Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2011
Clinical Trial1-Hz low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in children with Tourette's syndrome.
The aim of the current study was to assess the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the supplementary motor area (SMA) of the cortex to children with Tourette's syndrome (TS), if rTMS over the SMA had positive effects on ameliorating tics. We designed a pilot open label 12 weeks cohort study to assess the efficacy of rTMS with TS at specific regions. We administered rTMS over SMA with slow frequency to children with TS. ⋯ Statistically significant reductions were seen in the Yale Global Tourette's Syndrome Severity Scale (YGTSS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). Low-frequency rTMS over the SMA appears to be effective in children with TS. Further studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in TS are warranted, using blinded, balanced, and parallel designs. rTMS over the SMA to children with TS might result in a significant clinical improvement and a normalization of both the hemisphere hyperexcitability.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2011
Hydrogen-rich saline reduces oxidative stress and inflammation by inhibit of JNK and NF-κB activation in a rat model of amyloid-beta-induced Alzheimer's disease.
This study is to examine if hydrogen-rich saline reduced amyloid-beta (Aβ) induced neural inflammation and oxidative stress in a rat model by attenuation of activation of JNK and NF-κB. Sprague-Dawley male rats (n=18, 280-330 g) were divided into three groups, sham operated, Aβ1-42 injected and Aβ1-42 plus hydrogen-rich saline treated animals. ⋯ After Aβ1-42 injection, the level of IL-1β, 8-OH-dG, JNK and NF-κB all increased in brain tissues, while hydrogen-rich saline treatment decreased the level of IL-1β, 8-OH-dG and the activation of JNK and NF-κB. In conclusion, hydrogen-rich saline prevented Aβ-induced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, possibly by attenuation of activation of c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in this rat model.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2011
The antinociceptive and antihyperalgesic effect of tapentadol is partially retained in OPRM1 (μ-opioid receptor) knockout mice.
Activation of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) and noradrenaline reuptake inhibition (NRI) are well recognized as analgesic principles in acute and chronic pain indications. The novel analgesic tapentadol combines MOR agonism and NRI in a single molecule. The present study used OPRM1 (MOR) knockout (KO) mice to determine the relative contribution of MOR activation to tapentadol-induced analgesia in models of acute (nociceptive) and chronic (neuropathic) pain. ⋯ The remaining antinociceptive activity of tapentadol in OPRM1 KO mice was abolished by the α₂-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine. In OPRM1 wildtype mice, the antihyperalgesic effect of tapentadol was 10 times more potent in diabetic animals (ED₅₀=1.10 mg/kg) than its antinociceptive effect in naïve animals (ED₅₀=10.8 mg/kg). This study supports the conclusion that the analgesic effect of tapentadol is only partly due to the activation of MOR, both under acute and chronic pain conditions, and that the efficacy of tapentadol against acute and chronic pain is based on its combined mechanism of action.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2011
Delayed sodium pyruvate treatment improves working memory following experimental traumatic brain injury.
Prior work indicates that cerebral glycolysis is impaired following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and that pyruvate treatment acutely after TBI can improve cerebral metabolism and is neuroprotective. Since extracellular levels of glucose decrease during periods of increased cognitive demand and exogenous glucose improves cognitive performance, we hypothesized that pyruvate treatment prior to testing could ameliorate cognitive deficits in rats with TBI. Based on pre-surgical spatial alternation performance in a 4-arm plus-maze, adult male rats were randomized to receive either sham injury or unilateral (left) cortical contusion injury (CCI). ⋯ The percent four/five alternation scores for CCI-Veh rats were significantly decreased from Sham-Veh scores on days 4 and 9 (p<0.01) and from CCI-SP scores on days 4, 9 and 14 (p<0.05). Measures of cortical contusion volume, regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose and regional cytochrome oxidase activity at day 15 post-injury did not differ between CCI-SP and CCI-Veh groups. These results show that spatial alternation testing can reliably detect temporal deficits and recovery of working memory after TBI and that delayed pyruvate treatment can ameliorate TBI-induced cognitive impairments.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2011
Posture control development in children aged 2-7 years old, based on the changes of repeatability of the stability indices.
One of the most common problems encountered in posture control studies is relatively poor repeatability of postural stability measures based on the COP (center of pressure) time-series which results from the inherent variability of postural control. The repeatability of the data reflecting the postural control mechanisms in young children is still not well enough explained. The differences between of the repeatability of the stability indices of left and right foot may reflect the lateralization development of legs in the support function. ⋯ The repeatability of the stability indices is poor from 2 to 4 year of life but increases significantly from 5 to 7 year of life. The comparisons of repeatability between the left and right foot indices reflect the developmental process of lateralization of lower limbs in the support function and reveal that the left lower leg is a dominant one in support function while standing position. The process of leg lateralization is finishing about 6th year of life.