BACKGROUND/AIMS Research guidelines on predicting and diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) acknowledge cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels as pivotal biomarkers. We studied the usefulness of CSF biomarkers in the diagnostic workup of patients in a geriatric outpatient memory clinic of a community-based hospital, attempted to determine a cutoff age for the use of CSF biomarkers in this group of patients, and compared the total τ/Aβ ratio as an alternative CSF diagnostic rule with the usual rules for interpreting CSF levels. METHODS This was a prospective study of consecutively referred patients. Inclusion criteria were described on the basis of previous study results in the same setting. The CSF tool was applied either to differentiate between AD and no AD or to increase certainty having made the diagnosis of AD. Clinicians were asked to judge whether the CSF results were helpful to them or not. RESULTS The reasons to use the CSF tool in the diagnostic workup were in 78/106 patients to decide between the diagnosis "AD" and "no AD" and in 28/106 patients to increase the certainty regarding the diagnosis. In 75% of cases the CSF levels were considered diagnostically helpful to the clinicians. Results in the present setting suggest 65 years as the cutoff age to use CSF as a diagnostic tool. The sensitivity and specificity of the total τ/Aβ ratio using the clinical diagnosis as the gold standard were at least as good as the usual categorization rule. CONCLUSIONS Our study results corroborate earlier findings that the CSF tool is of added value to the diagnostic workup in daily clinical practice outside tertiary referral centers. CSF levels can best be used in patients under 66 years of age. Given the limited use of this tool in settings outside research facilities, we recommend that the usefulness of CSF biomarkers is studied in a multicenter study. When in the future CSF levels can be reliably measured in plasma, this may become even more relevant. © 2020 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.Essential tremor (ET) is a disabling movement disorder that is most prevalent among the elderly. While deep brain stimulation surgery targeting the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus is commonly used to treat ET, the most elderly patients or those with multiple medical comorbidities may not qualify as surgical candidates. Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) constitutes a less invasive modality that may be used to perform thalamotomy without the need for a burr hole craniotomy. Here, we report on 2 patients over the age of 90 years who benefited significantly from MRgFUS thalamotomy to relieve their symptoms and improve their quality of life.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/FK-506-(Tacrolimus).html  The procedure was well tolerated and performed safely in both patients. We conclude that age should not be a limiting factor in the treatment of patients with MRgFUS. © 2020 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.Secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) is intimately involved in the transfer of maternal immunity to the newborn breastfed infant. Recent research demonstrates the significance of SIgA in the initial development of the newborn's microbiota and in the establishment of a tolerogenic immunologic disposition towards nonpathogenic organisms and environmental antigens. SIgA has long been known to prevent pathogen binding to the host epithelium through immune exclusion involving numerous mechanisms. This process primarily involves T-cell-dependent, somatically hypermutated monoclonal antibodies with high specificity towards pathogen surface antigens, and the success of the immune response is dependent upon the specific antigen recognition. Whereas this role is important, there is an alternate, dual role for SIgA in the health of the host - protection and promotion of commensal colonization and maintenance of homeostatic immunity. This latter role is primarily dependent upon N- and O-glycan moieties lining the secretory component and heavy chain of the SIgA dimer, with interactions independent of immunoglobulin specificity. These SIgA molecules are nonspecific polyclonal antibodies generated from plasma cells activated by dendritic cell sampling of luminal contents in the absence of inflammation. Breast milk is the primary supply of such polyclonal polyreactive SIgA in the initial stages of neonatal colonization, and it provides vital pathogen resistance while promoting colonization of commensal microbiota. © 2020 Nestlé Nutrition Institute, Switzerland/S. Karger AG, Basel.INTRODUCTION The rate of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after deep brain stimulation (DBS) is between 1.5 and 6.1%, with prolonged deficits occurring in 0.4-2.5% of the patients. This retrospective study investigates whether the prophylactic administration of tranexamic acid (TA) to patients with abnormal platelet function detected preoperatively by platelet function analyzer (PFA) lowered the risk for an ICH event. METHODS We performed a systematic review of the medical records of 485 consecutively admitted patients who underwent bilateral DBS surgery in a single-center university hospital setting between 2009 and 2018. The cohort was split into two groups. In one group, preoperative PFA screening was performed (n = 156, patients recruited from 2014 to 2018), and TA was administered if platelet function was abnormal. No preoperative PFA was performed in the second group (n = 359, patients recruited from 2009 to 2013). Both cohorts were analyzed for the occurrence of ICH, defined by (i) detection of ICH in routine postoperative magnetic resonance/computed tomography imaging or (ii) in non-routine imaging for the onset of new neurological symptoms. RESULTS Fourteen of the 156 screened patients (9%) showed reproducible PFA-100 closure abnormalities (3 with von Willebrand disease, 11 with no identifiable cause of platelet dysfunction). Two of the 156 patients (1.3%) in this cohort revealed an ICH on imaging, 1 of whom (0.6%) exhibited a prolonged neurological deficit as a result of ICH. In the cohort without platelet testing, 11 of the 329 patients (3.3%) demonstrated ICH on imaging, of whom 5 (1.5%) suffered from a prolonged neurological deficit. CONCLUSION In this retrospective study, the screening and the administration of TA appeared to lower the risk of an ICH by 1.8%. One patient with von Willebrand disease suffered an ICH despite TA treatment. A prospective study is needed to clarify the impact of platelet testing and TA administration on the of incidence ICH. © 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.