Physiology international最新文献

Objective: Although SARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the respiratory system, there is evidence that it can also infect the central nervous system, especially in children, leading to neurological symptoms and long-term consequences. It is imperative to summarize the possible mechanisms, main symptoms, and treatments of neurological symptoms of COVID-19 in children.

Methods: We performed a literature search using the PubMed online database to find studies investigating the mechanisms of COVID-19 infection of the central nervous system and therapies for COVID-19 neurological symptoms in children.

Results: The main mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 virus on the nervous system are direct invasion, systemic inflammation and molecular mimicry. Although the incidence of adverse reactions to intravenous IgG therapy (IVIG) varies greatly and the contraindications are not yet clear, IVIG has been shown to be clearly effective for the neurological symptoms of COVID-19 in children.

Conclusion: However, due to insufficient data, more clinical studies are still needed to confirm its safety and efficacy, further improve the treatment plan, and determine the appropriate dosage to better serve clinical practice.

Significance: The specific regimen of IVIG treatment for COVID-19 in children was explored, which further improved the understanding of COVID-19 and L-C19 neurological diseases in children.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of levetiracetam (LEV) and gabapentin (GBP) on mechanical and thermal pain thresholds, as well as n-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjuvant, in the pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) model after mild-traumatic brain injury (TBI) in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Methods: Animals were randomly divided into 7 groups (Control, PTE, PTE+LEV, PTE+GBP, PTE+NAC, PTE+LEV+NAC and PTE+GBP+NAC). Rats received 50 mg kg-1 LEV, 100 mg kg-1 GBP, and combinations of these antiepileptics with 100 mg kg-1 NAC for 14 days after TBI.

Results: While the thermal pain threshold decreased significantly in the PTE group (P < 0.05), it increased in the PTE+LEV, PTE+GBP, and PTE+LEV+NAC groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively). Interestingly, NAC alone did not affect the thermal pain threshold, but the combination of PTE+LEV+NAC increased the thermal pain threshold. Furthermore, PTE+GBP+NAC administration prevented the effect of GBP on the thermal pain threshold.

Conclusions: The presented study is the first to examine the effect of LEV and GBP in PTE. It was found that PTE decreased the thermal pain threshold, but LEV and GBP applied for 14 days prevented the decrease in PTE-related pain threshold and increased the thermal pain threshold. NAC, which was used as an adjuvant to support antiepileptic drugs, did not influence the thermal pain threshold alone; however, it increased the pain threshold more by potentiating the effect of LEV. Both LEV and GBP have an antihyperalgesic effect in the PTE model facilitated by PTZ, and NAC further reinforces the antihyperalgesic effect of LEV.

Background: Hemiplegia, a common neurological consequence of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) significantly impacts patients' motor and daily living functions. In China, standard treatments for hemiplegia include physical rehabilitation and traditional acupuncture. Scalp acupuncture, rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, has gained attention as a potential alternative. This study compared the efficacy of scalp acupuncture combined with conventional therapy versus conventional therapy alone in improving limb function recovery in patients with hemiplegia after moderate to severe TBI.

Methods: This open-label, single-site, parallel-group randomized trial included 117 patients with hemiplegia post-TBI. Patients were randomized into a control group (n = 58) receiving conventional interventions, and a scalp acupuncture group (n = 59) receiving scalp acupuncture in addition to conventional care. Scalp acupuncture was administered daily for 8 weeks using standardized acupuncture points. Outcome measures included the Brunnstrom Hemiplegia Motor Function Scale, the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scale, the modified Barthel Index (MBI), cerebral blood flow assessment (via color Doppler ultrasonography), and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels.

Results: The scalp acupuncture group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in Brunnstrom scale scores, with higher proportions of patients achieving advanced recovery levels (P = 0.015). FMA and MBI scores showed superior improvements in motor function and daily living abilities in the scalp acupuncture group compared to controls (P < 0.05). Enhanced cerebral blood flow velocities and volumes were observed in the scalp acupuncture group, particularly in the anterior and middle cerebral arteries (P < 0.01). Serum BDNF levels were significantly elevated in the scalp acupuncture group post-treatment, suggesting enhanced neural repair.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that scalp acupuncture combined with conventional therapy can significantly improve motor function, daily living abilities, and neural recovery markers in patients with hemiplegia following moderate to severe TBI. These findings warrant larger, multicenter trials to evaluate the long-term efficacy of scalp acupuncture and to determine its role as a potential gold standard for hemiplegia treatment in neurological rehabilitation.

Purpose: Scoliosis may create muscle imbalance and disturb muscle metabolism. However, no studies have examined muscle cell metabolism in scoliosis. This study evaluates lactate concentration in female college students with scoliosis.

Methods: One hundred fifty female college students followed this cross-sectional analytic study. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Scoliosis was measured using a scoliometer. A scoliometer reading of 5° was considered scoliosis. Lactate concentration was measured using a lactate analyzer, and a lactate value above 2 mg dL-1 was denoted as 'elevated.' Anova and post hoc tests were used to analyze differences in the variables between scoliosis and normal subgroups. The results were significant if P < 0.05.

Results: One hundred participants (66.7%) had a spinal curve angle of more than 5°. Only weight in thoracic scoliosis was lower than normal (P = 0.022). Lactate was significantly higher than normal in all scoliosis subtypes (P < 0.001). Lactate in both types was considerably higher than thoracic and lumbar scoliosis (P = 0.04 and 0.03, respectively).

Conclusion: Lactate concentration increased in female students with scoliosis.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effects of yoga on the recovery of the cardiac autonomic nervous system and immunosuppression after intense exercise.

Methods: Seven healthy adult men were enrolled in two trials: rest for 30 min in a seated position (CON) and yoga for 30 min (YOG) after a treadmill running for 60 min at 75% V˙ O2max in a randomized crossover design. Natural killer (NK) cell activity, salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), cortisol, testosterone, and indicators related to heart rate variability, mood states, and muscle soreness were measured before exercise (Pre), immediately (P0) and 60 min (P1) after rest or yoga, and the following morning (P2).

Results: NK cell activity was significantly decreased in the CON trial (P < 0.05) but not in the YOG trial. The decrease in NK cell activity from Pre at P0, P1, and P2 in the CON trial was significantly larger than that in the YOG trial (P < 0.05). Testosterone secretion rate tended to be higher after yoga than at rest (P = 0.052). The square root of the mean squared difference of successive normal-to-normal intervals (RMSSD) at P0 in the YOG trial was significantly higher than that in the CON trial (P < 0.05). Changes in NK cell activity correlated with changes in RMSSD (r = 0.445, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study showed that yoga can alleviate the decline of NK cell activity after intense exercise by enhancing parasympathetic nerve activity, thus suggesting that yoga may be an effective recovery method for athlete conditioning.

Associative learning tests are cognitive assessments that evaluate the ability of individuals to learn and remember relationships between pairs of stimuli. The Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test (RAET) is an associative learning test that utilizes images (cartoon faces and colored fish) as stimuli. RAET exists in various versions that differ in the degree of the complexity of the stimuli used in the given version. It has been observed that differences in stimulus complexity can lead to marked differences in test performance, but the related cortical functional differences remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we introduce a Machine Learning- and Independent Component Analysis-based EEG signal processing pipeline, which can detect such differences. RAET and its reduced stimulus complexity variant, Polygon was administered to 32 healthy volunteers and EEG recordings were made with a 64-channel system. The most remarkable differences between RAET and Polygon were detected in the frontal regions, which can be connected to decision making. On the other hand, the parietal regions showed the lowest number of differences between RAET and Polygon. Some task-related activity in the temporo-occipital region was identified, which shows different dynamics depending on visual stimulus complexity.

Physical activity can provide health benefits if done regularly and of sufficient duration and intensity. The World Health Organization recommends adults do 150-300 min of moderate-intensity activity per week, 75-150 min of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination.Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of early death globally, with 31% of the world's population not getting enough physical activity. Aging is defined by rapid decline in physical activity, loss of mobility, and premature morbidity.Low testosterone levels in men decline from 30 to 40 years of age, and this continues until death. Antiaging strategies, such as caloric restriction, balanced diet, regular exercise, weight management, diabetes control, and smoking cessation can prevent and treat aging-related diseases. Exercise significantly boosts testosterone production, with levels varying based on type, frequency, volume, intensity, and duration. It increases muscle steroidogenesis, total testosterone, and free testosterone in the elderly. Testosterone replacement therapy in elderly men improves physical function, strength, protein synthesis, cholesterol, bone density, sexual desire, erectile function, and overall cognition. However, some studies suggest dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation may provide health improvements without negative effects, potentially reversing arterial aging and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Senolytic therapeutics focus on cellular senescence, and stem cell transplantation investigates the therapeutic potential of older stem cells.

Objectives: Sesamol, a polyphenolic compound isolated from roasted sesame seeds exhibits significant anti-inflammatory effect, but the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. Peritoneal macrophages play a pivotal role in the control of infections and inflammatory pathologies and are also found in injured tissues along with resident macrophages. The present study aimed to examine the anti-inflammatory effect of sesamol and the molecular mechanisms involved, particularly the role of sesamol in modulating SIRT1- and SIRT1-mediated deacetylation of NF-κB p65 using in vivo activated peritoneal macrophages.

Materials: Sprague Dawley rats were injected with LPS to induce inflammation and sesamol was intraperitoneally administered to study its anti-inflammatory effect. ELISA and real time PCR were used to study the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Effects of sesamol on iNOS and COX-2 were studied with activity assays and ELISA. ICAM-1, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 expressions were analysed by ELISA, RT PCR and zymography. Western blot analysis was performed to determine p65 acetylation. Nuclear translocation of p65 was evaluated by ELISA. The gene and protein expression of SIRT1 was analysed with ELISA and real time PCR.

Results: Sesamol downregulated the expression of proinflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2, TLR-4, ICAM-1 and MMP-9 in rat peritoneal macrophages. Additionally, sesamol upregulated SIRT1expression and attenuated the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 by promoting its deacetylation. Inhibition of SIRT1 by its specific inhibitor EX527 diminished the inhibitory effect of sesamol on TNF-α and IL-6. Moreover, EX527 reduced the suppressive impact of sesamol on p65 acetylation and subsequent nuclear translocation.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of sesamol involves upregulation of SIRT-1, leading to the downregulation of the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 through its deacetylation. Therefore, the dietary bioactive compound sesamol shows potential as a promising strategy for preventing inflammatory diseases by modulating SIRT1 expression.