Alberto Vargas-Cañas, Alejandro Martínez, M. Velásquez, R. Guerrero
{"title":"Revisiting two clinical techniques for diagnosing myasthenia gravis in Covid times: Pointing to semiology","authors":"Alberto Vargas-Cañas, Alejandro Martínez, M. Velásquez, R. Guerrero","doi":"10.33425/2692-7918.1015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2692-7918.1015","url":null,"abstract":"As it has been evident in these times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of health resources have been focused to the acute treatment, vaccination or research to this condition. By these reasons, some confirmatory complementary tests in many pathologies cannot be made or are postponed, including Myasthenia Gravis. Two clinical neurological signs useful for diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis are revised: the “Curtain Sign” (also called paradoxical ptosis), that is evoked opening the more closed eye, which results in a dropping of the contralateral eyelid; and the Mary-Walker maneuver, which results from repetitive pronation-supination exercise under anaerobic conditions in one or both arms resulting in increasing of bilateral ptosis. The importance of a presumptive early diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis is the early onset of specific treatment even when it’s impossible to carry out complementary studies like single-fiber electromyography, thoracic images, or specific immune studies. .","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89821908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Performance of food seeking behavior in rats of different age","authors":"SV Albertin","doi":"10.33425/2692-7918.1011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2692-7918.1011","url":null,"abstract":"The ability of juvenile rats to seek food behavior in radial maze with asymmetrical rein-forcement following injection of pharmacological drugs selectively affecting the hippocampal or striatal activity was investigated. It has been shown that the ability of animals to form selective attention on significant sensory signals and the animal efficiency to wait the delayed discrete reinforcement appeared in rats on the different phases of age where hippo-campus and striatum are in competition each to another.","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90980340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chiming Huang, Kimber Husak, Vaidyhanathan Vaishnavi, R. Huang
{"title":"Concussions in Boxers: Head Rotations and Neck Stiffness","authors":"Chiming Huang, Kimber Husak, Vaidyhanathan Vaishnavi, R. Huang","doi":"10.33425/2692-7918.1014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2692-7918.1014","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The human head-and-neck has three degrees of rotational freedom – pitch, roll, and yaw. While the evolution of the head-and-neck mobility may have increased the overall fitness of homo sapiens, our head-and-neck mobility may have also introduced some differential vulnerability to injuries in impact-induced head rotations about the pitch, roll, and yaw axes. Methods and Findings: We examined impact-induced head rotations in boxing matches by analyzing videos. Our objective was to seek a quantitative relationship between impact-induced head kinematics and the knockout outcome. For each of the three rotational degrees of freedom, head angular velocities of impact-induced head rotations were significantly higher in knockout hits than in control hits without a knockout (p < 0.02). Knockout thresholds in pitch-roll-yaw measured as impact-induced head angular velocities were anisotropic with the lowest threshold in roll and became progressively higher in yaw and pitch, in that order. Regardless of the pitch-roll-yaw bearing, the velocities of the striking fists in knockout hits were not significantly higher than those in control hits. Conclusions: Accurate prediction of knockout via head kinematics was possible with pitch-roll-yaw information. Impact-induced head kinematics was strongly influenced by neck stiffness, making a case for the utility of reflexively increasing neck stiffness as an effective way to reduce impact-induced head rotations and concussion risk.","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77268026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Tineri, L. Evangelista, S. Parente, G. Angius, M. Mormile, B. Massimiani, M. Mapfumo, C. Fiorucci, M. Lucini, C. Cafariello, U. Ciervo
{"title":"Multicare_COV 19: Prospective single-center study on the effectiveness of multidisciplinary medical-psychological support on anxiety, depression, and stress outcomes in caregivers of COVID-19 patients","authors":"M. Tineri, L. Evangelista, S. Parente, G. Angius, M. Mormile, B. Massimiani, M. Mapfumo, C. Fiorucci, M. Lucini, C. Cafariello, U. Ciervo","doi":"10.33425/2692-7918.1012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2692-7918.1012","url":null,"abstract":"The MULTICARE_COV-19 prospective experimental single-center study was expected to demonstrate whether remote access to a psychologist, in support of the physician in charge, could change the emotional impact of hospitalization both on caregivers, unable to take care of their family members, and on patients, by improving their perception of hospitalization and lessening their levels of anxiety, depression, and stress.","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86065225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Y. Razvodovsky, V. Smirnov, EM Doroshenko, E. Bon, T. Korotkevich, N. Maksimovich, I. Semenenia
{"title":"The effect of combaine administration of L-arginine and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the spectrum of free amino acids and biogen amines in hyppocampus of rats undergoing subtotal cerebral ischemia","authors":"Y. Razvodovsky, V. Smirnov, EM Doroshenko, E. Bon, T. Korotkevich, N. Maksimovich, I. Semenenia","doi":"10.33425/2692-7918.1013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2692-7918.1013","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study was to estimate the changes in the pool of free amino acids and their derivatives in hippocampus of rats undergoing subtotal cerebral ischemia (SCI) and treated with L-arginine and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Experiment was held on 18 rats: 12 animals were undergoing bilateral filament occlusion of arteries carotid, 6 of them L-arginine and omega-3 PUFA was administrated. The drug omega-3 PUFA \"Omegamed\" (at a dose of 5 g/kg of body weight) was injected intragastrically during the week preceding the simulation of SIMG. L-arginine (at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight) was injected intravenously just before ligation of the common carotid arteries. The analyses of free amino acids and their derivates levels in the blood plasma extracts were carried out by reversed phase HPLC. In the hippocampus of rats with SIGM, there was an increase in the levels of histidine, 3-methylhistidine, glutamine, α--aminobutyrate, isoleucine, leucine, valine, as well as a decrease in the levels of threonine, tyrosine, and α--aminoadipic acid. Administration of L-arginine and omega-3 PUFAs prevented ischemia-induced disruption of threonine, histidine, glutamine, α--aminobutyrate, α--aminoadipic acid levels, and also had a corrective effect on the serotonin system of the hippocampus.","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79618086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thibault Roumengous, Alec B Reutter, Carrie L Peterson
{"title":"Effect of low-cost transcranial magnetic stimulation navigation on hotspot targeting and motor evoked potential variability in the biceps brachii.","authors":"Thibault Roumengous, Alec B Reutter, Carrie L Peterson","doi":"10.3233/RNN-211207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-211207","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can monitor or modulate brain excitability. However, reliability of TMS outcomes depends on consistent coil placement during stimulation. Neuronavigated TMS systems can address this issue, but their cost limits their use outside of specialist research environments.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The objective was to evaluate the performance of a low-cost navigated TMS approach in improving coil placement consistency and its effect on motor evoked potentials (MEPs) when targeting the biceps brachii at rest and during voluntary contractions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We implemented a navigated TMS system using a low-cost 3D camera system and open-source software environment programmed using the Unity 3D engine. MEPs were collected from the biceps brachii at rest and during voluntary contractions across two sessions in ten non-disabled individuals. Motor hotspots were recorded and targeted via two conditions: navigated and conventional.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The low-cost navigated TMS system reduced coil orientation error (pitch: 1.18°±1.2°, yaw: 1.99°±1.9°, roll: 1.18°±2.2° with navigation, versus pitch: 3.7°±5.7°, yaw: 3.11°±3.1°, roll: 3.8°±9.1° with conventional). The improvement in coil orientation had no effect on MEP amplitudes and variability.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The low-cost system is a suitable alternative to expensive systems in tracking the motor hotspot between sessions and quantifying the error in coil placement when delivering TMS. Biceps MEP variability reflects physiological variability across a range of voluntary efforts, that can be captured equally well with navigated or conventional approaches of coil locating.</p>","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39525918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michihiro Osumi, Daisuke Shimizu, Yuki Nishi, Shu Morioka
{"title":"Electrical stimulation of referred sensation area alleviates phantom limb pain.","authors":"Michihiro Osumi, Daisuke Shimizu, Yuki Nishi, Shu Morioka","doi":"10.3233/RNN-201132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-201132","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients with brachial plexus avulsion (BPA) usually experience phantom sensations and phantom limb pain (PLP) in the deafferented limb. It has been suggested that evoking the sensation of touch in the deafferented limb by stimulating referred sensation areas (RSAs) on the cheek or shoulder might alleviate PLP. However, feasible rehabilitation techniques using this approach have not been reported.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The present study sought to examine the analgesic effects of simple electrical stimulation of RSAs in BPA patients with PLP.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Study 1: Electrical stimulation of RSAs for 60 minutes was conducted for six BPA patients suffering from PLP to examine short-term analgesic effects. Study 2: A single case design experiment was conducted with two BPA patients to investigate whether electrical stimulation of RSAs was more effective for alleviating PLP than control electrical stimulation (electrical stimulation of sites on side opposite to the RSAs), and to elucidate the long-term effects of electrical stimulation of RSAs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Study 1: Electrical stimulation of RSAs evoked phantom touch sensations in the deafferented limb, and significantly alleviated PLP (p < 0.05). Study 2: PLP was alleviated more after electrical stimulation on RSAs compared with control electrical stimulation (p < 0.05). However, the analgesic effects of electrical stimulation on RSAs were observed only in the short term, not in the long term (p > 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Electrical stimulation of RSAs not only evoked phantom touch sensation but also alleviated PLP in the short term. The results indicate that electrical stimulation of RSAs may provide a useful practical rehabilitation technique for PLP. Future studies will be required to clarify the mechanisms underlying immediate PLP alleviation via electrical stimulation of RSAs.</p>","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.3233/RNN-201132","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"25447103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Silja Räty, Carolin Borrmann, Giuseppe Granata, Lizbeth Cárdenas-Morales, Ariel Schoenfeld, Michael Sailer, Katri Silvennoinen, Juha Holopainen, Francesca De Rossi, Andrea Antal, Paolo M Rossini, Turgut Tatlisumak, Bernhard A Sabel
{"title":"Non-invasive electrical brain stimulation for vision restoration after stroke: An exploratory randomized trial (REVIS).","authors":"Silja Räty, Carolin Borrmann, Giuseppe Granata, Lizbeth Cárdenas-Morales, Ariel Schoenfeld, Michael Sailer, Katri Silvennoinen, Juha Holopainen, Francesca De Rossi, Andrea Antal, Paolo M Rossini, Turgut Tatlisumak, Bernhard A Sabel","doi":"10.3233/RNN-211198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-211198","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occipital strokes often cause permanent homonymous hemianopia leading to significant disability. In previous studies, non-invasive electrical brain stimulation (NIBS) has improved vision after optic nerve damage and in combination with training after stroke.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We explored different NIBS modalities for rehabilitation of hemianopia after chronic stroke.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In a randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled, three-armed trial, altogether 56 patients with homonymous hemianopia were recruited. The three experiments were: i) repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS, n = 8) vs. rtACS with prior cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the intact visual cortex (tDCS/rtACS, n = 8) vs. sham (n = 8); ii) rtACS (n = 9) vs. sham (n = 9); and iii) tDCS of the visual cortex (n = 7) vs. sham (n = 7). Visual functions were evaluated before and after the intervention, and after eight weeks follow-up. The primary outcome was change in visual field assessed by high-resolution and standard perimetries. The individual modalities were compared within each experimental arm.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Primary outcomes in Experiments 1 and 2 were negative. Only significant between-group change was observed in Experiment 3, where tDCS increased visual field of the contralesional eye compared to sham. tDCS/rtACS improved dynamic vision, reading, and visual field of the contralesional eye, but was not superior to other groups. rtACS alone increased foveal sensitivity, but was otherwise ineffective. All trial-related procedures were tolerated well.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This exploratory trial showed safety but no main effect of NIBS on vision restoration after stroke. However, tDCS and combined tDCS/rtACS induced improvements in visually guided performance that need to be confirmed in larger-sample trials.NCT01418820 (clinicaltrials.gov).</p>","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.3233/RNN-211198","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39149136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Structural connectivity changes in the motor execution network after stroke rehabilitation.","authors":"Pradeepa Ruwan Wanni Arachchige, Sadhani Karunarathna, Abdul Chalik Meidian, Ryo Ueda, Wataru Uchida, Masahiro Abo, Atsushi Senoo","doi":"10.3233/RNN-211148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-211148","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although quite a very few studies have tested structural connectivity changes following an intervention, it reflects only selected key brain regions in the motor network. Thus, the understanding of structural connectivity changes related to the motor recovery process remains unclear.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study investigated structural connectivity changes of the motor execution network following a combined intervention of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF-rTMS) and intensive occupational therapy (OT) after a stroke using graph theory approach.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fifty-six stroke patients underwent Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Wolf Motor Function Test-Functional Ability Scale (WMFT-FAS), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and T1 weighted imaging before and after the intervention. We examined graph theory measures related to twenty brain regions using structural connectomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The ipsilesional and contralesional hemisphere showed structural connectivity changes post-intervention after stroke. We found significantly increased regional centralities and nodal efficiency within the frontal pole and decreased degree centrality and nodal efficiency in the ipsilesional thalamus. Correlations were found between network measures and clinical assessments in the cuneus, postcentral gyrus, precentral gyrus, and putamen of the ipsilesional hemisphere. The contralesional areas such as the caudate, cerebellum, and frontal pole also showed significant correlations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study was helpful to expand the understanding of structural connectivity changes in both hemispheric networks during the motor recovery process following LF-rTMS and intensive OT after stroke.</p>","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/d7/6c/rnn-39-rnn211148.PMC8543268.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39195346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuhua Zhong, Jianzhong Fan, Huijuan Wang, Renhong He
{"title":"Simultaneously stimulating both brain hemispheres by rTMS in patients with unilateral brain lesions decreases interhemispheric asymmetry.","authors":"Yuhua Zhong, Jianzhong Fan, Huijuan Wang, Renhong He","doi":"10.3233/RNN-211172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-211172","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Interhemispheric asymmetry caused by brain lesions is an adverse factor in the recovery of patients with neurological deficits. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to modulate cortical oscillation and proposed as an approach to rebalance the symmetry, which has not been documented well.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>In this study, we investigated the influence of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on EEG power in patients with unilateral brain lesions by simultaneously stimulating both brain hemispheres and to elucidate asymmetrical changes in rTMS-induced neurophysiological activity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fourteen patients with unilateral brain lesions were treated with one active and one sham session of 10 Hz rTMS over the vertex (Cz position). Resting-state EEGs were recorded before and immediately after rTMS. The brain symmetry index (BSI), calculated from a fast Fourier transform, was employed to quantify the power asymmetry in both hemispheres and paired channels over the entire range and five frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma bands).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Comparison between active and sham sessions demonstrated rTMS-induced EEG after-effects. rTMS in the active session significantly reduced the BSI in patients with unilateral brain lesions over the entire frequency range (t = 2.767, P = 0.016). Among the five frequency bands, rTMS only induced a noticeable decrease in the BSI in the delta band (t = 2.254, P = 0.042). Furthermore, analysis of different brain regions showed that significant changes in the BSI of the alpha band were only demonstrated in the posterior parietal lobe. In addition, EEG topographic mapping showed a decreased power of delta oscillations in the ipsilesional hemisphere, whereas distinct cortical oscillations were observed in the alpha band around the parietal-occipital lobe in the contralesional hemisphere.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>When both brain hemispheres were simultaneously activated, rTMS decreased interhemispheric asymmetry primarily via reducing the delta band in the lesioned hemisphere.</p>","PeriodicalId":21130,"journal":{"name":"Restorative neurology and neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.3233/RNN-211172","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39264427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}