Journal Article

Background and Objectives: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disorders exhibit striking clinical variability that is poorly explained by known factors such as variant heteroplasmy, age, or sex. Nuclear genetic modifiers likely play a significant role in this heterogeneity. [...]

Autophagy is an ancient catabolic process that has emerged as part of innate immunity. Upon infection, autophagy is activated but the key factors responsible remained unclear. [...]

[18F]PI-2620 is a second-generation tau PET tracer that may detect early tau accumulation in aging. We investigated whether temporal lobe [18F]PI-2620 binding is associated with age, sex, genetic Alzheimer disease (AD) risk, plasma biomarkers of AD (plasma phosphorylated tau 217 [p-tau217], Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40), astrogliosis (glial fibrillary acidic protein), and domain-specific cognition in cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults. [...]

Translational biomedical research is increasingly collaborative and multimodal, making secure, high-quality data capture, curation, and analytics a major challenge. This work aims to provide an overview of existing medical research data platforms to support informed platform selection for translational biomedical research.As part of an ongoing Fraunhofer Request for Proposal (RFP) process, we developed a requirements assessment tool for users across the Fraunhofer ecosystem. [...]

Objective: To evaluate real-world Radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) management practices across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and identify key gaps for future guideline development.Methods: Between October 1 and October 16, 2024, neurologists across university hospitals, teaching hospitals, municipal clinics, and private practices in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH) participated in an anonymous online survey on RIS diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring practices.Results: Among 127 physicians from diverse care settings, RIS management showed both marked heterogeneity and notable convergence. While the diagnostic work-up was relatively uniform (>85% performed comprehensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, as well as evoked potentials), awareness and implementation of the 2023 RIS criteria varied substantially (34% consistent use, 42% partial implementation, 16% non-adoption, and 8% unaware). [...]

Background: While providing enough sedatives to avoid pain and trauma during surgery is important, studies show a link between the received sedatives and the development of postoperative delirium (POD). Therefore, predicting POD from clinical or physiological data before or during surgery is highly advantageous. [...]

Amyloid-forming peptides are increasingly recognized as dynamic regulators at the host-pathogen interface, yet how environmental factors control their assembly and activity remains poorly understood. Here, RNA acts as a concentration-dependent regulator of two sequence-related α-helical peptides with fundamentally different assembly behaviors: the cross-α amyloid-forming Staphylococcus aureus virulence factor PSMα3 and the non-amyloidogenic human host-defense peptide LL-37. [...]

Peptidylprolyl isomerases (PPIases) catalyze cis/trans isomerization of prolines. The PPIase CypA colocalizes with the Parkinson's disease (PD)-associated protein α-synuclein in cells and interacts with α-synuclein oligomers. [...]

Introducing the 'DemenzKompetenz' model for German long-term care: Development of a dementia-specific nurse-led care model Abstract: Background: To meet the complex care needs of people with dementia, academically trained nurses must be established in care practice. The implementation of extended nursing roles in German inpatient long-term care requires a reorganization of tasks within the professional care team. [...]