Posture Instability Is Associated with Dopamine Drop of Nigrostriatal System and Hypometabolism of Cerebral Cortex in Parkinson Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyan Wang ◽  
Hong-Yu Li ◽  
Xiuhai Guo ◽  
Yongtao Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Nigrostriatal System ◽  
Limbic Cortex ◽  
Peripheral Inflammation ◽  
Female Patients ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Chi Square Analysis

Background: Posture instability (PI) is known to be a severe complication in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and its mechanism remains poorly understood. Our study aims to explore the changes of brain network in PI of PD, and further investigate the role of peripheral inflammation on activities of different brain regions in PD with PI. Methods: 167 individuals were recruited, including 36 PD cases with PI and 131 ones without PI. We carefully assessed the status of motor and cognitive function, measured serum inflammatory factors, and detected the dopaminergic pathways and the metabolism of different brain regions by positron emission tomography (PET). Data analysis was conducted by variance, univariate analysis, chi-square analysis, logistic regression, and partial correlation. Result: No difference was found for age or onset age between the two groups (P>0.05). Female patients were susceptible to posture impairment and had a 2.14-fold risk for PI compared with male patients in PD (P<0.05). Patients with PI had more severe impairment of motor and cognitive function for a longer duration than those without PI (P<0.05). The mean uptake ratios of presynaptic vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2), which were detected in the caudate nucleus and putamen, were lower in PI group than those without PI (P<0.05). There were lower activities of the midbrain, caudate nucleus, and anterior medial temporal cortex in PI group than those in the non-PI group (P<0.05). Although serum concentrations of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, and IgA) and complements (C3, C4) were higher in PI group than those in the non-PI group, only serum IgM concentration had a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). We further explored significant inverse correlations of IgG, IgM, IgA, and C4 with activities of some cerebral cortex in PI of PD (P<0.05). Conclusion: Female patients were susceptible to posture instability and had a 2.14-fold risk for PI of PD. Patients with PI had more severe impairments of motor and cognitive function for a longer duration than those without PI. PI was associated with dopamine drop of the nigrostriatal system and lower activities of the limbic cortex in PD. Peripheral inflammation may be involved in degeneration of the cerebral cortex in PD combined with PI.

No changes in behaviour, nigro-striatal system neurochemistry or neuronal cell death following toxic multiple oral paraquat administration to rats

1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 583-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
PS Widdowson ◽  
MJ Farnworth ◽  
R. Upton ◽  
MG Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Rat Brain ◽  
Grip Strength ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Benzodiazepine Receptors ◽  
Neuronal Cell Death ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Nigrostriatal System

We have examined whether the widely used herbicide, paraquat (1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'dipyridylium) may accumu late in rat brain following multiple oral dosing (5 mg paraquat ion/kg/day) for 14 days and whether this dosing regime may produce signs of neurotoxicity. This dosing regime may determine whether low dose exposure to mammals may be neurotoxic. Using [14C]paraquat to measure tissue and plasma paraquat concentrations, we observed significantly higher plasma and tissue paraquat concentrations in brain, liver, lungs and kidneys of rats which received multiple doses for 14 days, as compared to paraquat concentrations in tissues of rats which received only a single paraquat dose. Brain paraquat concentrations measured 24 h after dosing were tenfold higher in rats receiving 14 daily oral doses of paraquat, as compared to concentrations follow ing a single oral dose. A neuropathological study of the rat brain yielded no evidence that multiple paraquat dosing resulted in neuronal cell damage. Particular attention was paid to the nigrostriatal system. The paraquat treated rats gained approximately 10% less body weight over the 15 day experimental period as compared with controls demon strating that the dose of paraquat was toxic to the animals. Measurements of locomotor activity using open field tests or activity monitors did not reveal any statistically significant differences between control animals and those receiving paraquat. Fore- and hind-limb grip strength were not significantly different between the paraquat treated and control rats at any time point during the dosing regime, nor was there any evidence for locomotor co ordination deficits in any of the animals receiving paraquat. Densities of dopamine D1 and D2, NMDA, muscarinic and benzodiazepine receptors in the cerebral cortex and striatum were not significantly different between controls and rats which had received multiple paraquat doses. Concentrations of catecholamine neurotransmitters in the striatum, hypothalamus and frontal cerebral cortex were also measured to examine whether there was evidence for catecholamine depletion in these brain regions. We did not observe any significant reductions in dopamine, noradrenaline or DOPAC concentrations in any brain region of paraquat treated rats as compared with controls. On the contrary, dopamine concentrations in the striatim were significantly elevated in paraquat treated animals following a 15 day paraquat dosing regime. We attribute these changes in catecholamine concentrations to the general toxicity of paraquat which produces a stress response. In conclusion, we could not find any evidence that multiple paraquat dosing can lead to changes in locomotor activity or grip strength. In addition, the absence of neuropathology or changes in neurochemistry in the nigrostriatal tract demonstrates that paraquat does not behave like MPP+(N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium), the neurotoxic metabolite of MPTP

scholarly journals Color Preferences of Patients Receiving Elastic Ligatures

2010 ◽  
Vol 04 (02) ◽  
pp. 171-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selma Elekdag-Turk ◽  
Nurhat Ozkalayci ◽  
Devrim Isci ◽  
Tamer Turk
Keyword(s):  
Older Patients ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Color Preferences ◽  
Fixed Appliance ◽  
Female Patients ◽  
Orthodontic Therapy ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Male Patients ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Chi Square Analysis

Objectives: To determine the color preferences for elastic ligatures among patients receiving fixed-appliance orthodontic therapy.Methods: Five hundred patients with metal brackets (336 female patients and 164 male patients) were included, and their color preferences for elastic ligatures were recorded using a color scale. Chi-square analysis was performed to evaluate the color preferences and to determine the influence of age and gender on color preferences (P<.05).Results: Two hundred and seventy-six patients (55.2%) preferred strikingly colorful elastic ligatures, while 224 patients (44.8%) preferred less noticeable elastic ligatures. No significant difference was observed between the color preferences of female and male patients (P>.05). However, significant differences were observed between the color preferences of adolescents and older patients (P<.001).Conclusions: Female patients preferred red–purple-colored tones, while male patients preferred blue–black-colored tones. Adolescents preferred colorful elastic ligatures, while older patients preferred ligatures with less-noticeable colors. A stock of 10–12 colorful and less-noticeable elastic ligatures seems to be adequate to ensure patient satisfaction. (Eur J Dent 2010;4:171-174)

Constipation Increases Disability and Decreases Dopamine Levels in the Nigrostriatal System through Gastric Inflammatory Factors in Parkinson’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongtao Zhou ◽  
Yusheng Su ◽  
Weihua Xu ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Shukun Yao
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Nigrostriatal System ◽  
Inflammatory Factors ◽  
Dopamine Level ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Chi Square Analysis ◽  
The Brain

Objective: Recent studies suggest that not only is constipation a clinical marker of premotor phase in Parkinson’s Disease (PD), but is also correlated with the duration and severity. Some reports indicated that inflammatory from gut dysbiosis might be involved in the pathogenesis of PD, but the correlation between them remains poorly understood. This study aims to investigate how the presence of constipation affects the dopamine level of nigrostriatal system and whether gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation is involved in the brain-gut axis. Methods: Clinical materials, serum inflammatory factors, and datum of dopamine level including 84 cases and 83 controls, were collected consecutively and randomly from November 1, 2017 to October 31, 2018. Dopamine levels of nigrostriatal system were detected by [18F]-DTBZ radiotracer (18F-AV-133). Data analysis was conducted by variance, covariance analysis, bicorrelation, partial correlation, chi-square analysis and logistic regression. Results: The mean age of cases was older than that of controls, and male predominance was also observed (P<0.05). The mean scores of Hoehn-Yahr and unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale Ⅲ (UPDRS-Ⅲ) were of significantly different duration between two groups (P<0.05). The total dose of levodopa was not different between two groups (P>0.05). The dopamine levels of putamen and caudate nucleus, especially in the dorsal part of putamen, were significantly decreased in cases than that in controls (P<0.05). There were significant differences of complement 3 (C3) and complement 4 (C4) between cases and controls (P<0.05). Dopamine levels in putamen and caudate nucleus were negatively correlated with serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG) and C3 in cases (P<0.05). But we did not observe similar negative correlations in controls (P>0.05). Conclusion: The presence of constipation may increase the severity of motor symptoms and decrease dopamine levels of nigrostriatal system in PD. Inflammatory factors may be involved in the brain-gut axis of PD.

The activities of noradrenergic and dopaminergic neuron systems in experimental hydrocephalus

1982 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soichi Miwa ◽  
Chiyoko Inagaki ◽  
Motokazu Fujiwara ◽  
Shuji Takaori
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Medulla Oblongata ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Major Metabolite ◽  
Rabbit Brain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Experimental Hydrocephalus ◽  
Kaolin Injection ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Experimental hydrocephalus was induced in rabbits by intracisternal injection of kaolin suspension, and the concentration of noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA), and their metabolites was determined in several brain regions. The NA concentration had decreased in the cerebellum, hypothalamus, and pons plus medulla oblongata, and increased in the caudate nucleus at 2 days after kaolin injection (the stage of early intracranial hypertension). At 1 week (the stage of progressive hydrocephalus), the NA content had returned to control levels in all brain regions studied, and it decreased again at 4 weeks (the stage of chronic hydrocephalus) in the pons plus medulla oblongata. The DA level was unchanged throughout the 4-week period after kaolin injection. The concentration of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol sulfate (MOPEG-SO4), the major metabolite of NA, was elevated in all brain regions except the caudate nucleus at all stages after kaolin injection. An increase in MOPEG-SO4 in the caudate nucleus was also observed 1 week after kaolin injection. The content of homovanillic acid (HVA), the major metabolite of DA in the rabbit brain, was decreased in the cerebral cortex at 2 days and at 1 week after kaolin injection, and in the caudate nucleus at 2 days, 1 week, and 4 weeks. The level of HVA was increased in the hypothalamus at 2 days, in the cerebellum at 2 days and at 1 week, in the pons plus medulla oblongata at 2 days, 1 week, and 4 weeks, and in the midbrain at 4 weeks. These data suggest that, in experimental hydrocephalus in the rabbit, NA release is increased throughout the brain, while DA release is decreased in the cerebral cortex and caudate nucleus, and increased in the cerebellum, hypothalamus, midbrain, and pons plus medulla oblongata.

Effect of Levetiracetam on Cognitive Function and Clonic Seizure Frequency in Children with Epilepsy

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 699-703
Author(s):  
Shihao Zhou ◽  
Qiong Zhan ◽  
Xiaomei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Effective Rate ◽  
Clonic Seizure ◽  
Conventional Group ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Random Number Table ◽  
Clonic Seizures ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Executive Ability

Background: This study aimed to explore the clinical effect of levetiracetam in the treatment of children with epilepsy. Methods: 136 children with epilepsy were selected from January 2017 to December 2017. According to the random number table method, they were divided into the experimental group and the conventional group, with 68 cases in each group. The conventional group was treated with valproate, while the experimental group was treated with levetiracetam. The effective rate, the cognitive function and the frequency of clonic seizures in the two groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in the total effective rate between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in attention, executive ability, abstract and orientation scores between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, the focus of attention (106.54±6.56), executive ability (105.76±6.77), abstract and directional score (106.65±6.57) were significantly higher than that of the conventional group. The difference in the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the frequency of myoclonic seizures (9.22±0.95) and the frequency of tonic-clonic seizures (11.68±1.36) were found to be significantly lower than those of the conventional group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Levetiracetam is effective in the treatment of children with epilepsy. It can effectively improve the cognitive function of the patients, reduce the frequency of myoclonic seizures and tonic-clonic seizures, and has a high promotion value.

scholarly journals Emotional Reactions to Music in Dementia Patients and Healthy Controls: Differential Responding Depends on the Mechanism

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205920432110101
Author(s):  
Gonçalo T. Barradas ◽  
Patrik N. Juslin ◽  
Sergi Bermúdez i Badia
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Geriatric Depression Scale ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Brain Stem Reflex

Music is frequently regarded as a unique way to connect with dementia patients. Yet little is known about how persons with dementia respond emotionally to music. Are their responses different from those of healthy listeners? If so, why? The present study makes a first attempt to tackle these issues in a Portuguese context, with a focus on psychological mechanisms. In Experiment 1, featuring 20 young and healthy adults, we found that musical excerpts which have previously been shown to activate specific emotion induction mechanisms (brain stem reflex, contagion, episodic memory, musical expectancy) in Sweden were valid and yielded predicted emotions also in Portugal, as indexed by self-reported feelings, psychophysiology, and post hoc mechanism indices. In Experiment 2, we used the same stimuli to compare the responses of 20 elderly listeners diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with those of 20 healthy listeners. We controlled for cognitive functioning (Mini-Mental State Examination) and depression (Geriatric Depression Scale). Our predictions about how mechanisms would be differentially affected by decline in brain regions associated with AD received support in that AD patients reported significantly lower levels of (a) sadness in the contagion condition, (b) happiness and nostalgia in the episodic memory condition, and (c) anxiety in the musical expectancy condition. By contrast, no significant difference in reported surprise was found in the brain stem reflex condition. Implications for musical interventions aimed at dementia are discussed, highlighting the key role that basic research may play in developing applications.

Distinguishing hypochondriasis and schizophrenia using regional homogeneity: a resting-state fMRI study and support vector machine analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Kangyu Jin ◽  
Zhe Shen ◽  
Guoxun Feng ◽  
Zhiyong Zhao ◽  
Jing Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Regional Homogeneity ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Fmri Study

Abstract Objective: A few former studies suggested there are partial overlaps in abnormal brain structure and cognitive function between Hypochondriasis (HS) and schizophrenia (SZ). But their differences in brain activity and cognitive function were unclear. Methods: 21 HS patients, 23 SZ patients, and 24 healthy controls (HC) underwent Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) with the regional homogeneity analysis (ReHo), subsequently exploring the relationship between ReHo value and cognitive functions. The support vector machines (SVM) were used on effectiveness evaluation of ReHo for differentiating HS from SZ. Results: Compared with HC, HS showed significantly increased ReHo values in right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and right fusiform gyrus (FG), while SZ showed increased ReHo in left insula, decreased ReHo values in right paracentral lobule. Additionally, HS showed significantly higher ReHo values in FG, MTG and left paracentral lobule but lower in insula than SZ. The higher ReHo values in insula were associated with worse performance in MCCB in HS group. SVM analysis showed a combination of the ReHo values in insula and FG was able to satisfactorily distinguish the HS and SZ patients. Conclusion: our results suggested the altered default mode network (DMN), of which abnormal spontaneous neural activity occurs in multiple brain regions, might play a key role in the pathogenesis of HS, and the resting-state alterations of insula closely related to cognitive dysfunction in HS. Furthermore, the combination of the ReHo in FG and insula was a relatively ideal indicator to distinguish HS from SZ.

scholarly journals Diversity of neurovascular coupling dynamics along vascular arbors in layer II/III somatosensory cortex

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravi L. Rungta ◽  
Marc Zuend ◽  
Ali-Kemal Aydin ◽  
Éric Martineau ◽  
Davide Boido ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Cerebral Blood Volume ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Neurovascular Coupling ◽  
Sensory Stimulation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Blood Velocity ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Vascular Events

AbstractThe spatial-temporal sequence of cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV) and blood velocity changes triggered by neuronal activation is critical for understanding functional brain imaging. This sequence follows a stereotypic pattern of changes across different zones of the vasculature in the olfactory bulb, the first relay of olfaction. However, in the cerebral cortex, where most human brain mapping studies are performed, the timing of activity evoked vascular events remains controversial. Here we utilized a single whisker stimulation model to map out functional hyperemia along vascular arbours from layer II/III to the surface of primary somatosensory cortex, in anesthetized and awake Thy1-GCaMP6 mice. We demonstrate that sensory stimulation triggers an increase in blood velocity within the mid-capillary bed and a dilation of upstream large capillaries, and the penetrating and pial arterioles. We report that under physiological stimulation, response onset times are highly variable across compartments of different vascular arbours. Furthermore, generating transfer functions (TFs) between neuronal Ca2+ and vascular dynamics across different brain states demonstrates that anesthesia decelerates neurovascular coupling (NVC). This spatial-temporal pattern of vascular events demonstrates functional diversity not only between different brain regions but also at the level of different vascular arbours within supragranular layers of the cerebral cortex.

scholarly journals Saffron for mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Ayati ◽  
Guoyan Yang ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Ayati ◽  
Seyed Ahmad Emami ◽  
Dennis Chang
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Randomised Clinical Trials ◽  
Disease Assessment ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Background Saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus L.) from Iridaceae family is a well-known traditional herbal medicine that has been used for hundreds of years to treat several diseases such as depressive mood, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. Recently, anti-dementia property of saffron has been indicated. However, the effects of saffron for the management of dementia remain controversial. The aim of the present study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of saffron in treating mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Methods An electronic database search of some major English and Chinese databases was conducted until 31st May 2019 to identify relevant randomised clinical trials (RCT). The primary outcome was cognitive function and the secondary outcomes included daily living function, global clinical assessment, quality of life (QoL), psychiatric assessment and safety. Rev-Man 5.3 software was applied to perform the meta-analyses. Results A total of four RCTs were included in this review. The analysis revealed that saffron significantly improves cognitive function measured by the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale-Sums of Boxes (CDR-SB), compared to placebo groups. In addition, there was no significant difference between saffron and conventional medicine, as measured by cognitive scales such as ADAS-cog and CDR-SB. Saffron improved daily living function, but the changes were not statistically significant. No serious adverse events were reported in the included studies. Conclusions Saffron may have the potential to improve cognitive function and activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, due to limited high-quality studies there is insufficient evidence to make any recommendations for clinical use. Further clinical trials on larger sample sizes are warranted to shed more light on its efficacy and safety.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document