Neurological Research

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of external diaphragmatic pacing (EDP) combined with inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function in post-stroke patients. METHODS: Patients with stroke were enrolled from the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in China between 2021 and 2022. The patients were randomized into an EDP treatment group (control group) or an EDP treatment plus inspiratory muscle training group (experimental group). Each therapy was administered once a day for 6 days per week...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) has a typical electroencephalography (EEG) pattern of generalized 3 Hz spike and wave discharges (SWD). Focal interictal discharges were also documented in a small number of documents. The aim was to investigate the amplitudes of interictal 3 Hz SWD within the 1st second in drug-naïve CAE patients. In this way, areas with maximal electronegativity at the beginning of clinically generalized discharges will be documented...

INTRODUCTION: Experimental studies on animals have demonstrated a higher neuroprotective efficacy of hypercapnic hypoxia compared to normocapnic hypoxia. Respiratory training with hypercapnic hypoxia has shown a positive impact on the functional state of the nervous system in children with cerebral palsy (CP). It can be presumed that the combined effect of moderate hypercapnia and hypoxia will be promising for clinical application within the context of early rehabilitation after ischemic stroke...

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the cognitive function of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: This systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression included randomized clinical trials published until 05/2022. We included studies conducted with individuals with AD of both sexes, aged between 55 and 85 years, treated with tDCS, TMS, or both...

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of post-COVID headaches is not low. The eye can be affected by this infection, but it is not clear yet what the relationship is between persistent headaches and the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) after COVID-19 infection this study aims to investigate the relationship between these subjects. METHODS: In this retrospective study, in patients who have had a persistent headache, SD-OCT analysis of RNFL was obtained, and RNLF thickness values before and after COVID-19 infection were analyzed...

OBJECTIVE: Serum globulin is associated with inflammatory or immune disorders. However, it has not been established whether it is associated with myasthenia gravis (MG). We investigated the association between globulin with relapse and prognosis in children with MG. METHODS: A cohort of 148 MG cases and 150 healthy children were retrospectively enrolled from January 2015 to December 2021. Multivariate logistic and Cox regression models were used to analyze the treatment outcomes and recurrence of case group, exploring the influence of globulin...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between gender differences in plasma lipoprotein phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) levels and the risk of recurrent stroke in patients with acute ischaemic stroke in China. METHODS: We conducted a prospective follow-up study that included baselineLp-PLA2 levels and NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores in patients with ischaemic stroke upon admission. The diagnostic efficacy of the baseline Lp-PLA2 level for stroke recurrence was evaluated...

INTRODUCTION: A novel research objective is to identify new molecules in more readily accessible biological fluids that could be used in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating disorders. AIM: To compare the level of selected cytokines in tears between patients with MS or other demyelinating disorder and healthy controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 84 patients with diagnosed MS during remission or with other demyelinating disease of the CNS and 70 healthy controls were enrolled in the study...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare outcomes including seizure-free status at the last follow-up in adult patients with medically refractory focal epilepsy identified as lesional vs. non-lesional based on their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings who underwent invasive evaluation followed by subsequent resection or thermal ablation (LiTT). METHODS: We identified 88 adult patients who underwent intracranial monitoring between 2014 and 2021. Of those, 40 received resection or LiTT, and they were dichotomized based on MRI findings, as lesional ( N  = 28) and non-lesional ( N  = 12)...

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze the TRE in three directions including forward flexion, lateral flexion to the hemiparetic side, and rotation to the hemiparetic side in patients with stroke and to compare the errors with age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. In addition, it was investigated which functional outcomes were explanatory for TRE in patients with stroke. METHODS: Forty-one patients with subacute/chronic stroke (age 59 ± 14...

OBJECTIVES: Difficulty relaxing the genioglossus muscle makes the evaluation of spontaneous activity problematic in patients with motor neuron disease (MND). We performed jitter analysis using conventional disposable concentric needle electrodes (CNEs) of the voluntarily activated genioglossus muscle in patients with and without MND to detect the denervation-reinnervation process. METHODS: CNE jitter analysis was performed at the genioglossus muscle in 21 MND(+) patients and 22 MND(-) subjects...

BACKGROUND: This study examined the cutaneous analgesic effects of lidocaine co-injected with guanfacine and its comparison with dexmedetomidine. METHODS: Cutaneous analgesic effects are quantified through the blocking effects of the cutaneous trunci muscle reflex against skin pinpricks in rats. The dose-response curves of guanfacine, dexmedetomidine, and lidocaine were constructed and drug-drug interactions were analyzed by the ED50 isobologram. RESULTS: Subcutaneous injections of guanfacine, dexmedetomidine, and lidocaine produced dose-dependently nociceptive/sensory blockade...

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have revealed that Propane-2-sulfonic acid octadec-9-enyl-amide(N15) exerts a protective role in the inflammatory response after ischemic stroke and in neuronal damage. However, little is known about N15 in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of N15 on AD and explore the underlying molecular mechanism. METHODS: AD mice model was established by lateral ventricular injection with Aβ25-35 ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cervical mobilization on joint position sense, balance and gait in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. METHODS: Sixteen MS patients received traditional rehabilitation and traditional rehabilitation+cervical mobilization treatments in different orders, 2 days a week for 4 weeks. For the cervical mobilization, joint traction and shifts with myofascial release techniques were applied. Joint position sense was evaluated from the bilateral knee and ankle joints with a digital goniometer, balanced with the Berg Balance Test (BBT), the Functional Reach Test, and gait with the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and the Timed 25-Foot Walk Test...

OBJECTIVES: Neuropathic pain is characterized by long-lasting, intractable pain. Sciatic nerve ligation is often used as an animal model of neuropathic pain, and the spared nerve injury (SNI) model, in which the common peroneal nerve (CPN) and tibial nerve (TN) are ligated, is widely used. In the present study, we evaluated the analgesic effect of a cholinergic agonist, carbachol, on a neuropathic pain model prepared by sural nerve (SN) ligation in mice. METHODS: The SN was tightly ligated as a branch of the sciatic nerve...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) of unknown cause. Alterations in one-carbon metabolism have impact in the pathophysiology by genetic susceptibility to MS and increased the risk of MS. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the gene polymorphism on Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase ( MTHFR ), Methionine Synthase Reductase ( MTRR ), Methionine Synthase (MTR ) enzymes and of the essential factors (homocysteine, Hcy ; cysteine, Cys ; and vitamin B12, VitB12 ) in folate metabolism...

OBJECTIVES: Inadequate trunk function is the underlying cause of many problems such as impaired balance and mobility. Although there have been trunk-based physiotherapy approaches in recent years, almost all of these approaches focus on motor problems. This study aims to investigate the effects of sensory training combined with trunk-centered Bobath exercises on trunk control and proprioception, balance, gait, and the activity of daily living (ADL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is a randomized controlled trial included with twenty-seven stroke patients...

BACKGROUND: Vascular dementia (VD) is the second most common type of dementia worldwide. Previous studies have proven that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has potential applications in relieving cognitive impairment in VD animal models. The purpose of this study was to probe the mechanism by which tDCS combined with swimming exercise improves the learning and memory abilities of VD model rats. METHOD: The VD rat model was induced using the permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2-VO) method; tDCS was applied to the rats and then they took part in swimming exercises...

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective study was conducted to investigate the application value of metagenomics next generation sequencing (mNGS) technology in the diagnosis and treatment of neonatal infectious meningitis. METHODS: From 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, 73 newborns suspected of infectious meningitis were hospitalized. After screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria, 69 newborns were subsequently included in the study, containing 27 cases with positive mNGS result and 42 cases with negative mNGS result...

BACKGROUND: Enterprise stent was approved for the treatment of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms. However, it has been widely used in the endovascular treatment of intracranial artery stenosis, which is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficiency of the Enterprise stent in the endovascular treatment of intracranial artery stenosis disease. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case series of 107 patients with intracranial artery stenosis who received Enterprise stent implantation at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022...