Publications

Publication: Neurobiology of Aging

Timothy Rittman, Robin Borchert, Simon Jones, John van Swieten, Barbara Borroni, Daniela Galimberti, Mario Masellis, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, Caroline Graffi, Fabrizio Tagliavini, Giovanni B. Frisoni, Robert Laforce Jr., Elizabeth Finger, Alexandre Mendonça, Sandro Sorbi, Jonathan D. Rohrer, James B.Rowe

1 May 2019

The presymptomatic phase of neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by structural brain changes without significant clinical features. Here the researchers set out to investigate the contribution of functional network resilience to preserved cognition in presymptomatic genetic frontotemporal dementia.

They found that despite loss of both brain volume and functional connections, there is maintenance of an efficient topological organization of the brain’s functional network in the years leading up to the estimated age of frontotemporal dementia symptom onset. After this point, functional network efficiency declines markedly. Reduction in connectedness was most marked in highly connected hub regions.

Measures of topological efficiency of the brain’s functional network and organization predicted cognitive dysfunction in domains related to symptomatic frontotemporal dementia and connectivity correlated with brain volume loss in frontotemporal dementia. The researchers propose that maintaining the efficient organization of the brain’s functional network supports cognitive health even as atrophy and connectivity decline presymptomatically.

Publication: Journal of Experimental Medicine

Zhang Z, Gothe F, Pennamen P, James JR, McDonald D, Mata CP, Modis Y, Alazami AM, Acres M, Haller W, Bowen C, Döffinger R, Sinclair J, Brothers S, Zhang Y, Matthews HF, Naudion S, Pelluard F, Alajlan H, Yamazaki Y, Notarangelo LD, Thaventhiran JE, Engelhardt KR, Al-Mousa H, Hambleton S†, Rooryck C†, Smith KGC†, Lenardo MJ†.

30 April 2019

Publication: Journal of Huntington's Disease

Horton MC, Nopoulos P, Nance M, Landwehrmyer GB, Barker RA, Squitieri F, et al.

30 April 2019

Publication: The Journal of Nutrition

Jannasch F, Kröger J, Agnoli C, Barricarte A, Boeing H, Cayssials V, et al.

24 April 2019

The aim of this study was to derive country-specific exploratory dietary patterns, investigate their association with type 2 diabetes incidence, and replicate diabetes-associated dietary patterns in other countries.

Dietary intake data were used, assessed by country-specific questionnaires at baseline of 11,183 incident diabetes cases and 14,694 subcohort members (mean age 52.9 y) from 8 countries, nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (mean follow-up time 6.9 y).

Exploratory dietary patterns were derived by principal component analysis. HRs for incident type 2 diabetes were calculated by Prentice-weighted Cox proportional hazard regression models. Diabetes-associated dietary patterns were simplified or replicated to be applicable in other countries. A meta-analysis across all countries evaluated the generalizability of the diabetes-association.

Only few country/center-specific dietary patterns (3 of 18) were statistically significantly associated with diabetes incidence in this multicountry European study population. One pattern, whose association with diabetes was confirmed across other countries, showed overlaps in the food groups potatoes and processed meat with identified diabetes-associated dietary patterns from other studies. The study demonstrates that replication of associations of exploratory patterns with health outcomes is feasible and a necessary step to overcome population-specificity in associations from such analyses.

Publication: Cell

Lotta LA, Mokrosiński J, Mendes de Oliveira E, Li C, Sharp SJ, Luan J, Brouwers B, Ayinampudi V, Bowker N, Kerrison N, Kaimakis V, Hoult D, Stewart ID,  Wheeler E, Day FR, Perry JRB, Langenberg C, Wareham NJ, Farooqi IS.

18 April 2019

Publication: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Zheng J, Imamura F, Sharp SJ, Koulman A, Griffin JL, Mulligan AA, et al.

17 April 2019

Little is known about changes in blood fatty acid compositions over time and the correlates of any changes in a general population.

The aim of this study was to estimate changes in 27 individual plasma phospholipid fatty acids and fatty acid groups over time, and to identify potential correlates of these changes, using profiles from 722 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk Study, UK.

Changes in fatty acid levels were associated with consumption of different food groups. For example, a mean 100 g/d increase in fatty fish intake was associated with a 19.3% greater annual increase in marine n–3 PUFAs.

Even-chain SFAs and TFAs declined and marine n–3 PUFAs increased over time. These changes were partially explained by changes in dietary habits, and could potentially help interpret associations of baseline fatty acid composition with future disease risk.

Publication: PLOS Medicine

David Wastlund, Alexandros A. Moraitis, Alison Dacey, Ulla Sovio, Edward C. F. Wilson, Gordon C. S. Smith

16 April 2019

Summary:

Despite the relative ease with which breech presentation can be identified through ultrasound screening, the assessment of foetal presentation at term is often based on clinical examination only. Due to limitations in this approach, many women present in labour with an undiagnosed breech presentation, with increased risk of foetal morbidity and mortality. This study sought to determine the cost effectiveness of universal ultrasound scanning for breech presentation near term (36 weeks of gestational age [wkGA]) in nulliparous women.

Publication: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Fretts AM, Imamura F, Marklund M, Micha R, Wu JHY, Murphy RA, et al.

15 April 2019

Publication: Neurology

Claire J. Lansdall, Ian T.S. Coyle-Gilchrist, Patricia Vázquez Rodríguez, Alicia Wilcox, Eileen Wehmann, Trevor W. Robbins, James B. Rowe

12 April 2019

This research determined the influence of apathy, impulsivity, and behavioral change on survival in patients with frontotemporal dementia, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal syndrome.

The relationship between apathy and survival highlights the need to develop more effective and targeted measurement tools to improve its recognition and facilitate treatment. The prognostic importance of apathy suggests that neurobehavioral features might be useful to predict survival and stratify patients for interventional trials.

Effective symptomatic interventions targeting the neurobiology of apathy might ultimately also improve prognosis.

Publication: Human Molecular Genetics

Pavlova EV, Shatunov A, Wartosch L, Moskvina AI, Nikolaeva LE, Bright NA, Tylee KL, Church HJ, Ballabio A, Luzio JP, Cox TM.

10 April 2019

Publication: International Journal of Obesity

White T, Westgate K, Hollidge S, Venables M, Olivier P, Wareham N,

2 April 2019

Publication: Alzheimer's & Dementia Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring

Thilo van Eimeren, Angelo Antonini, Daniela Berg, Nico Bohnen, Roberto Ceravolo, Alexander Drzezga, Günter U. Höglinger, Makoto Higuchi, Stephane Lehericy, Simon Lewis, Oury Monchi, Peter Nestor, Matej Ondrus, Nicola Pavese, María Cecilia Peralta, Paola Piccini, José Ángel Pineda‐Pardo, Irena Rektorová, María Rodríguez‐Oroz, Axel Rominger, Klaus Seppi, A. Jon Stoessl, Alessandro Tessitore, Stephane Thobois, Valtteri Kaasinen, Gregor Wenning, Hartwig R. Siebner, Antonio P. Strafella, James B. Rowe

2 April 2019

Therapeutic strategies targeting protein aggregations are ready for clinical trials in atypical parkinsonian disorders. Therefore, there is an urgent need for neuroimaging biomarkers to help with the early detection of neurodegenerative processes, the early differentiation of the underlying pathology, and the objective assessment of disease progression. However, there currently is not yet a consensus in the field on how to describe utility of biomarkers for clinical trials in atypical parkinsonian disorders.

As a consensus outcome, the researchers described the main challenges in ascribing utility of neuroimaging biomarkers in atypical parkinsonian disorders, and proposed a conceptual framework that includes a graded system for the description of utility of a specific neuroimaging measure. They included separate categories for the ability to accurately identify an intention‐to‐treat patient population early in the disease (Early), to accurately detect a specific underlying pathology (Specific), and the ability to monitor disease progression (Progression).

The researchers suggest that the advancement of standardized neuroimaging in the field of atypical parkinsonian disorders will be furthered by a well‐defined reference frame for the utility of biomarkers. The proposed utility system allows a detailed and graded description of the respective strengths of neuroimaging biomarkers in the currently most relevant areas of application in clinical trials.

Publication: Journal of Autoimmunity

M. Saeed Qureshi, Jawaher Alsughayyir, Manu Chhabra, Jason M. Ali, Martin J. Goddard, Christopher A. Devine, Thomas M. Conlon, Michelle A. Linterman, Reza Motallebzadeh, Gavin J.Pettigrew

7 December 2018

Summary:

The development of humoral autoimmunity following organ transplantation is increasingly recognised, but of uncertain significance. We examine whether autoimmunity contributes independently to allograft rejection.

Publication: Frontiers in Immunology

Jacqueline H. Y. Siu, Veena Surendrakumar, James A. Richards and Gavin J. Pettigrew

5 November 2018

Summary:

Transplantation is unusual in that T cells can recognize alloantigen by at least two distinct pathways: as intact MHC alloantigen on the surface of donor cells via the direct pathway; and as self-restricted processed alloantigen via the indirect pathway. Direct pathway responses are viewed as strong but short-lived and hence responsible for acute rejection, whereas indirect pathway responses are typically thought to be much longer lasting and mediate the progression of chronic rejection. However, this is based on surprisingly scant experimental evidence, and the recent demonstration that MHC alloantigen can be re-presented intact on recipient dendritic cells—the semi-direct pathway—suggests that the conventional view may be an oversimplification.

Publication: Neuroimage

Grist JT, McLean MA, Riemer F, Schulte RF, Deen SS, Zaccagna F, et al.

1 April 2019

Publication: Genetics Medicine

Crosbie EJ, Ryan NAJ, Arends MJ, Bosse T, Burn J, Cornes JM, Crawford R, Eccles D, Frayling IM, Ghaem-Maghami S, Hampel H, Kauff ND, Kitchener HC, Kitson SJ, Manchanda R, McMahon RFT, Monahan KJ, Menon U, Møller P, Möslein G, Rosenthal A, Sasieni P, Seif MW, Singh N, Skarrott P, Snowsill TM, Steele R, Tischkowitz M;

28 March 2019

Publication: BMJ

Sun YQ, Burgess S, Staley JR, Wood AM, Bell S, Kaptoge SK, et al.

26 March 2019

Publication: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Meiser-Stedman R, McKinnon A, Dixon C, Boyle A, Smith P, & Dalgleish T

25 March 2019

Publication: BMJ Open

Koychev I, Lawson J, Chessell T, Mackay C, Gunn R, Sahakian B, et al.

23 March 2019

Publication: Kidney International