Metabolic brain disease
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Metabolic brain disease · Jun 2012
Developmental traumatic brain injury decreased brain derived neurotrophic factor expression late after injury.
Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of acquired cognitive dysfunction in children. Hippocampal Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is important for normal cognition. Little is known about the effects of TBI on BDNF levels in the developing hippocampus. ⋯ BDNF mRNA levels decreased in both CCI and SHAM hippocampi relative to Naïve, suggesting that certain aspects of the experimental paradigm (such as craniotomy, anesthesia, and/or maternal separation) may decrease the expression of BDNF in the developing hippocampus. While BDNF is important for normal cognition, no inferences can be made regarding the cognitive impact of any of these factors. Such findings, however, suggest that meticulous attention to the experimental paradigm, and possible inclusion of a Naïve group, is warranted in studies of BDNF expression in the developing brain after TBI.
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Metabolic brain disease · Jun 2012
Case ReportsMimicry between mitochondrial disorder and multiple sclerosis.
Under certain conditions or at certain stages of the disease course, multiple sclerosis (MS) and mitochondrial disorder (MID) may be differential diagnoses and thus may be confused with each other. In a 30 years old female MS was diagnosed at age 16 year upon recurrent sensory disturbances of the right lower leg, an "inflammatory" cerebrospinal fluid, and a cerebral MRI with multiple non-enhancing white matter lesions. Steroids were repeatedly given but because of rapid deterioration treatment was switched to interferon and mitoxantrone, without improvement. ⋯ MID was diagnosed also in the index patient. It is concluded that even if CSF investigations or imaging studies suggest MS, differentials such as MIDs need to be excluded before prescribing medication possibly toxic to a MID. An "inflammatory CSF" may also occur in MIDs.
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The chemical structures of morphine and its metabolites are closely related to the clinical effects of drugs (analgesia and side-effects) and to their capability to cross the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). Morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) and Morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) are both highly hydrophilic, but only M6G can penetrate the BBB; accordingly, M6G is considered a more attractive analgesic than the parent drug and the M3G. Several hypotheses have been made to explain these differences. In this review we will discuss recent advances in the field, considering brain disposition of M6G, UDP-glucoronosyltransferases (UGT) involved in morphine metabolism, UGT interindividual variability and transport proteins.
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Metabolic brain disease · Jun 2011
Therapy with recombinant T-cell receptor ligand reduces infarct size and infiltrating inflammatory cells in brain after middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice.
Stroke induces a biphasic effect on the peripheral immune response that involves early activation of peripheral leukocytes followed by severe immunosuppression and atrophy of the spleen. Peripheral immune cells, including T lymphocytes, migrate to the brain and exacerbate the developing infarct. Recombinant T-cell receptor (TCR) Ligand (RTL)551 is designed as a partial TCR agonist for myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-reactive T cells and has demonstrated the capacity to limit infarct volume and inflammation in brain when administered to mice undergoing middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). ⋯ At 24 h post-MCAO, RTL551 reduced the frequency of the activation marker, CD44, on T-cells in blood and in the ischemic hemisphere. Moreover, RTL551 reduced expression of the chemokine receptors, CCR5 in lymph nodes and spleen, and CCR7 in the blood and lymph nodes. These data demonstrate effective treatment of experimental stroke with RTL551 within a therapeutically relevant 4 h time window through immune regulation of myelin-reactive inflammatory T-cells.