Brain research bulletin
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Brain research bulletin · Oct 2014
ReviewElectrical stimulation of hippocampus for the treatment of refractory temporal lobe epilepsy.
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common epilepsy syndrome and is often associated with pharmacoresistance. Patients with pharmacoresistant TLE may be candidates for epilepsy surgery, and anterior temporal lobectomy if indicated is the most effective known treatment and has the best chance of a seizure-free outcome. For many patients with TLE, epilepsy surgery is not an option, for example when the seizure onset zone co-localizes with eloquent brain function and cannot be resected, or the seizure onset zone is not well localized, or when seizures independently originate from both temporal lobes. ⋯ Animal and clinical studies in humans have demonstrated electrical stimulation is an effective and safe treatment. Moreover, successful application of responsive neurostimulation system in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy has been reported recently. This review is intended to provide a comprehensive review of the modern history of electrical stimulation of the hippocampus for the treatment of refractory medial temporal lobe epilepsy and discuss the anatomical basis, validity, side effects, stimulation paradigm and mechanism of hippocampus stimulation and the responsive electrical stimulation trials.
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Brain research bulletin · Oct 2014
Ligustilide inhibits microglia-mediated proinflammatory cytokines production and inflammatory pain.
Ligustilide is the main component of Danggui essential oil, and recently reported to have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effect. Increasing evidence suggests that glia-mediated neuroinflammation in the spinal cord plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effect of ligustilide both in vitro and in vivo. ⋯ In addition, repetitive intravenous injection of ligustilide attenuated intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. The same treatment of ligustilide also inhibited CFA-induced TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 up-regulation and microglial activation in the spinal cord. Taken together, our data suggest that ligustilide can alleviate inflammatory pain partly through inhibition of microglial activation and proinflammatory cytokines production, which indicates a possible benefit from the use of ligustilide in the treatment of inflammatory pain and neuroinflammation-associated disorders.
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Brain research bulletin · Sep 2014
Electroacupuncture attenuates mechanical allodynia by suppressing the spinal JNK1/2 pathway in a rat model of inflammatory pain.
Electroacupuncture (EA) has a substantial analgesic effect on inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). The activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) signal transduction pathway in the spinal cord is associated with inflammatory pain. However, the relationship between EA's analgesic effect and the JNK1/2 signal transduction pathway in the inflammatory pain remain unclear. In the present study, we used the established rat model of CFA-induced inflammatory pain to investigate the role of the spinal JNK1/2 pathway in EA-mediated analgesia. ⋯ Our findings indicate that EA alleviates inflammatory pain behavior, at least in part, by reducing COX-2 expression in the spinal cord via the JNK1/2 signaling pathway. Inactivation of the spinal JNK1/2 signal transduction pathway maybe the potential mechanism of EA's antinociception in the inflammatory pain model.
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Brain research bulletin · Sep 2014
Physical training prevents depressive symptoms and a decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor in Parkinson's disease.
Depression is a neuropsychiatric disorder that is commonly found in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Many studies have suggested that physical exercise can have an antidepressant effect by increasing the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and may also prevent neurodegenerative disease. However, different forms of training may promote different changes in the brain. ⋯ In addition, significant decreases in the levels of proBDNF, BDNF, and its receptor, TrkB were observed in the 6-OHDA group. Both types of physical exercise prevented depressive-like behavior and restored the levels of proBDNF, BDNF, and TrkB in the striatum and hippocampus of mice administered 6-OHDA. Our results demonstrate that exercise training was effective for neuroprotection in the striatum and the hippocampus in an experimental model of PD.
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Brain research bulletin · Aug 2014
Inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex attenuates pain-related negative emotion in rats.
The emotional components of pain are far less studied than the sensory components. Previous studies have indicated that the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) is implicated in the affective response to noxious stimuli. Activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the spinal cord has been documented to play an important role in diverse kinds of pathological pain states. ⋯ Inhibiting p38 MAPK activation did not affect formalin-induced two-phase spontaneous nociceptive response and low intensity electric foot-shock induced CPA. The present study demonstrated that p38 MAPK signaling pathway in the rACC contributes to pain-related negative emotion. Thus, a new pharmacological strategy targeted at the p38 MAPK cascade may be useful in treating pain-related emotional disorders.