Background Advanced age is a major risk factor for the development of many diseases including those affecting the central nervous system (CNS). Wild-type isocitrate dehydrogenase glioblastoma (IDH wt GBM) is the most common primary brain cancer and accounts for ≥90% of all adult GBM diagnoses. Patients with IDH wt GBM have a median age of diagnosis at 68-70 years of age and increasing age is associated with an increasingly worse prognosis for patients with this type of GBM. Methods SEER, TCGA, and CGGA databases were analyzed for mortality indices. Meta-analysis of 80 clinical trials were evaluated for log-hazard ratio for aging to tumor survivorship. Results Despite significant advances in the understanding of intratumoral genetic alterations, molecular characteristics of tumor microenvironments, and relationships between tumor molecular characteristics and the use of targeted therapeutics, life expectancy for older adults with GBM has yet to improve. Conclusions Based upon the results of our analysis, we propose that age-dependent factors that are yet to be fully elucidated, contribute to IDH wt GBM patient outcomes.

ABSTRACTα-Catenins are actin-filament binding proteins and critical subunits of the cadherin-catenin cell-cell adhesive complex. They are found in nominally-defined epithelial (E), neural (N), and testis (T) forms transcribed from three distinct genes. While most of α-catenin research has focused on the developmentally essential founding member, αE-catenin, this review discusses recent studies on αT-catenin (CTNNA3), a developmentally dispensable isoform that is emerging as relevant to cardiac, allergic and neurological diseases.

No abstract

Aneurysms were produced on the common carotid artery of rats by milliwatt CO2 laser welding of an adventitia patch over a hole. Sixty-nine animals were operated on. Aneurysms were present in 35 animals (51%), 7 of which ruptured spontaneously. The time to aneurysm formation was 1 week or longer. The adventitia patch aneurysm model has features (reliability, minimal vessel manipulation, histology similar to human berry aneurysm, and spontaneous bleeding tendency) that make it theoretically suitable for the induction of intracranial aneurysms in experimental animals. The microsurgical skills required to create and dissect the aneurysm make our experimental aneurysm useful as a teaching model in the development of microneurovascular surgery skills.