018-319470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Martin R Turner
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Barritt AW, Gabel MC, Cercignani M, Leigh PN. Emerging Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques and Analysis Methods in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Front Neurol 2018; 9:1065. [PMID: 30564192 PMCID: PMC6288229 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.01065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective markers of disease sensitive to the clinical activity, symptomatic progression, and underlying substrates of neurodegeneration are highly coveted in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in order to more eloquently stratify the highly heterogeneous phenotype and facilitate the discovery of effective disease modifying treatments for patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising, non-invasive biomarker candidate whose acquisition techniques and analysis methods are undergoing constant evolution in the pursuit of parameters which more closely represent biologically-applicable tissue changes. Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI; a form of diffusion imaging), and quantitative Magnetization Transfer Imaging (qMTi) are two such emerging modalities which have each broadened the understanding of other neurological disorders and have the potential to provide new insights into structural alterations initiated by the disease process in ALS. Furthermore, novel neuroimaging data analysis approaches such as Event-Based Modeling (EBM) may be able to circumvent the requirement for longitudinal scanning as a means to comprehend the dynamic stages of neurodegeneration in vivo. Combining these and other innovative imaging protocols with more sophisticated techniques to analyse ever-increasing datasets holds the exciting prospect of transforming understanding of the biological processes and temporal evolution of the ALS syndrome, and can only benefit from multicentre collaboration across the entire ALS research community.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Barritt
- Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, United Kingdom.,Hurstwood Park Neurological Centre Haywards Heath, West Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Matt C Gabel
- Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, United Kingdom
| | - Mara Cercignani
- Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, United Kingdom
| | - P Nigel Leigh
- Hurstwood Park Neurological Centre Haywards Heath, West Sussex, United Kingdom.,Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Biomedical Research Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Walt GS, Burris HM, Brady CB, Spencer KR, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Guilderson L, Abdul Rauf N, Collins D, Singh T, Mathias R, Averill JG, Walker SE, Robey I, McKee AC, Kowall NW, Stein TD. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Within an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Brain Bank Cohort. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2018; 77:1091-1100. [PMID: 30299493 PMCID: PMC6927868 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nly092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder linked to repetitive head impacts and has been associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal, degenerative neuromuscular disorder. The Department of Veterans Affairs Biorepository Brain Bank (VABBB) is a tissue repository that collects antemortem disease progression data and postmortem central nervous system tissue from veterans with ALS. We set out to determine the frequency of co-morbid ALS and CTE in the VABBB cohort and to characterize the clinical, genetic, and pathological distinctions between participants with ALS only and those with both ALS and CTE (ALS+CTE). Of 155 participants, 9 (5.8%) had neuropathologically confirmed ALS+CTE. Participants with ALS+CTE were more likely to have a history of traumatic brain injury (p < 0.001), served during the first Persian Gulf War (p < 0.05), and to have more severe tau pathology within the frontal cortex and spinal cord (p < 0.05). The most common exposures to head impacts included contact sports (n = 5) and military service (n = 2). Clinically, participants with ALS+CTE were more likely to have bulbar onset ALS (p = 0.006), behavioral changes (p = 0.002), and/or mood changes (p < 0.001). Overall, compared with ALS in isolation, comorbid ALS+CTE is associated with a history of TBI and has a distinct clinical and pathological presentation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christopher B Brady
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Aging, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Victor E Alvarez
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Bertrand R Huber
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | | | - Rebecca Mathias
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Sean E Walker
- Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Ian Robey
- Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Ann C McKee
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Neil W Kowall
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Thor D Stein
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Send correspondence to: Thor D. Stein, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130; E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Cherry JD, Mez J, Crary JF, Tripodis Y, Alvarez VE, Mahar I, Huber BR, Alosco ML, Nicks R, Abdolmohammadi B, Kiernan PT, Evers L, Svirsky S, Babcock K, Gardner HM, Meng G, Nowinski CJ, Martin BM, Dwyer B, Kowall NW, Cantu RC, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Stern RA, Farrer LA, McKee AC, Stein TD. Variation in TMEM106B in chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2018; 6:115. [PMID: 30390709 PMCID: PMC6215686 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-018-0619-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic basis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is poorly understood. Variation in transmembrane protein 106B (TMEM106B) has been associated with enhanced neuroinflammation during aging and with TDP-43-related neurodegenerative disease, and rs3173615, a missense coding SNP in TMEM106B, has been implicated as a functional variant in these processes. Neuroinflammation and TDP-43 pathology are prominent features in CTE. The purpose of this study was to determine whether genetic variation in TMEM106B is associated with CTE risk, pathological features, and ante-mortem dementia. Eighty-six deceased male athletes with a history of participation in American football, informant-reported Caucasian, and a positive postmortem diagnosis of CTE without comorbid neurodegenerative disease were genotyped for rs3173615. The minor allele frequency (MAF = 0.42) in participants with CTE did not differ from previously reported neurologically normal controls (MAF = 0.43). However, in a case-only analysis among CTE cases, the minor allele was associated with reduced phosphorylated tau (ptau) pathology in the dorsolateral frontal cortex (DLFC) (AT8 density, odds ratio [OR] of increasing one quartile = 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.22–0.79, p = 0.008), reduced neuroinflammation in the DLFC (CD68 density, OR of increasing one quartile = 0.53, 95% CI 0.29–0.98, p = 0.043), and increased synaptic protein density (β = 0.306, 95% CI 0.065–0.546, p = 0.014). Among CTE cases, TMEM106B minor allele was also associated with reduced ante-mortem dementia (OR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.16–0.99, p = 0.048), but was not associated with TDP-43 pathology. All case-only models were adjusted for age at death and duration of football play. Taken together, variation in TMEM106B may have a protective effect on CTE-related outcomes.
Collapse
|
40
|
Eisen A. Central nervous system in motor neuron disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2018; 89:901-902. [PMID: 29680791 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2018-318186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
|
41
|
Driven to decay: Excitability and synaptic abnormalities in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain Res Bull 2018; 140:318-333. [PMID: 29870780 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2018.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common motor neuron (MN) disease and is clinically characterised by the death of corticospinal motor neurons (CSMNs), spinal and brainstem MNs and the degeneration of the corticospinal tract. Degeneration of CSMNs and MNs leads inexorably to muscle wastage and weakness, progressing to eventual death within 3-5 years of diagnosis. The CSMNs, located within layer V of the primary motor cortex, project axons constituting the corticospinal tract, forming synaptic connections with brainstem and spinal cord interneurons and MNs. Clinical ALS may be divided into familial (∼10% of cases) or sporadic (∼90% of cases), based on apparent random incidence. The emergence of transgenic murine models, expressing different ALS-associated mutations has accelerated our understanding of ALS pathogenesis, although precise mechanisms remain elusive. Multiple avenues of investigation suggest that cortical electrical abnormalities have pre-eminence in the pathophysiology of ALS. In addition, glutamate-mediated functional and structural alterations in both CSMNs and MNs are present in both sporadic and familial forms of ALS. This review aims to promulgate debate in the field with regard to the common aetiology of sporadic and familial ALS. A specific focus on a nexus point in ALS pathogenesis, namely, the synaptic and intrinsic hyperexcitability of CSMNs and MNs and alterations to their structure are comprehensively detailed. The association of extramotor dysfunction with neuronal structural/functional alterations will be discussed. Finally, the implications of the latest research on the dying-forward and dying-back controversy are considered.
Collapse
|
42
|
Turner MR, Eisen A, Kiernan MC, Ravits J, Swash M. Kinnier Wilson's puzzling features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2018; 89:657-666. [PMID: 29122933 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2017-317217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2017] [Revised: 10/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Martin R Turner
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrew Eisen
- Department of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Matthew C Kiernan
- Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney; Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - John Ravits
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Swash M. Sensorimotor integration is problematic in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 129:849-850. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
44
|
Ramanathan RS, Rana S. Demographics and clinical characteristics of primary lateral sclerosis: case series and a review of literature. Neurodegener Dis Manag 2018; 8:17-23. [PMID: 29316850 DOI: 10.2217/nmt-2017-0051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a form of motor neuron disease involving only upper motor neurons. In some patients presenting as PLS, the disease progresses to involve lower motor neurons and thereby converting to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, pure forms of PLS do exist. Our aim was to study epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pure PLS patients treated at our neuromuscular clinic. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 15 patients from July 2011 to October 2014 with PLS treated at the neuromuscular disorder clinic at our hospital. Data collection included patient demographics, age and site of onset, duration of symptoms and duration of follow-up. We also studied clinical features such as bulbar involvement; pseudobulbar affect; depression; spasms/pain; bladder involvement; diagnostic work up, in other words, MRI; brain/electromyography findings; clinical course, namely years to wheelchair; and need for gastrostomy tube requirement baclofen pump placement. We also tried to find a correlation between PLS and environmental factors such as urban/suburban/rural living, consumption of well water, socioeconomic status/occupation and history of trauma. RESULTS Male-to-female ratio was 1:2, mean age at onset of symptoms was 58.6 years, with the oldest patient being an 84-year-old female at the time of onset of symptoms. Mean duration of follow-up was 51 months. Mean duration of symptoms was 77.4 months. About eight (53%) patients presented with bulbar symptoms in the form of spastic speech and dysphagia, pseudobulbar affect, developed depression and had bladder involvement. Seven (47%) patients presented with symmetric spasticity in the extremities. A third of the patients required baclofen for spasticity and a third required gastrostomy tube placement for dysphagia. None of them had abnormal neuroimaging or electrodiagnostic testing. Only one patient had history of trauma. About half of the patients were from lower socioeconomic status as well as middle class. One of the patients had consumed well water during younger years and three (20%) patients lived in the rural area. CONCLUSION Though on review of literature there is no clear consensus about the existence of PLS as a distinct disease entity, we believe that there are rare cases of motor neuron disease with progressive upper motor neuron symptoms that throughout their course never convert to ALS. Our series highlights the demographic and clinical features of these patients and underscores the longer survival of these patients when compared with ALS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandeep Rana
- Temple University School of Medicine, Neurology Residency Program Director, Neuromuscular Department Director, Allegheny Health Network, 420 E North Ave, Suite 206, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USA
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Quantitative FLAIR MRI in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Acad Radiol 2017; 24:1187-1194. [PMID: 28572001 PMCID: PMC5605225 DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2017.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2016] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) hyperintensity assessed visually in the corticospinal tract (CST) lacks sensitivity for a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We sought to explore a quantitative approach to fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI intensity across a range of ALS phenotypes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-three classical ALS patients, 10 with a flail arm presentation, and six with primary lateral sclerosis underwent MRI at 3 Tesla. Comparisons of quantitative FLAIR intensity in the CST and corpus callosum were made between 21 healthy controls and within patient phenotypic subgroups, some of whom were studied longitudinally. RESULTS Mean FLAIR intensity was greater in patient groups. The cerebral peduncle intensity provided the strongest subgroup classification. FLAIR intensity increased longitudinally. The rate of change of FLAIR within CST correlated with rate of decline in executive function and ALS functional rating score. CONCLUSIONS FLAIR MRI encodes quantifiable information of potential diagnostic, stratification, and monitoring value.
Collapse
|
46
|
Cherry JD, Stein TD, Tripodis Y, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Au R, Kiernan PT, Daneshvar DH, Mez J, Solomon TM, Alosco ML, McKee AC. CCL11 is increased in the CNS in chronic traumatic encephalopathy but not in Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185541. [PMID: 28950005 PMCID: PMC5614644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
CCL11, a protein previously associated with age-associated cognitive decline, is observed to be increased in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using a cohort of 23 deceased American football players with neuropathologically verified CTE, 50 subjects with neuropathologically diagnosed AD, and 18 non-athlete controls, CCL11 was measured with ELISA in the dorsolateral frontal cortex (DLFC) and CSF. CCL11 levels were significantly increased in the DLFC in subjects with CTE (fold change = 1.234, p < 0.050) compared to non-athlete controls and AD subjects with out a history of head trauma. This increase was also seen to correlate with years of exposure to American football (β = 0.426, p = 0.048) independent of age (β = -0.046, p = 0.824). Preliminary analyses of a subset of subjects with available post-mortem CSF showed a trend for increased CCL11 among individuals with CTE (p = 0.069) mirroring the increase in the DLFC. Furthermore, an association between CSF CCL11 levels and the number of years exposed to football (β = 0.685, p = 0.040) was observed independent of age (β = -0.103, p = 0.716). Finally, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated CSF CCL11 accurately distinguished CTE subjects from non-athlete controls and AD subjects (AUC = 0.839, 95% CI 0.62-1.058, p = 0.028). Overall, the current findings provide preliminary evidence that CCL11 may be a novel target for future CTE biomarker studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D. Cherry
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Thor D. Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, United States of America
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, United States of America
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Rhoda Au
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
- Framingham Heart Study, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Patrick T. Kiernan
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Daniel H. Daneshvar
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
| | - Todd M. Solomon
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Michael L. Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
| | - Ann C. McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. United States of America
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Mez J, Daneshvar DH, Kiernan PT, Abdolmohammadi B, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Alosco ML, Solomon TM, Nowinski CJ, McHale L, Cormier KA, Kubilus CA, Martin BM, Murphy L, Baugh CM, Montenigro PH, Chaisson CE, Tripodis Y, Kowall NW, Weuve J, McClean MD, Cantu RC, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Stern RA, Stein TD, McKee AC. Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. JAMA 2017; 318:360-370. [PMID: 28742910 PMCID: PMC5807097 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2017.8334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 610] [Impact Index Per Article: 87.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Players of American football may be at increased risk of long-term neurological conditions, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). OBJECTIVE To determine the neuropathological and clinical features of deceased football players with CTE. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Case series of 202 football players whose brains were donated for research. Neuropathological evaluations and retrospective telephone clinical assessments (including head trauma history) with informants were performed blinded. Online questionnaires ascertained athletic and military history. EXPOSURES Participation in American football at any level of play. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Neuropathological diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases, including CTE, based on defined diagnostic criteria; CTE neuropathological severity (stages I to IV or dichotomized into mild [stages I and II] and severe [stages III and IV]); informant-reported athletic history and, for players who died in 2014 or later, clinical presentation, including behavior, mood, and cognitive symptoms and dementia. RESULTS Among 202 deceased former football players (median age at death, 66 years [interquartile range, 47-76 years]), CTE was neuropathologically diagnosed in 177 players (87%; median age at death, 67 years [interquartile range, 52-77 years]; mean years of football participation, 15.1 [SD, 5.2]), including 0 of 2 pre-high school, 3 of 14 high school (21%), 48 of 53 college (91%), 9 of 14 semiprofessional (64%), 7 of 8 Canadian Football League (88%), and 110 of 111 National Football League (99%) players. Neuropathological severity of CTE was distributed across the highest level of play, with all 3 former high school players having mild pathology and the majority of former college (27 [56%]), semiprofessional (5 [56%]), and professional (101 [86%]) players having severe pathology. Among 27 participants with mild CTE pathology, 26 (96%) had behavioral or mood symptoms or both, 23 (85%) had cognitive symptoms, and 9 (33%) had signs of dementia. Among 84 participants with severe CTE pathology, 75 (89%) had behavioral or mood symptoms or both, 80 (95%) had cognitive symptoms, and 71 (85%) had signs of dementia. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In a convenience sample of deceased football players who donated their brains for research, a high proportion had neuropathological evidence of CTE, suggesting that CTE may be related to prior participation in football.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jesse Mez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel H. Daneshvar
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Patrick T. Kiernan
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Bobak Abdolmohammadi
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
| | - Michael L. Alosco
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Todd M. Solomon
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher J. Nowinski
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Waltham, Massachusetts
| | - Lisa McHale
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Waltham, Massachusetts
| | - Kerry A. Cormier
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Caroline A. Kubilus
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Brett M. Martin
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Data Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Lauren Murphy
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Christine M. Baugh
- Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Sports Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Phillip H. Montenigro
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Christine E. Chaisson
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Data Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Neil W. Kowall
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jennifer Weuve
- School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Epidemiology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Michael D. McClean
- School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert C. Cantu
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Concussion Legacy Foundation, Waltham, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Massachusetts
| | - Lee E. Goldstein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Douglas I. Katz
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, Massachusetts
| | - Robert A. Stern
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Thor D. Stein
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ann C. McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Boston Healthcare System, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Genç B, Jara JH, Lagrimas AKB, Pytel P, Roos RP, Mesulam MM, Geula C, Bigio EH, Özdinler PH. Apical dendrite degeneration, a novel cellular pathology for Betz cells in ALS. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41765. [PMID: 28165465 PMCID: PMC5292972 DOI: 10.1038/srep41765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 12/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Apical dendrites of Betz cells are important sites for the integration of cortical input, however their health has not been fully assessed in ALS patients. We investigated the primary motor cortices isolated from post-mortem normal control subjects, patients with familial ALS (fALS), sporadic ALS (sALS), ALS with frontotemporal dementia (FTD-ALS), and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and found profound apical dendrite degeneration of Betz cells in both fALS and sALS, as well as FTD-ALS patients. In contrast, Betz cells of AD patients and normal controls retain cellular integrity in the motor cortex, and CA1 pyramidal neurons show abnormalities predominantly within their soma, rather than the apical dendrite. In line with extensive vacuolation and cytoarchitectural disintegration, the numbers of synapses were also significantly reduced only in ALS patients. Our findings indicate apical dendrite degeneration as a novel cellular pathology that distinguishes ALS and further support the importance of cortical dysfunction for disease pathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barış Genç
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Javier H Jara
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Amiko K B Lagrimas
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Peter Pytel
- Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Raymond P Roos
- Department of Neurology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - M Marsel Mesulam
- Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Changiz Geula
- Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Eileen H Bigio
- Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - P Hande Özdinler
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.,Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.,Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Corticoefferent pathways in pure lower motor neuron disease: a diffusion tensor imaging study. J Neurol 2016; 263:2430-2437. [PMID: 27624123 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-016-8281-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Revised: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Criteria for assessing upper motor neuron pathology in lower motor neuron disease (LMND) still remain major issues in clinical diagnosis. This study was designed to investigate patients with the clinical diagnosis of adult pure LMND by use of whole brain based diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to delineate alterations of corticoefferent pathways in vivo. Comparison of fractional anisotropy (FA) maps was performed by whole brain-based spatial statistics for 37 LMND patients vs. 53 matched controls to detect white matter structural alterations. LMND patients were clinically differentiated in fast and slow progressors. Furthermore, tract specific alterations were investigated by fiber tracking techniques according to the staging hypothesis for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The analysis of white matter structural connectivity demonstrated widespread and characteristic patterns of alterations in patients with LMND, predominantly along the corticospinal tract (CST), with multiple clusters of regional FA reductions in the motor system at p < 0.05 (corrected for multiple comparisons). Fast progressing LMND showed substantial CST involvement, while slow progressors showed less CST alterations. In the tract-specific analysis according to the ALS-staging pattern as suggested by Braak, fast progressing LMND showed significant alterations of ALS-related tract systems beyond the CST compared to slow progressors and controls. In clinically pure LMND patients, the involvement of corticoefferent fibers was demonstrated, in particular along the CST, supporting the hypothesis that LMND is a phenotypical variant of ALS. This finding suggests to treat these patients like ALS, including the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
Collapse
|
50
|
Abstract
Progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) is a rare, sporadic, adult-onset motor neuron disease, clinically characterized by isolated lower motor neuron features; however, clinically evident upper motor neuron signs may emerge in some patients. Subclinical upper motor neuron involvement is identified pathologically, radiologically, and neurophysiologically in a substantial number of patients with PMA. Patients with subclinical upper motor neuron involvement do not fulfill the revised El Escorial criteria to participate in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinical trials. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy is only marginally beneficial in a small subgroup of patients with lower motor neuron syndrome without conduction block.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Teerin Liewluck
- Department of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Mail Stop B-185, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - David S Saperstein
- Phoenix Neurological Associates, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 5090 North 40th Street, Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ 85018, USA
| |
Collapse
|