Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
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Inosine, a purine nucleoside, is one of the novel substances, which can preserve the neuronal and glial viability and stimulate intact neurons to extend axons. We, herein, evaluated the effect of oral inosine treatment on spinal cord injury (SCI) recovery by means of locomotor and bladder function, quantification of neurons and spinal cord tissue sparing. Rats after compression SCI were divided into groups-SCI-Aqua and SCI-Inosine (daily application of aqua for injection or inosine)-locomotion of hind limbs (BBB score) and urinary bladder function were evaluated from day 1 to 28 after SCI. ⋯ In addition, the number of NeuN positive cells and percentage of tissue sparing was also significantly higher in SCI-Inosine group when compared with the SCI-Aqua group. Daily oral administration of inosine after SCI throughout the survival was beneficial for locomotion and micturition, neuronal survival and tissue sparing. This indicates that inosine may represent one of the co-stimulatory factors for treatment strategies to promote neuronal plasticity after SCI.
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Mild hypothermia is an effective therapeutic strategy to improve poor neurological outcomes in patients following cardiac arrest (CA). However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of mild hypothermia on intracellular autophagy and mitophagy in hippocampal neurons in a rat model of CA. ⋯ Expression of LC3B-II/I and Parkin in hippocampal nerve cells were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the NT group relative to the control. Meanwhile, mild hypothermia reduced the level of LC3B-II/I and Parkin (p < 0.05) relative to the NT group. Mild hypothermia protected mitochondria and improved neurological function following CA and resuscitation after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, likely by reducing excessive autophagy and mitophagy in neurons.
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Review Meta Analysis
Vitamin D status and Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To estimate the associations between vitamin D status and Parkinson's disease (PD). We searched electronic databases of the human literature in PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library up to February, 2014 using the following keywords: 'vitamin D' or '25(OH)D' and 'status' or 'deficiency' or 'insufficiency' and 'Parkinson's disease'. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on observational studies that reported the association between blood vitamin D levels and PD. ⋯ Patients with vitamin D insufficiency [25(OH)D level <75 nmol/l] had an increased risk of PD (OR 1.5, 95 % CI 1.1-2.0). Patients with vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D level <50 nmol/l] experienced a twofold increased risk of PD (OR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.5-3.4). Low vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of PD.
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Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common peripheral vestibular diseases. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of BPPV in vertigo patients and the characteristics of BPPV in diagnosis and repositioning using mechanical assistance maneuvers and to analyze and summarize the reasons showing these characteristics. Seven hundred and twenty-six patients with vertigo were enrolled in this study. ⋯ This study suggests that BPPV is one of the most common diseases in the young vertigo patients, just like that in the old ones. Female of the species has predilection for BPPV and the site of predilection is the right posterior semicircular canals (PC-BPPV). The results of repositioning are perfect using mechanical assistance maneuvers.
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The aim of the study was to assess the 90-day prognostic value of copeptin in a group of Chinese patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In this study, all consecutive patients with first-ever ICH from 2010 to 2012 were recruited to participate in the study. On admission, plasma copeptin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ⋯ Copeptin was an independent prognostic marker of functional outcome and death [odds ratio 3.45 (95 % confidence intervals: 1.85-6.99) and 3.66 (2.42-8.28), respectively, P < 0.001 for both, adjusted for age, the hematoma volume and other predictors] in patients with ICH. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, copeptin could improve the Hemphill score in predicting 90-day functional outcome [area under the curve (AUC) of the combined model, 0.83; 95 % CI 0.74-0.90; P < 0.001] and mortality (AUC of the combined model, 0.88; 95 % CI 0.82-0.93; P < 0.001). In conclusion, our study suggests that copeptin levels are a useful tool to predict unfavorable functional outcome and mortality 90 days after ICH and have a potential to assist clinicians.