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Low Cerebrospinal Fluid (low + cerebrospinal_fluid)
Selected AbstractsHypocretin/orexin and narcolepsy: new basic and clinical insightsACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 3 2010S. Nishino Abstract Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. Both sporadic (95%) and familial (5%) forms of narcolepsy exist in humans. The major pathophysiology of human narcolepsy has been recently discovered based on the discovery of narcolepsy genes in animals; the genes involved in the pathology of the hypocretin/orexin ligand and its receptor. Mutations in hypocretin-related genes are rare in humans, but hypocretin ligand deficiency is found in a large majority of narcolepsy with cataplexy. Hypocretin ligand deficiency in human narcolepsy is probably due to the post-natal cell death of hypocretin neurones. Although a close association between human leucocyte antigen (HLA) and human narcolepsy with cataplexy suggests an involvement of autoimmune mechanisms, this has not yet been proved. Hypocretin deficiency is also found in symptomatic cases of narcolepsy and EDS with various neurological conditions, including immune-mediated neurological disorders, such as Guillain,Barre syndrome, MA2-positive paraneoplastic syndrome and neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-related disorder. The findings in symptomatic narcoleptic cases may have significant clinical relevance to the understanding of the mechanisms of hypocretin cell death and choice of treatment option. The discoveries in human cases lead to the establishment of the new diagnostic test of narcolepsy (i.e. low cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin-1 levels for ,narcolepsy with cataplexy' and ,narcolepsy due to medical condition'). As a large majority of human narcolepsy patients are ligand deficient, hypocretin replacement therapy may be a promising new therapeutic option, and animal experiments using gene therapy and cell transplantations are in progress. [source] CSF hypocretin measures in patients with obstructive sleep apneaJOURNAL OF SLEEP RESEARCH, Issue 4 2003T. Kanbayashi Summary The majority of patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy were reported to have very low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypocretin-1 (orexin-A) levels. The hypocretin-1 levels of secondary excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) disorders are not known. In this study, we found that CSF hypocretin levels in the patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were within the control range. The low hypocretin levels seem to reflect only the presence of cataplexy and DR2 positive in narcoleptics but not EDS itself. [source] Serotonergic influences on life-history outcomes in free-ranging male rhesus macaquesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 8 2007Sue Howell Several studies have demonstrated that nonhuman primate males with low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) exhibit antisocial behavior patterns. Included in these deleterious patterns are impulse control deficits associated with violence and premature death. No studies to date have longitudinally studied the long-term outcome of young subjects with low CSF 5-HIAA concentrations as they mature into adults. In this study we examined longitudinal relations among serotonergic and dopaminergic functioning, as reflected in CSF metabolite concentrations, aggression, age at emigration, dominance rank, and mortality in free-ranging rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) males. Our results indicate long-term consistency of individual differences in levels of 5-HIAA in CSF in the subject population from the juvenile period of development through adulthood. We found a significant negative correlation between 5-HIAA concentrations measured in juveniles and rates of high-intensity aggression in the same animals as adults. Further, CSF 5-HIAA concentrations were lower in juveniles that died than in animals that survived. For the young animals that migrated there was a positive correlation between CSF 5-HIAA concentration and age at emigration, whereas for the animals that remained in their troop until later in sexual maturity there was a negative correlation between CSF 5-HIAA concentration and age of emigration. After animals emigrated to a new troop, social dominance rank in the new troop was positively correlated with early family social dominance rank, but inversely correlated with juvenile CSF 5-HIAA concentrations. Taken together, our findings suggest that males with low central serotonin levels early in life delay migration and show high levels of violence and premature death, but the males that survive achieve high rank. These findings indicate that longitudinal measures of serotonergic and dopaminergic functioning are predictive of major life-history outcomes in nonhuman primate males. Low concentrations of CSF 5-HIAA are associated with negative life-history patterns characterized by social instability and excessive aggression, and positive life-history patterns characterized by higher dominance rank. Am. J. Primatol. 69:851,865, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid pressure in patients with Alzheimer's disease as a possible cause of glaucomaACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2009S KIEKENS Purpose To investigate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and trans-lamina cribrosa pressure gradient play a role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. Our hypothesis is that a low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure may be correlated with the presence of glaucoma. The first objective is to investigate whether the CSF pressure in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with glaucoma is lower than in AD patients without glaucoma. The second goal is to evaluate an animal model with AD for the incidence and prevalence of glaucoma. If glaucoma is present histopathological analysis will be performed on retina and optic nerve, to search for Alzheimer-type changes. Methods Newly diagnosed AD suspects will undergo a lumbar puncture with CSF manometry, during neurological work-up. Ophthalmological evaluation consists of best corrected visual acuity, slit lamp biomicroscopy, gonioscopy, fundoscopy and pachymetry. Diagnosis of glaucoma or ocular hypertension will be made on the basis of visual field examination, optic disc evaluation and IOP measurement. Correlation between CSF pressure, trans lamina cribrosa pressure gradient and the presence of glaucoma will be calculated. The prevalence of low tension glaucoma will be compared to the prevalence of chronic open angle glaucoma with elevated IOP. In the second part of the project a genetically modified strain of mice with AD will be examined and screened for the development of glaucoma. Opthalmological examination will consist of IOP measurement, corneal pachymetry, optic disc evaluation and visual evoked potentials with flash. Histopathological analysis will be performed by the team of Prof De Deyn PP. Results will follow Conclusion will follow [source] | |||||||||||||