The work was done to study immunogenetic peculiarities of neuroinflammatory diseases among Korean children. A total of 13 children with neuroinflammatory diseases (8 males and 5 females; mean age 4.6 +/-2.6 yr) were consecutively recruited. Geno-mic typing was performed on their HLA DRB/HLA DQB genes using PCR-SSOP/SSP techniques with gel immunoelectrophoresis. The frequencies of HLA-DR1 *15 in...

Neuroinflammation is being increasingly recognized as a potential mediator of cognitive impairments in various neurological conditions. Habbas et al. demonstrate that the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha signals through astrocytes to alter synaptic transmission and impair cognition in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

Macrophage/microglia with heterogonous phenotype and function under physiological and pathological conditions are the main cell lineage involved in inducing immune responses in neuroinflammatory diseases which exhibit combined inflammatory and anti-inflammatory functions. An increase in the expression of iNOS triggers M1 phenotype that secrete high concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, whil...

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a multi-symptom disorder with features characteristic of persistent sickness behavior. Among conditions encountered in the Gulf War (GW) theater were physiological stressors (e.g., heat/cold/physical activity/sleep deprivation), prophylactic treatment with the reversible AChE inhibitor, pyridostigmine bromide (PB), the insect repellent, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET...

Methamphetamine (METH) induces neuroinflammatory effects, which may contribute to the neurotoxicity of METH. However, the mechanism by which METH induces neuroinflammation has yet to be clarified. A considerable body of evidence suggests that METH induces cellular damage and distress, particularly in dopaminergic neurons. Damaged neurons release danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) such...