Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
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In some anti-ganglioside antibody-mediated neuropathies, human and experimental data suggest a common pathogenic mechanism of dysfunction/disruption at the node of Ranvier resulting in a pathophysiologic continuum from transitory nerve conduction failure to axonal degeneration. The traditional classification of polyneuropathies into demyelinating or axonal may generate some confusion in the electrophysiological diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome subtypes associated with anti-ganglioside antibodies. ⋯ Moreover the term axonal may be misleading as it is commonly associated to axonal degeneration and not to a transitory, promptly reversible, dysfunction of the excitable axolemma. To focus on the site of nerve injury and overcome the classification difficulties, we propose the new category of nodo-paranodopathy which seems appropriate to various acute and chronic neuropathies associated with anti-ganglioside antibodies and we think better systematizes the neuropathies characterized by an autoimmune attack targeting the nodal region.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A machine learning approach using EEG data to predict response to SSRI treatment for major depressive disorder.
The problem of identifying, in advance, the most effective treatment agent for various psychiatric conditions remains an elusive goal. To address this challenge, we investigate the performance of the proposed machine learning (ML) methodology (based on the pre-treatment electroencephalogram (EEG)) for prediction of response to treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication in subjects suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD). ⋯ The proposed approach offers the potential to improve the treatment of major depression and to reduce health care costs.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Deficient muscle activation in patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and abnormal hand postures: an electromyographic evaluation.
Motor abnormalities in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) are common and often characterized by a restricted active range of motion (AROM) and an increased resistance to passive movements, whereby the affected body part preferably adopts an abnormal posture. The objective of the present study was to obtain a better understanding of the factors that are associated with these abnormal postures and limitations of the AROM, and to investigate whether these motor impairments reflect dystonia. ⋯ We hypothesize that structural alterations in skeletal muscle tissue and pain-induced adaptations of motor function may contribute to the observed motor impairments. Our findings may have important clinical implications, since commonly prescribed treatments are aimed at reducing excessive muscle contraction.
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Comparative Study
Effects of non-pharmacological pain treatments on brain states.
To (1) evaluate the effects of a single session of four non-pharmacological pain interventions, relative to a sham tDCS procedure, on pain and electroencephalogram- (EEG-) assessed brain oscillations, and (2) determine the extent to which procedure-related changes in pain intensity are associated with changes in brain oscillations. ⋯ The results provide new findings regarding the unique effects of four non-pharmacological treatments on pain and brain activity.
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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are non-invasive methods of brain stimulation (NIBS) that can induce significant effects on cortical and subcortical neural networks. Both methods are relatively safe if appropriate guidelines are followed, and both can exert neuromodulatory effects that may be applied to the investigation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In addition, ANS measures can shed important light onto the neurobiologic mechanisms of NIBS. ⋯ We structure our findings into four broad (not mutually exclusive) categories: (i) studies in which ANS function was modified by NIBS versus those in which it was not; (ii) studies in which NIBS was used to understand ANS function, (iii) studies in which ANS was used to understand NIBS mechanisms and (iv) NIBS/ANS studies conducted in healthy subjects versus those in patients with neuropsychiatric diseases. Forty-four articles were identified and no conclusive evidence of the effects of NIBS on ANS was observed, mainly because of the heterogeneity of included studies. Based on a comprehensive summary of this literature we propose how NIBS might be further developed to enhance our understanding of the cortical mechanisms of autonomic regulation and perhaps to modulate autonomic activity for therapeutic purposes.