What role does inflammation play in atherosclerosis? In our latest episode of The Physiological Reviews Podcast, Dr. Carol Ann Remme talks with authors Dr. Esther Lutgens (Mayo Clinic) and Dr. Claudia Monaco (University of Oxford) about their recent Review on immunotherapy for atherosclerosis. The authors discuss the network of multiple immune cell types and subsets of the innate and adaptive immune system that occupy arteries. In addition, Monaco et al. discuss local inflammation in the arterial wall or plaque compared to systemic inflammation. The authors also discuss atherosclerosis as a process of aging, rather than as a disease. What is the holy grail of safe immunotherapeutic approaches and the future of personalized medicine for atherosclerosis? Listen now to learn more.

Claudia Monaco, Coleen A. McNamara, Bram Slütter, Amanda C. Foks, Stefan Bekiranov, Willem J.M. Mulder, Isabel Gonçalves, and Esther Lutgens Immunotherapy for atherosclerosis Physiological Reviews, published May 21, 2025. DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00016.2024

What is cerebral small vessel disease and why is it such a critical area of research? In this episode, Associate Editor Dr. Scott Earley (University of Rochester) interviews author Dr. Anne Joutel (Université Paris Cité, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris, INSERM) about the pathogenic diagnosis and molecular basis of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). Classified into two categories, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and nonamyloid cSVD, cSVD is a major health problem responsible for about 25% of ischemic strokes, the vast majority of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, and about 20% of all dementia cases. What role does the presence of lesions in small vessels play in exacerbating the burden of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease? What is “silent cSVD” and how common is it? Listen now to find out more.

Hugh S. Markus and Anne Joutel The pathogenesis of cerebral small vessel disease and vascular cognitive impairment Physiological Reviews, published February 18, 2025. DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00028.2024

In this episode, Dr. Jan Born (University of Tübingen) interviews his colleague and author Dr. Andreas Nieder (University of Tübingen) about his recent Review in Physiological Reviews on mathematical reasoning that incorporates neurobiology, comparative physiology, and neurophysiology. Mathematical skills can be described as falling into symbolic (arithmetic, number theory) and non-symbolic (set size) representations of numerical quantities. Infants as young as 2 days old can discriminate set size, for example, distinguishing between four dots and eight dots. And then, of course, there is the fascinating concept of zero, which is “rather like the eccentric uncle in the series of numbers,” as Dr. Nieder says. Understanding the concept of zero as the absence of something, represented as a number, is critical to understanding all other numbers. How does all of this work in the brain? Listen and find out.

Andreas Nieder The calculating brain Physiological Reviews, published October 25, 2024. DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00014.2024