Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Apr 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of handball training on cognitive ability in elderly with mild cognitive impairment.
The aim was to examine the effect of handball training on cognitive ability in elderly with mild cognitive impairment. A total of 60 elderly were randomly divided into training group (n=30) and control group (n=30). ⋯ The results showed that MMSE score was increased and ADL score was decreased in training group after 3-month and 6-month intervention (P<0.05), while there were no significant changes in MMSE or ADL in control group (P£3/40.05). These preliminary results indicated that handball training can improve cognitive ability in elderly with MCI.
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Neuroscience letters · Apr 2014
Suppression of spinal connexin 43 expression attenuates mechanical hypersensitivity in rats after an L5 spinal nerve injury.
Activation of spinal astrocytes may contribute to neuropathic pain. Adjacent astrocytes can make direct communication through gap junctions formed by connexin 43 (Cx43) in the central nervous system. Yet, the role of spinal astroglial gap junctions in neuropathic pain is not fully understood. ⋯ Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry also showed that SNL increased GFAP expression, but decreased Cx43 expression, in spinal cord. Our results provide direct evidence that selective suppression of spinal Cx43 after nerve injury alleviates neuropathic mechanical hypersensitivity. These findings suggest that in the spinal cord, the enhanced function of astroglial gap junctions, especially those formed by Cx43, may be important to neuropathic pain in SNL rats.
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Neuroscience letters · Apr 2014
Role of the 5-HT(7) receptor in the effects of intrathecal nefopam in neuropathic pain in rats.
Nefopam is a non-opioid analgesic drug, used widely in European countries to control postoperative pain. However, its mechanism of action remains unclear. In this study, the effects of intrathecal nefopam on spinal nerve-ligated induced neuropathic pain in rats were examined and the involvement of the 5-HT7 receptor at the spinal level was determined. ⋯ Intrathecal nefopam increased the levels of 5-HT in the spinal cord and plasma. Intrathecal nefopam is effective in the attenuation of neuropathic pain induced by spinal nerve ligation and nefopam increases the level of 5-HT. Additionally, the 5-HT7 receptor is involved in the antiallodynic action of nefopam in the spinal cord.
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Neuroscience letters · Apr 2014
Association analysis of STK39, MCCC1/LAMP3 and sporadic PD in the Chinese Han population.
With the completion of the Human Genome Project, GWAS have been widely used in exploring the genetic studies of complex diseases. A meta-analysis of datasets from five Parkinson's disease GWAS from the USA and Europe found 11 loci that surpassed the threshold for genome-wide significance (p<5×10(-8)), and five were newly identified loci (ACMSD, STK39, MCCC1/LAMP3, SYT11 and CCDC62/HIP1R). Another GWAS of the Ashkenazi Jewish population also identified loci in STK39 and LAMP3. ⋯ In the detection of the rs2102808, rs3754775 and rs12493050, ungrouped populations, early-onset PD, late-onset PD, male PD or female PD with the corresponding control group showed no significant difference in allele and genotype frequency (p>0.0125). Our findings suggested that the allele G of rs11711441 of the MCCC1/LAMP3 gene can decrease the risk of PD in Chinese population. No statistically significant difference in genotype frequency between cases and controls was observed for the other three SNPs.
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Neuroscience letters · Apr 2014
Embryonic development of GABAergic signaling in the mouse spinal trigeminal nucleus interpolaris.
In the mature central nervous system, γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, whereas during development, GABA induces depolarization. To examine the embryonic development of GABAergic transmission in the mouse spinal trigeminal nucleus interpolaris (SpVi), which receives sensory input from the face and is important in survival of rodents, we performed immunohistochemistry for three related molecules: glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), a marker of GABAergic neurons; vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT), a marker of GABAergic and glycinergic vesicles; and potassium chloride co-transporter 2 (KCC2), which shifts GABA action from excitatory to inhibitory. GAD-positive longitudinal projection fibers, where VGAT-positive dots were localized, were clearly discernible until embryonic day (E)17, and were markedly decreased in number on postnatal day 0. ⋯ KCC2 immunolabeling was first localized in the dendrites and cell bodies of several neurons in the lateral part of the SpVi on E13 and throughout the nucleus on E17. These results suggest that the SpVi may first receive GABAergic projection fibers from extra-nuclear area before birth, and GABAergic interneurons may form synapses within the SpVi after E17. In addition, GABA action may gradually shift from excitatory to inhibitory between E13 and E17.