Journal of neural transmission
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We evaluated Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in hippocampus of rats submitted to an animal model of mania which included the use of lithium and valproate. In the acute treatment, amphetamine or saline was administered to rats for 14 days, between day 8 and 14, rats were treated with lithium, valproate or saline. In the maintenance treatment, rats were treated with lithium, valproate or saline, between day 8 and 14, amphetamine or saline were administered. ⋯ In the maintenance treatment, amphetamine increased Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in saline-pretreated rats. Amphetamine administration in lithium- or valproate-pretreated animals did not alter Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity. The findings suggest that amphetamine-induced hyperactivity may be associated with an increase in Na(+),K(+)-ATPase.
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Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) therapy has gained wide acceptance in the management of spasticity in cerebral palsy (CP). Clinical experience from numerous case reports and series, retrospective and prospective open label cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials (RCT) has grown over the past 10 years. Several independent systematic reviews on the role of BoNT-A for upper and lower limb spasticity have been written by various authors. ⋯ BoNT-A is considered safe for use in children. In conclusion, there is now growing convincing evidence for the time limited beneficial effect of BoNT-A in decreasing muscle tone in children with upper and lower limbs spasticity associated with CP. Decrease muscle tone in the lower limbs translates to improved gait in CP children with spastic equinovarus however more systematic studies are necessary to show sufficient evidence for improved hand function from BoNT-A injection in the upper limbs.
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The genomic profile of the cerebral cortex after closed head injury in mice: effects of minocycline.
Microarray analysis was used to delineate gene expression patterns and profile changes following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice. A parallel microarray analysis was carried out in mice with TBI that were subsequently treated with minocycline, a drug proposed as a neuroprotectant in other neurological disorders. The aim of this comparison was to identify pathways that may be involved in secondary injury processes following TBI and potential specific pathways that could be targeted with second generation therapeutics for the treatment of neurotrauma patients. ⋯ Among 495 gene ontology categories, the significantly different gene ontology groups included chemokines, genes involved in cell surface receptor-linked signal transduction and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Expression levels of some key genes were validated by real-time quantitative PCR. This study confirms that multiple regulatory pathways are affected following brain injury and demonstrates for the first time that specific genes and molecular networks are affected by minocycline following brain injury.
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This study examines the neurobiology of semantic retrieval and describes the influence of gender, menstrual cycle, and sex hormones on semantic networks. Healthy right-handed subjects (12 men, 12 women) were investigated with 3T-fMRI during synonym generation. Behavioral performance and sex hormone levels were assessed. ⋯ Women yielded high correlations of left prefrontal activation with estradiol in the midluteal phase and with progesterone in both phases. Testosterone levels correlated highly with left prefrontal activation in all three groups. In all, we describe a cerebral network involved in semantic processing and demonstrate that it is significantly affected by gender and sex steroid hormones.
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1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) studies exploring brain metabolites, especially glutamine + glutamate (Glx), in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are of vital interest for trying to understand more about the pathophysiology of OCD. Therefore, we conducted the present 1H MRS study with the aims of (1) comparing MRS metabolites in a group of adult patients with OCD and a group of healthy controls, and (2) examining the relationship between MRS metabolite concentrations and symptom severity in the patient group. Three brain regions were studied, the right caudate nucleus, the anterior gyrus cinguli and the occipital cortex bilaterally. ⋯ The negative correlation between occipital cortex Glx and YBOCS was the most impressive. PCA did not reveal any tendency for a separation between the patients with OCD and controls with respect to MRS metabolites. The results are discussed in relation to corticostriatothalamocortical feedback and previous observations of poor visuospatial ability in OCD.