Exploration of neuroscience最新文献

{"title":"Molecular and cellular processes underlying Unverricht-Lundborg disease—prospects for early interventions and a cure","authors":"E. Žerovnik","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00051","url":null,"abstract":"A short overview of the main features of progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PMEs), such as Lafora disease (LD), neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs), and myoclonus epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) is given. The stress of this review paper is put on one of the PME’s, the Unverricht-Lundborg disease (ULD)—EPM1, which is caused by mutations in the human cystatin B gene (stefin B is an alternative protein’s name). However, different other genes/proteins were found mutated in patients presenting with EPM1-like symptoms. By understanding their function and pathophysiological roles, further insights into the underlying processes of EPM1 can be obtained. On a broader scale, common pathophysiological mechanisms exist between ULD, LD and NCLs, such as, reactive glia, synaptic remodeling, neuronal hyperexcitability, impairements in the lysosomal/endocytosis system, cytoskeletal functions, and mitochondria. Oxidative stress is also in common. By understanding the underlying molecular and cellular processes, early interventions, better therapies and eventually, by using modern stem cell, gene editing or replacement methods, a cure can be expected.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":" 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141826841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of inflammation and oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of depressions: time to consider vitamin C deficiency","authors":"C. Vollbracht, Marc Werner","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00050","url":null,"abstract":"Depression is on the rise and medication does not always provide satisfactory relief. This raises the question of a treatment gap that has not yet been (sufficiently) addressed. Inflammation and oxidative stress play an important pathophysiological role, which also leads to a deficiency of antioxidants such as vitamin C. This perspective mini-review reflects the results of a PubMed search combining the search terms depression with inflammation, oxidative stress and vitamin C. Vitamin C is an important antioxidant and co-factor for many neuronal metabolic and epigenetic pathways, and a deficiency is associated with depression and cognitive disorders. Inadequate vitamin C blood levels that do not yet result in somatic symptoms may induce neuropsychiatric scurvy, which is associated with increased neuroinflammation and characterized by depression and cognitive impairment. Experimental studies show that vitamin C has multifactorial effects on metabolic pathways relevant to depression. Treatment of vitamin C deficiency, which is more common than appreciated, should be considered in the management of depressed patients. Further studies should investigate whether the pharmacological administration of vitamin C has additional effects beyond the correction of deficiency.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141659977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel treatments of depression: bridging the gap in current therapeutic approaches","authors":"Amit Jagtiani","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00049","url":null,"abstract":"Depression poses a significant global health burden, yet current therapeutic approaches focusing on monoaminergic neurotransmission often fall short of achieving full remission and managing acute episodes effectively. This article explores novel treatment avenues beyond conventional monoaminergic approaches, focusing on emerging strategies targeting glutamatergic modulation, electrophysiological/magnetic brain stimulation techniques, anti-inflammatory agents, gut-brain axis interventions, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) modulation, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Through a narrative review of recent literature, this paper elucidates the mechanisms, clinical efficacy, safety profiles, and future directions of these innovative treatments. These insights offer valuable perspectives for advancing depression management and bridging existing therapeutic gaps.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"122 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141666329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Validation and cultural adaption of the neuropathic pain screening questionnaire painDETECT in Chinese","authors":"Howan Leung, Josephine W.Y. Ip, J. Lam, Gavin K.W. Lee, Carina C.F. Li, Richard Li, Vincent Mok, Tak H. Tsoi, Chun P. Wong, Steven H.S. Wong, Chun M. Chang, Rainer Freynhagen","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00046","url":null,"abstract":"Aim: The aim of this study was to validate a Chinese version of the painDETECT questionnaire (PD-Q) for the screening and assessment of neuropathic pain (NeP) in a Hong Kong Chinese population. Methods: The PD-Q was translated and cross-culturally adapted from the original German PD-Q, with forward and backward translation according to standard guidelines followed by cognitive debriefing, and finalized by an expert panel. A multicenter (6-site) observational study was conducted to evaluate the validity of the PD-Q. Patients aged 18 or above with medical conditions giving rise to either neuropathic or nociceptive pain (NoP) provided informed consent to participate in this study. Each patient was evaluated by at least two healthcare professionals for causes of pain, the visual analogue scale (VAS), numeric rating scale (NRS) and the PD-Q. Results: Hong Kong Chinese adults (n = 151) were given the clinical description of NeP (n = 93), NoP (n = 41), or mixed pain (n = 17). The mean age of study subjects was 58.5 years (age range: 26–90 years); 94 subjects (62.3%) were female. The mixed pain group was only analysed qualitatively, with validation based on the remaining 134 patients. Mean PD-Q scores for patients diagnosed with NeP and NoP were 19.9 [standard deviation (SD) = 6.4] and 12.5 (SD = 6.2) respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for the upper/lower boundaries. The upper boundary was calculated on the basis of a neuropathic diagnosis and a nociceptive diagnosis. The cut-off point was > 18 (80% sensitivity, 60% specificity), and area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.67 (P < 0.001). The lower boundary was calculated on the basis of a nociceptive and a neuropathic diagnosis. The cut-off point was < 13 (90% sensitivity, 50% specificity), and AUC was 0.79 (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The PD-Q is a reliable and valid scale to determine neuropathic components of chronic pain in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Validation in a larger Chinese-speaking population worldwide is necessary.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141343312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate cognitive impairment caused by neuroinflammation in young but not aged mice","authors":"O. Lykhmus, O. Kalashnyk, M. Skok, O. Deryabina, Olena Toporova, I. Pokholenko, Oksana Gorbatiuk, Vitalii Kordium","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00045","url":null,"abstract":"Aim: The aim of this work was to study the effects of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on inflammation-impaired cognitive functions and the brain of mice.\u0000Methods: Young mice (~3-month-old) and aged mice (~18-month-old) were injected with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and obtained intravenously donor 106 human umbilical cord MSCs, EVs isolated from a similar amount of MSCs or conditioned medium (CM) of MSCs. Subsequently, the mice were examined in behavioral tests and the mouse brains were analyzed for the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) and amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ1-42).\u0000Results: EVs prevented LPS-induced memory impairment in mice, whereas CM provided a weaker and temporal effect. Both EVs and MSCs injected once after regular injections of LPS stably improved memory of young mice. In contrast, both cells and EVs provided only transient effect in aged mice injected with LPS. The brains of aged LPS-treated mice contained elevated amounts of IL-1β and IL-6; both MSCs and EVs decreased them significantly. The brains of non-treated aged mice contained decreased levels of α7 nAChRs and increased levels of Aβ1-42 and α7-bound Aβ1-42 compared to the brains of young mice. LPS treatment decreased α7 nAChRs in both young and aged mice, while both MSCs and EVs restored them up to the control level. In young mice, LPS treatment increased the level of Aβ1-42 and α7-bound Aβ1-42, whereas MSCs and EVs decreased it. In contrast, neither LPS nor MSCs/EVs influenced the elevated level of Aβ1-42 but increased α7-bound Aβ1-42 in the brains of aged mice.\u0000Conclusions: Regenerative potential of MSCs and MSC-derived EVs is sufficient to support cognitive functions of LPS-treated young mice but is quite poor for aged animals, possibly, due to decreased levels of α7 nAChRs and accumulated Aβ1-42 in their brains.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141349978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy corpus callosotomy to lateralize a seizure focus for staged surgical approach","authors":"Kabir Sheikh, Derryl Miller, Robert Blake, Lisa Smith, Susan Conrad, Deborah Sokol, M. Obeid, Rupa Radhakrishnan, Anna Schultheis, Jeffrey Raskin","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00044","url":null,"abstract":"New onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is an etiologically heterogeneous condition that is associated with high morbidity and mortality. NORSE is often refractory to medical management prompting a workup for epilepsy surgery. Because NORSE remains etiologically elusive in most cases, surgical evaluations are challenging, especially when the epileptogenic zone (EZ) is not easy to lateralize as can be seen in frontal lobe seizures. Lateralizing a frontal lobe EZ may be challenging due to bilateral synchrony from commissural connections through the corpus callosum and low spatiotemporal resolution of the scalp electroencephalography (EEG). We report a pediatric patient with NORSE presenting with focal impaired awareness seizures clustering into super refractory status epilepticus (SRSE). She required surgical intervention for the treatment of her seizures after failing therapeutic doses of antiseizure medications, anesthetic drips, immunomodulation with methylprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin and anakinra, and the ketogenic diet. Despite her semiology being focal, the seizures were not well lateralized on scalp EEG and during phase 2 stereo-EEG (sEEG). Anterior magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy corpus callosotomy (MRgLITT CC) was performed in a multistage surgical approach to successfully lateralize the EZ with a left-lateralized ictal pattern seen after reimplantation of sEEG electrodes. Our case suggests that minimally invasive MRgLITT CC can be successfully used to lateralize an EZ in frontal lobe epilepsy and that epilepsy surgery should be considered in patients with NORSE with SRSE. We also demonstrate that laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), while not always resulting in seizure freedom, can sufficiently disrupt a network to abort status epilepticus and lead to seizure improvements.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141271446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Current advances in epilepsy among patients with arteriovenous malformations","authors":"Joham Choque-Velasquez, Uriel Tagle-Vega, Francisco de Jesús García-Mendoza, Emilia Machado-Musri, Mauricio Guerrero-Ocampo, Alder Fernando Valenzuela-Rangel","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00043","url":null,"abstract":"Epileptic seizures are prevalent in people with brain vascular abnormalities like arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and cavernous malformations, greatly affecting their quality of life. The connection between intracranial vascular abnormalities and epilepsy is still under debate. Therefore, investigating epilepsy in individuals with AVMs is a crucial and current research area. This review presents a comprehensive examination of recent developments in epilepsy among individuals with brain AVMs. The authors conducted a detailed analysis of the natural progression, epidemiology, diagnostic methods, therapeutic approaches, and post-treatment outcomes for individuals with epilepsy associated with AVMs.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"75 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140984658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First outcomes of a therapeutic platform for drug resistant epilepsy based on transcutaneous electrical vagus nerve stimulation","authors":"R. Gonzalez-Fernandez, Vicente Rio-Vazquez, J. G. Perez-Blanco, E. Velarde-Reyes, Liana Portela-Hernandez, Aisel Santos-Santos, Joel Gutiérrez-Gil, J. Hernandez-Caceres","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00041","url":null,"abstract":"Aim: The aim of this paper is to discuss the main features and first outcomes of a therapeutic platform proposed to implement a public health therapeutic service for patients suffering refractory epilepsy.\u0000Methods: The proposal is a three-layer system composed by a new portable therapy device and two software applications. The therapy is transcutaneous electrical vagus nerve stimulation, known as tVNS. The primary layer is composed of tVNS devices, configured for each patient according to the instructions provided by the specialists. The middle layer is named “hospital data collector” (HDC), its main tasks are the patient enrollment, the device setup, and the database maintenance to store therapeutic parameters and session events together with the information cited previously. Each hospital center runs a HDC that is connected to a cloud application named “system cloud application (SCA)” which concentrates all the data supplied by the HDCs. Artificial intelligence methods are integrated in the SCA to predict the treatment effectiveness for every new patient based on the accumulated knowledge from the enrolled previously.\u0000Results: A version of the proposed system is running at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery. The sensitivity of the therapeutic device with the proposed treatment protocol reaches 83.33% in the 18-patient pilot trial carried out.\u0000Conclusions: The proposed approach seems a useful therapeutic tool based on the pilot trial outcomes. The developed device is comfortable and suitable for the intended use. The proposed system has created the essential conditions to feed and grow a knowledge, a basic element to predict the treatment effectiveness for each new patient. It is a promising option for a refractory epilepsy therapy service.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"6 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140710604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brain metastasis from the perspective of molecular mechanisms and treatment, presenting a new approach for targeting ion channels by nano drugs","authors":"Zohre Khosravi Dehaghi","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00040","url":null,"abstract":"Brain metastasis is the most prevalent neurologic problem of systemic cancer and it can increase the mortality rate in patients with cancer. It occurs more in patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma. There are several molecular mechanisms in cancer cell progression, invasion, and location in new places during brain metastasis. Significant interactions between cancer cells, the brain microenvironment, and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) play a major role in brain metastasis. This study will focus on molecular mechanisms that contribute to cancer metastasis into the brain and finding new treatments with molecular research. Treatment strategies in patients with brain metastasis include surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy; however, the penetration of chemotherapy drugs beyond the BBB is limited. Studying molecular, cellular, and physical mechanisms in brain metastasis helps to improve new strategies in drug delivery across the BBB. There are significant impacts of ion channels in brain metastasis and cancer treatment failure. Targeting molecular mechanisms and ion channels in brain metastasis led to increasing the better response in these patients. In this way, nano-drugs have caused a revolution in effective targeting and drug delivery in cancer treatment. This review describes the advances to facilitate the penetration of drugs in the BBB by using nano-drugs especially those that are targeting ion channels.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"2009 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140718437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Crop and pesticide effects on gut microbiota and neurological functions: a review","authors":"T. Komura, Masaru Yoshida, Yoshikazu Nishikawa","doi":"10.37349/en.2024.00038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2024.00038","url":null,"abstract":"Pesticides are used to ensure the mass production and quality of foods, depending on the environment where they are grown. Trace amounts of pesticides are ingested through diet and high ratios of its components have been detected in humans. Neonicotinoid insecticides are nicotine analogs that disrupt neurons, induce neural excitation, and cause behavioral abnormalities and chronic toxicity. The herbicide glyphosate causes behavioral disorders due to abnormalities in the balance of intestinal microflora. These abnormalities can be found in the F2-generation and beyond. Glyphosate decreases the number and size of experimental animal fetuses, possibly through abnormal deoxyribonucleic acid methylation in parental germ cells, resulting in transgenerational toxicity. It also causes the death of dopamine neurons, which are believed to be involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The intestinal microflora is considerably altered by ingesting pesticides used in crops. Lactic acid bacteria and some other intestinal bacteria have gut-regulating and immunomodulatory effects that have recently been implicated in neurological disorders, such as depression and dementia. Therefore, a healthy diet should be traced back to crops. An agriculture-medicine partnership linking “agriculture” and “preventive medicine” has recently been considered important based on the hypothesis that agriculture and health sectors should collaborate to create a healthy environment for producing healthy food. Although food considerations tend to focus on the functionality of vegetable and fruit components, that of environmental bacteria should also be considered.","PeriodicalId":73001,"journal":{"name":"Exploration of neuroscience","volume":"54 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140733725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}