Neurology Alert – December 1, 2023

Repetitive Head Impacts and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Young Contact Sport Athletes

In a first of its kind study, researchers found neuropathological markers suggestive of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) pathology in 41% (n = 152) of young contact sport athletes (< 30 years of age) at autopsy. Clinical measures (obtained retrospectively via informant report) assessing for cognitive and psychiatric/behavioral dysfunction, while elevated across most measures for the entire group, did not significantly differ between brain donors with and without a CTE diagnosis. Functional impairments also were not commonly found.

Slow-Wave Sleep and Risk of Dementia

In this long-term observational study of sleep efficiency in the Framingham Heart Study population, researchers found a strong correlation between a decline in duration of slow-wave sleep during aging and the risk of incident dementia from all causes. However, a direct cause-and-effect relationship cannot be determined from this observational study.

Gut Microbiome Metabolites and Progression of Parkinson’s Disease

A Mendelian randomization study shows that trimethylamine N-oxide and its precursor metabolites are not associated with risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) but have both positive and negative causal effects on some indicators of PD severity and progression.

Safety and Efficacy of Mogalizumab in HTLV-1-Associated Myelopathy

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis develops in a small number of carriers of this retrovirus as the result of infection and suppression of CD4+ T-cells. Therapy with steroids has been the mainstay but is not safe or effective for the long term. Mogalizumab shows promise as long-term therapy of this debilitating disease.

What Are F-Waves and What Do They Tell Us?

The presence or absence of F-waves is an important observation during the electrophysiological investigation of a patient with acute, progressive weakness. But the underlying physiological basis of F-waves has been elusive. This ex vivo animal study showed that F-waves are solely generated by motor nerves arising from the ventral horn of the spinal cord and require intact synapses.