ALBERT

Description: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by four pathognomonic hallmarks: (1) motor and non-motor deficits; (2) neuroinflammation and oxidative stress; (3) pathological aggregates of the α-synuclein (α-syn) protein; (4) neurodegeneration of the nigrostriatal system. Recent evidence sustains that the aggregation of pathological α-syn occurs in the early stages of the disease, becoming the first trigger of neuroinflammation and subsequent neurodegeneration. Thus, a therapeutic line aims at striking back α-synucleinopathy and neuroinflammation to impede neurodegeneration. Another therapeutic line is restoring the compromised dopaminergic system using neurotrophic factors, particularly the glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Preclinical studies with GDNF have provided encouraging results but often lack evaluation of anti-α-syn and anti-inflammatory effects. In contrast, clinical trials have yielded imprecise results and have reported the emergence of severe side effects. Here, we analyze the discrepancy between preclinical and clinical outcomes, review the mechanisms of the aggregation of pathological α-syn, including neuroinflammation, and evaluate the neurorestorative properties of GDNF, emphasizing its anti-α-syn and anti-inflammatory effects in preclinical and clinical trials.

Description: The characterization of underground structures is crucial for explorative studies in geothermal systems. As recently demonstrated, analysis of the propagation of seismic waves provides information on physical rocks’ behavior and alternative assessments of the brittle-ductile transition (BDT) depth [1]. In particular, the decay of the amplitude of the seismic waves (i.e. seismic attenuation), which is usually described by a “quality factor” Q, depending on the seismic scale, could be used as an indicator of the subsurface heterogeneities. In this study, we investigate the sensitivity of the seismic velocity and attenuation to the crustal heterogeneities, by implementing a Q seismic tomography of the Krafla volcanic system, an area affected by young tectonics and hot thermal conditions. The applied method solves for Qp perturbations, using a combination of a spectral decay technique to retrieve the attenuation operator (t*) and tomographic inversion [2]. The distribution of seismic wave velocities is obtained from a 3D tomographic inversion, using 1453 earthquakes detected from a local seismic network (2009-2012) [2,3]. The obtained Qp variations up to a depth of 4 km are interpreted together with the seismic wave velocity values [3]. The joint interpretation helps discriminate between anomalies related to temperatures and compositional heterogeneities, defining the main structures of the area. We also try to define the BDT depth, based on the strong reduction of the Qp, related to hot temperatures/melt conditions. References [1] Natale Castillo et al., 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.103978. [2] Lanza et al., 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2020.106804 [3] Schuler et al., 2015. https://doi:10.1002/2015JB012350