ANA TEREZA DI LORENZO ALHO
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
LIM/44 - Laboratório de Ressonância Magnética em Neurorradiologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
7 resultados
Resultados de Busca
Agora exibindo 1 - 7 de 7
- Prevalence of transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) proteinopathy in cognitively normal older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis(2018) NASCIMENTO, C.; ALHO, A. T. Di Lorenzo; AMARAL, C. Bazan Conceicao; LEITE, R. E. P.; NITRINI, R.; JACOB-FILHO, W.; PASQUALUCCI, C. A.; HOKKANEN, S. R. K.; HUNTER, S.; KEAGE, H.; KOVACS, G. G.; GRINBERG, L. T.; SUEMOTO, C. K.ObjectiveTo perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) proteinopathy in cognitively normal older adults. MethodsWe systematically reviewed and performed a meta-analysis on the prevalence of TDP-43 proteinopathy in older adults with normal cognition, evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination or the Clinical Dementia Rating. We estimated the overall prevalence of TDP-43 using random-effect models, and stratified by age, sex, sample size, study quality, antibody used to assess TDP-43 aggregates, analysed brain regions, Braak stage, Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease score, hippocampal sclerosis and geographic location. ResultsA total of 505 articles were identified in the systematic review, and 7 were included in the meta-analysis with 1196 cognitively normal older adults. We found an overall prevalence of TDP-43 proteinopathy of 24%. Prevalence of TDP-43 proteinopathy varied widely across geographic location (North America: 37%, Asia: 29%, Europe: 14%, and Latin America: 11%). Estimated prevalence of TDP-43 proteinopathy also varied according to study quality (quality score >7: 22% vs. quality score <7: 42%), antibody used to assess TDP-43 proteinopathy (native: 18% vs. hyperphosphorylated: 24%) and presence of hippocampal sclerosis (without 24% vs. with hippocampal sclerosis: 48%). Other stratified analyses by age, sex, analysed brain regions, sample size and severity of AD neuropathology showed similar pooled TDP-43 prevalence. ConclusionsDifferent methodology to access TDP-43, and also differences in lifestyle and genetic factors across different populations could explain our results. Standardization of TDP-43 measurement, and future studies about the impact of genetic and lifestyle characteristics on the development of neurodegenerative diseases are needed.
- The influence of age and sex on the absolute cell numbers of the human brain cerebral cortex(2023) CASTRO-FONSECA, Emily; MORAIS, Viviane; SILVA, Camila G. da; WOLLNER, Juliana; FREITAS, Jaqueline; MELLO-NETO, Arthur F.; OLIVEIRA, Luiz E.; OLIVEIRA, Vilson C. de; LEITE, Renata E. P.; ALHO, Ana T.; RODRIGUEZ, Roberta D.; FERRETTI-REBUSTINI, Renata E. L.; SUEMOTO, Claudia K.; JACOB-FILHO, Wilson; NITRINI, Ricardo; PASQUALUCCI, Carlos A.; GRINBERG, Lea T.; TOVAR-MOLL, Fernanda; LENT, RobertoThe human cerebral cortex is one of the most evolved regions of the brain, responsible for most higher-order neural functions. Since nerve cells (together with synapses) are the processing units underlying cortical physiology and morphology, we studied how the human neocortex is composed regarding the number of cells as a function of sex and age. We used the isotropic fractionator for cell quantification of immunocytochemically labeled nuclei from the cerebral cortex donated by 43 cognitively healthy subjects aged 25-87 years old. In addition to previously reported sexual dimorphism in the medial temporal lobe, we found more neurons in the occipital lobe of men, higher neuronal density in women's frontal lobe, but no sex differences in the number and density of cells in the other lobes and the whole neocortex. On average, the neocortex has similar to 10.2 billion neurons, 34% in the frontal lobe and the remaining 66% uniformly distributed among the other 3 lobes. Along typical aging, there is a loss of non-neuronal cells in the frontal lobe and the preservation of the number of neurons in the cortex. Our study made possible to determine the different degrees of modulation that sex and age evoke on cortical cellularity.
- Quantifying the accretion of hyperphosphorylated tau in the locus coeruleus and dorsal raphe nucleus: the pathological building blocks of early Alzheimer's disease(2017) EHRENBERG, A. J.; NGUY, A. K.; THEOFILAS, P.; DUNLOP, S.; SUEMOTO, C. K.; ALHO, A. T. Di Lorenzo; LEITE, R. P.; RODRIGUEZ, R. Diehl; MEJIA, M. B.; RUEB, U.; FARFEL, J. M.; FERRETTI-REBUSTINI, R. E. de Lucena; NASCIMENTO, C. F.; NITRINI, R.; PASQUALLUCCI, C. A.; JACOB-FILHO, W.; MILLER, B.; SEELEY, W. W.; HEINSEN, H.; GRINBERG, L. T.AimsHyperphosphorylated tau neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (ht-NCI) are the best protein correlate of clinical decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Qualitative evidence identifies ht-NCI accumulating in the isodendritic core before the entorhinal cortex. Here, we used unbiased stereology to quantify ht-NCI burden in the locus coeruleus (LC) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), aiming to characterize the impact of AD pathology in these nuclei with a focus on early stages.MethodsWe utilized unbiased stereology in a sample of 48 well-characterized subjects enriched for controls and early AD stages. ht-NCI counts were estimated in 60-m-thick sections immunostained for p-tau throughout LC and DRN. Data were integrated with unbiased estimates of LC and DRN neuronal population for a subset of cases.ResultsIn Braak stage 0, 7.9% and 2.6% of neurons in LC and DRN, respectively, harbour ht-NCIs. Although the number of ht-NCI+ neurons significantly increased by about 1.9x between Braak stages 0 to I in LC (P = 0.02), we failed to detect any significant difference between Braak stage I and II. Also, the number of ht-NCI+ neurons remained stable in DRN between all stages 0 and II. Finally, the differential susceptibility to tau inclusions among nuclear subdivisions was more notable in LC than in DRN.ConclusionsLC and DRN neurons exhibited ht-NCI during AD precortical stages. The ht-NCI increases along AD progression on both nuclei, but quantitative changes in LC precede DRN changes.
- Locus coeruleus volume and cell population changes during Alzheimer's disease progression: A stereological study in human postmortem brains with potential implication for early-stage biomarker discovery(2017) THEOFILAS, Panos; EHRENBERG, Alexander J.; DUNLOP, Sara; ALHO, Ana T. Di Lorenzo; NGUY, Austin; LEITE, Renata Elaine Paraizo; RODRIGUEZ, Roberta Diehl; MEJIA, Maria B.; SUEMOTO, Claudia K.; FERRETTI-REBUSTINI, Renata Eloah De Lucena; POLICHISO, Livia; NASCIMENTO, Camila F.; SEELEY, William W.; NITRINI, Ricardo; PASQUALUCCI, Carlos Augusto; JACOB FILHO, Wilson; RUEB, Udo; NEUHAUS, John; HEINSEN, Helmut; GRINBERG, Lea T.Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression follows a specific spreading pattern, emphasizing the need to characterize those brain areas that degenerate first. The brainstem's locus coeruleus (LC) is the first area to develop neurofibrillary changes (neurofibrillary tangles [NFTs]). Methods: The methods include unbiased stereologiCal analyses in human brainstems to estimate LC volume and neuronal population in controls and individuals across all AD stages. Results: As the Braak stage increases by 1 unit, the LC volume decreases by 8.4%. Neuronal loss started only midway through AD progression. Age-related changes spare the LC. Discussion: The long gap between NFT accumulation and neuronal loss suggests that a second trigger may be necessary to induce neuronal death in AD. Imaging studies should determine whether LC volumetry can replicate the stage-wise atrophy observed here and how these changes are specific to AD. LC volumetry may develop into a screening biomarker for selecting high-yield candidates to undergo expensive and less accessible positron emission tomography scans and to monitor AD progression from presymptomatic stages.
- Layer-specific reduced neuronal density in the orbitofrontal cortex of older adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder(2019) OLIVEIRA, Katia Cristina de; GRINBERG, Lea Tenenholz; HOEXTER, Marcelo Queiroz; BRENTANI, Helena; SUEMOTO, Claudia Kimie; NERY, Fabiano Goncalves; LIMA, Luzia Carreira; ALHO, Ana Tereza Di Lorenzo; FARFEL, Jose Marcelo; FERRETTI-REBUSTINI, Renata Eloah de Lucena; LEITE, Renata Elaine Paraizo; MORETTO, Ariane Cristine; SILVA, Alexandre Valotta da; LAFER, Beny; MIGUEL, Euripedes Constantino; NITRINI, Ricardo; JACOB-FILHO, Wilson; HEINSEN, Helmut; PASQUALUCCI, Carlos AugustoNeurobiological models have provided consistent evidence of the involvement of cortical-subcortical circuitry in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), involved in motivation and emotional responses, is an important regulatory node within this circuitry. However, OFC abnormalities at the cellular level have so far not been studied. To address this question, we have recruited a total of seven senior individuals from the Sao Paulo Autopsy Services who were diagnosed with OCD after an extensive post-mortem clinical evaluation with their next of kin. Patients with cognitive impairment were excluded. The OCD cases were age- and sex-matched with 7 control cases and a total of 14 formalin-fixed, serially cut, and gallocyanin-stained hemispheres (7 subjects with OCD and 7 controls) were analyzed stereologically. We estimated laminar neuronal density, volume of the anteromedial (AM), medial orbitofrontal (MO), and anterolateral (AL) areas of the OFC. We found statistically significant layer- and region-specific lower neuron densities in our OCD cases that added to a deficit of 25% in AM and AL and to a deficit of 21% in MO, respectively. The volumes of the OFC areas were similar between the OCD and control groups. These results provide evidence of complex layer and region-specific neuronal deficits/loss in old OCD cases which could have a considerable impact on information processing within orbitofrontal regions and with afferent and efferent targets.
- Probing the correlation of neuronal loss, neurofibrillary tangles, and cell death markers across the Alzheimer's disease Braak stages: a quantitative study in humans(2018) THEOFILAS, Panos; EHRENBERG, Alexander J.; NGUY, Austin; THACKREY, Julia M.; DUNLOP, Sara; MEJIA, Maria B.; ALHO, Ana T.; LEITE, Renata Elaine Paraizo; RODRIGUEZ, Roberta Diehl; SUEMOTO, Cclaudia K.; NASCIMENTO, Camila F.; CHIN, Marcus; MEDINA-CLEGHORN, Daniel; CUERVO, Ana Maria; ARKIN, Michelle; SEELEY, William W.; MILLER, Bruce L.; NITRINI, Ricardo; PASQUALUCCI, Carlos Augusto; JACOB FILHO, Wilson; RUEB, Udo; NEUHAUS, John; HEINSEN, Helmut; GRINBERG, Lea T.Clarifying the mechanisms connecting neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) neurotoxicity to neuronal dysfunction in humans is likely to be pivotal for developing effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD). To model the temporal progression of AD in humans, we used a collection of brains with controls and individuals from each Braak stage to quantitatively investigate the correlation between intraneuronal caspase activation or macroautophagy markers, NFT burden, and neuronal loss, in the dorsal raphe nucleus and locus coeruleus, the earliest vulnerable areas to NFT accumulation. We fit linear regressions with each count as outcomes, with Braak score and age as the predictors. In progressive Braak stages, intraneuronal active caspase-6 positivity increases both alone and overlapping with NETs. Likewise, the proportion of NFT-bearing neurons showing autophagosomes increases. Overall, caspases may be involved in upstream cascades in AD and are associated with higher NFTs. Macroautophagy changes correlate with increasing NFT burden from early AD stages.
- Three-dimensional and stereological characterization of the human substantia nigra during aging(2016) ALHO, Ana Tereza Di Lorenzo; SUEMOTO, Claudia Kimie; POLICHISO, Livia; TAMPELLINI, Edilaine; OLIVEIRA, Katia Cristina de; MOLINA, Mariana; SANTOS, Glaucia Aparecida Bento; NASCIMENTO, Camila; LEITE, Renata Elaine Paraizo; FERRETI-REBUSTINI, Renata Eloah de Lucena; SILVA, Alexandre Valotta da; NITRINI, Ricardo; PASQUALUCCI, Carlos Augusto; JACOB-FILHO, Wilson; HEINSEN, Helmut; GRINBERG, Lea TenenholzThe human brain undergoes non-uniform changes during aging. The substantia nigra (SN), the source of major dopaminergic pathways in the brain, is particularly vulnerable to changes in the progression of several age-related neurodegenerative diseases. To establish normative data for high-resolution imaging, and to further clinical and anatomical studies we analyzed SNs from 15 subjects aged 50-91 cognitively normal human subjects without signs of parkinsonism. Complete brains or brainstems with substantia nigra were formalin-fixed, celloidin-mounted, serially cut and Nissl-stained. The shapes of all SNs investigated were reconstructed using fast, high-resolution computer-assisted 3D reconstruction software. We found a negative correlation between age and SN volume (p = 0.04, rho = -0.53), with great variability in neuronal numbers and density across participants. The 3D reconstructions revealed SN inter- and intra-individual variability. Furthermore, we observed that human SN is a neuronal reticulum, rather than a group of isolated neuronal islands. Caution is required when using SN volume as a surrogate for SN status in individual subjects. The use of multimodal sequences including those for fiber tracts may enhance the value of imaging as a diagnostic tool to assess SN in vivo. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed for understanding the structure-function interaction of human SN.