To determine whether sulcal morphology can predict changes in cognition, we investigated the relationship between width of 20 cerebral sulci and cognitive decline. Sulcal width was measured in T1-weighted MRI images at baseline in 433 adults aged ≥70 years with memory complaints from the MRI-Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial study. Cognition was evaluated at baseline, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of follow-up with a composite Z score. The composite score variations over time relative to the baseline sulcal width were assessed using linear mixed regression models. We observed a positive association between a greater decline in cognitive composite score and the width of the superior and the anterior inferior temporal sulci, and the cingulate anterior sulcus of the left hemisphere. Sulcal widening in the lateral temporal and the cingulate anterior areas might predict cognitive decline in individuals with memory complaints.

Background: The diagnosis of breast cancer (BC)-related leptomeningeal metastases (LM) relies on the detection of tumor cells in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using conventional cytology (gold standard). However, the sensitivity of this technique is low. Our goal was to evaluate whether circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection in CSF using the CellSearch® system could be used for LM diagnosis.Methods: This prospective, monocentric study included adult patients with suspected BC-related LM. The clinical sensitivity and specificity of CTC detection in CSF for LM diagnosis were calculated relative to conventional CSF cytology.Results: Forty-nine eligible patients were included and 40 were evaluable (CTC detection technical failure: n = 8, eligibility criteria failure: n = 1). Cytology was positive in 18/40 patients. CTCs were detected in these 18 patients (median: 5824 CTC, range: 93 to 45052) and in 5/22 patients with negative cytology (median: 2 CTC, range: 1 to 44). The detection of ≥1 CSF CTC was associated with a clinical sensitivity of 100% (95% CI, 82.4–100) and a specificity of 77.3% (95% CI, 64.3–90.3) for LM diagnosis. HER2+ CTCs were detected in the CSF of 40.6% of patients with HER2− BC (median: 500 CTC, range: 13 to 28 320).Conclusions: The clinical sensitivity of CTC detection in CSF with the CellSearch® system for LM diagnosis is higher than that of CSF cytology. CTC detection in patients with negative cytology, however, must be further investigated. The finding of HER2+ CTCs in patients with HER2− BC suggests that the HER2 status of LM should be evaluated to increase the treatment opportunities for these patients.

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease with frequent neurological involvement. Memory complaints are common, but their precise patterns remain unclear. We wanted to characterize patterns of neurocognitive profiles in pSS patients with cognitive complaints. Only pSS patients with memory complaints were included, prospectively. Cognitive profiles were compiled through a comprehensive cognitive evaluation by neuropsychologists. Evaluations of anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disorders and quality of life were performed for testing their interactions with cognitive profiles. All 32 pSS patients showed at least borderline cognitive impairment, and 17 (53%) exhibited a pathological cognitive profile: a hippocampal profile (37%), a dysexecutive profile (22%), and an instrumental profile (16%) (possible overlap). Regarding the secondary objectives: 37% of patients were depressed, and 48% exhibited a mild-to-severe anxiety trait. Sleep disorders were frequent (excessive daytime sleepiness (55%), high risk for sleep apnea (45%), and insomnia (77%)). Cognitive impairments could not be explained alone by anxiety, depression or sleep disorders. Fatigue level was strongly associated with sleep disorders. Our study highlights that cognitive complaints in pSS patients are supported by measurable cognitive impairments, apart from frequently associated disorders such as depression, anxiety or sleep troubles. Sleep disorders should be screened.

The mechanics of biological tissuesmainly proceeds from the cell cortex rheology.A direct, explicit link between cortex rheology and tissue rheology remains lacking, yet would be instrumental in understanding how modulations of cortical mechanics may impact tissue mechanical behaviour.Using an ordered geometry built on 3D hexagonal, incompressible cells,we build a mapping relatingthe cortical rheology to the monolayer tissue rheology.Our approach shows that the tissue low frequency elastic modulusis proportional to the rest tension of the cortex,as expected from the physics of liquid foamsas well as of tensegrity structures.A fractional visco-contractile cortex rheologyis predicted to yield a high-frequency fractional visco-elastic monolayer rheology, where such a fractional behaviour has been recently observed experimentally at each scale separately.In particular cases, the mapping may be inverted, allowing toderive from a given tissue rheology the underlying cortex rheology. Interestingly, applying the same approach to a 2D hexagonal tiling fails,which suggests that the 2D character of planar cell cortex-based models may be unsuitable to account for realistic monolayer rheologies.We provide quantitative predictions, amenable to experimental tests through standard perturbation assays ofcortex constituents, and hope to foster new, challenging mechanicalexperiments on cell monolayers.