Background and Purpose-About one half of those who develop adult-onset moyamoya disease experience intracranial hemorrhage. Despite the extremely high frequency of rebleeding attacks and poor prognosis, measures to prevent rebleeding have not been established. The purpose of this study is to determine whether extracranial-intracranial bypass can reduce incidence of rebleeding and improve patient prognosis. Methods-This study was a multicentered, prospective, randomized, controlled trial conducted by 22 institutes in Japan.Adult patients with moyamoya disease who had experienced intracranial hemorrhage within the preceding year were given either conservative care or bilateral extracranial-intracranial direct bypass and were observed for 5 years. Primary and secondary end points were defined as all adverse events and rebleeding attacks, respectively. Results-Eighty patients were enrolled (surgical, 42; nonsurgical, 38). Adverse events causing significant morbidity were observed in 6 patients in the surgical group (14.3%) and 13 patients in the nonsurgical group (34.2%). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed significant differences between the 2 groups (3.2%/y versus 8.2%/y; P=0.048). The hazard ratio of the surgical group calculated by Cox regression analysis was 0.391 (95% confidence interval, 0.148-1.029).Rebleeding attacks were observed in 5 patients in the surgical group (11.9%) and 12 in the nonsurgical group (31.6%), significantly different in the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (2.7%/y versus 7.6%/y; P=0.042). The hazard ratio of the surgical group was 0.355 (95% confidence interval, 0.125-1.009). Conclusions-Although statistically marginal, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed the significant difference between surgical and nonsurgical group, suggesting the preventive effect of direct bypass against rebleeding. Clinical Trial Registration

Dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier is more prominent in white-matter lesions seen in ischemic CVD than in AD and may have a role in the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular white-matter lesions.

BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) occasionally have an extremely aggressive and debilitating disease course; however, its molecular basis is unknown. This study aimed to determine a relationship between connexin (Cx) pathology and disease aggressiveness in Asian patients with MS and NMO.Methods/Principal FindingsSamples included 11 autopsied cases with NMO and NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD), six with MS, and 20 with other neurological diseases (OND). Methods of analysis included immunohistochemical expression of astrocytic Cx43/Cx30, oligodendrocytic Cx47/Cx32 relative to AQP4 and other astrocytic and oligodendrocytic proteins, extent of demyelination, the vasculocentric deposition of complement and immunoglobulin, and lesion staging by CD68 staining for macrophages. Lesions were classified as actively demyelinating (n=59), chronic active (n=58) and chronic inactive (n=23). Sera from 120 subjects including 30 MS, 30 NMO, 40 OND and 20 healthy controls were examined for anti-Cx43 antibody by cell-based assay. Six NMO/NMOSD and three MS cases showed preferential loss of astrocytic Cx43 beyond the demyelinated areas in actively demyelinating and chronic active lesions, where heterotypic Cx43/Cx47 astrocyte oligodendrocyte gap junctions were extensively lost. Cx43 loss was significantly associated with a rapidly progressive disease course as six of nine cases with Cx43 loss, but none of eight cases without Cx43 loss regardless of disease phenotype, died within two years after disease onset (66.7% vs. 0%, P=0.0090). Overall, five of nine cases with Cx43 loss and none of eight cases without Cx43 loss had distal oligodendrogliopathy characterized by selective myelin associated glycoprotein loss (55.6% vs. 0.0%, P=0.0296). Loss of oligodendrocytic Cx32 and Cx47 expression was observed in most active and chronic lesions from all MS and NMO/NMOSD cases. Cx43-specific antibodies were absent in NMO/NMOSD and MS patients.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that autoantibody-independent astrocytic Cx43 loss may relate to disease aggressiveness and distal oligodendrogliopathy in both MS and NMO.

The pathological alterations in Binswanger's diseased brains include regressive changes in the astroglia and activation of the microglia with a decrease in the oligodendroglia, which were associated with the degradation of both myelin and axonal components. These results indicate that an inflammatory reaction and compromised axonal transport, mediated by chronic ischemia, may play an important role in the pathophysiology of Binswanger's disease.

The pathogenesis of white matter lesions, which are frequently found in ischemic cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, remains unclear. Using light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as a marker, the present study focused on the role of astroglia which show characteristic morphological alterations. Of 29 brains of patients with cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, 4 brains showed extensive swelling and vacuolation of white matter astroglia with their processes disintegrated and beaded (termed clasmatodendrosis). No such cells were observed in 6 control patients. Clasmatodendritic astroglia were not intensely eosinophilic using hematoxylin and eosin staining and included large lipophilic granules in their perikarya. These astroglia were immunoreactive for serum proteins such as immunoglobulins, fibrinogen and complement C3, C1q and C3d, as well as for proteins which are known to increase in reactive astroglia, such as vimentin, alpha-B crystallin, apolipoprotein-E and laminin. Double labeling for GFAP and microglial cell markers indicated that these cells were of astroglial lineage. Immunoelectron microscopy for GFAP revealed that clasmatodendritic astroglia had condensed chromatin, lysosomes and large membrane-bound osmiophilic cytoplasmic inclusions, which corresponded to the lipophilic granules observed with light microscopy. These cytochemical features collectively suggest that clasmatodendritic astroglia incorporate edema fluid and phagocytose cellular debris, and eventually degenerate as a result of cerebral edema.

Binswanger's disease is pathologically characterized by a combination of diffuse cerebrovascular white matter lesions and lacunar infarcts in the basal ganglia and white matter. Although a blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of these white matter (WM) lesions, few authors have addressed this problem. In the present study, we describe BBB dysfunction and its regional differences in the brains of Binswanger's disease patients. Twelve brains from Binswanger's disease patients (group III) were examined and compared with those from five patients with non-neurological disease (group I) and five cortical infarct patients without significant WM lesions (group II). Immunohistochemistry was performed for glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin as astroglial cell markers, and for immunoglobulins, complements and fibrinogen as extravasated serum protein markers. The grading scores for IgG extravasation were significantly higher in group III as compared to group I, in both the periventricular WM and the subcortical WM (P < 0.01). In group III, the scores in the periventricular WM and subcortical WM were significantly higher than in the subcortical U fibers and cerebral cortex (P < 0.01 for the periventricular WM; P < 0.001 for the subcortical WM), respectively. Clasmatodendritic astroglia, which had swollen cell bodies and large cytoplasmic vacuoles with disintegrated processes, incorporated the serum components IgG, IgM, C3d, Clq and fibrinogen, both in the periventricular WM and subcortical WM in 5 out of 12 (42%) Binswanger's disease brains. These results indicate that WM lesions in Binswanger's disease are accompanied by BBB dysfunction, although it remains uncertain whether BBB dysfunction is secondary to either chronic cerebral ischemia or arterial hypertension.

Previous studies that have investigated the potential of in vivo abnormal α‐synuclein deposits as a pathological biomarker for PD included few participants and reported different diagnostic accuracies. Here, we aimed to confirm the diagnostic value of in vivo α‐synuclein deposits in PD through a systematic review and meta‐analysis, with special emphasis on determining the tissue most suitable for examination and assessing whether anti‐native α‐synuclein or anti‐phosphorylated α‐synuclein antibodies should be used. Databases were searched on December 30, 2018. We finally included 41 case‐control studies that examined in vivo tissue samples using anti‐native α‐synuclein or anti‐phosphorylated α‐synuclein antibody in PD patients and controls. Using a univariate random‐effects model, pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) of anti‐native α‐synuclein antibody were 0.54 (0.49‐0.60) and 0.72 (0.68‐0.76) for the gastrointestinal tract and 0.76 (0.60‐0.89) and 0.60 (0.43‐0.74) for the skin. Pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) of anti‐phosphorylated α‐synuclein antibody were 0.43 (0.37‐0.48) and 0.82 (0.78‐0.86) for the gastrointestinal tract, 0.76 (0.69‐0.82) and 1.00 (0.98‐1.00) for the skin, 0.42 (0.26‐0.59) and 0.94 (0.84‐0.99) for the minor salivary glands, and 0.66 (0.51‐0.79) and 0.96 (0.86‐1.00) for the submandibular glands. Although ubiquitous heterogeneity between the included studies should be noted when interpreting our results, our analyses demonstrated the following: (1) in vivo α‐synuclein immunoreactivity has the potential as a pathological biomarker for PD; (2) anti‐phosphorylated α‐synuclein antibody consistently has higher specificity than anti‐native α‐synuclein antibody; and (3) skin biopsy examination using anti‐phosphorylated α‐synuclein antibody has the best diagnostic accuracy, although feasibility remains an important issue. © 2019 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

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