2020 Highlights
November 2020
Volume 26, Issue 11
Exome sequencing implicates genetic disruption of prenatal neuro-gliogenesis in sporadic congenital hydrocephalus
Congenital hydrocephalus (CH), characterized by enlarged brain ventricles, is considered a disease of excessive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulation and thereby treated with neurosurgical CSF diversion with high morbidity and failure rates. The poor neurodevelopmental outcomes and persistence of ventriculomegaly in some post-surgical patients...
May 2020
Volume 16, Issue 5
Inflammation in acquired hydrocephalus: pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets
Hydrocephalus is the most common neurosurgical disorder worldwide and is characterized by enlargement of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled brain ventricles resulting from failed CSF homeostasis. Since the 1840s, physicians have observed inflammation in the brain and the CSF spaces in both posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH)...
January 07, 2020
Volume 11, Issue 1
Modulation of brain cation-Cl - cotransport via the SPAK kinase inhibitor ZT-1a
The SLC12A cation-Cl− cotransporters (CCC), including NKCC1 and the KCCs, are important determinants of brain ionic homeostasis. SPAK kinase (STK39) is the CCC master regulator, which stimulates NKCC1 ionic influx and inhibits KCC-mediated efflux via phosphorylation at conserved, shared motifs. Upregulation of SPAK-dependent CCC phosphorylation has been implicated in several neurological diseases. Using a scaffold-hybrid strategy...