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1. Geometric morphometric analysis of the brainstem and cerebellum in Chiari I malformation

Author

Ishan R. Perera, Malek Zahed, Sydney Moriarty, Zachary Simmons, Maya Rodriguez, Courtney Botkin, Taylor Dickson, Bradley Kasper, Kendyl Fahmy, and Jonathan A. Millard

Subjects
Arnold-Chiari malformation, geometric morphometric analysis, neck pain, foramen magnum, posterior cranial fossa, Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry, RC321-571, Human anatomy, QM1-695
Abstract

BackgroundChiari I malformation (CMI) is characterized by inferior descent of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum and is associated with headache and neck pain. Many morphometric research efforts have aimed to describe CMI anatomy in the midsagittal plane using classical measurement techniques such as linear dimensions and angles. These methods are less frequently applied to parasagittal features and may fall short in quantifying more intricate anatomy with fewer distinct homologous landmarks.MethodsLandmark-based geometric morphometric techniques were used to asses CMI morphology in five anatomical planes of interest.ResultsSignificant shape differences between CMI and age/sex-matched controls were found in the midsagittal (Pseudo-F = 5.4841, p = 0.001) and axial planes through the rostral medulla (Pseudo-F = 7.6319, p = 0.001). In addition to tonsillar descent, CMI principal component 1 (PC1) scores in the midsagittal protocol were associated with marked anterior concavity of the brainstem and generalized verticality of the cerebellum with anterior rotation of its anterior lobe. In the axial medulla/cerebellum protocol, CMI PC1 scores were associated with greater anterior–posterior (A-P) dimension with loss of medial-lateral (M-L) dimension.DiscussionThese results suggest that CMI is associated with greater curvature of the brainstem and spinal cord, which may perturb normal neural activities and disrupt cerebrospinal fluid movements. Previous reports on the A-P diameter of the posterior fossa in CMI have conflicted; our findings of greater A-P cerebellar dimensionality with concomitant loss of width alludes to the possibility that more caudal aspects of the posterior cranial fossa are more bowl-like (homogenous in axial dimensions) and less trough-like or elongated in the M-L direction.

Published
2024
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2. Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Gait in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Using Foot-Worn Inertial Sensors: An Observational Study

Author

Meghan Lukac, Hannah Luben, Anne E Martin, Zachary Simmons, and Andrew Geronimo

Subjects
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, gait, wearable sensors, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that alters gait and increases the risk of falls. The current model of care involves in-person multidisciplinary clinic visits to, in part, assess alterations in gait, evaluate safety, and make recommendations for management. Clinic visits, however, are relatively infrequent, and multidisciplinary evaluations can be physically demanding for patients. To better understand how gait changes over time in those with ALS and enable healthcare providers to properly respond to these changes, remote monitoring of functional mobility would be advantageous. Methods: The objective of this study was to remotely track long-term changes in walking speed using wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs). Nine ALS patients and 6 healthy controls submitted twice-weekly home walking recordings for 24 and 4 weeks, respectively. An IMU data processing method was developed and validated against laboratory-measured walking speed. Results: For both ALS patients and healthy controls, home walking speed was less than clinic walking speed by an average of 0.19 m/s (p = 0.0024). Over 24 weeks, home walking speed significantly decreased for 5 of 9 ALS patients at an average of −0.021 m/s/months (p = 0.005). Those who eventually transitioned to using assistive device (AD) while on the study demonstrated a greater decrease in walking speed than those who did not. Conclusions: Remote longitudinal gait monitoring of ALS patients is feasible with the use of an IMU. Decreases in walking speed were detected in the majority of patients, most strongly in those who eventually transitioned to an AD. Home walking speed may more accurately represent the walking abilities of ALS patients in their real-life environments, a finding which further supports the case for remote monitoring in ALS.

Published
2023
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3. An integrated multi-omic analysis of iPSC-derived motor neurons from C9ORF72 ALS patients

Author

Jonathan Li, Ryan G. Lim, Julia A. Kaye, Victoria Dardov, Alyssa N. Coyne, Jie Wu, Pamela Milani, Andrew Cheng, Terri G. Thompson, Loren Ornelas, Aaron Frank, Miriam Adam, Maria G. Banuelos, Malcolm Casale, Veerle Cox, Renan Escalante-Chong, J. Gavin Daigle, Emilda Gomez, Lindsey Hayes, Ronald Holewenski, Susan Lei, Alex Lenail, Leandro Lima, Berhan Mandefro, Andrea Matlock, Lindsay Panther, Natasha Leanna Patel-Murray, Jacqueline Pham, Divya Ramamoorthy, Karen Sachs, Brandon Shelley, Jennifer Stocksdale, Hannah Trost, Mark Wilhelm, Vidya Venkatraman, Brook T. Wassie, Stacia Wyman, Stephanie Yang, Jennifer E. Van Eyk, Thomas E. Lloyd, Steven Finkbeiner, Ernest Fraenkel, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, Dhruv Sareen, Clive N. Svendsen, Leslie M. Thompson, Hemali Phatnani, PhD, Justin Kwan, MD, Dhruv Sareen, PhD, James R. Broach, PhD, Zachary Simmons, MD, Ximena Arcila-Londono, MD, Edward B. Lee, MD, PhD, Vivianna M. Van Deerlin, MD, PhD, Neil A. Shneider, MD, PhD, Ernest Fraenkel, PhD, Lyle W. Ostrow, MD, PhD, Frank Baas, MD, PhD, Noah Zaitlen, PhD, James D. Berry, MD, MPH, Andrea Malaspina, MD, PhD, Pietro Fratta, MD, PhD, Gregory A. Cox, PhD, Leslie M. Thompson, PhD, Steve Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, Efthimios Dardiotis, MD, PhD, Timothy M. Miller, MD, PhD, Siddharthan Chandran, PhD, Suvankar Pal, MD, Eran Hornstein, MD, PhD, Daniel J. MacGowan, MD, Terry Heiman-Patterson, MD, Molly G. Hammell, PhD, Nikolaos.A. Patsopoulos, MD, PhD, Oleg Butovsky, PhD, Joshua Dubnau, PhD, Avindra Nath, MD, Robert Bowser, PhD, Matt Harms, MD, Mary Poss, DVM, PhD, Jennifer Phillips-Cremins, PhD, John Crary, MD, PhD, Nazem Atassi, MD, Dale J. Lange, MD, Darius J. Adams, MD, Leonidas Stefanis, MD, PhD, Marc Gotkine, MD, Robert H. Baloh, MD. PhD, Suma Babu, MBBS, MPH, Towfique Raj, PhD, Sabrina Paganoni, MD, PhD, Ophir Shalem, PhD, Colin Smith, MD, Bin Zhang, PhD, Brent Harris, MD, PhD, Iris Broce, PhD, Vivian Drory, MD, John Ravits, MD, Corey McMillan, PhD, Vilas Menon, PhD, Lani Wu, PhD, and Steven Altschuler, PhD

Subjects
Biological sciences, Neuroscience, Systems neuroscience, Systems biology, Omics, Science
Abstract

Summary: Neurodegenerative diseases are challenging for systems biology because of the lack of reliable animal models or patient samples at early disease stages. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could address these challenges. We investigated DNA, RNA, epigenetics, and proteins in iPSC-derived motor neurons from patients with ALS carrying hexanucleotide expansions in C9ORF72. Using integrative computational methods combining all omics datasets, we identified novel and known dysregulated pathways. We used a C9ORF72 Drosophila model to distinguish pathways contributing to disease phenotypes from compensatory ones and confirmed alterations in some pathways in postmortem spinal cord tissue of patients with ALS. A different differentiation protocol was used to derive a separate set of C9ORF72 and control motor neurons. Many individual -omics differed by protocol, but some core dysregulated pathways were consistent. This strategy of analyzing patient-specific neurons provides disease-related outcomes with small numbers of heterogeneous lines and reduces variation from single-omics to elucidate network-based signatures.

Published
2021
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4. Pineal Gland from the Cell Culture to Animal Models: A Review

Author

Alekhya Peruri, Alexandra Morgan, Alida D’Souza, Bridget Mellon, Carey W. Hung, Gabriella Kayal, Haejung Shin, Kim Nguyen, Malek Zahed, Mason Yount, Reilly Ellis, Taylor Wynne, Virginia Fritz, Zachary Simmons, and Kelly C. S. Roballo

Subjects
melatonin, regeneration, neurodegenerative process, cell culture, animal models, Science
Abstract

This review demonstrates current literature on pineal gland physiology, pathology, and animal model experiments to concisely explore future needs in research development with respect to pineal gland function and neuro-regenerative properties. The pineal gland plays an integral role in sleep and recovery by promoting physiologic circadian rhythms via production and release of melatonin. Yet, the current literature shows that the pineal gland has neuroprotective effects that modulate both peripheral and central nerve injuries through several direct and indirect mechanisms, such as angiogenesis and induction of growth factors and anti-inflammatory mediators. Animal models have also shown correlations between pineal gland function and metabolic homeostasis. Studies have shown that a functional pineal gland is essential in preventing and slowing the progression of certain diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, vertebral osteoarthritis, and neurodegenerative processes. Lastly, the array of cell culturing methods and animal models that can be used to further develop the study of pineal gland function and nervous system injury were reviewed.

Published
2022
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5. Comparison of Vowel and Sentence Intelligibility in People with Dysarthria Secondary to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Author

Elizabeth Krajewski, Jimin Lee, Annie J. Olmstead, and Zachary Simmons

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, we examined the utility of vowel intelligibility testing for assessing the impact of dysarthria on speech characteristics in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We tested the sensitivity and specificity of overall vowel identification, as well as that of vowel-specific identification, to dysarthria presence and severity. We additionally examined the relationship between vowel intelligibility and sentence intelligibility. Method: Twenty-three people with ALS and 22 age- and sex-matched control speakers produced sentences from the Speech Intelligibility Test (SIT), as well as 10 American English monophthongs in /h/--vowel--/d/ words for the vowel intelligibility test (VIT). Data for SIT and VIT scores came from 135 listeners. Diagnostic accuracy of VIT measures was evaluated using the area under the curve of receiver operator characteristics. We then examined differences between control speakers, speakers with mild dysarthria, and speakers with severe dysarthria in their relationship between SIT and VIT scores. Results: The results suggest that the overall vowel intelligibility score showed high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating between speakers with and without dysarthria, even those with milder symptoms. In addition, single-vowel identification scores showed at least acceptable group differentiation between the mild and severe dysarthria groups, though fewer single vowels were acceptable discriminators between the control group and the group with mild dysarthria. Identification accuracy of /I/ in particular showed excellent discrimination across all groups. Examination of the relationship between SIT and VIT scores suggests a severity-specific relationship. Speakers with SIT scores above 70% generally had higher SIT than VIT scores, whereas speakers with SIT below 70% generally had higher VIT than SIT scores. Discussion: Vowel intelligibility testing can detect speech impairments in speakers with mild dysarthria and residual articulatory function in speakers with severe dysarthria. Vowel intelligibility testing may, therefore, be a useful addition to intelligibility testing for individuals with dysarthria.

Published
2024
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6. Expansion of C9ORF72 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis correlates with brain-computer interface performance

Author

Andrew Geronimo, Kathryn E. Sheldon, James R. Broach, Zachary Simmons, and Steven J. Schiff

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Abstract Abnormal expansion of hexanucleotide GGGGCC (G4C2) in the C9ORF72 gene has been associated with multiple neurodegenerative disorders, with particularly high prevalence in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Repeat expansions of this type have been associated with altered pathology, symptom rate and severity, as well as psychological changes. In this study, we enrolled twenty-five patients with ALS and fifteen neurologically healthy controls in a P300 brain-computer interface (BCI) training procedure. Four of the patients were found to possess an expanded allele, which was associated with a reduction in the quality of evoked potentials that led to reduced performance on the BCI task. Our findings warrant further exploration of the relationship between brain function and G4C2 repeat length. Such a relationship suggests that personalized assessment of suitability of BCI as a communication device in patients with ALS may be feasible.

Published
2017
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7. Postmortem Cortex Samples Identify Distinct Molecular Subtypes of ALS: Retrotransposon Activation, Oxidative Stress, and Activated Glia

Author

Oliver H. Tam, Nikolay V. Rozhkov, Regina Shaw, Duyang Kim, Isabel Hubbard, Samantha Fennessey, Nadia Propp, Delphine Fagegaltier, Brent T. Harris, Lyle W. Ostrow, Hemali Phatnani, John Ravits, Josh Dubnau, Molly Gale Hammell, Justin Kwan, Dhruv Sareen, James R. Broach, Zachary Simmons, Ximena Arcila-Londono, Edward B. Lee, Vivianna M. Van Deerlin, Neil A. Shneider, Ernest Fraenkel, Frank Baas, Noah Zaitlen, James D. Berry, Andrea Malaspina, Pietro Fratta, Gregory A. Cox, Leslie M. Thompson, Steve Finkbeiner, Efthimios Dardiotis, Timothy M. Miller, Siddharthan Chandran, Suvankar Pal, Eran Hornstein, Daniel J. MacGowan, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Molly G. Hammell, Nikolaos.A. Patsopoulos, Oleg Butovsky, Joshua Dubnau, Avindra Nath, Robert Bowser, Matt Harms, Eleonora Aronica, Mary Poss, Jennifer Phillips-Cremins, John Crary, Nazem Atassi, Dale J. Lange, Darius J. Adams, Leonidas Stefanis, Marc Gotkine, Robert Baloh, Suma Babu, Towfique Raj, Sabrina Paganoni, Ophir Shalem, Colin Smith, and Bin Zhang

Subjects
Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract

Summary: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons. While several pathogenic mutations have been identified, the vast majority of ALS cases have no family history of disease. Thus, for most ALS cases, the disease may be a product of multiple pathways contributing to varying degrees in each patient. Using machine learning algorithms, we stratify the transcriptomes of 148 ALS postmortem cortex samples into three distinct molecular subtypes. The largest cluster, identified in 61% of patient samples, displays hallmarks of oxidative and proteotoxic stress. Another 19% of the samples shows predominant signatures of glial activation. Finally, a third group (20%) exhibits high levels of retrotransposon expression and signatures of TARDBP/TDP-43 dysfunction. We further demonstrate that TDP-43 (1) directly binds a subset of retrotransposon transcripts and contributes to their silencing in vitro, and (2) pathological TDP-43 aggregation correlates with retrotransposon de-silencing in vivo. : Tam et al. present transcriptome profiling results from a large set of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient cortex samples, finding 3 distinct groups. Two ALS subtypes are marked by gene pathways previously associated with ALS disease, while a third group shows elevated retrotransposon expression linked to TDP-43 pathology. Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, retrotransposons, transposable elements, TDP-43, neurodegenerative disease, neurodegeneration, genetics and genomics of ALS

Published
2019
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8. Genome-wide structural variant analysis identifies risk loci for non-Alzheimer's dementias

Author

Karri Kaivola, Ruth Chia, Jinhui Ding, Memoona Rasheed, Masashi Fujita, Vilas Menon, Ronald L. Walton, Ryan L. Collins, Kimberley Billingsley, Harrison Brand, Michael Talkowski, Xuefang Zhao, Ramita Dewan, Ali Stark, Anindita Ray, Sultana Solaiman, Pilar Alvarez Jerez, Laksh Malik, Ted M. Dawson, Liana S. Rosenthal, Marilyn S. Albert, Olga Pletnikova, Juan C. Troncoso, Mario Masellis, Julia Keith, Sandra E. Black, Luigi Ferrucci, Susan M. Resnick, Toshiko Tanaka, Eric Topol, Ali Torkamani, Pentti Tienari, Tatiana M. Foroud, Bernardino Ghetti, John E. Landers, Mina Ryten, Huw R. Morris, John A. Hardy, Letizia Mazzini, Sandra D'Alfonso, Cristina Moglia, Andrea Calvo, Geidy E. Serrano, Thomas G. Beach, Tanis Ferman, Neill R. Graff-Radford, Bradley F. Boeve, Zbigniew K. Wszolek, Dennis W. Dickson, Adriano Chiò, David A. Bennett, Philip L. De Jager, Owen A. Ross, Clifton L. Dalgard, J. Raphael Gibbs, Bryan J. Traynor, Sonja W. Scholz, Anthony R. Soltis, Coralie Viollet, Gauthaman Sukumar, Camille Alba, Nathaniel Lott, Elisa McGrath Martinez, Meila Tuck, Jatinder Singh, Dagmar Bacikova, Xijun Zhang, Daniel N. Hupalo, Adelani Adeleye, Matthew D. Wilkerson, Harvey B. Pollard, Ziv Gan-Or, Ekaterina Rogaeva, Alexis Brice, Suzanne Lesage, Georgia Xiromerisiou, Antonio Canosa, Adriano Chio, Giancarlo Logroscino, Gabriele Mora, Reijko Krüger, Patrick May, Daniel Alcolea, Jordi Clarimon, Juan Fortea, Isabel Gonzalez-Aramburu, Jon Infante, Carmen Lage, Alberto Lleó, Pau Pastor, Pascual Sanchez-Juan, Francesca Brett, Dag Aarsland, Safa Al-Sarraj, Johannes Attems, Steve Gentleman, Angela K. Hodges, Seth Love, Ian G. McKeith, Christopher M. Morris, Laura Palmer, Stuart Pickering-Brown, Alan J. Thomas, Claire Troakes, Matthew J. Barrett, Lynn M. Bekris, Kelley Faber, Margaret E. Flanagan, Alison Goate, David S. Goldstein, Horacio Kaufmann, Walter A. Kukull, James B. Leverenz, Grisel Lopez, Qinwen Mao, Eliezer Masliah, Edwin Monuki, Kathy L. Newell, Jose-Alberto Palma, Matthew Perkins, Alan E. Renton, Clemens R. Scherzer, Vikram G. Shakkottai, Ellen Sidransky, Nahid Tayebi, Randy Woltjer, Robert H. Baloh, Robert Bowser, James Broach, William Camu, John Cooper-Knock, Carsten Drepper, Vivian E. Drory, Travis L. Dunckley, Eva Feldman, Pietro Fratta, Glenn Gerhard, Summer B. Gibson, Jonathan D. Glass, Matthew B. Harms, Terry D. Heiman-Patterson, Lilja Jansson, Janine Kirby, Justin Kwan, Hannu Laaksovirta, Francesco Landi, Isabelle Le Ber, Serge Lumbroso, Daniel J.L. MacGowan, Nicholas J. Maragakis, Kevin Mouzat, Liisa Myllykangas, Richard W. Orrell, Lyle W. Ostrow, Roger Pamphlett, Erik Pioro, Stefan M. Pulst, John M. Ravits, Wim Robberecht, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, Michael Sendtner, Pamela J. Shaw, Katie C. Sidle, Zachary Simmons, Thor Stein, David J. Stone, Pentti J. Tienari, Miko Valori, Philip Van Damme, Vivianna M. Van Deerlin, Ludo Van Den Bosch, Lorne Zinman, Fonds National de la Recherche - FnR [sponsor], Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB): Bioinformatics Core (R. Schneider Group) [research center], Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB): Clinical & Experimental Neuroscience (Krüger Group) [research center], and Luxembourg Institute of Health - LIH [research center]

Subjects
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Neurologie [D14] [Sciences de la santé humaine], genome-wide association study, Neurology [D14] [Human health sciences], case-control study, Non-Alzheimer dementia, resource, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous), frontotemporal dementia, structural variant, Genetics, non–Alzheimer's dementia, Genetics & genetic processes [F10] [Life sciences], Lewy body dementia, Structural variants, Génétique & processus génétiques [F10] [Sciences du vivant]
Abstract

We characterized the role of structural variants, a largely unexplored type of genetic variation, in two non-Alzheimer’s dementias, namely Lewy body dementia (LBD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD)/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To do this, we applied an advanced structural variant calling pipeline (GATK-SV) to short-read whole-genome sequence data from 5,213 European-ancestry cases and 4,132 controls. We discovered, replicated, and validated a deletion in TPCN1 as a novel risk locus for LBD and detected the known structural variants at the C9orf72 and MAPT loci as associated with FTD/ALS. We also identified rare pathogenic structural variants in both LBD and FTD/ALS. Finally, we assembled a catalog of structural variants that can be mined for new insights into the pathogenesis of these understudied forms of dementia.

Published
2023

9. Clinical features of LRP4/agrin‐antibody–positive myasthenia gravis: A multicenter study

Author

Ikjae Lee, Mazen M. Dimachkie, Andrea M. Corse, Carlayne E. Jackson, Hongyan Xu, Jerry M. Belsh, J. Americo Fernandes, Mamatha Pasnoor, Tuan Vu, Eroboghene E. Ubogu, James F. Howard, George A. Small, Robert P. Lisak, R. Bhavaraju Sanka, Vanessa Baute, James Caress, Lin Mei, Stephen N. Scelsa, Brandy Quarles, Zachary Simmons, Richard Nowak, Zheng Yu, Richard J. Barohn, Jin-Xiu Pan, Clifton L. Gooch, Michael H. Rivner, and Andrea Swenson

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Adult, Male, medicine.medical_specialty, clinical features, Physiology, LRP4, neuromuscular transmission disorders, Class iii, 030105 genetics & heredity, Gastroenterology, 03 medical and health sciences, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, 0302 clinical medicine, Neuromuscular Transmission Disorders, Physiology (medical), Internal medicine, seronegative myasthenia gravis, medicine, Prevalence, Humans, LDL-Receptor Related Proteins, Clinical Research Articles, Autoantibodies, Clinical Research Article, myasthenia gravis, Agrin, biology, business.industry, Middle Aged, Clinical disease, medicine.disease, Myasthenia gravis, United States, Multicenter study, biology.protein, Female, Neurology (clinical), Antibody, Symptom Assessment, business, Standard therapy, agrin, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Introduction Our aim in this study was to identify the prevalence and clinical characteristics of LRP4/agrin‐antibody–positive double‐seronegative myasthenia gravis (DNMG). Methods DNMG patients at 16 sites in the United States were tested for LRP4 and agrin antibodies, and the clinical data were collected. Results Of 181 DNMG patients, 27 (14.9%) were positive for either low‐density lipoprotein receptor–related protein 4 (LRP4) or agrin antibodies. Twenty‐three DNMG patients (12.7%) were positive for both antibodies. More antibody‐positive patients presented with generalized symptoms (69%) compared with antibody‐negative patients (43%) (P ≤ .02). Antibody‐positive patients’ maximum classification on the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) scale was significantly higher than that for antibody‐negative patients (P ≤ .005). Seventy percent of antibody‐positive patients were classified as MGFA class III, IV, or V compared with 39% of antibody‐negative patients. Most LRP4‐ and agrin‐antibody–positive patients (24 of 27, 89%) developed generalized myathenia gravis (MG), but with standard MG treatment 81.5% (22 of 27) improved to MGFA class I or II during a mean follow‐up of 11 years. Discussion Antibody‐positive patients had more severe clinical disease than antibody‐negative patients. Most DNMG patients responded to standard therapy regardless of antibody status.

Published
2020

10. Pathogenic huntingtin repeat expansions in patients with frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Author

Ramita Dewan, Ruth Chia, Jinhui Ding, Richard A. Hickman, Thor D. Stein, Yevgeniya Abramzon, Sarah Ahmed, Marya S. Sabir, Makayla K. Portley, Arianna Tucci, Kristina Ibáñez, F.N.U. Shankaracharya, Pamela Keagle, Giacomina Rossi, Paola Caroppo, Fabrizio Tagliavini, Maria L. Waldo, Per M. Johansson, Christer F. Nilsson, James B. Rowe, Luisa Benussi, Giuliano Binetti, Roberta Ghidoni, Edwin Jabbari, Coralie Viollet, Jonathan D. Glass, Andrew B. Singleton, Vincenzo Silani, Owen A. Ross, Mina Ryten, Ali Torkamani, Toshiko Tanaka, Luigi Ferrucci, Susan M. Resnick, Stuart Pickering-Brown, Christopher B. Brady, Neil Kowal, John A. Hardy, Vivianna Van Deerlin, Jean Paul Vonsattel, Matthew B. Harms, Huw R. Morris, Raffaele Ferrari, John E. Landers, Adriano Chiò, J. Raphael Gibbs, Clifton L. Dalgard, Sonja W. Scholz, Bryan J. Traynor, Adelani Adeleye, Camille Alba, Dagmar Bacikova, Daniel N. Hupalo, Elisa McGrath Martinez, Harvey B. Pollard, Gauthaman Sukumar, Anthony R. Soltis, Meila Tuck, Xijun Zhang, Matthew D. Wilkerson, Bradley N. Smith, Nicola Ticozzi, Claudia Fallini, Athina Soragia Gkazi, Simon D. Topp, Jason Kost, Emma L. Scotter, Kevin P. Kenna, Jack W. Miller, Cinzia Tiloca, Caroline Vance, Eric W. Danielson, Claire Troakes, Claudia Colombrita, Safa Al-Sarraj, Elizabeth A. Lewis, Andrew King, Daniela Calini, Viviana Pensato, Barbara Castellotti, Jacqueline de Belleroche, Frank Baas, Anneloor L.M.A. ten Asbroek, Peter C. Sapp, Diane McKenna-Yasek, Russell L. McLaughlin, Meraida Polak, Seneshaw Asress, Jesús Esteban-Pérez, José Luis Muñoz-Blanco, Zorica Stevic, Sandra D’Alfonso, Letizia Mazzini, Giacomo P. Comi, Roberto Del Bo, Mauro Ceroni, Stella Gagliardi, Giorgia Querin, Cinzia Bertolin, Wouter van Rheenen, Frank P. Diekstra, Rosa Rademakers, Marka van Blitterswijk, Kevin B. Boylan, Giuseppe Lauria, Stefano Duga, Stefania Corti, Cristina Cereda, Lucia Corrado, Gianni Sorarù, Kelly L. Williams, Garth A. Nicholson, Ian P. Blair, Claire Leblond-Manry, Guy A. Rouleau, Orla Hardiman, Karen E. Morrison, Jan H. Veldink, Leonard H. van den Berg, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Hardev Pall, Pamela J. Shaw, Martin R. Turner, Kevin Talbot, Franco Taroni, Alberto García-Redondo, Zheyang Wu, Cinzia Gellera, Antonia Ratti, Robert H. Brown, Christopher E. Shaw, John C. Ambrose, Prabhu Arumugam, Emma L. Baple, Marta Bleda, Freya Boardman-Pretty, Jeanne M. Boissiere, Christopher R. Boustred, H. Brittain, Mark J. Caulfield, Georgia C. Chan, Clare E.H. Craig, Louise C. Daugherty, Anna de Burca, Andrew Devereau, Greg Elgar, Rebecca E. Foulger, Tom Fowler, Pedro Furió-Tarí, Joanne M. Hackett, Dina Halai, Angela Hamblin, Shirley Henderson, James E. Holman, Tim J.P. Hubbard, Rob Jackson, Louise J. Jones, Dalia Kasperaviciute, Melis Kayikci, Lea Lahnstein, Kay Lawson, Sarah E.A. Leigh, Ivonne U.S. Leong, Javier F. Lopez, Fiona Maleady-Crowe, Joanne Mason, Ellen M. McDonagh, Loukas Moutsianas, Michael Mueller, Nirupa Murugaesu, Anna C. Need, Chris A. Odhams, Christine Patch, Daniel Perez-Gil, Dimitris Polychronopoulos, John Pullinger, Tahrima Rahim, Augusto Rendon, Pablo Riesgo-Ferreiro, Tim Rogers, Kevin Savage, Kushmita Sawant, Richard H. Scott, Afshan Siddiq, Alexander Sieghart, Damian Smedley, Katherine R. Smith, Alona Sosinsky, William Spooner, Helen E. Stevens, Alexander Stuckey, Razvan Sultana, Ellen R.A. Thomas, Simon R. Thompson, Carolyn Tregidgo, Emma Walsh, Sarah A. Watters, Matthew J. Welland, Eleanor Williams, Katarzyna Witkowska, Suzanne M. Wood, Magdalena Zarowiecki, Sampath Arepalli, Pavan Auluck, Robert H. Baloh, Robert Bowser, Alexis Brice, James Broach, William Camu, John Cooper-Knock, Philippe Corcia, Carsten Drepper, Vivian E. Drory, Travis L. Dunckley, Faraz Faghri, Jennifer Farren, Eva Feldman, Mary Kay Floeter, Pietro Fratta, Glenn Gerhard, Summer B. Gibson, Stephen A. Goutman, Terry D. Heiman-Patterson, Dena G. Hernandez, Ben Hoover, Lilja Jansson, Freya Kamel, Janine Kirby, Neil W. Kowall, Hannu Laaksovirta, Francesco Landi, Isabelle Le Ber, Serge Lumbroso, Daniel JL. MacGowan, Nicholas J. Maragakis, Gabriele Mora, Kevin Mouzat, Liisa Myllykangas, Mike A. Nalls, Richard W. Orrell, Lyle W. Ostrow, Roger Pamphlett, Erik Pioro, Stefan M. Pulst, John M. Ravits, Alan E. Renton, Wim Robberecht, Ian Robey, Ekaterina Rogaeva, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, Michael Sendtner, Katie C. Sidle, Zachary Simmons, David J. Stone, Pentti J. Tienari, John Q. Trojanowski, Juan C. Troncoso, Miko Valori, Philip Van Damme, Ludo Van Den Bosch, Lorne Zinman, Diego Albani, Barbara Borroni, Alessandro Padovani, Amalia Bruni, Jordi Clarimon, Oriol Dols-Icardo, Ignacio Illán-Gala, Alberto Lleó, Adrian Danek, Daniela Galimberti, Elio Scarpini, Maria Serpente, Caroline Graff, Huei-Hsin Chiang, Behzad Khoshnood, Linn Öijerstedt, Christopher M. Morris, Benedetta Nacmias, Sandro Sorbi, Jorgen E. Nielsen, Lynne E. Hjermind, Valeria Novelli, Annibale A. Puca, Pau Pastor, Ignacio Alvarez, Monica Diez-Fairen, Miquel Aguilar, Robert Perneczky, Janine Diehl-Schimd, Mina Rossi, Agustin Ruiz, Mercè Boada, Isabel Hernández, Sonia Moreno-Grau, Johannes C. Schlachetzki, Dag Aarsland, Marilyn S. Albert, Johannes Attems, Matthew J. Barrett, Thomas G. Beach, Lynn M. Bekris, David A. Bennett, Lilah M. Besser, Eileen H. Bigio, Sandra E. Black, Bradley F. Boeve, Ryan C. Bohannan, Francesca Brett, Maura Brunetti, Chad A. Caraway, Jose-Alberto Palma, Andrea Calvo, Antonio Canosa, Dennis Dickson, Charles Duyckaerts, Kelley Faber, Tanis Ferman, Margaret E. Flanagan, Gianluca Floris, Tatiana M. Foroud, Juan Fortea, Ziv Gan-Or, Steve Gentleman, Bernardino Ghetti, Jesse Raphael Gibbs, Alison Goate, David Goldstein, Isabel González-Aramburu, Neill R. Graff-Radford, Angela K. Hodges, Heng-Chen Hu, Daniel Hupalo, Jon Infante, Alex Iranzo, Scott M. Kaiser, Horacio Kaufmann, Julia Keith, Ronald C. Kim, Gregory Klein, Rejko Krüger, Walter Kukull, Amanda Kuzma, Carmen Lage, Suzanne Lesage, James B. Leverenz, Giancarlo Logroscino, Grisel Lopez, Seth Love, Qinwen Mao, Maria Jose Marti, Elisa Martinez-McGrath, Mario Masellis, Eliezer Masliah, Patrick May, Ian McKeith, Marek-Marsel Mesulam, Edwin S. Monuki, Kathy L. Newell, Lucy Norcliffe-Kaufmann, Laura Palmer, Matthew Perkins, Olga Pletnikova, Laura Molina-Porcel, Regina H. Reynolds, Eloy Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Jonathan D. Rohrer, Pascual Sanchez-Juan, Clemens R. Scherzer, Geidy E. Serrano, Vikram Shakkottai, Ellen Sidransky, Nahid Tayebi, Alan J. Thomas, Bension S. Tilley, Ronald L. Walton, Randy Woltjer, Zbigniew K. Wszolek, Georgia Xiromerisiou, Chiara Zecca, Hemali Phatnani, Justin Kwan, Dhruv Sareen, James R. Broach, Ximena Arcila-Londono, Edward B. Lee, Neil A. Shneider, Ernest Fraenkel, Noah Zaitlen, James D. Berry, Andrea Malaspina, Gregory A. Cox, Leslie M. Thompson, Steve Finkbeiner, Efthimios Dardiotis, Timothy M. Miller, Siddharthan Chandran, Suvankar Pal, Eran Hornstein, Daniel J. MacGowan, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Molly G. Hammell, Nikolaos.A. Patsopoulos, Oleg Butovsky, Joshua Dubnau, Avindra Nath, Matt Harms, Eleonora Aronica, Mary Poss, Jennifer Phillips-Cremins, John Crary, Nazem Atassi, Dale J. Lange, Darius J. Adams, Leonidas Stefanis, Marc Gotkine, Suma Babu, Towfique Raj, Sabrina Paganoni, Ophir Shalem, Colin Smith, Bin Zhang, Brent Harris, Iris Broce, Vivian Drory, John Ravits, Corey McMillan, Vilas Menon, Lani Wu, Steven Altschuler, Khaled Amar, Neil Archibald, Oliver Bandmann, Erica Capps, Alistair Church, Jan Coebergh, Alyssa Costantini, Peter Critchley, Boyd CP. Ghosh, Michele T.M. Hu, Christopher Kobylecki, P. Nigel Leigh, Carl Mann, Luke A. Massey, Uma Nath, Nicola Pavese, Dominic Paviour, Jagdish Sharma, Jenny Vaughan, HUS Neurocenter, Neurologian yksikkö, Department of Neurosciences, Clinicum, Pentti Tienari / Principal Investigator, Parkinson's UK, Human Genetics, ARD - Amsterdam Reproduction and Development, ANS - Complex Trait Genetics, Pathology, ANS - Cellular & Molecular Mechanisms, AII - Inflammatory diseases, Universidad de Cantabria, Rowe, James [0000-0001-7216-8679], and Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Huntington's Disease, Pathology, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntingtin, Neurology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, International ALS/FTD Genomics Consortium, Neurodegenerative, frontotemporal dementia, 3124 Neurology and psychiatry, 0302 clinical medicine, Medicine, 2.1 Biological and endogenous factors, Psychology, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Aetiology, Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (ADRD), NYGC ALS Consortium, Huntingtin Protein, DNA Repeat Expansion, General Neuroscience, Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), International FTD Genetics Consortium, whole-genome sequencing, Frontotemporal Dementia, Neurological, Cognitive Sciences, Lewy body dementia, huntingtin, repeat expansions, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Humans, Mutation, Whole Genome Sequencing, Frontotemporal dementia, Huntington’s disease, medicine.medical_specialty, congenital, hereditary, and neonatal diseases and abnormalities, FALS Sequencing Consortium, Article, 03 medical and health sciences, Atrophy, Rare Diseases, American Genome Center, Clinical Research, mental disorders, Genetics, Acquired Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, PROSPECT Consortium, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Lewy body, business.industry, International LBD Genomics Consortium, Neurosciences, 3112 Neurosciences, Alzheimer's Disease including Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD), nutritional and metabolic diseases, medicine.disease, Brain Disorders, nervous system diseases, 030104 developmental biology, Genomics England Research Consortium, 1701 Psychology, ALS, business, 1109 Neurosciences, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Hannu Laaksovirta konsortion jäsenenä. The Genomics England Research Consortium, The International ALS/FTD Genomics Consortium (iAFGC), The International FTD Genetics Consortium (IFGC), The International LBD Genomics Consortium (iLBDGC), The NYGC ALS Consortium, The PROSPECT Consortium,17 James B. Rowe,17 Luisa Benussi,18 Giuliano Binetti,18,19 Roberta Ghidoni,18 Edwin Jabbari,20,21 Coralie Viollet,22 Jonathan D. Glass,23 Andrew B. Singleton,24 Vincenzo Silani,25,26 Owen A. Ross,27 Mina Ryten,8,28,29 Ali Torkamani,30 Toshiko Tanaka,31 Luigi Ferrucci,31 Susan M. Resnick,32 We examined the role of repeat expansions in the pathogenesis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by analyzing whole-genome sequence data from 2,442 FTD/ALS patients, 2,599 Lewy body dementia (LBD) patients, and 3,158 neurologically healthy subjects. Pathogenic expansions (range, 40?64 CAG repeats) in the huntingtin (HTT) gene were found in three (0.12%) patients diagnosed with pure FTD/ALS syndromes but were not present in the LBD or healthy cohorts. We replicated our findings in an independent collection of 3,674 FTD/ALS patients. Postmortem evaluations of two patients revealed the classical TDP-43 pathology of FTD/ALS, as well as huntingtin-positive, ubiquitin-positive aggregates in the frontal cortex. The neostriatal atrophy that pathologically defines Huntington?s disease was absent in both cases. Our findings reveal an etiological relationship between HTT repeat expansions and FTD/ALS syndromes and indicate that genetic screening of FTD/ALS patients for HTT repeat expansions should be considered. We examined the role of repeat expansions in the pathogenesis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by analyzing whole-genome sequence data from 2,442 FTD/ALS patients, 2,599 Lewy body dementia (LBD) patients, and 3,158 neurologically healthy subjects. Pathogenic expansions (range, 40?64 CAG repeats) in the huntingtin (HTT) gene were found in three (0.12%) patients diagnosed with pure FTD/ALS syndromes but were not present in the LBD or healthy cohorts. We replicated our findings in an independent collection of 3,674 FTD/ALS patients. Postmortem evaluations of two patients revealed the classical TDP-43 pathology of FTD/ALS, as well as huntingtin-positive, ubiquitin-positive aggregates in the frontal cortex. The neostriatal atrophy that pathologically defines Huntington?s disease was absent in both cases. Our findings reveal an etiological relationship between HTT repeat expansions and FTD/ALS syndromes and indicate that genetic screening of FTD/ALS patients for HTT repeat expansions should be considered.

Published
2020

11. Neurophysiological features of primary lateral sclerosis

Author

Matthew C. Kiernan, M. de Carvalho, Martin R Turner, Zachary Simmons, K Rezenia, Seth L. Pullman, and Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa

Subjects
education, Neurophysiology, Electromyography, Lower motor neuron, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Primary lateral sclerosis, Medicine, Humans, Spasticity, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease, health care economics and organizations, Primary Lateral Sclerosis, medicine.diagnostic_test, business.industry, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, social sciences, Motor neuron, medicine.disease, Prognosis, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, humanities, medicine.anatomical_structure, nervous system, Neurology, Neurology (clinical), medicine.symptom, business, Neuroscience, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

© 2021 World Federation of Neurology on behalf of the Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases., Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a motor neuron disease characterized by spinobulbar spasticity, absence of progressive lower motor neuron (LMN) dysfunction and marked by a slow functional decline. Electromyography is essential to exclude significant LMN involvement, particularly in the context of distinguishing PLS from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), given that the prognosis is substantially better, and respiratory complications are unusual, in PLS. Nevertheless, minor neurogenic changes and occasional fasciculation potentials can be observed in PLS. The most useful technique for the objective assessment of upper motor neuron (UMN) dysfunction is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which in PLS is characterized by a high cortical threshold and delayed central conduction times. TMS is sensitive to identify cortical dysfunction in PLS and might have potential for monitoring UMN function in longitudinal studies and in clinical trials. The findings of TMS need to be interpreted in the context of the clinical presentation and phenotype, particularly in the differentiation between PLS and ALS. While other neurophysiological techniques have been investigated, studies to date have tended to involve small patient cohorts and as such, their value in distinguishing PLS from ALS remains unclear.

Published
2020

12. COVID‐19–associated Guillain‐Barré syndrome: The early pandemic experience

Author

Stephen N. Scelsa, Ryan Castoro, Zachary Simmons, James B. Caress, Aditi Ahlawat, Richard A. Lewis, and Pushpa Narayanaswami

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Pediatrics, Future studies, Time Factors, Physiology, Neural Conduction, coronavirus, 030105 genetics & heredity, medicine.disease_cause, 0302 clinical medicine, Guillain‐Barre Syndrome, SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, Pandemic, Medicine, reproductive and urinary physiology, Coronavirus, biology, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Incidence (epidemiology), Brain, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Coronavirus Infections, neurological diseases, medicine.medical_specialty, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Pneumonia, Viral, Clinical Neurology, electrodiagnosis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, 03 medical and health sciences, Betacoronavirus, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, COVID‐19, Physiology (medical), Humans, Pandemics, business.industry, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Polyradiculoneuropathy, Issues & Opinions, medicine.disease, bacterial infections and mycoses, electrophysiology, biology.protein, bacteria, Neurology (clinical), business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Antiganglioside antibodies
Abstract

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy associated with numerous viral infections. Recently, there have been many case reports describing the association between coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and GBS, but much remains unknown about the strength of the association and the features of GBS in this setting. We reviewed 37 published cases of GBS associated with COVID-19 to summarize this information for clinicians and to determine whether a specific clinical or electrodiagnostic (EDx) pattern is emerging. The mean age (59 years), gender (65% male), and COVID-19 features appeared to reflect those of hospitalized COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic. The mean time from COVID-19 symptoms to GBS symptoms was 11 days. The clinical presentation and severity of these GBS cases was similar to those with non-COVID-19 GBS. The EDx pattern was considered demyelinating in approximately half of the cases. Cerebrospinal fluid, when assessed, demonstrated albuminocytologic dissociation in 76% of patients and was negative for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in all cases. Serum antiganglioside antibodies were absent in 15 of 17 patients tested. Most patients were treated with a single course of intravenous immunoglobulin, and improvement was noted within 8 weeks in most cases. GBS-associated COVID-19 appears to be an uncommon condition with similar clinical and EDx patterns to GBS before the pandemic. Future studies should compare patients with COVID-19-associated GBS to those with contemporaneous non-COVID-19 GBS and determine whether the incidence of GBS is elevated in those with COVID-19.

Published
2020
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13. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis care and research in the United States during the COVID ‐19 pandemic: Challenges and opportunities

Author

James D. Berry, Brixhilda Dedi, Jinsy A. Andrews, Jeremy M. Shefner, Nathan Carberry, Richard Bedlack, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, Jonathan D. Glass, Robert H. Baloh, Michael D. Weiss, Merit Cudkowicz, Nicholas J. Maragakis, Timothy M. Miller, Sabrina Paganoni, and Zachary Simmons

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Telemedicine, Biomedical Research, clinical care, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Physiology, Pneumonia, Viral, Psychological intervention, Clinical Neurology, 030105 genetics & heredity, Health Services Accessibility, Betacoronavirus, 03 medical and health sciences, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Enteral Nutrition, 0302 clinical medicine, COVID‐19, Physiology (medical), Pandemic, medicine, Humans, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Clinical care, Pandemics, Clinical Trials as Topic, clinical trials, Ventilators, Mechanical, Study drug, SARS-CoV-2, business.industry, pandemic, COVID-19, Issues & Opinions, medicine.disease, Home Care Services, United States, Clinical trial, Hospice Care, Wheelchairs, Spirometry, Neurology (clinical), Medical emergency, Coronavirus Infections, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 has created unprecedented challenges for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinical care and research in the United States. Traditional evaluations for making an ALS diagnosis, measuring progression, and planning interventions rely on in‐person visits that may now be unsafe or impossible. Evidence‐ and experience‐based treatment options, such as multidisciplinary team care, feeding tubes, wheelchairs, home health, and hospice, have become more difficult to obtain and in some places are unavailable. In addition, the pandemic has impacted ALS clinical trials by impairing the ability to obtain measurements for trial eligibility, to monitor safety and efficacy outcomes, and to dispense study drug, as these also often rely on in‐person visits. We review opportunities for overcoming some of these challenges through telemedicine and novel measurements. These can reoptimize ALS care and research in the current setting and during future events that may limit travel and face‐to‐face interactions.

Published
2020
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14. Primary lateral sclerosis: consensus diagnostic criteria

Author

Vincenzo Silani, Matthew C. Kiernan, Martin R Turner, Leonard H. van den Berg, Richard J. Barohn, John K. Fink, Jeffrey Statland, Hiroshi Mitsumoto, John Ravits, Philippe Corcia, Matthew B. Harms, and Zachary Simmons

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Consensus, Delayed Diagnosis, Lower motor neuron involvement, Delayed diagnosis, Diagnosis, Differential, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Motor system, medicine, Humans, Symptom onset, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease, Neurodegeneration, Intensive care medicine, 030304 developmental biology, Primary Lateral Sclerosis, Motor Neurons, 0303 health sciences, business.industry, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, medicine.disease, Therapeutic trial, Psychiatry and Mental health, Upper motor neuron syndrome, Surgery, Neurology (clinical), business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a neurodegenerative disorder of the adult motor system. Characterised by a slowly progressive upper motor neuron syndrome, the diagnosis is clinical, after exclusion of structural, neurodegenerative and metabolic mimics. Differentiation of PLS from upper motor neuron-predominant forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis remains a significant challenge in the early symptomatic phase of both disorders, with ongoing debate as to whether they form a clinical and histopathological continuum. Current diagnostic criteria for PLS may be a barrier to therapeutic development, requiring long delays between symptom onset and formal diagnosis. While new technologies sensitive to both upper and lower motor neuron involvement may ultimately resolve controversies in the diagnosis of PLS, we present updated consensus diagnostic criteria with the aim of reducing diagnostic delay, optimising therapeutic trial design and catalysing the development of disease-modifying therapy.

Published
2020

15. TeleBCI: remote user training, monitoring, and communication with an evoked-potential brain-computer interface

Author

Andrew Geronimo and Zachary Simmons

Subjects
Telemedicine, Computer science, media_common.quotation_subject, Interface (computing), Biomedical Engineering, Article, law.invention, Human-Computer Interaction, Behavioral Neuroscience, Augmentative and alternative communication, Human–computer interaction, law, Perception, Facilitator, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Evoked potential, Virtual keyboard, media_common, Brain–computer interface
Abstract

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are a movement-independent form of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The rare utilization of such devices in the homes of patients stems from a number of factors, one of which is the complexity of providing training and support for users. This paper describes the teleBCI interface used to train the patient and facilitator in the operation of a virtual keyboard using an evoked potential BCI. Fifteen patients with motor neuron disease and their communication partners were included in the study, participating from their homes while receiving remote support from the research team. Patient/caregiver teams completed 8 sessions each of P300 BCI training virtually with the researcher. As they participated in subsequent training sessions, participant teams required less help to complete physical, computer, and BCI-specific tasks associated with device use. A subset of users experienced improved performance over sessions, progressing to utilize the full functionality of the speller and communicate with a nurse partner over a telemedicine interface. Perceptions of device utility varied with accuracy of the BCI system. In the management of ALS, the integration of telemedicine provides new opportunities for care delivery, including how BCI-AAC are deployed and used.

Published
2020

16. Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene

Author

Aude Nicolas, Kevin P. Kenna, Alan E. Renton, Nicola Ticozzi, Faraz Faghri, Ruth Chia, Janice A. Dominov, Brendan J. Kenna, Mike A. Nalls, Pamela Keagle, Alberto M. Rivera, Wouter van Rheenen, Natalie A. Murphy, Joke J.F.A. van Vugt, Joshua T. Geiger, Rick A. Van der Spek, Hannah A. Pliner, null Shankaracharya, Bradley N. Smith, Giuseppe Marangi, Simon D. Topp, Yevgeniya Abramzon, Athina Soragia Gkazi, John D. Eicher, Aoife Kenna, Gabriele Mora, Andrea Calvo, Letizia Mazzini, Nilo Riva, Jessica Mandrioli, Claudia Caponnetto, Stefania Battistini, Paolo Volanti, Vincenzo La Bella, Francesca L. Conforti, Giuseppe Borghero, Sonia Messina, Isabella L. Simone, Francesca Trojsi, Fabrizio Salvi, Francesco O. Logullo, Sandra D’Alfonso, Lucia Corrado, Margherita Capasso, Luigi Ferrucci, Cristiane de Araujo Martins Moreno, Sitharthan Kamalakaran, David B. Goldstein, Aaron D. Gitler, Tim Harris, Richard M. Myers, Hemali Phatnani, Rajeeva Lochan Musunuri, Uday Shankar Evani, Avinash Abhyankar, Michael C. Zody, Julia Kaye, Steven Finkbeiner, Stacia K. Wyman, Alex LeNail, Leandro Lima, Ernest Fraenkel, Clive N. Svendsen, Leslie M. Thompson, Jennifer E. Van Eyk, James D. Berry, Timothy M. Miller, Stephen J. Kolb, Merit Cudkowicz, Emily Baxi, Michael Benatar, J. Paul Taylor, Evadnie Rampersaud, Gang Wu, Joanne Wuu, Giuseppe Lauria, Federico Verde, Isabella Fogh, Cinzia Tiloca, Giacomo P. Comi, Gianni Sorarù, Cristina Cereda, Philippe Corcia, Hannu Laaksovirta, Liisa Myllykangas, Lilja Jansson, Miko Valori, John Ealing, Hisham Hamdalla, Sara Rollinson, Stuart Pickering-Brown, Richard W. Orrell, Katie C. Sidle, Andrea Malaspina, John Hardy, Andrew B. Singleton, Janel O. Johnson, Sampath Arepalli, Peter C. Sapp, Diane McKenna-Yasek, Meraida Polak, Seneshaw Asress, Safa Al-Sarraj, Andrew King, Claire Troakes, Caroline Vance, Jacqueline de Belleroche, Frank Baas, Anneloor L.M.A. ten Asbroek, José Luis Muñoz-Blanco, Dena G. Hernandez, Jinhui Ding, J. Raphael Gibbs, Sonja W. Scholz, Mary Kay Floeter, Roy H. Campbell, Francesco Landi, Robert Bowser, Stefan M. Pulst, John M. Ravits, Daniel J.L. MacGowan, Janine Kirby, Erik P. Pioro, Roger Pamphlett, James Broach, Glenn Gerhard, Travis L. Dunckley, Christopher B. Brady, Neil W. Kowall, Juan C. Troncoso, Isabelle Le Ber, Kevin Mouzat, Serge Lumbroso, Terry D. Heiman-Patterson, Freya Kamel, Ludo Van Den Bosch, Robert H. Baloh, Tim M. Strom, Thomas Meitinger, Aleksey Shatunov, Kristel R. Van Eijk, Mamede de Carvalho, Maarten Kooyman, Bas Middelkoop, Matthieu Moisse, Russell L. McLaughlin, Michael A. Van Es, Markus Weber, Kevin B. Boylan, Marka Van Blitterswijk, Rosa Rademakers, Karen E. Morrison, A. Nazli Basak, Jesús S. Mora, Vivian E. Drory, Pamela J. Shaw, Martin R. Turner, Kevin Talbot, Orla Hardiman, Kelly L. Williams, Jennifer A. Fifita, Garth A. Nicholson, Ian P. Blair, Guy A. Rouleau, Jesús Esteban-Pérez, Alberto García-Redondo, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Ekaterina Rogaeva, Lorne Zinman, Lyle W. Ostrow, Nicholas J. Maragakis, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, Zachary Simmons, Johnathan Cooper-Knock, Alexis Brice, Stephen A. Goutman, Eva L. Feldman, Summer B. Gibson, Franco Taroni, Antonia Ratti, Cinzia Gellera, Philip Van Damme, Wim Robberecht, Pietro Fratta, Mario Sabatelli, Christian Lunetta, Albert C. Ludolph, Peter M. Andersen, Jochen H. Weishaupt, William Camu, John Q. Trojanowski, Vivianna M. Van Deerlin, Robert H. Brown, Leonard H. van den Berg, Jan H. Veldink, Matthew B. Harms, Jonathan D. Glass, David J. Stone, Pentti Tienari, Vincenzo Silani, Adriano Chiò, Christopher E. Shaw, Bryan J. Traynor, John E. Landers, Isabella Simone, Giancarlo Logroscino, Ilaria Bartolomei, Maria Rita Murru, Emanuela Costantino, Carla Pani, Roberta Puddu, Carla Caredda, Valeria Piras, Stefania Tranquilli, Stefania Cuccu, Daniela Corongiu, Maurizio Melis, Antonio Milia, Francesco Marrosu, Maria Giovanna Marrosu, Gianluca Floris, Antonino Cannas, Gianluigi Mancardi, Paola Origone, Paola Mandich, Sebastiano Cavallaro, Kalliopi Marinou, Riccardo Sideri, Silvana Penco, Lorena Mosca, Giuseppe Lauria Pinter, Massimo Corbo, Paola Carrera, Nicola Fini, Antonio Fasano, Lucio Tremolizzo, Alessandro Arosio, Carlo Ferrarese, Gioacchino Tedeschi, Maria Rosaria Monsurrò, Giovanni Piccirillo, Cinzia Femiano, Anna Ticca, Enzo Ortu, Rossella Spataro, Tiziana Colletti, Marcella Zollino, Amelia Conte, Marco Luigetti, Serena Lattante, Marialuisa Santarelli, Antonio Petrucci, Maura Pugliatti, Angelo Pirisi, Leslie D. Parish, Patrizia Occhineri, Fabio Giannini, Claudia Ricci, Michele Benigni, Tea B. Cau, Daniela Loi, Cristina Moglia, Maura Brunetti, Marco Barberis, Gabriella Restagno, Federico Casale, Giuseppe Marrali, Giuseppe Fuda, Irene Ossola, Stefania Cammarosano, Antonio Canosa, Antonio Ilardi, Umberto Manera, Maurizio Grassano, Raffaella Tanel, Fabrizio Pisano, Neil A. Shneider, Stephen Goutman, Siddharthan Chandran, Suvankar Pal, George Manousakis, Stanley H. Appel, Ericka Simpson, Leo Wang, Summer Gibson, Richard Bedlack, David Lacomis, Dhruv Sareen, Alexander Sherman, Lucie Bruijn, Michelle Penny, Andrew S. Allen, Stanley Appel, Richard S. Bedlack, Braden E. Boone, Robert Brown, John P. Carulli, Alessandra Chesi, Wendy K. Chung, Elizabeth T. Cirulli, Gregory M. Cooper, Julien Couthouis, Aaron G. Day-Williams, Patrick A. Dion, Yujun Han, Sebastian D. Hayes, Angela L. Jones, Jonathan Keebler, Brian J. Krueger, Brittany N. Lasseigne, Shawn E. Levy, Yi-Fan Lu, Tom Maniatis, Slavé Petrovski, Alya R. Raphael, Zhong Ren, Katherine B. Sims, John F. Staropoli, Lindsay L. Waite, Quanli Wang, Jack R. Wimbish, Winnie W. Xin, Justin Kwan, James R. Broach, Ximena Arcila-Londono, Edward B. Lee, Noah Zaitlen, Gregory A. Cox, Steve Finkbeiner, Efthimios Dardiotis, Eran Hornstein, Daniel J. MacGowan, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Molly G. Hammell, Nikolaos A. Patsopoulos, Joshua Dubnau, Avindra Nath, Stacia Wyman, Alexander LeNail, Jenny Van Eyk, Stephan Züchner, Rebecca Schule, Jacob McCauley, Sumaira Hussain, Anne Cooley, Marielle Wallace, Christine Clayman, Richard Barohn, Jeffrey Statland, John Ravits, Andrea Swenson, Carlayne Jackson, Jaya Trivedi, Shaida Khan, Jonathan Katz, Liberty Jenkins, Ted Burns, Kelly Gwathmey, James Caress, Corey McMillan, Lauren Elman, Erik Pioro, Jeannine Heckmann, Yuen So, David Walk, Samuel Maiser, Jinghui Zhang, Fabiola De Marchi, Stefania Corti, Mauro Ceroni, Gabriele Siciliano, Massimiliano Filosto, Maurizio Inghilleri, Silvia Peverelli, Claudia Colombrita, Barbara Poletti, Luca Maderna, Roberto Del Bo, Stella Gagliardi, Giorgia Querin, Cinzia Bertolin, Viviana Pensato, Barbara Castellotti, Vincent Meininger, Gérard Besson, Emmeline Lagrange, Pierre Clavelou, Nathalie Guy, Philippe Couratier, Patrick Vourch, Véronique Danel, Emilien Bernard, Gwendal Lemasson, Ahmad Al Kheifat, Peter Andersen, Adriano Chio, Jonathan Cooper-Knock, Annelot Dekker, Vivian Drory, Alberto Garcia Redondo, Marc Gotkine, Winston Hide, Alfredo Iacoangeli, Jonathan Glass, Kevin Kenna, Matthew Kiernan, John Landers, Russell McLaughlin, Jonathan Mill, Miguel Mitne Neto, Mattieu Moisse, Jesus Mora Pardina, Karen Morrison, Stephen Newhouse, Susana Pinto, Sara Pulit, Pamela Shaw, Chris Shaw, William Sproviero, Gijs Tazelaar, Philip van Damme, Leonard van den Berg, Rick van der Spek, Kristel van Eijk, Michael van Es, Joke van Vugt, Jan Veldink, Mayana Zatz, Denis C. Bauer, Natalie A. Twine, Department of Neurosciences, Pentti Tienari / Principal Investigator, Neurologian yksikkö, Research Programs Unit, Clinicum, Research Programme for Molecular Neurology, University of Helsinki, Medicum, Department of Pathology, HUS Neurocenter, Nicolas A., Kenna K.P., Renton A.E., Ticozzi N., Faghri F., Chia R., Dominov J.A., Kenna B.J., Nalls M.A., Keagle P., Rivera A.M., van Rheenen W., Murphy N.A., van Vugt J.J.F.A., Geiger J.T., Van der Spek R.A., Pliner H.A., Shankaracharya, Smith B.N., Marangi G., Topp S.D., Abramzon Y., Gkazi A.S., Eicher J.D., Kenna A., Logullo F.O., Simone I.L., Logroscino G., Salvi F., Bartolomei I., Borghero G., Murru M.R., Costantino E., Pani C., Puddu R., Caredda C., Piras V., Tranquilli S., Cuccu S., Corongiu D., Melis M., Milia A., Marrosu F., Marrosu M.G., Floris G., Cannas A., Capasso M., Caponnetto C., Mancardi G., Origone P., Mandich P., Conforti F.L., Cavallaro S., Mora G., Marinou K., Sideri R., Penco S., Mosca L., Lunetta C., Pinter G.L., Corbo M., Riva N., Carrera P., Volanti P., Mandrioli J., Fini N., Fasano A., Tremolizzo L., Arosio A., Ferrarese C., Trojsi F., Tedeschi G., Monsurro M.R., Piccirillo G., Femiano C., Ticca A., Ortu E., La Bella V., Spataro R., Colletti T., Sabatelli M., Zollino M., Conte A., Luigetti M., Lattante S., Santarelli M., Petrucci A., Pugliatti M., Pirisi A., Parish L.D., Occhineri P., Giannini F., Battistini S., Ricci C., Benigni M., Cau T.B., Loi D., Calvo A., Moglia C., Brunetti M., Barberis M., Restagno G., Casale F., Marrali G., Fuda G., Ossola I., Cammarosano S., Canosa A., Ilardi A., Manera U., Grassano M., Tanel R., Pisano F., Mazzini L., Messina S., D'Alfonso S., Corrado L., Ferrucci L., Harms M.B., Goldstein D.B., Shneider N.A., Goutman S.A., Simmons Z., Miller T.M., Chandran S., Pal S., Manousakis G., Appel S.H., Simpson E., Wang L., Baloh R.H., Gibson S.B., Bedlack R., Lacomis D., Sareen D., Sherman A., Bruijn L., Penny M., Moreno C.D.A.M., Kamalakaran S., Allen A.S., Boone B.E., Brown R.H., Carulli J.P., Chesi A., Chung W.K., Cirulli E.T., Cooper G.M., Couthouis J., Day-Williams A.G., Dion P.A., Gitler A.D., Glass J.D., Han Y., Harris T., Hayes S.D., Jones A.L., Keebler J., Krueger B.J., Lasseigne B.N., Levy S.E., Lu Y.-F., Maniatis T., McKenna-Yasek D., Myers R.M., Petrovski S., Pulst S.M., Raphael A.R., Ravits J.M., Ren Z., Rouleau G.A., Sapp P.C., Sims K.B., Staropoli J.F., Waite L.L., Wang Q., Wimbish J.R., Xin W.W., Phatnani H., Kwan J., Broach J., Arcila-Londono X., Lee E.B., Van Deerlin V.M., Fraenkel E., Ostrow L.W., Baas F., Zaitlen N., Berry J.D., Malaspina A., Fratta P., Cox G.A., Thompson L.M., Finkbeiner S., Dardiotis E., Hornstein E., MacGowan D.J.L., Heiman-Patterson T., Hammell M.G., Patsopoulos N.A., Dubnau J., Nath A., Musunuri R.L., Evani U.S., Abhyankar A., Zody M.C., Kaye J., Wyman S.K., LeNail A., Lima L., Rothstein J.D., Svendsen C.N., Van Eyk J.E., Maragakis N.J., Kolb S.J., Cudkowicz M., Baxi E., Benatar M., Taylor J.P., Wu G., Rampersaud E., Wuu J., Rademakers R., Zuchner S., Schule R., McCauley J., Hussain S., Cooley A., Wallace M., Clayman C., Barohn R., Statland J., Swenson A., Jackson C., Trivedi J., Khan S., Katz J., Jenkins L., Burns T., Gwathmey K., Caress J., McMillan C., Elman L., Pioro E.P., Heckmann J., So Y., Walk D., Maiser S., Zhang J., Silani V., Gellera C., Ratti A., Taroni F., Lauria G., Verde F., Fogh I., Tiloca C., Comi G.P., Soraru G., Cereda C., De Marchi F., Corti S., Ceroni M., Siciliano G., Filosto M., Inghilleri M., Peverelli S., Colombrita C., Poletti B., Maderna L., Del Bo R., Gagliardi S., Querin G., Bertolin C., Pensato V., Castellotti B., Camu W., Mouzat K., Lumbroso S., Corcia P., Meininger V., Besson G., Lagrange E., Clavelou P., Guy N., Couratier P., Vourch P., Danel V., Bernard E., Lemasson G., Laaksovirta H., Myllykangas L., Jansson L., Valori M., Ealing J., Hamdalla H., Rollinson S., Pickering-Brown S., Orrell R.W., Sidle K.C., Hardy J., Singleton A.B., Johnson J.O., Arepalli S., Polak M., Asress S., Al-Sarraj S., King A., Troakes C., Vance C., de Belleroche J., ten Asbroek A.L.M.A., Munoz-Blanco J.L., Hernandez D.G., Ding J., Gibbs J.R., Scholz S.W., Floeter M.K., Campbell R.H., Landi F., Bowser R., Kirby J., Pamphlett R., Gerhard G., Dunckley T.L., Brady C.B., Kowall N.W., Troncoso J.C., Le Ber I., Heiman-Patterson T.D., Kamel F., Van Den Bosch L., Strom T.M., Meitinger T., Shatunov A., Van Eijk K.R., de Carvalho M., Kooyman M., Middelkoop B., Moisse M., McLaughlin R.L., Van Es M.A., Weber M., Boylan K.B., Van Blitterswijk M., Morrison K.E., Basak A.N., Mora J.S., Drory V.E., Shaw P.J., Turner M.R., Talbot K., Hardiman O., Williams K.L., Fifita J.A., Nicholson G.A., Blair I.P., Esteban-Perez J., Garcia-Redondo A., Al-Chalabi A., Al Kheifat A., Andersen P.M., Chio A., Cooper-Knock J., Dekker A., Redondo A.G., Gotkine M., Hide W., Iacoangeli A., Kiernan M., Landers J.E., Mill J., Neto M.M., Pardina J.M., Newhouse S., Pinto S., Pulit S., Robberecht W., Shaw C., Sproviero W., Tazelaar G., Van Damme P., van den Berg L.H., van Vugt J., Veldink J.H., Zatz M., Bauer D.C., Twine N.A., Rogaeva E., Zinman L., Brice A., Feldman E.L., Ludolph A.C., Weishaupt J.H., Trojanowski J.Q., Stone D.J., Tienari P., Shaw C.E., Traynor B.J., ITALSGEN Consortium, Genomic Translation ALS Care GTAC, ALS Sequencing Consortium, NYGC ALS Consortium, Answer ALS Fdn, Clinical Res ALS Related Disorders, SLAGEN Consortium, French ALS Consortium, Project MinE ALS Sequencing Consor, Medical Research Council (MRC), ANS - Complex Trait Genetics, Human Genetics, ARD - Amsterdam Reproduction and Development, Catholic University of Leuven - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore [Roma] (Unicatt), Centre référent Sclérose Latérale Amyotrophique [CHRU Montpellier] (SLA CHRU Montpellier), Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier] (CHRU Montpellier)-Université Montpellier 1 (UM1), Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Università degli studi di Torino (UNITO), Institut du Cerveau et de la Moëlle Epinière = Brain and Spine Institute (ICM), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière [AP-HP], Sorbonne Université (SU)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), New York Genome Center [New York], New York Genome Center, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Howard Hughes Medical Institute [Chevy Chase] (HHMI), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Centre de compétence de la Sclérose Latérale Amyotrophique [CHRU Tours] (SLA CHRU Tours), Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours (CHRU Tours), University College of London [London] (UCL), Synchrotron SOLEIL (SSOLEIL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), King‘s College London, University of New Haven [Connecticut], Princeton University, Laboratoire de Biochimie [CHRU Nîmes], Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nîmes (CHU Nîmes), Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier - Déficits sensoriels et moteurs (INM), Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Technische Universität Munchen - Université Technique de Munich [Munich, Allemagne] (TUM), Helmholtz-Zentrum München (HZM), University Medical Center [Utrecht], Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz GmbH = German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Mayo Clinic [Jacksonville], Trinity College Dublin, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institut, Tanz Center Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases [Toronto], University of Toronto, Neurologie et thérapeutique expérimentale, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-IFR70-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa, Nicolas, A, Kenna, K, Renton, A, Ticozzi, N, Faghri, F, Chia, R, Dominov, J, Kenna, B, Nalls, M, Keagle, P, Rivera, A, van Rheenen, W, Murphy, N, van Vugt, J, Geiger, J, van der Spek, R, Pliner, H, Shankaracharya, N, Smith, B, Marangi, G, Topp, S, Abramzon, Y, Gkazi, A, Eicher, J, Kenna, A, Logullo, F, Simone, I, Logroscino, G, Salvi, F, Bartolomei, I, Borghero, G, Murru, M, Costantino, E, Pani, C, Puddu, R, Caredda, C, Piras, V, Tranquilli, S, Cuccu, S, Corongiu, D, Melis, M, Milia, A, Marrosu, F, Marrosu, M, Floris, G, Cannas, A, Capasso, M, Caponnetto, C, Mancardi, G, Origone, P, Mandich, P, Conforti, F, Cavallaro, S, Mora, G, Marinou, K, Sideri, R, Penco, S, Mosca, L, Lunetta, C, Pinter, G, Corbo, M, Riva, N, Carrera, P, Volanti, P, Mandrioli, J, Fini, N, Fasano, A, Tremolizzo, L, Arosio, A, Ferrarese, C, Trojsi, F, Tedeschi, G, Monsurrò, M, Piccirillo, G, Femiano, C, Ticca, A, Ortu, E, La Bella, V, Spataro, R, Colletti, T, Sabatelli, M, Zollino, M, Conte, A, Luigetti, M, Lattante, S, Santarelli, M, Petrucci, A, Pugliatti, M, Pirisi, A, Parish, L, Occhineri, P, Giannini, F, Battistini, S, Ricci, C, Benigni, M, Cau, T, Loi, D, Calvo, A, Moglia, C, Brunetti, M, Barberis, M, Restagno, G, Casale, F, Marrali, G, Fuda, G, Ossola, I, Cammarosano, S, Canosa, A, Ilardi, A, Manera, U, Grassano, M, Tanel, R, Pisano, F, Mazzini, L, Messina, S, D'Alfonso, S, Corrado, L, Ferrucci, L, Harms, M, Goldstein, D, Shneider, N, Goutman, S, Simmons, Z, Miller, T, Chandran, S, Pal, S, Manousakis, G, Appel, S, Simpson, E, Wang, L, Baloh, R, Gibson, S, Bedlack, R, Lacomis, D, Sareen, D, Sherman, A, Bruijn, L, Penny, M, Moreno, C, Kamalakaran, S, Allen, A, Boone, B, Brown, R, Carulli, J, Chesi, A, Chung, W, Cirulli, E, Cooper, G, Couthouis, J, Day-Williams, A, Dion, P, Gitler, A, Glass, J, Han, Y, Harris, T, Hayes, S, Jones, A, Keebler, J, Krueger, B, Lasseigne, B, Levy, S, Lu, Y, Maniatis, T, McKenna-Yasek, D, Myers, R, Petrovski, S, Pulst, S, Raphael, A, Ravits, J, Ren, Z, Rouleau, G, Sapp, P, Sims, K, Staropoli, J, Waite, L, Wang, Q, Wimbish, J, Xin, W, Phatnani, H, Kwan, J, Broach, J, Arcila-Londono, X, Lee, E, Van Deerlin, V, Fraenkel, E, Ostrow, L, Baas, F, Zaitlen, N, Berry, J, Malaspina, A, Fratta, P, Cox, G, Thompson, L, Finkbeiner, S, Dardiotis, E, Hornstein, E, Macgowan, D, Heiman-Patterson, T, Hammell, M, Patsopoulos, N, Dubnau, J, Nath, A, Musunuri, R, Evani, U, Abhyankar, A, Zody, M, Kaye, J, Wyman, S, Lenail, A, Lima, L, Rothstein, J, Svendsen, C, Van Eyk, J, Maragakis, N, Kolb, S, Cudkowicz, M, Baxi, E, Benatar, M, Taylor, J, Wu, G, Rampersaud, E, Wuu, J, Rademakers, R, Züchner, S, Schule, R, Mccauley, J, Hussain, S, Cooley, A, Wallace, M, Clayman, C, Barohn, R, Statland, J, Swenson, A, Jackson, C, Trivedi, J, Khan, S, Katz, J, Jenkins, L, Burns, T, Gwathmey, K, Caress, J, Mcmillan, C, Elman, L, Pioro, E, Heckmann, J, So, Y, Walk, D, Maiser, S, Zhang, J, Silani, V, Gellera, C, Ratti, A, Taroni, F, Lauria, G, Verde, F, Fogh, I, Tiloca, C, Comi, G, Sorarù, G, Cereda, C, De Marchi, F, Corti, S, Ceroni, M, Siciliano, G, Filosto, M, Inghilleri, M, Peverelli, S, Colombrita, C, Poletti, B, Maderna, L, Del Bo, R, Gagliardi, S, Querin, G, Bertolin, C, Pensato, V, Castellotti, B, Camu, W, Mouzat, K, Lumbroso, S, Corcia, P, Meininger, V, Besson, G, Lagrange, E, Clavelou, P, Guy, N, Couratier, P, Vourch, P, Danel, V, Bernard, E, Lemasson, G, Laaksovirta, H, Myllykangas, L, Jansson, L, Valori, M, Ealing, J, Hamdalla, H, Rollinson, S, Pickering-Brown, S, Orrell, R, Sidle, K, Hardy, J, Singleton, A, Johnson, J, Arepalli, S, Polak, M, Asress, S, Al-Sarraj, S, King, A, Troakes, C, Vance, C, de Belleroche, J, ten Asbroek, A, Muñoz-Blanco, J, Hernandez, D, Ding, J, Gibbs, J, Scholz, S, Floeter, M, Campbell, R, Landi, F, Bowser, R, Kirby, J, Pamphlett, R, Gerhard, G, Dunckley, T, Brady, C, Kowall, N, Troncoso, J, Le Ber, I, Kamel, F, Van Den Bosch, L, Strom, T, Meitinger, T, Shatunov, A, Van Eijk, K, de Carvalho, M, Kooyman, M, Middelkoop, B, Moisse, M, Mclaughlin, R, Van Es, M, Weber, M, Boylan, K, Van Blitterswijk, M, Morrison, K, Basak, A, Mora, J, Drory, V, Shaw, P, Turner, M, Talbot, K, Hardiman, O, Williams, K, Fifita, J, Nicholson, G, Blair, I, Esteban-Pérez, J, García-Redondo, A, Al-Chalabi, A, Al Kheifat, A, Andersen, P, Chio, A, Cooper-Knock, J, Dekker, A, Redondo, A, Gotkine, M, Hide, W, Iacoangeli, A, Kiernan, M, Landers, J, Mill, J, Neto, M, Pardina, J, Newhouse, S, Pinto, S, Pulit, S, Robberecht, W, Shaw, C, Sproviero, W, Tazelaar, G, van Damme, P, van den Berg, L, van Eijk, K, van Es, M, Veldink, J, Zatz, M, Bauer, D, Twine, N, Rogaeva, E, Zinman, L, Brice, A, Feldman, E, Ludolph, A, Weishaupt, J, Trojanowski, J, Stone, D, Tienari, P, Chiò, A, Traynor, B, Nicolas, Aude, Kenna, Kevin P, Renton, Alan E, Ticozzi, Nicola, Faghri, Faraz, Chia, Ruth, Dominov, Janice A, Kenna, Brendan J, Nalls, Mike A, Keagle, Pamela, Rivera, Alberto M, van Rheenen, Wouter, Murphy, Natalie A, van Vugt, Joke J F A, Geiger, Joshua T, Van der Spek, Rick A, Pliner, Hannah A, Shankaracharya, Null, Smith, Bradley N, Marangi, Giuseppe, Topp, Simon D, Abramzon, Yevgeniya, Gkazi, Athina Soragia, Eicher, John D, Kenna, Aoife, Mora, Gabriele, Calvo, Andrea, Mazzini, Letizia, Riva, Nilo, Mandrioli, Jessica, Caponnetto, Claudia, Battistini, Stefania, Volanti, Paolo, La Bella, Vincenzo, Conforti, Francesca L, Borghero, Giuseppe, Messina, Sonia, Simone, Isabella L, Trojsi, Francesca, Salvi, Fabrizio, Logullo, Francesco O, D'Alfonso, Sandra, Corrado, Lucia, Capasso, Margherita, Ferrucci, Luigi, Logullo, Fo, Murru, Mr, Marrosu, Mg, Conforti, Fl, Pinter, Gl, Tedeschi, Gioacchino, Monsurrò, Maria Rosaria, Parish, Ld, Cau, Tb, Moreno, Cristiane de Araujo Martin, Kamalakaran, Sitharthan, Goldstein, David B, Gitler, Aaron D, Harris, Tim, Myers, Richard M, Phatnani, Hemali, Musunuri, Rajeeva Lochan, Evani, Uday Shankar, Abhyankar, Avinash, Zody, Michael C, Kaye, Julia, Finkbeiner, Steven, Wyman, Stacia K, Lenail, Alex, Lima, Leandro, Fraenkel, Ernest, Svendsen, Clive N, Thompson, Leslie M, Van Eyk, Jennifer E, Berry, James D, Miller, Timothy M, Kolb, Stephen J, Cudkowicz, Merit, Baxi, Emily, Benatar, Michael, Taylor, J Paul, Rampersaud, Evadnie, Wu, Gang, Wuu, Joanne, Lauria, Giuseppe, Verde, Federico, Fogh, Isabella, Tiloca, Cinzia, Comi, Giacomo P, Sorarù, Gianni, Cereda, Cristina, Corcia, Philippe, Laaksovirta, Hannu, Myllykangas, Liisa, Jansson, Lilja, Valori, Miko, Ealing, John, Hamdalla, Hisham, Rollinson, Sara, Pickering-Brown, Stuart, Orrell, Richard W, Sidle, Katie C, Malaspina, Andrea, Hardy, John, Singleton, Andrew B, Johnson, Janel O, Arepalli, Sampath, Sapp, Peter C, McKenna-Yasek, Diane, Polak, Meraida, Asress, Seneshaw, Al-Sarraj, Safa, King, Andrew, Troakes, Claire, Vance, Caroline, de Belleroche, Jacqueline, Baas, Frank, Ten Asbroek, Anneloor L M A, Muñoz-Blanco, José Lui, Hernandez, Dena G, Ding, Jinhui, Gibbs, J Raphael, Scholz, Sonja W, Floeter, Mary Kay, Campbell, Roy H, Landi, Francesco, Bowser, Robert, Pulst, Stefan M, Ravits, John M, Macgowan, Daniel J L, Kirby, Janine, Pioro, Erik P, Pamphlett, Roger, Broach, Jame, Gerhard, Glenn, Dunckley, Travis L, Brady, Christopher B, Kowall, Neil W, Troncoso, Juan C, Le Ber, Isabelle, Mouzat, Kevin, Lumbroso, Serge, Heiman-Patterson, Terry D, Kamel, Freya, Van Den Bosch, Ludo, Baloh, Robert H, Strom, Tim M, Meitinger, Thoma, Shatunov, Aleksey, Van Eijk, Kristel R, de Carvalho, Mamede, Kooyman, Maarten, Middelkoop, Ba, Moisse, Matthieu, Mclaughlin, Russell L, Van Es, Michael A, Weber, Marku, Boylan, Kevin B, Van Blitterswijk, Marka, Rademakers, Rosa, Morrison, Karen E, Basak, A Nazli, Mora, Jesús S, Drory, Vivian E, Shaw, Pamela J, Turner, Martin R, Talbot, Kevin, Hardiman, Orla, Williams, Kelly L, Fifita, Jennifer A, Nicholson, Garth A, Blair, Ian P, Rouleau, Guy A, Esteban-Pérez, Jesú, García-Redondo, Alberto, Al-Chalabi, Ammar, Rogaeva, Ekaterina, Zinman, Lorne, Ostrow, Lyle W, Maragakis, Nicholas J, Rothstein, Jeffrey D, Simmons, Zachary, Cooper-Knock, Johnathan, Brice, Alexi, Goutman, Stephen A, Feldman, Eva L, Gibson, Summer B, Taroni, Franco, Ratti, Antonia, Gellera, Cinzia, Van Damme, Philip, Robberecht, Wim, Fratta, Pietro, Sabatelli, Mario, Lunetta, Christian, Ludolph, Albert C, Andersen, Peter M, Weishaupt, Jochen H, Camu, William, Trojanowski, John Q, Van Deerlin, Vivianna M, Brown, Robert H, van den Berg, Leonard H, Veldink, Jan H, Harms, Matthew B, Glass, Jonathan D, Stone, David J, Tienari, Pentti, Silani, Vincenzo, Chiò, Adriano, Shaw, Christopher E, Traynor, Bryan J, Landers, John E, Université Montpellier 1 (UM1)-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier] (CHRU Montpellier), Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours (CHRU TOURS), and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Montpellier (UM)

Subjects
Male, Als gene, Genome-wide association study, FAMILIAL ALS, ALS, axonal transport, cargo, GWAS, KIF5A, WES, WGS, 0302 clinical medicine, 80 and over, Psychology, Aetiology, Aged, 80 and over, 0303 health sciences, French ALS Consortium, Kinesin, KINESIN HEAVY-CHAIN, Cognitive Sciences, Human, Hereditary spastic paraplegia, Neuroscience(all), Single-nucleotide polymorphism, TARGETED DISRUPTION, Article, 03 medical and health sciences, Genetics, Humans, Amino Acid Sequence, Loss function, Aged, HEXANUCLEOTIDE REPEAT, Neuroscience (all), MUTATIONS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, 3112 Neurosciences, 1702 Cognitive Science, medicine.disease, ITALSGEN Consortium, Answer ALS Foundation, 030104 developmental biology, ALS Sequencing Consortium, Human medicine, 1109 Neurosciences, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, 0301 basic medicine, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Kinesins, Neurodegenerative, Genetic analysis, Genome, AMYOTROPHIC-LATERAL-SCLEROSIS, 3124 Neurology and psychiatry, Cohort Studies, Pathogenesis, Loss of Function Mutation, Missense mutation, 2.1 Biological and endogenous factors, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, NYGC ALS Consortium, General Neuroscience, ALS, axonal transport, cargo, GWAS, KIF5A, WES, WGS, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Settore MED/26 - NEUROLOGIA, Neurological, Project MinE ALS Sequencing Consortium, Female, Adult, Biology, GENOTYPE IMPUTATION, Genome-Wide Association Study, Young Adult, NO, Rare Diseases, medicine, SLAGEN Consortium, Gene, 030304 developmental biology, Clinical Research in ALS and Related Disorders for Therapeutic Development (CReATe) Consortium, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Human Genome, Neurosciences, AXONAL-TRANSPORT, Brain Disorders, Family member, DNA-DAMAGE, MOTOR-NEURONS, 3111 Biomedicine, Cohort Studie, Genomic Translation for ALS Care (GTAC) Consortium, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosi
Abstract

© 2018 Elsevier Inc., To identify novel genes associated with ALS, we undertook two lines of investigation. We carried out a genome-wide association study comparing 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls. Independently, we performed a rare variant burden analysis comparing 1,138 index familial ALS cases and 19,494 controls. Through both approaches, we identified kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) as a novel gene associated with ALS. Interestingly, mutations predominantly in the N-terminal motor domain of KIF5A are causative for two neurodegenerative diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). In contrast, ALS-associated mutations are primarily located at the C-terminal cargo-binding tail domain and patients harboring loss-of-function mutations displayed an extended survival relative to typical ALS cases. Taken together, these results broaden the phenotype spectrum resulting from mutations in KIF5A and strengthen the role of cytoskeletal defects in the pathogenesis of ALS.

Published
2018

19. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis : Understanding and Optimizing Quality of Life and Psychological Well-Being

Author

Francesco Pagnini, Zachary Simmons, Francesco Pagnini, and Zachary Simmons

Subjects
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--Psychological aspects
Abstract

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder with a progressive and fatal course, with no known medical therapies that can reverse the disease or halt its progression. Palliative care is the mainstay of disease management, aimed at maximizing Quality Of Life (QOL) for the patient and caregiver. Clinicians caring for patients with ALS need to understand complex psychological issues in the patient and caregiver, including depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and wish for hastened death (physician-assisted suicide). They also need to confront the psychological implications of rapidly advancing genetic research, the impact of cognitive and behavioural dysfunction in a sizable minority of ALS patients, and caregiver burnout. Healthcare providers can optimize care by better understanding not only these factors, but by learning how to facilitate their management with problem-solving, coping techniques, and with psychologically-based approaches such as mindfulness and other non-pharmacological approaches aimed at maximizing QOL. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Understanding and Optimizing Quality of Life and Psychological Well-Being provides a detailed review and evaluation of ALS, presented in a comprehensive and integrated fashion. The book achieves this through detailed and up-to-date information about the current state of knowledge in this field. It also offers new insights regarding future directions for research. This book will provide clinicians with a comprehensive description of the psychological aspects of ALS and their management, and incorporates chapters written by recognized scholars in their respective fields.

Published
2018

20. Symptom management in ALS: we can do better

Author

Zachary Simmons and Stephen A. Goutman

Subjects
Male, medicine.medical_specialty, Physiology, MEDLINE, Severity of Illness Index, Article, Cohort Studies, 03 medical and health sciences, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, 0302 clinical medicine, Text mining, Physical medicine and rehabilitation, Sex Factors, Muscular Diseases, Physiology (medical), Prevalence, Medicine, Humans, 030212 general & internal medicine, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Age of Onset, Fatigue, Aged, Muscle Cramp, business.industry, Symptom management, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Age Factors, Disease Management, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, United States, Health Care Surveys, Female, Neurology (clinical), business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Symptomatic management is the main focus of ALS clinical care. We aim to report the prevalence of ALS-related symptoms and characterize self-reported symptomatic management.A symptom management survey developed by the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinical Research Network was completed by ALS registrants. Logistic regression identified potential predictors of symptom prevalence, severity, and treatment.A total of 567 ALS participants reported fatigue (90%), muscle stiffness (84%), and muscle cramps (74%) as most prevalent symptoms. Fatigue (18%), muscle stiffness (14%), and shortness of breath (12%) were most bothersome. Although fatigue was the most prevalent symptom, it was also least treated (10%). Neither location of care nor disease duration was associated with symptom prevalence, severity, or probability of receiving treatment.This large patient-reported symptom survey suggests that fatigue is the most prevalent, bothersome, and undertreated ALS symptom. Improving ALS symptom management is an unmet medical need and clinical trials of symptomatic treatments are needed. Muscle Nerve 57: 20-24, 2018.

Published
2017

21. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Author

Orla Hardiman, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Adriano Chio, Emma M. Corr, Giancarlo Logroscino, Wim Robberecht, Pamela J. Shaw, Zachary Simmons, and Leonard H. van den Berg

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, 03 medical and health sciences, 030104 developmental biology, 0302 clinical medicine, Medicine (all), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Journal Article, Humans, General Medicine, Review, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease, is characterized by the degeneration of both upper and lower motor neurons, which leads to muscle weakness and eventual paralysis. Until recently, ALS was classified primarily within the neuromuscular domain, although new imaging and neuropathological data have indicated the involvement of the non-motor neuraxis in disease pathology. In most patients, the mechanisms underlying the development of ALS are poorly understood, although a subset of patients have familial disease and harbour mutations in genes that have various roles in neuronal function. Two possible disease-modifying therapies that can slow disease progression are available for ALS, but patient management is largely mediated by symptomatic therapies, such as the use of muscle relaxants for spasticity and speech therapy for dysarthria.

Published
2017

22. Coherent Magnetic Response at Optical Frequencies Using Atomic Transitions

Author

Zachary N. Buckholtz, Eli Mueller, Nicholas R. Brewer, Deniz Yavuz, and Zachary Simmons

Subjects
Physics, Condensed matter physics, QC1-999, Physics::Optics, General Physics and Astronomy, chemistry.chemical_element, 02 engineering and technology, Magnetic response, 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology, Laser, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Magnetic field, chemistry, law, Optical frequencies, 0103 physical sciences, Physics::Atomic Physics, Atomic physics, 010306 general physics, 0210 nano-technology, Europium, Rabi frequency
Abstract

In optics, the interaction of atoms with the magnetic field of light is almost always ignored since its strength is many orders of magnitude weaker compared to the interaction with the electric field. In this article, by using a magnetic-dipole transition within the 4f shell of europium ions, we show a strong interaction between a green laser and an ensemble of atomic ions. The electrons move coherently between the ground and excited ionic levels (Rabi flopping) by interacting with the magnetic field of the laser. By measuring the Rabi flopping frequency as the laser intensity is varied, we report the first direct measurement of a magnetic-dipole matrix element in the optical region of the spectrum. Using density-matrix simulations of the ensemble, we infer the generation of coherent magnetization with magnitude 5.5×10^{-3} A/m, which is capable of generating left-handed electromagnetic waves of intensity 1 nW/cm^{2}. These results open up the prospect of constructing left-handed materials using sharp transitions of atoms.

Published
2017

23. Pseudobulbar affect: prevalence and management

Author

Zachary Simmons and Aiesha Ahmed

Subjects
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Pseudobulbar affect, Traumatic brain injury, Disease, Review, Bioinformatics, multiple sclerosis, pseudobulbar affect, medicine, Pharmacology (medical), Cerebellar disorder, Bipolar disorder, General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Depression (differential diagnoses), Chemical Health and Safety, business.industry, emotional lability, General Medicine, Dextromethorphan, medicine.disease, depression, medicine.symptom, business, Safety Research, medicine.drug
Abstract

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) may occur in association with a variety of neurological diseases, and so may be encountered in the setting of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, extrapyramidal and cerebellar disorders, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and brain tumors. The psychological consequences and the impact on social interactions may be substantial. Although it is most commonly misidentified as a mood disorder, particularly depression or a bipolar disorder, there are characteristic features that can be recognized clinically or assessed by validated scales, resulting in accurate identification of PBA, and thus permitting proper management and treatment. Mechanistically, PBA is a disinhibition syndrome in which pathways involving serotonin and glutamate are disrupted. This knowledge has permitted effective treatment for many years with antidepressants, particularly tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. A recent therapeutic breakthrough occurred with the approval by the Food and Drug Administration of a dextromethorphan/quinidine combination as being safe and effective for treatment of PBA. Side effect profiles and contraindications differ for the various treatment options, and the clinician must be familiar with these when choosing the best therapy for an individual, particularly elderly patients and those with multiple comorbidities and concomitant medications.

Published
2013

24. Men Smelling Women: Null Effects of Exposure to Ovulatory Sweat on Men's Testosterone

Author

Zachary Simmons and James R. Roney

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Social Psychology, media_common.quotation_subject, lcsh:BF1-990, Testosterone (patch), General Medicine, Olfaction, Crossover study, SWEAT, Behavioral Neuroscience, Chemical stimuli, Endocrinology, lcsh:Psychology, Chemical signal, Internal medicine, medicine, Psychology, Ovulation, Hormone, media_common
Abstract

Males of many species, humans included, exhibit rapid testosterone increases after exposure to conspecific females. Female chemical stimuli are sufficient to trigger these responses in many nonhuman species, which raises the possibility of similar effects in humans. Recently, Miller and Maner (2010) reported that smelling T-shirts worn by women near ovulation can trigger testosterone responses in men; however, men were aware that they were smelling women's scents, and thus mental imagery associated with that knowledge may have contributed to the hormone responses. Here, we collected axillary sweat samples from women on days near ovulation. In a crossover design, men who were not explicitly aware of the specific stimuli smelled the sweat samples in one session and water samples in a second session. There were no differences in testosterone responses across the experimental conditions. Our null findings suggest that the relevant chemical signal is not found in axillary sweat, and/or that knowledge of the stimulus source is necessary for hormone responses. These results thus suggest boundary conditions for the effects reported in Miller and Maner (2010) , and recommend further research to define the precise circumstances under which men's testosterone may respond to chemosensory cues from women.

Published
2012

25. Androgen receptor gene sequence and basal cortisol concentrations predict men's hormonal responses to potential mates

Author

Aaron W. Lukaszewski, James R. Roney, and Zachary Simmons

Subjects
Male, medicine.medical_specialty, Adolescent, Genotype, Hydrocortisone, Sexual Behavior, Human Males, Biology, Polymerase Chain Reaction, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Basal (phylogenetics), Random Allocation, Young Adult, Trinucleotide Repeats, Research articles, Internal medicine, Genetic variation, medicine, Humans, Testosterone, Young adult, Saliva, General Environmental Science, Polymorphism, Genetic, General Immunology and Microbiology, Genetic Variation, General Medicine, DNA, Endocrinology, Receptors, Androgen, Regression Analysis, Female, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Glucocorticoid, medicine.drug, Hormone
Abstract

Exposure to potential mates triggers rapid elevations of testosterone and glucocorticoid concentrations in males of many non-human species, and preliminary studies support similar effects in human males. The human studies have all reported large individual differences in these responses, however, and the present study tested whether specific biological variables may help explain these differences. Replicating past research, the present study found that men's salivary testosterone and cortisol concentrations increased after a brief conversation with a young woman, but did not change (or slightly decreased) after a conversation with a young man. In addition, smaller numbers of CAG repeats in men's androgen receptor gene, and lower baseline cortisol concentrations, each predicted larger testosterone responses to the interactions with women. The CAG repeat finding demonstrates that a specific genetic polymorphism predicts physiological responses to social interactions that may in turn have important downstream consequences on men's mating behaviour. The effects of cortisol are consistent with past demonstrations of glucocorticoid inhibition of testosterone production and show that such inhibition also affects testosterone responses to social stimuli. In sum, the present study both confirms men's hormonal reactions to potential mates and identifies novel biological variables that predict individual differences in these responses.

Published
2009

26. Influence of HFE variants and cellular iron on monocyte chemoattractant protein-1

Author

Sang Y. Lee, Ryan M. Mitchell, Zachary Simmons, James R. Connor, and William T. Randazzo

Subjects
congenital, hereditary, and neonatal diseases and abnormalities, Iron, Population, Immunology, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Gene Expression, Minocycline, Deferoxamine, Iron Chelating Agents, Ferric Compounds, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Antioxidants, lcsh:RC346-429, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Mice, Heat shock protein, Cell Line, Tumor, MHC class I, Gene expression, medicine, Animals, Humans, RNA, Messenger, Chromans, education, Hemochromatosis Protein, Gene, Neuroinflammation, Chemokine CCL2, Heat-Shock Proteins, lcsh:Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system, Genetics, Neurons, education.field_of_study, biology, Microglia, General Neuroscience, Research, Histocompatibility Antigens Class I, NF-kappa B, Membrane Proteins, nutritional and metabolic diseases, NFKB1, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds, medicine.anatomical_structure, Neurology, biology.protein
Abstract

Background Polymorphisms in the MHC class 1-like gene known as HFE have been proposed as genetic modifiers of neurodegenerative diseases that include neuroinflammation as part of the disease process. Variants of HFE are relatively common in the general population and are most commonly associated with iron overload, but can promote subclinical cellular iron loading even in the absence of clinically identified disease. The effects of the variants as well as the resulting cellular iron dyshomeostasis potentially impact a number of disease-associated pathways. We tested the hypothesis that the two most common HFE variants, H63D and C282Y, would affect cellular secretion of cytokines and trophic factors. Methods We screened a panel of cytokines and trophic factors using a multiplexed immunoassay in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells expressing different variants of HFE. The influence of cellular iron secretion on the potent chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) was assessed using ferric ammonium citrate and the iron chelator, desferroxamine. Additionally, an antioxidant, Trolox, and an anti-inflammatory, minocycline, were tested for their effects on MCP-1 secretion in the presence of HFE variants. Results Expression of the HFE variants altered the labile iron pool in SH-SY5Y cells. Of the panel of cytokines and trophic factors analyzed, only the release of MCP-1 was affected by the HFE variants. We further examined the relationship between iron and MCP-1 and found MCP-1 secretion tightly associated with intracellular iron status. A potential direct effect of HFE is considered because, despite having similar levels of intracellular iron, the association between HFE genotype and MCP-1 expression was different for the H63D and C282Y HFE variants. Moreover, HFE genotype was a factor in the effect of minocycline, a multifaceted antibiotic used in treating a number of neurologic conditions associated with inflammation, on MCP-1 secretion. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that HFE polymorphisms influence the synthesis and release of MCP-1. The mechanism of action involves cellular iron status but it appears there could be additional influences such as ER stress. Finally, these data demonstrate a pharmacogenetic effect of HFE polymorphisms on the ability of minocycline to inhibit MCP-1 secretion.

Published
2009

27. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Emerging Era of Collaborative Gene Discovery

Author

Thomas R. Vidic, Nimish J. Thakore, Alexander Sherman, Stephen S. Rich, Jau-Shin Lou, Leo McCluskey, James B. Caress, Bryan J. Traynor, Tulio E. Bertorini, Roderick A. Corriveau, David Lacomis, Catherine Lomen-Hoerth, George Sachs, Richard Bedlack, Brian A. Crum, Paul E. Barkhaus, Erik P. Pioro, Laurie Gutmann, J. M. Shefner, Kate Bednarz, John E. Chapin, Jonathan D. Glass, Elham Bayat, Jaya Trivedi, Jeffery Rosenfeld, James Wymer, Nicholas J. Maragakis, John Hardy, Daragh Heitzman, Carlayne E. Jackson, Paul H. Gordon, Harris T. Brent, Dale J. Lange, Petra Kaufmann, Michael C. Graves, James Ostell, Merit Cudkowicz, Charles Cho, Gregory S. Carter, Larry Refolo, Katrina Gwinn, David A. Chad, Eric J. Sorenson, Laura Sams, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Michael D. Weiss, David Walk, Stephen N. Scelsa, Hiroshi Mitsumoto, Ghazala Hayat, Jaime Andrews, Robert G. Miller, Tahseen Mozaffar, Charles A. Thornton, Ashok Verma, Matthew D. Mailman, Kourosh Rezania, J. Clarke Stevens, Mark B. Bromberg, Josefina Nash, Robert H. Brown, Jerry M. Belsh, Praful Kelkar, Valerie Cwik, Rup Tandan, Amanda Peltier, Kimberly L. Goslin, Alan Pestronk, Ran Zhang, Richard J. Barohn, John J. Kelly, Stacy A. Rudnicki, Robin Conwit, Zachary Simmons, Andrew B. Singleton, Kevin Boylan, E. Peter Bosch, Edward J. Kasarskis, Carmel Armon, Ezzatollah T. Shivapour, Margaret A. Keller, Allitia DiBernardo, Benjamin Rix Brooks, Sandeep Rana, Lucie Bruijn, Yadollah Harati, James A. Russell, Daniel Newman, and Ericka Simpson

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Genotype, Science, Single-nucleotide polymorphism, Genome-wide association study, Disease, Biology, Genetics and Genomics/Complex Traits, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Neuroscience/Motor Systems, Molecular genetics, Databases, Genetic, medicine, Genetic predisposition, Humans, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease, 030304 developmental biology, Cell Line, Transformed, Genetics, 0303 health sciences, Multidisciplinary, Genome, Human, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Chromosome Mapping, Genetics and Genomics/Bioinformatics, medicine.disease, Human genetics, 3. Good health, Phenotype, Case-Control Studies, Medicine, Human genome, Genetics and Genomics/Gene Discovery, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Research Article
Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common form of motor neuron disease (MND). It is currently incurable and treatment is largely limited to supportive care. Family history is associated with an increased risk of ALS, and many Mendelian causes have been discovered. However, most forms of the disease are not obviously familial. Recent advances in human genetics have enabled genome-wide analyses of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that make it possible to study complex genetic contributions to human disease. Genome-wide SNP analyses require a large sample size and thus depend upon collaborative efforts to collect and manage the biological samples and corresponding data. Public availability of biological samples (such as DNA), phenotypic and genotypic data further enhances research endeavors. Here we discuss a large collaboration among academic investigators, government, and non-government organizations which has created a public repository of human DNA, immortalized cell lines, and clinical data to further gene discovery in ALS. This resource currently maintains samples and associated phenotypic data from 2332 MND subjects and 4692 controls. This resource should facilitate genetic discoveries which we anticipate will ultimately provide a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of neurodegeneration in ALS.

Published
2007

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