Frontiers in neurology
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2019
Long-Term Effects of Whole-Body Vibration on Human Gait: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Background: Whole-body vibration is commonly used in physical medicine and neuro-rehabilitation as a clinical prevention and rehabilitation tool. The goal of this systematic review is to assess the long-term effects of whole-body vibration training on gait in different populations of patients. Methods: We conducted a literature search in PubMed, Science Direct, Springer, Sage and in study references for articles published prior to 7 December 2018. ⋯ The results are too heterogenous in COPD to conclude on the effect of the treatment. The results must be taken with caution due to the lack of data in some studies and the methodological heterogeneity in the interventions. Further research is needed to explore the possibility of establishing a standardized protocol targeting gait ability in a wide range of populations.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2019
ReviewAre Migraine With and Without Aura Really Different Entities?
Background: Migraine research is booming with the rapidly developing neuroimaging tools. Structural and functional alterations of the migrainous brain were detected with MRI. The outcome of a research study largely depends on the working hypothesis, on the chosen measurement approach and also on the subject selection. ⋯ We propose that this might be the signature of cortical hyperexcitability. However, structural investigations are not equivocal. We propose that variable contribution of parallel, competing mechanisms of maladaptive plasticity and neurodegeneration might be the reason behind the variable results.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2019
Effect of General Anesthesia vs. Conscious Sedation on the Outcomes of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients After Endovascular Therapy: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.
Background: Endovascular therapy is the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients caused by a large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, whereas the impacts of general anesthesia (GA) vs. conscious sedation (CS) for such procedures remained as a continued debate. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov. We restricted our search to RCTs that examined the clinical outcomes of endovascular therapy with GA vs. ⋯ Besides, patients in the GA group had higher odds of successful reperfusion (pooled OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.05-3.08, P = 0.033), but no significant differences were seen in symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (pooled OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.11-2.57, P = 0.308), vessel dissection or perforation (pooled OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 0.30-6.31, P = 0.679), migration of embolus to a new territory (pooled OR = 2.28, 95% CI: 0.89-5.87, P = 0.085), post-operative pneumonia (pooled OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 0.76-4.01, P = 0.149), and all-cause mortality at 90 days (pooled OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.43-1.26, P = 0.263) compared with the CS group. Conclusion: Performing endovascular therapy with GA, compared with CS, improves functional independence after 90 days significantly for patients with AIS caused by a large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation. However, additional larger and multi-center randomized controlled trials to definitively confirm our findings are warranted for the limitation of the small sample size in this study.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2019
Chronic Cognitive Deficits and Associated Histopathology Following Closed-Head Concussive Injury in Rats.
Close-head concussive injury, as one of the most common forms of traumatic brain injury (TBI), has been shown to induce cognitive deficits that are long lasting. A concussive impact model was previously established in our lab that produces clinically relevant signs of concussion and induced acute pathological changes in rats. To evaluate the long-term effects of repeated concussions in this model, we utilized a comprehensive Morris water maze (MWM) paradigm for cognitive assessments at 1 and 6 months following repeated concussive impacts in rats. ⋯ However, rats with repeated concussive impacts exhibited significantly worsened working memory performance compared to sham controls (p < 0.05). In addition, histopathological assessments for axonal neurodegeneration using silver stain showed that repeated concussive impacts induced significantly more axonal degeneration in the corpus callosum compared to sham controls (p < 0.05) at 1 month post-injury, whereas such difference was not observed at 6 months post-injury. Overall, the results show that repeated concussive impacts in our model produced significant cognitive deficits in both spatial learning abilities and in working memory abilities in a time-dependent fashion that may be indicative of progressive pathology and warrant further investigation.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2019
ReviewDementia and Parkinson's Disease: Similar and Divergent Challenges in Providing Palliative Care.
Dementia and Parkinson's disease are incurable neurological conditions. Patients often experience specific, complex, and varying needs along their disease trajectory. Current management typically employs a multidisciplinary team approach. ⋯ These should be integrated seamlessly with disease-specific care. Substantial research is already being performed on dementia palliative care. This may also inform the further development of palliative care for Parkinson's disease, including an evaluation of palliative interventions and services.