| 1. |
- Ayoglu, Burcu, et al.
(författare)
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Affinity proteomics within rare diseases : a BIO-NMD study for blood biomarkers of muscular dystrophies
- 2014
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Ingår i: EMBO Molecular Medicine. - : EMBO. - 1757-4676 .- 1757-4684. ; 6:7, s. 918-936
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite the recent progress in the broad-scaled analysis of proteins in body fluids, there is still a lack in protein profiling approaches for biomarkers of rare diseases. Scarcity of samples is the main obstacle hindering attempts to apply discovery driven protein profiling in rare diseases. We addressed this challenge by combining samples collected within the BIO-NMD consortium from four geographically dispersed clinical sites to identify protein markers associated with muscular dystrophy using an antibody bead array platform with 384 antibodies. Based on concordance in statistical significance and confirmatory results obtained from analysis of both serum and plasma, we identified eleven proteins associated with muscular dystrophy, among which four proteins were elevated in blood from muscular dystrophy patients: carbonic anhydrase III (CA3) and myosin light chain 3 (MYL3), both specifically expressed in slow-twitch muscle fibers and mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2) and electron transfer flavo-protein A (ETFA). Using age-matched sub-cohorts, 9 protein profiles correlating with disease progression and severity were identified, which hold promise for the development of new clinical tools for management of dystrophinopathies.
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| 2. |
- Steinacker, Petra, et al.
(författare)
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Neurofilaments in the diagnosis of motoneuron diseases : a prospective study on 455 patients
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. - : BMJ. - 0022-3050 .- 1468-330X. ; 87:1, s. 12-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Biomarkers for the diagnosis of motoneuron diseases (MND) are urgently needed to improve the diagnostic pathway, patient stratification and monitoring. The aim of this study was to validate candidate markers for MND in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and specify cut-offs based on large patient cohorts by especially considering patients who were seen under the initial differential diagnosis (MND mimics). Methods In a prospective study, we investigated CSF of 455 patients for neurofilament light chain (NfL), phosphorylated heavy chain (pNfH), tau protein (Tau) and phospho-tau protein (pTau). Analysed cohorts included patients with apparently sporadic and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) (MND, n=253), MND mimics (n=85) and neurological control groups. Cut-off values were specified, and diagnostic performance and correlation with progression were analysed. Results Nfs were significantly higher in the MND group compared to the control groups, whereas Tau and pTau did not differ. At a cut-off level of 2200 pg/mL for NfL, a 77% diagnostic sensitivity (CI 71% to 82%), 85% specificity (CI 79% to 90%) and 87% positive predictive value (PPV) (CI 81% to 91%) were achieved. For pNfH, we calculated 83% sensitivity (CI 78% to 88%), 77% specificity (CI 71% to 83%) and 82% PPV (CI 77% to 86%) at 560 pg/mL. There were no significant differences between sporadic and genetic ALS or PLS. Nf levels were elevated at early disease stage, and correlated moderately with MND progression and duration. Conclusions Neurofilaments in CSF have a high relevance for the differential diagnosis of MNDs and should be included in the diagnostic work-up of patients. Their value as prognostic markers should be investigated further.
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| 3. |
- Koenig, Julian, et al.
(författare)
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Cortical thickness and resting-state cardiac function across the lifespan : A cross-sectional pooled mega-analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Psychophysiology. - : Wiley. - 0048-5772 .- 1469-8986 .- 1540-5958. ; 58:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the association between autonomic nervous system [ANS] function and brain morphology across the lifespan provides important insights into neurovisceral mechanisms underlying health and disease. Resting-state ANS activity, indexed by measures of heart rate [HR] and its variability [HRV] has been associated with brain morphology, particularly cortical thickness [CT]. While findings have been mixed regarding the anatomical distribution and direction of the associations, these inconsistencies may be due to sex and age differences in HR/HRV and CT. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, which impede the assessment of sex differences and aging effects on the association between ANS function and CT. To overcome these limitations, 20 groups worldwide contributed data collected under similar protocols of CT assessment and HR/HRV recording to be pooled in a mega-analysis (N = 1,218 (50.5% female), mean age 36.7 years (range: 12–87)). Findings suggest a decline in HRV as well as CT with increasing age. CT, particularly in the orbitofrontal cortex, explained additional variance in HRV, beyond the effects of aging. This pattern of results may suggest that the decline in HRV with increasing age is related to a decline in orbitofrontal CT. These effects were independent of sex and specific to HRV; with no significant association between CT and HR. Greater CT across the adult lifespan may be vital for the maintenance of healthy cardiac regulation via the ANS—or greater cardiac vagal activity as indirectly reflected in HRV may slow brain atrophy. Findings reveal an important association between CT and cardiac parasympathetic activity with implications for healthy aging and longevity that should be studied further in longitudinal research.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Lo Faro, Valeria, Postdoc, et al.
(författare)
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Novel ancestry-specific primary open-angle glaucoma loci and shared biology with vascular mechanisms and cell proliferation
- 2024
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Ingår i: Cell Reports Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 2666-3791. ; 5:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Primary open -angle glaucoma (POAG), a leading cause of irreversible blindness globally, shows disparity in prevalence and manifestations across ancestries. We perform meta -analysis across 15 biobanks (of the Global Biobank Meta -analysis Initiative) (n = 1,487,441: cases = 26,848) and merge with previous multiancestry studies, with the combined dataset representing the largest and most diverse POAG study to date (n = 1,478,037: cases = 46,325) and identify 17 novel significant loci, 5 of which were ancestry specific. Gene -enrichment and transcriptome-wide association analyses implicate vascular and cancer genes, a fifth of which are primary ciliary related. We perform an extensive statistical analysis of SIX6 and CDKN2B-AS1 loci in human GTEx data and across large electronic health records showing interaction between SIX6 gene and causal variants in the chr9p21.3 locus, with expression effect on CDKN2A/B. Our results suggest that some POAG risk variants may be ancestry specific, sex specific, or both, and support the contribution of genes involved in programmed cell death in POAG pathogenesis.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Oeckl, Patrick, et al.
(författare)
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Different neuroinflammatory profile in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia is linked to the clinical phase
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 0022-3050 .- 1468-330X. ; 90:1, s. 4-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To investigate the role of neuroinflammation in asymptomatic and symptomatic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) mutation carriers.Methods: The neuroinflammatory markers chitotriosidase 1 (CHIT1), YKL-40 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples from asymptomatic and symptomatic ALS/FTD mutation carriers, sporadic cases and controls by ELISA.Results: CSF levels of CHIT1, YKL-40 and GFAP were unaffected in asymptomatic mutation carriers (n=16). CHIT1 and YKL-40 were increased in gALS (p<0.001, n=65) whereas GFAP was not affected. Patients with ALS carrying a CHIT1 polymorphism had lower CHIT1 concentrations in CSF (-80%) whereas this polymorphism had no influence on disease severity. In gFTD (n=23), increased YKL-40 and GFAP were observed (p<0.05), whereas CHIT1 was nearly not affected. The same profile as in gALS and gFTD was observed in sALS (n=64/70) and sFTD (n=20/26). CSF and blood concentrations correlated moderately (CHIT1, r=0.51) to weak (YKL-40, r=0.30, GFAP, r=0.39). Blood concentrations of these three markers were not significantly altered in any of the groups except CHIT1 in gALS of the Ulm cohort (p<0.05).Conclusion: Our data indicate that neuroinflammation is linked to the symptomatic phase of ALS/FTD and shows a similar pattern in sporadic and genetic cases. ALS and FTD are characterised by a different neuroinflammatory profile, which might be one driver of the diverse presentations of the ALS/FTD syndrome.
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| 8. |
- Scheiben, D., et al.
(författare)
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Observations of middle atmospheric H2O and O-3 during the 2010 major sudden stratospheric warming by a network of microwave radiometers
- 2012
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 12:16, s. 7753-7765
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we present middle atmospheric water vapor (H2O) and ozone (O-3) measurements obtained by ground-based microwave radiometers at three European locations in Bern (47 degrees N), Onsala (57 degrees N) and Sodankyla (67 degrees N) during Northern winter 2009/2010. In January 2010, a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) occurred in the Northern Hemisphere whose signatures are evident in the ground-based observations of H2O and O-3. The observed anomalies in H2O and O-3 are mostly explained by the relative location of the polar vortex with respect to the measurement locations. The SSW started on 26 January 2010 and was most pronounced by the end of January. The zonal mean temperature in the middle stratosphere (10 hPa) increased by approximately 25 Kelvin within a few days. The stratospheric vortex weakened during the SSW and shifted towards Europe. In the mesosphere, the vortex broke down, which lead to large scale mixing of polar and midlatitudinal air. After the warming, the polar vortex in the stratosphere split into two weaker vortices and in the mesosphere, a new, pole-centered vortex formed with maximum wind speed of 70 ms(-1) at approximately 40 degrees N. The shift of the stratospheric vortex towards Europe was observed in Bern as an increase in stratospheric H2O and a decrease in O-3. The breakdown of the mesospheric vortex during the SSW was observed at Onsala and Sodankyla as a sudden increase in mesospheric H2O. The following large-scale descent inside the newly formed mesospheric vortex was well captured by the H2O observations in Sodankyla. In order to combine the H2O observations from the three different locations, we applied the trajectory mapping technique on our H2O observations to derive synoptic scale maps of the H2O distribution. Based on our observations and the 3-D wind field, this method allows determining the approximate development of the stratospheric and mesospheric polar vortex and demonstrates the potential of a network of ground-based instruments.
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| 9. |
- Signorelli, Mirko, et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal serum biomarker screening identifies malate dehydrogenase 2 as candidate prognostic biomarker for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. - : Wiley. - 2190-5991 .- 2190-6009. ; 11:2, s. 505-517
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AbstractBackgroundDuchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal disease for which no cure is available. Clinical trials have shown to be largely underpowered due to inter‐individual variability and noisy outcome measures. The availability of biomarkers able to anticipate clinical benefit is highly needed to improve clinical trial design and facilitate drug development.MethodsIn this study, we aimed to appraise the value of protein biomarkers to predict prognosis and monitor disease progression or treatment outcome in patients affected by DMD. We collected clinical data and 303 blood samples from 157 DMD patients in three clinical centres; 78 patients contributed multiple blood samples over time, with a median follow‐up time of 2 years. We employed linear mixed models to identify biomarkers that are associated with disease progression, wheelchair dependency, and treatment with corticosteroids and performed survival analysis to find biomarkers whose levels are associated with time to loss of ambulation.ResultsOur analysis led to the identification of 21 proteins whose levels significantly decrease with age and nine proteins whose levels significantly increase. Seven of these proteins are also differentially expressed in non‐ambulant patients, and three proteins are differentially expressed in patients treated with glucocorticosteroids. Treatment with corticosteroids was found to partly counteract the effect of disease progression on two biomarkers, namely, malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2, P = 0.0003) and ankyrin repeat domain 2 (P = 0.0005); however, patients treated with corticosteroids experienced a further reduction on collagen 1 serum levels (P = 0.0003), especially following administration of deflazacort. A time to event analysis allowed to further support the use of MDH2 as a prognostic biomarker as it was associated with an increased risk of wheelchair dependence (P = 0.0003). The obtained data support the prospective evaluation of the identified biomarkers in natural history and clinical trials as exploratory biomarkers.
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| 10. |
- Singer, Andrew C, et al.
(författare)
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Meeting Report : Risk Assessment of Tamiflu Use Under Pandemic Conditions
- 2008
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Ingår i: Environmental Health Perspectives. ; 116:11, s. 1563-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On 3 October 2007, 40 participants with diverse expertise attended the workshop Tamiflu and the Environment: Implications of Use under Pandemic Conditions to assess the potential human health impact and environmental hazards associated with use of Tamiflu during an influenza pandemic. Based on the identification and risk-ranking of knowledge gaps, the consensus was that oseltamivir ethylester-phosphate (OE-P) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) were unlikely to pose an ecotoxicologic hazard to freshwater organisms. OC in river water might hasten the generation of OC-resistance in wildfowl, but this possibility seems less likely than the potential disruption that could be posed by OC and other pharmaceuticals to the operation of sewage treatment plants. The workgroup members agreed on the following research priorities: a) available data on the ecotoxicology of OE-P and OC should be published ; b) risk should be assessed for OC-contaminated river water generating OC-resistant viruses in wildfowl ; c) sewage treatment plant functioning due to microbial inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors and other antimicrobials used during a pandemic should be investigated ; and d) realistic worst-case exposure scenarios should be developed. Additional modeling would be useful to identify localized areas within river catchments that might be prone to high pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage treatment plant effluent. Ongoing seasonal use of Tamiflu in Japan offers opportunities for researchers to assess how much OC enters and persists in the aquatic environment.
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