American journal of neurodegenerative disease最新文献

The deficit in cognitive function is more concerning in methamphetamine (MA) users. The cognitive deficit was suspected to be the consequence of neuroinflammation-induced neurological dysregulation. In addition, activating the key enzyme in the tryptophan metabolic pathway by pro-inflammatory cytokines results in metabolite toxicity, further generating cognitive impairments. However, the evidence for the role of neuroinflammation and tryptophan metabolites involved in MA-induced cognitive deficit needs more conclusive study.

Objectives: This retrospective study aimed to determine blood-inflammatory markers, tryptophan metabolite-related molecules, and cognitive function in MA abusers compared to healthy control (HC) participants.

Methods: The cognitive functions were evaluated using Stroop, Go/No-Go, One Back Task (OBT), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-64 (WCST-64). Blood samples were analyzed for complete blood count (CBC) analysis, serum inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-18 and tryptophan metabolites.

Results: MA group exhibited poor cognitive performance in selective attention, inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, concept formation and processing speed compared to HC. Reduction in red blood cell (RBC) components but induction in white blood cells (WBCs) and IL-6 were observed in MA abusers, which might indicate anemia of (systemic chronic low-grade) inflammation. In addition, the depletion of precursor in the tryptophan metabolic pathway, L-tryptophan was also observed in MA users, which might represent induction in tryptophan metabolites.

Conclusion: These findings emphasize that blood biomarkers might be a surrogate marker to predict the role of neuroinflammation and abnormal tryptophan metabolite in MA-induced cognitive impairments.

Parkinson's disease (PD), the most common motoric neurodegenerative illness, has been extensively researched to better understand its complex pathophysiology. Nearly 80% of genome-wide association studies have been conducted on persons of European ancestry, indicating a lack of diversity in human genetics. Disparate representation may result in disparities that impede the equitable adoption of personalized medicine and may also limit our knowledge of illness etiology. Even though Parkinson's disease (PD) is a global affliction, the AfrAbia population remains understudied. We conducted a dynamic and longitudinal bibliometric analysis to investigate existing studies on Parkinson's disease genetics in the AfrAbia area and identify data gaps and possible new research avenues. All PD papers concentrating on PD genetics were found using the search terms "Parkinson's Disease", "Genetics", and "Africa" in the PubMed/MEDLINE database. Only English publications published between 1992 and 2023 were chosen using filters. Original English-language research publications disclosing genetic results on Parkinson's disease in non-European Africans were examined for inclusion. Two sets of independent reviewers discovered and extracted pertinent data. The bibliometric study was carried out using the R software packages Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny. The narrowed search yielded 43 publications, all published between 2006 and 2022. Yet, after applying filters and considering the inclusion requirements, the search results comprise just 16 original articles out of 43 articles. There were 27 articles eliminated. This study puts emphasis on the critical need for more diverse participant demographics in Parkinson's disease investigations. AfrAbia-PD-Genetic Consortium (AAPDGC) is GP2 initiative that helps to represent AfrAbia PD genetics.

Objective: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain or spine examines the findings as well as the time interval between the onset of symptoms and other adverse effects in coronavirus disease that first appeared in 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The goal of this study is to look at studies that use neuroimaging to look at neurological and neuroradiological symptoms in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We try to put together all of the research on how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes neurological symptoms and cognitive-behavioral changes and give a full picture.

Results: We have categorized neuroimaging findings into subtitles such as: headache and dizziness; cerebrovascular complications after stroke; Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH); Cerebral Microbleeds (CMBs); encephalopathy; meningitis; encephalitis and myelitis; altered mental status (AMS) and delirium; seizure; neuropsychiatric symptoms; Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and its variants; smell and taste disorders; peripheral neuropathy; Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI); and myopathy and myositis.

Conclusion: In this review study, we talked about some MRI findings that show how COVID-19 affects the nervous system based on what we found.

Hypomelanosis of Ito (HI) syndrome is a complex neuro-dermatological disorder that affects many organs in the body, including the skin, brain, eyes, and skeleton. This disease has been reported to present with seizures in a few rare cases. Seizures are seen in all age groups but are more common in children and the elderly. Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSs) are spaces around small arteries and the arteries that pierce the surface of the brain and are spread throughout the rest of the brain. As individuals age, the number and size of VRSs increase. A relationship between dilated VRSs and neuropsychiatric disorders has been observed above a 2 mm threshold. The patient is a 10-year-old child who was referred to the neurology ward of Imam Hossein Children's Hospital in Isfahan about 2.5 months ago due to seizures. The last seizure occurred four days before the visit, and the patient was sent for a brain computed tomography (CT) scan, which revealed diffuse bilateral hypopigmented lesions in the brain's white matter. The results of the para-clinical tests were relatively unremarkable. In the early stages of hospitalization, the child received treatment such as fluid therapy and anticonvulsant drugs to stabilize their vital condition. The patient's para-clinical tests, including brain CT, electroencephalogram, complete blood count, liver function test, and magnetic resonance imaging, showed the presence of HI syndrome and bilateral diffuse hypopigmented lesions in the white matter.

Background: COVID-19 is the cause of the recent pandemic. Viral infections could increase the risks of neurological impairments, including seizures. Here, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence, clinical, imaging, electroencephalography and laboratory characteristics of seizures in COVID-19.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on cases of COVID-19 infection and seizure. The prevalence of seizures in patients with COVID-19 was calculated using the incidence of seizures in all patients. The collected data were age, sex, history of previous illnesses, the severity of COVID-19 disease, patients' medications, hospitalization, and the presence of electrolyte disorders in patients' tests and other tests such as blood gas. Those patients with their first seizure episodes were also divided into two groups of cases with COVID-19 associated seizures (N=38) and non-COVID-19 associated seizures (N=37) and the mentioned data were compared between the two groups.

Results: We assessed data of 60 patients with COVID-19-associated seizures (group 1), 40 patients with seizures not related to COVID-19 (group 2) and 60 patients with COVID-19 infection and no seizures (group 3). The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus were significantly higher in group 3 compared to group 1 (P=0.044 and P=0.009, respectively). Still, patients in group 1 had a higher prevalence of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) compared to group 3 (P=0.008). The prevalence of abnormal EEG was significantly higher in cases with COVID-19 infection compared to the other group (P<0.001). Cases with their first seizure episode associated with COVID-19 had significantly higher creatinine levels (P=0.035), lower blood pH (P=0.023), lower blood HCO3 (P=0.001), higher ALT (P=0.004), higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (P=0.001), lower hemoglobin (Hb) (P=0.017), higher ESR (P=0.001), higher CRP (P<0.001) and higher mortality rates (P=0.004).

Conclusion: Patients with COVID-19 infection and seizure have higher mortality rates and disturbed laboratory data.

Complications are increasingly recognized with SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen for COVID-19. Various mechanisms have been proposed to justify the cause of seizures in Covid-19 patients. To our knowledge, 13 cases of status epilepticus (SE) associated with COVID-19 have been reported so far. Here, we present a single-center case series, including the clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics, and the EEG and the outcome of SE in 5 Iranian patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 virus. SE was para-infectious in four patients and post-infectious in one other patient. In Three patients, the causes of seizure were included severe hyponatremia, acute ischemic stroke, and meningoencephalitis. However, in two other patients, no specific reason for seizure was found, but there are possibilities for lesser-known mechanisms of Covid-19 that play roles in developing SE. Two of the patients recovered, and three patients, older and with higher comorbidities, failed to recover and died.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder associated with gray matter atrophy. The human nucleus accumbens (NA) is a major part of the ventral striatum and modulator of the reward network of the brain. It plays an important role in several cognitive and emotional functions. In patients with PD, dysfunction of this nucleus is correlated not only with movement disorders but also with various neuropsychological deficits and psychiatric symptoms. The human NA suffers atrophy in PD, which is called Mavridis' atrophy (MA), a well established characteristic of PD that was first described 10 years ago. The purpose of this article is to review the current knowledge regarding the clinical significance of MA. We currently know that it begins in early-stage PD patients, precedes clinical phenotype, and is part of the degeneration of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal system in these patients. MA has several clinical consequences. It is, more specifically, associated with the expression (and severity) of specific neuropsychiatric PD symptoms, namely cognitive impairment, apathy, disinhibition, and impulsive behavior, while its association with motor symptoms remains unclear. MA was recently suggested as a marker of global dysfunction in the mesocorticolimbic network. With new research data, new questions about MA emerge and further research is obviously necessary in order to effectively apply MA, as an imaging finding, to clinical practice.

Introduction: This paper presents 5 cases of neurodegenerative disorders from our tertiary care rural hospital in south India. The purpose of this paper is to generate an emerging common theme by thematic analysis of clinical data from each of these patients. A theme emerged, we identified that there was a common clinical ground in patients with movement disorders and psychiatric symptoms. From this common theme, these patients eventually went on to develop different courses of illnesses.

Methodology: Clinical analysis of a case series of 5 patients with neurodegenerative disorders attending the Medicine or Psychiatry services of our hospital.

Conclusion: A clear & consistent association between movement disorders and psychiatric symptoms was found. Although our data is limited, we conclude that movement disorders can be early clinical markers of organic psychopathology. However, we are aware that this association can be confounded by substance abuse, stress, sleep disruption and even therapeutic interventions, and thus these factors were accounted for and yet we conclude that movement disorders can be early clinical indictors of organic psychopathology.

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings are associated with disease clinical activity and response to treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the future value of plaque number and volume in MRI as radiological criteria in determining the treatment response to INF-B in patients with MS.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed in 2016-2021 in Iran on patients with the newly diagnosed (less than one year) relapsing-remitting MS. Brain MRI was taken for all patients. The number and volumes of the MS plaques were evaluated from FLAIR images by the two radiologists. Patients were treated with INF-B1a with a dosage of 12 million units equal to 44 micrograms subcutaneously, three times per week. Patients were visited monthly by neurologists to examine their clinical status. After one year, the brain MRI was conducted with the similar characteristics to the beginning of the study, and the number and volume of MS plaques were measured again.

Results: The study population consisted of 33 males and 90 females with a mean age of 28.37 ± 6.29 years. The mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) of the patients was 3.16 ± 0.23 at the beginning of the study. The specificity for a 50% reduction in the number and volume of plaques as two separate criteria was the same and equal to 100%. The sensitivity of the number and volume of plaques were 65.5% and 90.6%, respectively. In addition, considering 10% as the cut-off point of the number of plaques, the sensitivity of the number of plaques as a criterion was equal to the sensitivity of the plaque volume.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that imaging criteria provide a more objective tool for evaluating the effectiveness of treatment. These findings indicate that the number and volume of plaques could be two reliable MRI imaging criteria for assessing therapy response. The number of plaques was less accurate than the volume of plaques.

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between menstrual disorders and education in women with intractable epilepsy.

Method: This was a descriptive-analytical study. Statistical population consisted of all female patients with intractable epilepsy in 15-45 age group who visited the third department of epilepsy in Ayatollah Kashani Hospital. The sample size was 380. They were selected using simple random sampling. A questionnaire was distributed among the patients to collect information on education, incidence and type of current menstrual disorder (each type of menstrual disorder was explained to the participants). Then, the relationship between education and prevalence of menstrual disorders in these women was investigated.

Findings: Analysis of Spearman correlation coefficient showed a significant and negative correlation between education and menstrual disorder (P≤0.05). Analysis of multivariate logistic regression also showed a significant relationship between education and types of menstrual disorders. There was also a significant relationship between education and regular and irregular menstruation (P≤0.05).

Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between education and menstrual disorders in women with intractable epilepsy, and the higher education level indicates less prevalent menstrual irregularities.