TheScientificWorldJournal
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2012
Spinal anesthesia and minimal invasive laminotomy for paddle electrode placement in spinal cord stimulation: technical report and clinical results at long-term followup.
We arranged a mini-invasive surgical approach for implantation of paddle electrodes for SCS under spinal anesthesia obtaining the best paddle electrode placement and minimizing patients' discomfort. We describe our technique supported by neurophysiological intraoperative monitoring and clinical results. ⋯ Spinal cord stimulation under spinal anesthesia allows an optimal positioning of the paddle electrodes without any discomfort for patients or neurosurgeons. The best intraoperative positioning allows a better postoperative control of pain, avoiding the risk of blind placements of the paddle or further surgery for their replacement.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2012
Increased NTPDase activity in lymphocytes during experimental sepsis.
We investigated in rats induced to sepsis the activity of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase; CD39; E. C. 3.6.1.5), an enzyme involved in the modulation of immune responses. After 12 hours of surgery, lymphocytes were isolated from blood and NTPDase activity was determined. ⋯ Histological analysis showed several morphological changes in the septic group, such as vascular congestion, necrosis, and infiltration of mononuclear cells. It is known that the intracellular milieu contains much more ATP nucleotides than the extracellular. In this context, the increased ATPasic activity was probably induced as a dynamic response to clean up the elevated ATP levels resulting from cellular death.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2012
ReviewBrain metastases research 1990-2010: pattern of citation and systematic review of highly cited articles.
High and continuously increasing research activity related to different aspects of prevention, prediction, diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases has been performed between 1990 and 2010. One of the major databases contains 2695 scientific articles that were published during this time period. Different measures of impact, visibility, and quality of published research are available, each with its own pros and cons. For this overview, article citation rate was chosen. ⋯ A large variety of preclinical and clinical topics achieved high numbers of citations. However, areas such as quality of life, side effects, and end-of-life care were underrepresented. Efforts to increase their visibility might be warranted.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on naming abilities in early-stroke aphasic patients: a prospective, randomized, double-blind sham-controlled study.
Functional brain imaging studies with aphasia patients have shown increased cortical activation in the right hemisphere language homologues, which hypothetically may represent a maladaptive strategy that interferes with aphasia recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate whether low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the Broca's homologues in combination with speech/language therapy improves naming in early-stroke aphasia patients. ⋯ Inhibitory rTMS of the unaffected right inferior frontal gyrus area in combination with speech and language therapy cannot be assumed as an effective method for all poststroke aphasia patients. The treatment seems to be beneficial for patients with frontal language area damage, mostly in the distant time after finishing rTMS procedure.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2012
ReviewThe role of neurokinin-1 receptor in the microenvironment of inflammation and cancer.
The recent years have witnessed an exponential increase in cancer research, leading to a considerable investment in the field. However, with few exceptions, this effort has not yet translated into a better overall prognosis for patients with cancer, and the search for new drug targets continues. After binding to the specific neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor, the peptide substance P (SP), which is widely distributed in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, triggers a wide variety of functions. ⋯ Recently, it has become apparent that SP can induce tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and migration via the NK-1 receptor, and that the SP/NK-1 receptor complex is an integral part of the microenvironment of inflammation and cancer. Therefore, the use of NK-1 receptor antagonists as a novel and promising approach for treating patients with cancer is currently under intense investigation. In this paper, we evaluate the recent scientific developments regarding this receptor system, its role in the microenvironment of inflammation and cancer, and its potentials and pitfalls for the usage as part of modern anticancer strategies.