Neuroreport
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This study aimed to identify the neuroanatomical substrates and white matter connectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the association between gray matter and structural connectivity. A total of 36 children including patients with ASD and healthy controls between 6 and 15 years of age were enrolled in this study. High-resolution structural MRI and functional MRI were performed and analyzed using voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics. ⋯ Neither ASD nor healthy controls showed a significant correlation between gray matter volume and white matter integrity. Our study confirmed the presence of several structural and regional abnormalities in ASD children. These findings suggest that there are significant differences in some brain regions in children with autism relative to healthy children, but no association between them.
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Microglial activation plays a critical role in spinal cord ischemic reperfusion injury. Spinal cord stimulation preconditioning and postconditioning has shown spinal cord protection in ischemic reperfusion injury in animal studies. However, whether spinal cord stimulation could reduce microglial activation is still unclear. ⋯ Microglial activation was accompanied with up-regulated p-ERK1/2, and microglial inhibition by 2 Hz spinal cord stimulation was associated with down-regulated p-ERK1/2. Spinal cord stimulation increased the expression of IL-1β. Our results revealed, for the first time, that spinal cord stimulation postconditioning suppresses microglial activation during spinal cord ischemic reperfusion by down-regulation of p-ERK1/2, which may be the protective mechanism of spinal cord stimulation.