Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 6 Articles
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be the initial manifestation of autoimmune limbic encephalitis (ALE), a disorder that at\ntimes presents a diagnostic challenge. In addition to memory impairment, clinical features that might suggest this disorder include\npersonality changes, agitation, insomnia, alterations of consciousness, and seizures. Once recognized, ALE typically responds to\ntreatment with immune therapies, but long-term cognitive deficits may remain. We report two cases of patients with MCI who\nwere ultimately diagnosed with ALE with antibodies against the voltage gated potassium channel complex. Months after apparent\nresolution of their encephalitides, both underwent neuropsychological testing, which demonstrated persistent cognitive deficits,\nprimarily in the domains of memory and executive function, for cases 1 and 2, respectively. A brief review of the literature is\nincluded....
Previous neuroimaging studies suggested structural or functional brain reorganizations occurred in prelingually deaf subjects.\nHowever, little is known about the reorganizations of brain network architectures in prelingually deaf adolescents.Thepresent study\naims to investigate alterations of whole-brain functional network using resting-state fMRI and graph theory analysis.We recruited\n16 prelingually deaf adolescents (10âË?¼18 years) and 16 normal controls matched in age and gender. Brain networks were constructed\nfrom mean time courses of 90 regions. Widely distributed network was observed in deaf subjects, with increased connectivity\nbetween the limbic system and regions involved in visual and language processing, suggesting reinforcement of the processing for\nthe visual and verbal information in deaf adolescents. Decreased connectivity was detected between the visual regions and language\nregions possibly due to inferior reading or speaking skills in deaf subjects. Using graph theory analysis, we demonstrated small worldness\nproperty did not change in prelingually deaf adolescents relative to normal controls. However, compared with healthy\nadolescents, eight regions involved in visual, language, and auditory processing were identified as hubs only present in prelingually\ndeaf adolescents. These findings revealed reorganization of brain functional networks occurred in prelingually deaf adolescents to\nadapt to deficient auditory input....
Synaptic plasticity refers to the ability of neurons to strengthen or weaken synaptic efficacy in response to activity and is the basis for\nlearning and memory. Glial cells communicate with neurons and in this way contribute in part to plasticity in the CNS and to the\npathology of Alzheimer�s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease in which impaired synaptic plasticity is causally implicated.\nThe transient receptor potential melastatin member 2 (TRPM2) channel is a nonselective Ca2+-permeable channel expressed in\nboth glial cells (microglia and astrocytes) and neurons. Recent studies indicated that TRPM2 regulates synaptic plasticity as well as\nthe activation of glial cells. TRPM2 also modulates oxidative stress and inflammation through interaction with glial cells. As both\noxidative stress and inflammation have been implicated in AD pathology, this suggests a possible contribution of TRPM2 to disease\nprocesses. Through modulating the homeostasis of glutathione, TRPM2 is involved in the process of aging which is a risk factor\nof AD. These results potentially point TRPM2 channel to be involved in AD through glial cells. This review summarizes recent\nadvances in studying the contribution of TRPM2 in health and in AD pathology, with a focus on contributions via glia cells....
There is a wealth of evidence that disrupted sleep and circadian rhythms, which are\ncommon in modern society even during the early stages of life, have unfavorable effects on brain\nfunction. Altered brain function can cause problem behaviors later in life, such as truancy from or\ndropping out of school, quitting employment, and committing suicide. In this review, we discuss\nfindings from several large cohort studies together with recent results of a cohort study using\nthe marshmallow test, which was first introduced in the 1960s. This test assessed the ability of\nfour-year-olds to delay gratification and showed how this ability correlated with success later in life.\nThe role of the serotonergic system in sleep and how this role changes with age are also discussed.\nThe serotonergic system is involved in reward processing and interactions with the dorsal striatum,\nventral striatum, and the prefrontal cortex are thought to comprise the neural basis for behavioral\npatterns that are affected by the quantity, quality, and timing of sleep early in life....
Background. Despite recommendations by guidelines to avoid combinations of antipsychotics unless after multiple trials of\nantipsychotic monotherapy, it is quite a common practice to use combinations. This practice leads to unnecessary expenses and\nexposes the patient to severe drug adverse effects. Methods. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to\nMay 2014. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 423 study subjects. Logistic regression analysis was conducted\nto identify associated factors of antipsychotic polypharmacy among schizophrenia outpatients. Result. The overall prevalence\nof antipsychotic polypharmacy was found to be 28.2%. Extra pyramidal side effects (AOR = 2.80; 95% CI: 1.38, 5.71), repeated\npsychiatric hospitalization (AOR = 2.83; 95% CI: 1.45, 5.50), history of substance use (AOR = 2.82; 95% CI: 1.36, 5.88), longer\nduration of treatment (AOR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.14, 3.87), and drug non adherence (AOR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.98) were found to be\nsignificantly associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy. Conclusion. Prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy was found to be\nhigh among the current study participants. Individuals who had extra pyramidal side effects, admission, substance use, duration of\ntreatment, and drug non adherence were associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy...
Optic neuritis (ON) is one of the most common manifestations of central nervous system involvement caused by various etiologies.\nLyme ONis an exceedingly rare ocular manifestation of Lyme disease (LD) and only a few cases have been published in the literature.\nLyme ON is very rare but should be included in the differential diagnosis in unexplained cases, particularly in Lyme endemic areas.\nCareful and detailed examination and investigation are warranted to make the diagnosis.We report this case to increase awareness\nof clinicians to include Lyme disease in differential diagnosis of ON for unexplained cases of ON. Herein we present a unique case\nwith a unilateral ON caused by LD along with pre- and posttreatment findings and literature review....
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