Neurology Commons^™

Detection Of Prions In The Urine Of Patients Affected By Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, M Talke

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective

Currently, it is unknown whether infectious prions are present in peripheral tissues and biological fluids of patients affected by sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD), the most common prion disorder in humans. This represents a potential risk for inter‐individual prion infection. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the presence of prions in urine of patients suffering from the major subtypes of sCJD.

Methods

Urine samples from sCJD patients spanning the six major subtypes were tested. As controls, we used urine samples from people affected by other neurological or neurodegenerative diseases as well as healthy controls. These samples were …

Capacity Assessment And Spatial Analysis Of Cervical Cancer Services In The Gambia, Meghan E Mali, Ousman Sanyang, Katherine L Harris, Justin Sorensen, Mustapha Bittaye, Jonathan Nellermoe, Raymond R Price, Edward K Sutherland

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in Gambian women. The Gambian Ministry of Health is striving to improve access to screening, diagnostic, and treatment services for cervical cancer, but comprehensive data on currently available services is limited making it challenging to appropriately prioritize the ideal next steps for expanding care. This study aims to describe the current services available for the prevention, screening, and treatment of cervical cancer in The Gambia and provide suggestions for expanding geographic access to care.

Methods

A survey aimed at assessing the availability of key cervical …

Novel Sox10 Indel Mutations Drive Schwannomas Through Impaired Transactivation Of Myelination Gene Programs, Erik A Williams, Ajay Ravindranathan, Rohit Gupta, Nicholas O Stevers, Abigail K Suwala, Chibo Hong, Somang Kim, Jimmy Bo Yuan, Jasper Wu, Jairo Barreto, Calixto-Hope G Lucas, Emily Chan, Melike Pekmezci, Philip E Leboit, Thaddeus Mully, Arie Perry, Andrew Bollen, Jessica Van Ziffle, W Patrick Devine, Alyssa T Reddy, Nalin Gupta, Kristen M Basnet, Robert J B Macaulay, Patrick Malafronte, Han Lee, William H Yong, Kevin Jon Williams, Tareq A Juratli, Douglas A Mata, Richard S P Huang, Matthew C Hiemenz, Dean C Pavlick, Garrett M Frampton, Tyler Janovitz, Jeffrey S Ross, Susan M Chang, Mitchel S Berger, Line Jacques, Jun S Song, Joseph F Costello, David A Solomon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Schwannomas are common peripheral nerve sheath tumors that can cause severe morbidity given their stereotypic intracranial and paraspinal locations. Similar to many solid tumors, schwannomas and other nerve sheath tumors are primarily thought to arise due to aberrant hyperactivation of the RAS growth factor signaling pathway. Here, we sought to further define the molecular pathogenesis of schwannomas.

METHODS: We performed comprehensive genomic profiling on a cohort of 96 human schwannomas, as well as DNA methylation profiling on a subset. Functional studies including RNA sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation-DNA sequencing, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and luciferase reporter assays were performed in a …

Antiseizure Effects Of Peganum Harmala L. And Lavandula Angustifolia, Zahra Rahimian, Seyedhassan Sadrian, Mina Shahisavandi, Hadi Aligholi, Mohammad M. Zarshenas, Alireza Abyar, Zahra Zeraatpisheh, Ali A. Asadi-Pooya

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Peganum harmala L. and Lavandula angustifolia are two traditional herbs with probable antiseizure effects. This study evaluated the effects of these two herbal extracts on pentylenetetrazol- (PTZ-) induced seizures in mice. We prepared hydroalcoholic extracts using P. harmala seeds and the aerial parts of L. angustifolia and then randomly divided 190 mice into 19 groups. Normal saline (10 mg/kg), diazepam (2 mg/kg), P. harmala (2.5, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, and 60 mg/kg), and L. angustifolia (200, 400, 600, and 800 mg/kg) were intraperitoneally (IP) administrated 30 min before an IP administration of PTZ (90 mg/kg). Animals were observed for …

Agreement Between Published Reference Resources For Neurofilament Light Chain Levels In People With Multiple Sclerosis., Elias S Sotirchos, Chen Hu, Matthew D Smith, Hannah-Noelle Lord, Anna L Duval, Georgina Arrambide, Xavier Montalban, Katja Akgün, Tjalf Ziemssen, Robert T Naismith, Carrie M Hersh, Megan Hyland, Lauren B Krupp, Jacqueline A Nicholas, Robert A Bermel, Ellen M Mowry, Peter A Calabresi, Kathryn C Fitzgerald

Neuroscience Articles

OBJECTIVES: To examine the agreement between published reference resources for neurofilament light chain (NfL) applied to a large population of people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODS: Six published reference resources were used to classify NfL in participants in the Multiple Sclerosis Partners Advancing Technology and Health Solutions (MS PATHS) network as elevated or normal and to derive age-specific NfL

RESULTS: NfL measurements were assessed from 12,855 visits of 6,687 people with MS (median 2 samples per individual [range 1-7]). The mean ± SD age was 47.1 ± 11.7 years, 72.1% of participants were female, disease duration was 15.0 ± 10.6 …

Plasma Exchange Reduces Aβ Levels In Plasma And Decreases Amyloid Plaques In The Brain In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Santiago Ramirez, Suelyn Koerich, Natalia Astudillo, Nicole De Gregorio, Rabab Al-Lahham, Tyler Allison, Natalia Pessoa Rocha, Fei Wang, Claudio Soto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, characterized by the abnormal accumulation of protein aggregates in the brain, known as neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques. It is believed that an imbalance between cerebral and peripheral pools of Aβ may play a relevant role in the deposition of Aβ aggregates. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of the removal of Aβ from blood plasma on the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain. We performed monthly plasma exchange with a 5% mouse albumin solution in the APP/PS1 mouse model from 3 to 7 …

Evaluation Of Compliance To Brivaracetam Restrictions Within A Large Multicenter Health System, Meghan Mcnulty Pharmd, Mahmoud Amir Pharmd, Fccm, Bcps, Bcccp, Paul Ahearn, Michele Moura Pharmd, Bcps, Bcccp

Posters

This evaluation aims to assess whether the health-system is adhering to brivaracetam prescribing restrictions and determine if there are any opportunities for improvement to the current ordering workflow.

Cerebellar Symptoms After Dengue Fever With Bright Middle Cerebellar Peduncle Sign, Soban Khan, Zaid Waqar, Zakir Jan, Muhammad Tariq

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Dengue fever is a seasonal epidemic that effects population all across Pakistan every monsoon season and leads to thousands of cases every year. Dengue fever can be associated with neurological complications both during the acute stage and after recovery. These include encephalitis and hemorrhagic complications as well as late immune-related conditions such as Guillain-Barre syndrome and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Here we present case of a patient who developed new onset cerebellar symptoms two weeks after recovery from dengue fever, with a middle cerebellar peduncle sign on MRI Brain.

Utility Of Pudendal Nerve Electrodiagnostics In Cases Of Bladder-Bowel Dysfunction- A Retrospective Study From A Tertiary Care Center In Pakistan, Hina Imtiaz, Ayisha Farooq Khan, Zuha Alvi, Dureshahwar Kanwar

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and Objective:

Electrodiagnostic studies play a crucial role in identifying neurogenic and non-neurogenic causes of bladder and bowel dysfunction. Such data is scarce in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to evaluate utility of pudendal nerve assessment in bladder-bowel dysfunction.

Methods:

A retrospective observational study was carried out at the neurophysiology lab in Aga Khan University Hospital. Patients referred for electromyography/nerve conduction studies (EMG/NCS) for pudendal nerve assessment from June 2013 to June 2023 were included. Clinical data, EMG/NCS results, and demographic information were analyzed using SPSS.

Results:

Twenty patients (11 male and nine female) were included. Five …

Co-Occurrence Of Recurrent Migrainous Headaches And Transient Global Amnesia Following Minor Head Trauma: A Case Report, Aziz Badruddin Sonawalla, Saadia Arshad, Shafaq Saleem

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

A 32-year-old male, with a history of recurrent throbbing headaches, presented with three episodes of minor trauma to the head followed by throbbing headaches and blurred vision. In two of these episodes, he also had clinical features suggesting the occurrence of transient global amnesia (TGA) at the same time. Although migraines as well as TGAs are reported to occur following minor head trauma, the simultaneous occurrence of both is rather unusual and would support the fact that spreading depression is the main pathophysiological mechanism underlying TGAs as it is for migraines. We report an unusual case of migraine and TGA …

A New Self-Assessment Questionnaire To Assess Parkinsonism: A Cross-Sectional Study, Sohail Khan

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and Objective:

A composite scale for parkinsonism and Parkinson’s disease (PD) that incorporates multiple motor system symptoms and systemic complaints and their severity may help the busy clinician in documenting the severity and progression of common and bothersome symptoms. The objective of this study was to study a new scale, Parkinson’s Symptoms Questionnaire (PSQ), to assess and track progression of parkinsonism.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted from August 2004 to December 2009 in a private clinic in State of Iowa, United States. We developed a new scale, PSQ, to assess common symptoms of …

Neuroimaging Of Tuberculosis- Modalities, Imaging Protocols And Radiomics: A Review, Shahmeer Khan, Muhammad Awais, Muhammad Azeemuddin, Ayesha Shoukat

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and objective:

A large number of review and research articles exists in literature which describe the radiological appearance of various manifestations of nervous system tuberculosis, however there is paucity of text which describes the application of each and every imaging modality in the workup of the entire spectrum of this pathology. The intent of this article is to review the existing literature on the role of different radiological modalities in the stepwise work up of CNS TB. The article focuses on the role of plain radiograph, fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging along with its advanced sequences and nuclear …

Implementing In-House Compounding Of Nimodipine Oral Syringes For Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients., Keaton S Smetana, Kerri J Wilcox, Aaron M Cook

Neuroscience Articles

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Care-Arrangement Of People With Dementia In Karachi By 10/66 Protocol, Qurat Ul Ain Khan

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and objective:

Pakistan is a low middle-income country (LMIC) in South Asia with a rising aging population. This study aimed to understand care-arrangement and resources of people with dementia (PWD) in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods:

This cross-sectional mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) study was carried out using 10/66 protocol for dementia patients. Data collection for the study was done from September 2016 till August 2017.This assessed characteristics of patients and caregivers, the economic impact of caregiving, and resources available to care for people with dementia (PWD).

Results:

One-hundred-nineteen PWD and their caregivers were included in the study. The average gross national …

Artificial Intelligence And Neurosurgery: A Revolution In The Field, Ahtesham Khizar

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used in the field of neurosurgery for improving patient outcomes, reducing the risk of complications, and increasing the efficiency of surgical procedures. AI algorithms can analyze patient data, plan surgical procedures, guide surgical instruments, monitor brain activity, and improve post-operative care. The benefits of incorporating AI into neurosurgical practice include pre-operative planning, intraoperative navigation, real-time monitoring, and post-operative care. AI is already being used in neurosurgery for image segmentation, surgical planning, intraoperative navigation, real-time monitoring, and predictive analytics. The potential applications of AI in neurosurgery include personalized medicine, virtual reality, robotic surgery, predictive analytics, and …

Evaluation Of Stroke Awareness And Risk Factor Prevalence Among Students At A Public Sector University In Quetta, Anjum Farooq, Muhammad Essa, Muhammad Saleem, Abdul Aleem, Muhammad Rizwan

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and Objective:

Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability. Improving stroke knowledge among medical students will help to improve stroke care and its prevention. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of risk factors and stroke awareness among university students.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted among students at Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta. An eleven-question multiple-choice survey was administered to assess participants' knowledge of stroke-related concepts. The initial study was conducted using descriptive statistics. Additionally, a supplementary screening for common risk factors linked to stroke was included in the study, which involved blood pressure, …

Frequency Of Risk Factors For Stroke In Young Pakistani Population, Faizan Aslam, Atif Maqsood, Adeel Rauf, Kashif Nawaz, Azam Aslam

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and Objective:

There is paucity of data regarding risk factors of stroke in young Pakistanis. The objective of this study was to identify the frequency of risk factors for ischemic stroke in the young Pakistani population.

Methods:

This was a retrospective Cross sectional study conducted at Aziz Fatima Hospital Neurology outpatient’s department between January 2022 to April 2022. All patients presenting with an ischemic stroke within the past month and age between 20 and 49 years were included. Data was collected from patient notes using a table which listed the patient’s demographic information and risk factors. All the patients …

Brain-Wide Correspondence Of Neuronal Epigenomics And Distant Projections, Jingtian Zhou, Zhuzhu Zhang, May Wu, Hanqing Liu, Yan Pang, Anna Bartlett, Zihao Peng, Wubin Ding, Angeline Rivkin, Will N Lagos, Elora Williams, Cheng-Ta Lee, Paula Assakura Miyazaki, Andrew Aldridge, Qiurui Zeng, J L Angelo Salinda, Naomi Claffey, Michelle Liem, Conor Fitzpatrick, Lara Boggeman, Zizhen Yao, Kimberly A Smith, Bosiljka Tasic, Jordan Altshul, Mia A Kenworthy, Cynthia Valadon, Joseph R Nery, Rosa G Castanon, Neelakshi S Patne, Minh Vu, Mohammad Rashid, Matthew Jacobs, Tony Ito, Julia Osteen, Nora Emerson, Jasper Lee, Silvia Cho, Jon Rink, Hsiang-Hsuan Huang, António Pinto-Duartec, Bertha Dominguez, Jared B Smith, Carolyn O'Connor, Hongkui Zeng, Shengbo Chen, Kuo-Fen Lee, Eran A Mukamel, Xin Jin, M Margarita Behrens, Joseph R Ecker, Edward M Callaway

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Single-cell analyses parse the brain’s billions of neurons into thousands of ‘cell-type’ clusters residing in different brain structures1. Many cell types mediate their functions through targeted long-distance projections allowing interactions between specific cell types. Here we used epi-retro-seq2 to link single-cell epigenomes and cell types to long-distance projections for 33,034 neurons dissected from 32 different regions projecting to 24 different targets (225 source-to-target combinations) across the whole mouse brain. We highlight uses of these data for interrogating principles relating projection types to transcriptomics and epigenomics, and for addressing hypotheses about cell types and connections related to genetics. …

Child With Developmental Delay And Pathological Myopia: Poretti–Boltshauser Syndrome, Arshad Mehmood, Javeria Raza Alvi, Ahmad Bilal, Sameen Qureshi, Shaila Ali, Tipu Sultan

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Poretti–Boltshauser syndrome is rare genetic disorder of brain malformation with ocular findings due to mutation in LAMA1 gene. We report a case of five years old girl who presented with high myopia, delayed language and motor development with otherwise normal neurological examination. Brain imaging findings were consistent of Poretti–Boltshauser syndrome with cerebellar dysplasia and cyst (CDC). However, cerebellar ataxia and retinopathy were not found in our index case.

In The Symphony Of Green Spaces,Brain And Its Thoughts Find The Healing Melody., Man Mohan Mehndiratta, Vasundhara Aggarwa, Nishant Tomar

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.