ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9418-1540
Current Organisations
Centre for Eye Research Australia
,
University of Melbourne
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-03-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S00415-022-11049-3
Abstract: Psychiatric presentations similar to that observed in primary psychiatric disorders are well described across the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis–frontotemporal dementia (ALS–FTD) spectrum. Despite this, schizotypal personality traits associated with increased risks of clinical psychosis development and poor psychosocial outcomes have never been examined. The current study aimed to provide the first exploration of schizotypal traits and its neural underpinnings in the ALS–FTD spectrum to gain insights into a broader spectrum of psychiatric overlap with psychiatric disorders. Schizotypal traits were assessed using the targeted Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire in 99 participants (35 behavioural variant FTD, 10 ALS–FTD and 37 ALS patients, and 17 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls). Voxel-based morphometry analysis of whole-brain grey matter volume was conducted. Relative to controls, pervasive schizotypal personality traits across positive and negative schizotypy and disorganised thought disorders were identified in behavioural variant FTD, ALS (with the exception of negative schizotypy) and ALS–FTDALS–FTD patients (all p .013), suggesting the presence of a wide spectrum of subclinical schizotypal symptoms beyond classic psychotic symptoms. Atrophy in frontal, anterior cingulate and insular cortices, and caudate and thalamus was involved in positive schizotypy, while integrity of the cerebellum was associated with disorganised thought disorder traits. The frontal–striatal–limbic regions underpinning manifestation of schizotypy in the ALS–FTDALS–FTD spectrum are similar to that established in previous schizophrenia research. This finding expands the concept of a psychiatric overlap in ALS–FTD and schizophrenia, and suggests potentially common underlying mechanisms involving disruptions to frontal-striatal-limbic networks, warranting a transdiagnostic approach for future investigations.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 29-01-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.29.428701
Abstract: Retinal neovascularization, or pathological angiogenesis in the retina, is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries. Transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) activated by TGF-β1 and other pro-inflammatory cytokines. TAK1 is also a key mediator of inflammation, innate immune responses, apoptosis and tissue homeostasis and plays an important role in physiological angiogenesis. Its role in pathological angiogenesis, particularly in retinal neovascularization, remains unclear. We investigated the regulatory role of TAK1 in pathological angiogenesis in the retina. Transcriptome analysis of human retina featuring retinal neovascularization revealed enrichment of known TAK1-mediated signaling pathways. Selective inhibition of TAK1 activation by 5Z-7-oxozeaenol attenuated aberrant retinal angiogenesis in rats following oxygen-induced retinopathy. Transcriptome profiling revealed that TAK1 activation in human microvascular endothelial cells under TNFα stimulation led to increase the gene expression related to cytokines and leukocyte-endothelial interaction, mainly through nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) signaling pathways. These results reveal that inhibition of TAK1 signaling may have therapeutic value for the treatment of pathological angiogenesis in the retina.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-06-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ACN3.51363
Abstract: The aims of this study were to (i) explore psychotic experiences across the entire amyotrophic lateral sclerosis‐frontotemporal dementia (ALS‐FTD) spectrum from a clinical and genetic perspective, (ii) determine the rate of abnormal perceptual experiences across the five sensory modalities and (iii) explore the neurobiological factors that lead to psychosis vulnerability in ALS‐FTD. In a prospective case‐controlled study design, 100 participants were enrolled including ALS ( n = 37, 24% satisfied criteria for ALS‐Plus), ALS‐FTD ( n = 11), bvFTD ( n = 27) and healthy controls ( n = 25). Psychotic experiences, perceptual abnormalities and psychosocial factors were determined by means of the clinical interview and carer and patient reports. Voxel‐based morphometry analyses determined atrophy patterns in patients experiencing psychosis‐like experiences and other perceptual abnormalities. The rates of psychotic experiences and abnormalities of perception in each sensory modality were high across the entire ALS‐FTD continuum. The rate was highest in those with C9orf72 expansions. Rates were also high in patients with pure ALS including psychosis measured by carer‐based reports (18%) and self‐report measures of psychotic‐like experiences (21%). In an ENTER regression model, social anxiety and ACE‐III scores were the best predictors of psychosis proneness, accounting for 44% of the score variance. Psychosis‐like experiences and perceptual abnormalities were associated with a predominantly frontal and temporal pattern of atrophy that extended to the cerebellum and centred on the anterior thalamus. The model for psychosis proneness in ALS‐FTD likely includes complex interactions between cognitive, social and neurobiological factors that determine vulnerability to psychosis and that may have relevance for in idualised patient management.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2019.122194
Abstract: Oil crop wastes are attractive feedstocks in microbial processes due to their low cost. However, the product yields can be limited by their undesirable nitrogen surplus. Present study proposed a one-step solid state fermentation (SSF) method for producing erythritol from unrefined oil crop wastes using a modified strain Y. lipolytica M53-S. Enhanced erythritol production (185.4 mg/gds) was obtained from peanut press cake mixed with 40% sesame meal and 10% waste cooking oil. The process was performed at pH 4.0 in 5 L flasks, with initial moisture content, NaCl addition, and inoculum size of 70%, 0.02 g/gds, and 7.5 × 10
Location: Australia
No related grants have been discovered for Greg Dusting.