1. |
- Vogelezang, Suzanne, et al.
(author)
-
Novel loci for childhood body mass index and shared heritability with adult cardiometabolic traits.
- 2020
-
In: PLoS genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7404. ; 16:10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The genetic background of childhood body mass index (BMI), and the extent to which the well-known associations of childhood BMI with adult diseases are explained by shared genetic factors, are largely unknown. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of BMI in 61,111 children aged between 2 and 10 years. Twenty-five independent loci reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and replication analyses. Two of these, located near NEDD4L and SLC45A3, have not previously been reported in relation to either childhood or adult BMI. Positive genetic correlations of childhood BMI with birth weight and adult BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, diastolic blood pressure and type 2 diabetes were detected (Rg ranging from 0.11 to 0.76, P-values <0.002). A negative genetic correlation of childhood BMI with age at menarche was observed. Our results suggest that the biological processes underlying childhood BMI largely, but not completely, overlap with those underlying adult BMI. The well-known observational associations of BMI in childhood with cardio-metabolic diseases in adulthood may reflect partial genetic overlap, but in light of previous evidence, it is also likely that they are explained through phenotypic continuity of BMI from childhood into adulthood.
|
|
2. |
- Herukka, Sanna-Kaisa, et al.
(author)
-
Amyloid-beta and Tau Dynamics in Human Brain Interstitial Fluid in Patients with Suspected Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 46:1, s. 261-269
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Amyloid-beta (A beta(1-42)), total tau (T-tau), and phosphorylated tau (P-tau(181)) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are the most promising biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Still, little is known about the dynamics of these molecules in the living brain. In a transgenic mouse brain, soluble A beta decreases with increasing age and advanced A beta pathology as seen similarly in CSF. Objective: To assess the relationship between AD-related pathological changes in human brain tissue, ventricular and lumbar CSF, and brain interstitial fluid (ISF). Methods: Altogether 11 patients with suspected idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus underwent frontal cortical brain biopsy, 24-h intraventricular pressure monitoring, and a microdialysis procedure. AD-related biomarkers were analyzed from brain tissue, CSF, and ISF. Results: ISF T-tau levels decreased strongly within the first 12 h, then plateauing until the end of the experiment. A beta(1-42) and P-tau(181) remained stable during the experiment (n = 3). T-tau and P-tau were higher in the ISF than in ventricular or lumbar CSF, while A beta(1-42) levels were within similar range in both CSF and ISF samples. ISF P-tau correlated with the ventricular CSF T-tau (r = 0.70, p = 0.017) and P-tau(181) (r = 0.64, p = 0.034). Five patients with amyloid pathology in the brain biopsy tended to reveal lower ISF A beta(1-42) levels than those six without amyloid pathology. Conclusions: This is the first study to report ISF A beta and tau levels in the human brain without significant brain injury. The set-up used enables sampling from the brain ISF for at least 24 h without causing adverse effects due to the microdialysis procedure to follow the dynamics of the key molecules in AD pathogenesis in the living brain at various stages of the disease.
|
|
3. |
- Leinonen, Ville, et al.
(author)
-
Amyloid and Tau Proteins in Cortical Brain Biopsy and Alzheimer's Disease
- 2010
-
In: Annals of Neurology. - : Wiley. - 0364-5134 .- 1531-8249. ; 68:4, s. 446-453
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Amyloid-beta(A beta) aggregates are presumed to be found in the brain at an early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD) but have seldom been assessed by brain biopsy during life in often elderly patients. Methods: Between 1991 and 2006 we evaluated 468 patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus with intraventricular pressure monitoring and a right frontal cortical biopsy sample immunostained for A beta and hyperphosphorylated tau (HP tau). Adequate samples and the clinical follow-up data until death or the end of 2008, available in 433 cases, were reviewed for the clinical signs of dementia, including AD. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze whether A beta and/or HP tau in the biopsy samples obtained during life predicted development of cognitive impairment, in particular, AD. Results: Of the 433 frontal cortical samples, 42 (10%) displayed both A beta and HP tau, 144 (33%) A beta only, and 247 (57%) neither A beta nor HP tau. In a median follow-up time of 4.4 years, 94 patients (22%) developed clinical AD. The presence of both A beta and HP tau was strongly associated (odds ratio [OR], 68.2; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 22.1-210) and A beta alone significantly associated (OR, 10.8; 95% Cl, 4.9-23.8) with the clinical diagnosis of AD. Interpretation: This is the largest follow-up study of patients assessed for the presence of A beta and HP tau in frontal cortical brain biopsy samples. 1) The presence of A beta and HP tau spoke strongly for the presence or later development of clinical AD; 2) A beta alone was suggestive of AD; and 3) the absence of A beta and HP tau spoke against a later clinical diagnosis of AD.
|
|
4. |
- Leinonen, Ville, et al.
(author)
-
Cortical Brain Biopsy in Long-Term Prognostication of 468 Patients with Possible Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
- 2012
-
In: Neuro-degenerative diseases. - : S. Karger AG. - 1660-2862 .- 1660-2854. ; 10:1-4, s. 166-169
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) can be alleviated by cerebrospinal fluid shunting but the differential diagnosis and patient selection are challenging. Intraventricular intracranial pressure monitoring as part of the diagnostic workup as well as shunting enable to obtain cortical brain biopsies to detect amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau (HPτ), the hallmark lesions of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In possible NPH, Aβ alone indicates an increased risk of AD and when present with HPτ probable AD, but the effect of those brain lesions on survival is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of brain biopsy for the long-term outcome of possible NPH. Between 1991 and 2006, the Neurosurgery Department of the Kuopio University Hospital evaluated 468 patients for possible NPH by intraventricular intracranial pressure monitoring and frontal cortical brain biopsy immunostained against Aβ and HPτ. All patients were followed up until the end of 2008 (n = 201) or death (n = 267) with a median follow-up of 4.6 years (range 0-17). Logistic regression analysis with Cox models was applied. Out of the 468 cases, Aβ was detected in 197 (42%) cortical biopsies, and together with HPτ in 44 (9%). Aβ alone indicated increased risk of AD and with HPτ probable AD, but it did not affect survival. Vascular aetiology was the most frequent cause of death. Cortical biopsy findings indicate that NPH is at present a heterogeneous syndrome and has notable overlapping with AD. Brain biopsy did not predict survival but may open a novel research window to study the pathobiology of neurodegeneration.
|
|