Lancet neurology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Long-term safety and efficacy of closed-loop spinal cord stimulation to treat chronic back and leg pain (Evoke): a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial.
Spinal cord stimulation has been an established treatment for chronic back and leg pain for more than 50 years; however, outcomes are variable and unpredictable, and objective evidence of the mechanism of action is needed. A novel spinal cord stimulation system provides the first in vivo, real-time, continuous objective measure of spinal cord activation in response to therapy via recorded evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in patients during daily use. These ECAPs are also used to optimise programming and deliver closed-loop spinal cord stimulation by adjusting the stimulation current to maintain activation within patients' therapeutic window. We aimed to examine pain relief and the extent of spinal cord activation with ECAP-controlled closed-loop versus fixed-output, open-loop spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic back and leg pain. ⋯ Saluda Medical.
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Research into the role of the gut microbiome in modulating brain function has rapidly increased over the past 10 years, albeit chiefly in animal models. Increasing clinical and preclinical evidence implicates the microbiome as a possible key susceptibility factor for neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. ⋯ Longitudinal studies and randomised controlled trials in humans are needed to find out if targeting the microbiome can yield novel therapeutic strategies. Systems biology approaches will also be important in integrating such data with genomic and metabolomic datasets from clinical cohorts with neurological disease to help guide individual treatment selection.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Endovascular treatment versus standard medical treatment for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (BEST): an open-label, randomised controlled trial.
Previous randomised trials have shown an overwhelming benefit of mechanical thrombectomy for treating patients with stroke caused by large vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation. Whether endovascular treatment is beneficial for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment of acute strokes due to vertebrobasilar artery occlusion. ⋯ Jiangsu Provincial Special Program of Medical Science.
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Parkinson's disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder for which both rare and common genetic variants contribute to disease risk, onset, and progression. Mutations in more than 20 genes have been associated with the disease, most of which are highly penetrant and often cause early onset or atypical symptoms. Although our understanding of the genetic basis of Parkinson's disease has advanced considerably, much remains to be done. ⋯ However, most of them have been identified in patients of European ancestry and we know relatively little of the genetics of Parkinson's disease in other populations. We have a limited understanding of the biological functions of the risk alleles that have been identified, although Parkinson's disease risk variants appear to be in close proximity to known Parkinson's disease genes and lysosomal-related genes. In the past decade, multiple efforts have been made to investigate the genetic architecture of Parkinson's disease, and emerging technologies, such as machine learning, single-cell RNA sequencing, and high-throughput screens, will improve our understanding of genetic risk.