关键词： Stroke   Calycosin   Brain-derived neurotrophic factor   Microglia   Neuronal death  

摘要： Both brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and microglia activation are involved in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Herein, we attempt to ascertain whether Calycosin, an isoflavonoid, protects against ischemic stroke by modulating the endogenous production of BDNF and/or the microglia activation. This study was a prospective, randomized, blinded and placebo-controlled preclinical experiment. Sprague-Dawley adult rats, subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), were treated randomly with 0 (corn oil and/or saline as placebo), 30 mg/kg of Calycosin and/or 1 mg/kg of a tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) receptor antagonist (ANA12) at 1 h after reperfusion and once daily for a total of 7 consecutive days. BDNF and its functional receptor, full-length TrkB (TrkB-FL) levels, the percentage of hypertrophic microglia, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-containing microglia, and degenerative and apoptotic neurons in ischemic brain regions were determined 7 days after cerebral ischemia. A battery of functional sensorimotor test was performed over 7 days. Post-stroke Calycosin therapy increased the cerebral expression of BDNF/TrkB, ameliorated the neurological injury and switched the microglia from the activated amoeboid state to the resting ramified state in ischemic stroke rats. However, the beneficial effects of BDNF/ TrkB-mediated Calycosin could be reversed by ANA12. Our data indicate that BDNF/TrkB-mediated Calycosin ameliorates rat ischemic stroke injury by switching the microglia from the activated amoeboid state to the resting ramified state. Graphical abstract

关键词： Gravity   Robots   Mathematical model   Vegetation   Medical treatment   Solid modeling   Mechatronics  

摘要： Robotic rehabilitation for poststroke therapies is an emerging new domain of application for robotics with proven success stories and clinical studies. New robotic devices and software applications are hitting the market, with the aim of assisting specialists carrying out physical therapies and even patients exercising at home. Rehabilitation robots are designed to assist patients performing repetitive movements with their hemiparetic limbs to regain motion. A successful robotic device for rehabilitation demands high workspace and force feedback capabilities similar to a human physiotherapist. These desired features are usually achieved at the expense of other important requirements, such as transparency and backdrivability, degrading the overall human-machine interaction experience.

关键词： neurological disorders   nutraceuticals   herbal therapeutics   food supplements   neurodegeneration  

摘要： Neurological diseases are one of the major healthcare issues worldwide. Posed lifestyle changes are associated with drastically increased risk of chronic illness and diseases, posing a substantial healthcare and financial burden to society globally. Researchers aim to provide fine treatment for ailing disorders with minimal exposed side effects. In recent decades, several studies on functional foods have been initiated to obtain foods that have fewer side effects and increased therapeutic activity. Hence, an attempt has been made to unravel several extraction techniques to acquire essential bioactive compounds or phytochemicals from therapeutically active food products. This has led to the conception of the term functional foods being meddled with other similar terms like "pharmafoods," "medifoods", "vitafoods", or "medicinal foods". With a dire need to adhere towards healthy options, the demand of nutraceuticals is widely increasing to combat neurological interventions. An association between food habits and the individual lifestyle with neurodegeneration has been manifested, thereby proposing the role of nutraceuticals as prophylactic treatment for neurological interventions. The current review covers some of the major neurological disorders and nutraceutical therapy in the prevention of disease.

关键词： Stroke   Insulin resistance   Early neurological deterioration  

摘要： Background The role of insulin resistance (IR) in stroke prognosis remains largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between IR and the risk of early neurological deterioration (END) in non-diabetic patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of non-diabetic patients with acute ischemic stroke enrolled in the prospective multicenter ACROSS-China study. The homeostasis model assessment 2 (HOMA2-IR) was evaluated and the patients were divided into HOMA2-IR quartiles (Q1 0-1.24, Q2 1.25-1.95, Q3 1.96-2.96, Q4 >= 2.97). END was defined as an increment in total National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) of >= 2 points or >= 4 points on day 14 +/- 3 after stroke onset. Logistic regression was performed to explore the relationship between HOMA2-IR and END. Results Finally, 556 patients were included (63.7 +/- 12.9 years, 64.6% male);thirty-three patients developed END. The median HOMA2-IR of all patients was 1.95 (inter-quartile = 1.24-2.96). There were 148, 135, 130, and 143 patients in Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively. Compared with Q1, END (NIHSS >= 2) risk was increased in Q4: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 6.051, 95% CI = 1.638-22.354, P = 0.0069. In additon, END (NIHSS >= 2) risk was increased in Q4 compared with the Q1-Q3 combined group: adjusted OR = 2.853, 95% CI = 1.308-6.224, P = 0.0084. END (NIHSS >= 4) risk was also increased in Q4: adjusted OR = 7.507, 95% CI = 2.357-23.906, P = 0.0006) compared with the Q1-Q3 combined group. Conclusion This study strongly suggests that IR is probably an independent risk factor for END in non-diabetic patients with acute ischemic stroke.

关键词： nociceptive   neuropathic   inflammatory   behavioral study   phasic pain   tonic and viscera pain   analgesic profile  

摘要： Pain is the most common sensation installed in us naturally which plays a vital role in defending us against severe harm. This neurological mechanism pathway has been one of the most complex and comprehensive topics but there has never been an elaborate justification of the types of analgesics that used to reduce the pain sensation through which specific pathways. Of course, there have been some answers to curbing of pain which is a lifesaver in numerous situations-chronic and acute pain conditions alike. This has been explored by scientists using pain-like behavioral study methodologies in non-anesthetized animals since decades ago to characterize the analgesic profile such as centrally or peripherally acting drugs and allowing for the development of analgesics. However, widely the methodology is being practiced such as the tail flick/Hargreaves test and Von Frey/Randall-Selitto tests which are stimulus-evoked nociception studies, and there has rarely been a complete review of all these methodologies, their benefits and its downside coupled with the mechanism of the action that is involved. Thus, this review solely focused on the complete protocol that is being adapted in each behavioral study methods induced by different phlogogenic agents, the different assessment methods used for phasic, tonic and inflammatory pain studies and the proposed mechanism of action underlying each behavioral study methodology for analgesic drug profiling. It is our belief that this review could significantly provide a concise idea and improve our scientists' understanding towards pain management in future research.

摘要： Since WHO declared COVID-19 as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” on January 30, 2020, neurologists' lives have changed in many ways. Simultaneously, non-urgent surgical procedures and medical appointments have been cancelled to increase bed capacity and care for patients with the infection, while many neurologists have had to leave their clinics to help other physicians on the frontlines. [...]for patients with COVID-19, much is still unknown about the neurological complications (eg, their frequency, accurate characteristics, pathophysiology, risk factors, and prognosis), and regional differences in the disease course and outcomes are likely.

关键词： Medical student education   Medical student mentorship   Medical student research   Neurosurgery interest group   Organized neurosurgery  

摘要： Background In 2014, the Young Neurosurgeons Committee under the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) began allowing medical schools to create AANS Medical Student Chapters. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of these chapters on participation in organized neurosurgery, research productivity, and residency match *** Chapter membership and activity data were collected and analyzed from 2014-2019 annual *** The number of chapters increased rapidly during 2014-2019 from 12 to 121. The mean number of chapter members attending the AANS annual meeting trended upward during 2014-2019, from 1.25 to 1.67. Neurosurgery-related abstracts submitted, abstracts accepted, and publications authored by chapters have fluctuated with yearly means of 1.96, 1.76, and 9.29, respectively. Chapters from top 20 medical schools generally attended the annual meeting in greater numbers (2017-2018: 3.00 vs. 1.32, P = 0.076; 2018-2019: 2.92 vs. 1.43, P = 0.025), submitted more abstracts (2017-2018: 4.20 vs. 1.10, P = 0.021; 2018-2019: 4.09 vs. 1.87, P = 0.066), and had more abstracts accepted (2017-2018: 3.00 vs. 1.05, P = 0.043; 2018-2019: 3.63 vs. 1.81, P = 0.09). Chapters with high residency match success had a higher number of publications (11.4 vs. 3.3, P = 0.03) and twice the number of members attending the annual meeting (1.9 vs. 0.9, P = 0.01).Conclusions Since their inception, AANS Medical Student Chapters have demonstrated substantial research productivity and involvement in organized neurosurgery. Furthermore, there is an association between higher chapter activity, manifested by publications and annual meeting attendance, and increased residency match success.