Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2023
Anti-Argonaute antibodies as a potential biomarker in NMOSD.
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs) are a group of diseases mainly characterised by recurrent optic neuritis and/or myelitis. Most cases are associated with a pathogenic antibody against aquaporin-4 (AQP4-Ab), while some patients display autoantibodies targeting the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-Abs)). Anti-Argonaute antibodies (Ago-Abs) were first described in patients with rheumatological conditions and were recently reported as a potential biomarker in patients with neurological disorders. The aims of the study were to investigate if Ago-Abs can be detected in NMOSD and to evaluate its clinical usefulness. ⋯ Ago-Abs are present in a subset of patients with NMOSD and, in some cases, represent the only biomarker of an autoimmune process. Their presence is associated with a myelitis phenotype and a severe disease course.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2023
Changes in the heartbeat-evoked potential are associated with functional seizures.
Patients with functional seizures (FS) can experience dissociation (depersonalisation) before their seizures. Depersonalisation reflects disembodiment, which may be related to changes in interoceptive processing. The heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) is an electroencephalogram (EEG) marker of interoceptive processing. ⋯ Our data support the notion that aberrant interoception occurs prior to FS. Changes in HEP amplitude may reflect a neurophysiological biomarker of FS and may have diagnostic utility in differentiating FS and ES.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2023
Visual dysfunction is a better predictor than retinal thickness for dementia in Parkinson's disease.
Dementia is a common and devastating symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Visual function and retinal structure are both emerging as potentially predictive for dementia in Parkinson's but lack longitudinal evidence. ⋯ In our deeply phenotyped longitudinal cohort, visual dysfunction predicted dementia and poor outcomes in PD. Conversely, retinal thickness had less power to predict dementia. This supports mechanistic models for Parkinson's dementia progression with onset in cortical structures and shows potential for visual tests to enable stratification for clinical trials.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2023
Granulocyte activation markers in cerebrospinal fluid differentiate acute neuromyelitis spectrum disorder from multiple sclerosis.
Granulocyte invasion into the brain is a pathoanatomical feature differentiating neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) from multiple sclerosis (MS). We aimed to determine whether granulocyte activation markers (GAM) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be used as a biomarker to distinguish NMOSD from MS, and whether levels associate with neurological impairment. ⋯ GAM composites represent a novel biomarker to reliably differentiate NMOSD from MS, including in aAQP4- NMOSD. The association of GAM with the degree of concurrent neurological impairment provides evidence for their pathogenic role, in turn suggesting them as potential drug targets in acute NMOSD.