Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2023
Effect of sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol on plasma concentrations of neuroinflammatory biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: results from the CENTAUR trial.
An oral sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol combination (PB and TURSO) significantly reduced functional decline in people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the CENTAUR trial. Biomarkers linking clinical therapeutic effect with biological changes are of high interest in ALS. We performed analyses of neuroinflammatory biomarkers associated with ALS in the literature, including YKL-40 (also known as chitinase-3-like protein 1), chitinase 1 (CHIT1) and C reactive protein (CRP), in plasma samples collected in CENTAUR. ⋯ YKL-40 and CRP plasma levels were significantly reduced in participants with ALS receiving PB and TURSO in CENTAUR and correlated with disease progression. These findings suggest YKL-40 and CRP could be treatment-sensitive biomarkers in ALS, pending further confirmatory studies.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2023
Premorbid brain structure influences risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease of the motor network associated with brain structure and functional connectivity alterations that are implicated in disease progression. Whether such changes have a causal role in ALS, fitting with a postulated influence of premorbid cerebral architecture on the phenotypes associated with neurodegenerative disorders is not known. ⋯ This study provides evidence that premorbid brain structure, in particular white matter volume, contributes to the risk of ALS.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2023
Using qualitative free-text data to investigate the lived experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for a large cohort of Australians with different multiple sclerosis related disability levels.
No large-scale qualitative studies have investigated the lived experience of people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) during the pandemic according to their disability level. We used qualitative research methods to investigate the lived experience of a large cohort of Australians living with differing multiple sclerosis (MS)-related disability levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also provided useful contextualisation to existing quantitative work. ⋯ We found negative impacts of multitasking and social isolation for PwMS during the pandemic. WFH was identified as beneficial for some. We recommend targeted resourcing decisions for PwMS in future pandemics including child-care relief and interventions to reduce social isolation and suggest that these could be incorporated into some form of advanced care planning. As the nature of work changes postpandemic, we also recommend a detailed investigation of WFH for PwMS including providing tailored employment assistance.