Neuroendocrinol Lett
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Neuroendocrinol Lett · Jan 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of refractory chronic tinnitus: a randomized, placebo controlled study.
The pathophysiologic mechanisms of idiopathic tinnitus remain unclear. Low frequency rTMS applied over the auditory cortex has been proposed as a new and causally oriented treatment approach for pathological conditions with abnormal, increased cortical activity including tinnitus with increased activity in the auditory cortex. However available studies are characterized by a positive reports on the therapeutic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for treatment of tinnitus, there are few details about the duration of specific treatment effects. ⋯ The principal finding of this study is that real 1 Hz rTMS treatment was capable of significantly reducing the total baseline score of basic scales that measure tinnitus severity. This result is important as it proves that significant reduction of symptoms can be achieved even in a group of patients with long-term symptoms resistant to pharmacological treatment.
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Neuroendocrinol Lett · Jan 2010
ReviewOxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome with unknown etiology and pathophysiology. Recent studies have shown some evidence demonstrating that oxidative stress may have a role in the pathophysiology of FM. ⋯ To this respect, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) deficiency, an essential electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and a strong antioxidant, alters mitochondria function and mitochondrial respiratory complexes organization and leading to increased ROS generation. Recently have been showed CoQ10 deficiency in blood mononuclear cells in FM patients, so if the hypothesis that mitochondrial dysfunction is the origin of oxidative stress in FM patients is demonstrated, could help to understand the complex pathophysiology of this disorder and may lead to development of new therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment of this disease.
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Neuroendocrinol Lett · Jan 2010
Clinical TrialLack of short-wavelength light during the school day delays dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) in middle school students.
Circadian timing affects sleep onset. Delayed sleep onset can reduce sleep duration in adolescents required to awake early for a fixed school schedule. The absence of short-wavelength ("blue") morning light, which helps entrain the circadian system, can hypothetically delay sleep onset and decrease sleep duration in adolescents. The goal of this study was to investigate whether removal of short-wavelength light during the morning hours delayed the onset of melatonin in young adults. ⋯ Lack of short-wavelength light in the morning has been shown to delay the circadian clock in controlled laboratory conditions. The results presented here are the first to show, outside laboratory conditions, that removal of short-wavelength light in the morning hours can delay DLMO in 8th-grade students. These field data, consistent with results from controlled laboratory studies, are directly relevant to lighting practice in schools.
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The periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome appears to be more common than generally appreciated and should be differentiated from hereditary periodic fever syndromes, particularly from mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD). ⋯ Raised IgD levels may represent a non-specific epiphenomenon, which frequently accompanies PFAPA syndrome as well as MKD. Because of the overlapping clinical and laboratory features, genetic testing of the MVK gene is indicated to differentiate these two conditions, if clinical criteria for both are fulfilled.
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Neuroendocrinol Lett · Mar 2009
Case ReportsRepeated occurrence of clozapine-induced myocarditis in a patient with schizoaffective disorder and comorbid Parkinson's disease.
Myocarditis is a rare but life threatening adverse effect of clozapine. Some symptoms of myocarditis--elevated temperature, tachycardia and fatigue--appear commonly during the onset of treatment with clozapine and during the dose titration. ⋯ All symptoms disappeared after the discontinuation of the drug. Early diagnosis, discontinuation of clozapine and supportive therapy of myocarditis lower the risk of a fatal outcome.