Giorgio Battaglia

TL;DR: Axonal-SMN (a- SMN), an alternatively spliced SMN form, preferentially encoded by the SMN1 gene in humans is identified, indicating an unexpected complexity of the SMn gene system and may help in understanding the pathogenesis of SMA.

TL;DR: The results demonstrate that thalidomide inhibits angiogenesis in vitro at concentrations that result in significant morphological alterations in cortical and hippocampal regions of rats prenatally exposed to this vasculotoxin and suggest that prenatal vasculogenesis is required to support normal neuronal migration and maturation.

TL;DR: The data support the idea of a specific role for SMN in axons, which becomes predominant in the ontogenetic period encompassing axonogenesis and axonal sprouting and the asymmetric SMN staining demonstrated in the germinative neuroepithelium suggests a possible role forSMN in neuronal migration and/or differentiation.

TL;DR: Investigating the NMDA receptor and related protein composition in human epileptic patients affected by periventricular nodular heterotopia, subcortical band heterotopy, or focal cortical dysplasia demonstrates that diverse human developmental malformations are associated with different alterations of the NMda receptor, which may contribute to the genesis of epileptic phenomena.

TL;DR: Changes in BBB function may critically contribute to determine the brain uptake and distribution of P-gp substrates in epileptic tissue associated with developmental malformations.