Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyū no shinpo
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Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is clinically characterized by severe optic neuritis and long myelitis; and is associated with aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin-G (AQP4-IgG), an autoantibody directed against aquaporin-4 (AQP4), which is an astrocytic water channel protein. Until recent years, the treatment of NMO has mainly focused on the suppression of lymphocytes and depletion of autoantibodies. ⋯ In this article, we review the relevance of the complement system in the pathogenesis of NMO. Additionally, we review the current status and prospects of the complement-targeting therapy for NMO, including the clinical trials of eculizumab and C1 inhibitor for NMO, and the experimental studies on C1 inhibition by monoclonal antibodies.
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The field of natural language processing (NLP) has seen rapid advances in the past several years since the introduction of deep learning techniques. A variety of NLP tasks including syntactic parsing, machine translation, and summarization can now be performed by relatively simple combinations of general neural network models such as recurrent neural networks and attention mechanisms. This manuscript gives a brief introduction to deep learning and an overview of the current deep learning-based NLP technology.
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Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a disorder characterized by fluctuating muscle rigidity and painful spasms that occur spontaneously or are triggered by diverse stimuli. Partial or segmental forms of the disorder, such as stiff-limb syndrome (SLS) and a more severe disease called progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (PERM), are usually considered within the spectrum of SPS. ⋯ Most patients with SPS have a high-titer of antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and up to 15% have antibodies to the glycine receptor α-subunit. This review explains milestones in defining SPS including autoantibodies.
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Recent reserch has successfully identified several autoantibodies in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Most of those identified were IgG4 antibodies targeting cell adhesion molecules around the node of Ranvier of myelinated fibers. ⋯ Growing evidence has revealed that patients with CIDP with these antibodies are characterized by IVIg-resistance and lack typical demyelinating findings on biopsied nerve fibers, both of which could make diagnosis and treatment difficult without autoantibody measurement. Clinicians should recognize that it is now essential to measure autoantibodies in CIDP and utilize antibody testing.
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Recent studies revealed an association between Zika virus infection and a variety of neurological disorders, including microcephaly, meningoencephalitis, myelitis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Following the first report of a patient diagnosed with GBS after Zika virus infection in December 2013, the number of GBS patients significantly increased in endemic countries, such as French-Polynesia and Latin American countries. Electrophysiological studies suggested that patients suffering from GBS associated with Zika virus infection manifest acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), rather than acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN). ⋯ However, a recent study revealed a high level of peptide sharing between Zika virus polyprotein and human proteins related to myelin, demyelination, and axonal neuropathies. Additionally, another study reported significant peptide overlap between Zika virus and Cytomegalovirus, which is also related to microcephaly and AIDP. Further reserch is needed to elucidate the pathogenesis of GBS associated with Zika virus infection.