Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. We and others have shown that there is enrichment or depletion of some gut bacteria in MS patients compared to healthy controls (HC), suggesting an important role of the gut bacteria in disease pathogenesis. Thus, specific gut bacteria that are lower in abundance in MS patients could be used as a potential treatment option for this disease. In particular, we and others have shown that MS patients have a lower abundance of Prevotella compared to HC, whereas the abundance of Prevotella is increased in patients that receive disease-modifying therapies such as Copaxone® (Glatiramer acetate-GA). This inverse correlation between the severity of MS disease and the abundance of Prevotella suggests its potential for use as a therapeutic option to treat MS. Notably we have previously identified a specific strain , Prevotella histicola ( P. histicola ), that suppresses disease in the animal model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) compared with sham treatment. In the present study we analyzed whether the disease suppressing effects of P. histicola synergize with those of the disease-modifying drug Copaxone® to more effectively suppress disease compared to either treatment alone. Treatment with P. histicola was as effective in suppressing disease as treatment with Copaxone®, whereas the combination of P. histicola plus Copaxone® was not more effective than either individual treatment. P. histicola -treated mice had an increased frequency and number of CD4 + FoxP3 + regulatory T cells in periphery as well as gut and a decreased frequency of pro-inflammatory IFN-γ and IL17-producing CD4 T cells in the CNS, suggesting P. histicola suppresses disease by boosting anti-inflammatory immune responses and inhibiting pro-inflammatory immune responses. In conclusion, our study indicates that the human gut commensal P. histicola can suppress disease as efficiently as Copaxone® and may provide an alternative treatment option for MS patients.

Background: Delirium is common and dangerous, yet underdetected and undertreated. Current screening questionnaires are subjective and ineffectively implemented in busy hospital workflows. Electroencephalography (EEG) can objectively detect the diffuse slowing characteristic of delirium, but it is not suitable for high-throughput screening due to size, cost, and the expertise required for lead placement and interpretation. This study hypothesized that an efficient and reliable point-of-care EEG device for high-throughput screening could be developed. Methods: This prospective study, which measured bispectral EEG (BSEEG) from elderly inpatients to assess their outcomes, was conducted at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics from January 2016 to October 2017. A BSEEG score was defined based on the distribution of 2,938 EEG recordings from the 428 subjects who were assessed for delirium; primary outcomes measured were hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, and mortality. Results: A total of 274 patients had BSEEG score data available for analysis. Delirium and BSEEG score had a significant association (P < .001). Higher BSEEG scores were significantly correlated with length of stay (P < .001 unadjusted, P = .001 adjusted for age, sex, and Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI] score) as well as with discharge not to home (P < .01). Hazard ratio for survival controlling for age, sex, CCI score, and delirium status was 1.35 (95% CI,1.04 to 1.76; P = .025). Conclusions: In BSEEG, an efficient and reliable device that provides an objective measurement of delirium status was developed. The BSEEG score is significantly associated with pertinent clinical outcomes of mortality, hospital length of stay, and discharge disposition. The BSEEG score better predicts mortality than does clinical delirium status. This study identified a previously unrecognized subpopulation of patients without clinical features of delirium who are at increased mortality risk.

Aim: Delirium is common and dangerous among elderly inpatients; yet, it is underdiagnosed and thus undertreated. This study aimed to test the diagnostic characteristics of a noninvasive point-of-care device with two-channel (bispectral) electroencephalography (EEG) for the screening of delirium in the hospital. Methods: Patients admitted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics were assessed for the presence of delirium with a clinical assessment, the Confusion Assessment Method for Intensive Care Unit and Delirium Rating Scale. Subsequently, we obtained a 10-min bispectral EEG (BSEEG) recording from a hand-held electroencephalogram device during hospitalization. We performed power spectral density analysis to differentiate between those patients with and without delirium. Results: Initially 45 subjects were used as a test dataset to establish a cut-off. The BSEEG index was determined to be a significant indicator of delirium, with sensitivity 80% and specificity 87.7%. An additional independent validation dataset with 24 patients confirmed the validity of the approach, with a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 83.3%. Conclusion: In this pilot study, the BSEEG method was able to distinguish delirious patients from non-delirious patients. Our data showed the feasibility of this technology for mass screening of delirium in the hospital.

SUMMARY The exact mechanisms underlying the metabolic effects of bariatric surgery remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate, using a combination of direct and indirect calorimetry, an increase in total resting metabolic rate (RMR) and specifically anaerobic RMR after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), but not sleeve gastrectomy (SG). We also show an RYGB-specific increase in splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity and “browning” of visceral mesenteric fat. Consequently, selective splanchnic denervation abolishes all beneficial metabolic outcomes of gastric bypass that involve changes in the endocannabinoid signaling within the small intestine. Furthermore, we demonstrate that administration of rimonabant, an endocannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1) inverse agonist, to obese mice mimics RYGB-specific effects on energy balance and splanchnic nerve activity. On the other hand, arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA), a CB1 agonist, attenuates the weight loss and metabolic signature of this procedure. These findings identify CB1 as a key player in energy regulation post-RYGB via a pathway involving the sympathetic nervous system.

We have developed a publicly available tool, AxonJ, which quantifies the axons in optic nerve sections of rodents stained with paraphenylenediamine (PPD). In this study, we compare AxonJ’s performance to human experts on 100x and 40x images of optic nerve sections obtained from multiple strains of mice, including mice with defects relevant to glaucoma. AxonJ produced reliable axon counts with high sensitivity of 0.959 and high precision of 0.907, high repeatability of 0.95 when compared to a gold-standard of manual assessments and high correlation of 0.882 to the glaucoma damage staging of a previously published dataset. AxonJ allows analyses that are quantitative, consistent, fully-automated, parameter-free, and rapid on whole optic nerve sections at 40x. As a freely available ImageJ plugin that requires no highly specialized equipment to utilize, AxonJ represents a powerful new community resource augmenting studies of the optic nerve using mice.