Vellingmcdougall1906

Standard treatment of epileptic seizures involves the use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Both AEDs themselves and treatment duration may influence the levels of biochemical parameters, e.g., lipids or homocysteine (HCys), that may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present study was to compare the levels of lipid parameters, as well as the concentrations of selected aminothiols (i.e., HCys, cysteine, and glutathione) between epileptic children treated with multiple AEDs and children without epilepsy.

In the study, 21 children with epilepsy treated with two or more AEDs for at least 6 months (8 girls and 13 boys, mean age 7.03 ± 4.51) and 23 children without epilepsy (7 girls and 16 boys, mean age 7.54 ± 3.90) were prospectively analyzed. Lipid parameters, i.e., total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), and levels of selected aminothiols were determined in the blood serum.

No differences in the mean levels of li cardiovascular system.

A lower level of glutathione is observed in pediatric patients with epilepsy treated with two or more AEDs for at least 6 months. This indicates the oxidative stress of the patients treated with AEDs, which in turn may affect their well-being, and in the case of chronic occurrence resulting from long-term treatment, also on the function of the liver and the condition of the cardiovascular system.Robot-assisted rehabilitation (RAR) and non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) are interventions that, both individually and combined, can significantly enhance motor performance after spinal cord injury (SCI). We sought to determine whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with active transvertebral direct current stimulation (tvDCS) (namely, NIBS) in association with RAR (RAR + NIBS) improves lower extremity motor function more than RAR alone in subjects with motor incomplete SCI (iSCI). Fifteen adults with iSCI received one daily session of RAR+NIBS in the early afternoon, six sessions weekly, for eight consecutive weeks. Outcome measures included the 6 min walk test (6MWT), the 10 m walk test (10MWT), the timed up and go (TUG) to test mobility and balance, the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI II), the Functional Independence Measure-Locomotion (FIM-L), the manual muscle testing for lower extremity motor score (LEMS), the modified Ashworth scale for lower limbs (MAS), and the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. The data of these subjects were compared with those of 20 individuals matched for clinical and demographic features who previously received the same amount or RAR without NIBS (RAR - NIBS). All patients completed the trial, and none reported any side effects either during or following the training. The 10MWT improved in both groups, but the increase was significantly greater following RAR + NIBS than RAR - NIBS. The same occurred for the FIM-L, LEMS, and WISCI II. No significant differences were appreciable concerning the 6MWT and TUG. Conversely, RAR - NIBS outperformed RAR + NIBS regarding the MAS and VAS. Pairing tvDCS with rTMS during RAR can improve lower extremity motor function more than RAR alone can do. Future research with a larger sample size is recommended to determine longer-term effects on motor function and activities of daily living.Although restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder, it remains poorly understood from both clinical and pathophysiological perspectives. RLS is classified among sleep-related movement disorders, namely, conditions characterized by simple, often stereotyped movements occurring during sleep. However, several clinical, neurophysiological and neuroimaging observations question this view. The aim of the present review is to summarize and query some of the current concepts (known knowns) and to identify open questions (known unknowns) on RLS pathophysiology. Based on several lines of evidence, we propose that RLS should be viewed as a disorder of sensorimotor interaction with a typical circadian pattern of occurrence, possibly arising from neurochemical dysfunction and abnormal excitability in different brain structures.Children with behavioral problems have a high risk of impaired motor performance. However, the characteristics of balance functions and their associations with behavioral traits are unclear in this population. This study aimed to evaluate balance functions and their relationships with the degree of behavioral problems in school-aged children. A total of 209 children, aged 6-10 years, were divided into two groups, those with and those without behavioral problems, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Physical assessments included the one-leg standing test (OLST), the two-step test, and the five-times-sit-to-stand test. We compared the data between groups and assessed for correlations in terms of total difficulties and the SDQ subscale scores. Children with behavioral problems showed significantly reduced the OLST results (p less then 0.001) and the two-step test results (p = 0.008). The five-times-sit-to-stand test results did not show significant differences between groups. The OLST results were significantly correlated with emotional symptoms (r = -0.22, p less then 0.001), hyperactivity/inattention (r = -0.29, p less then 0.001), peer relationship problems (r = -0.22, p less then 0.001), and total difficulties (r = -0.32, p less then 0.001). Meanwhile, the two-step test results showed no significant correlation with the SDQ scores. Children with behavioral problems have poor balance function, thereby increasing the risk for instability. This suggests that the balance function of children with behavioral problems needs to be considered.The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted the daily routine of the population worldwide, including autistic people and their caregivers, with severe consequences on mental health. On one hand, the reduced social contacts and the interruption of outpatient and daycare services during the lockdown have represented a real challenge for autistic people and their caregivers. On the other hand, confinement has allowed individuals to spend more time pursuing their interests and stay home with their family members without feeling the pressure of social expectations. The present study aimed to compare the levels of personal wellbeing, family distress, insomnia, and resilience between caregivers of autistic people and caregivers of people with other neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, or relational disabilities. A web survey was completed by 383 participants, of which 141 were primary caregivers of autistic people. We did not find any significant difference between caregivers of autistic and non-autistic people in any of the considered psychological variables. Lower age of the autistic family member and lower resilience levels were significantly associated with higher individual distress in the group of caregivers of autistic people. Our findings do not corroborate the hypothesis that caregivers of autistic individuals have had more severe consequences than other caregivers during the lockdown. However, they confirm the importance of promoting resilient coping strategies in autistic people and their caregivers.Recent research has assessed pupil size during past thinking in patients with retrograde amnesia. Building on this research, we assessed pupil size during future thinking in a retrograde amnesia patient. To this end, we measured pupil size during past and future thinking in L, a 19-year-old, right-handed man free of neurological/psychiatric disorders except for retrograde amnesia that occurred after an episode of fugue. During a past thinking condition, we invited L to retrieve retrograde events (i.e., events that occurred before amnesia) and anterograde events (i.e., events that occurred after amnesia). During a future thinking condition, we invited him to imagine events that might occur the following week, the following month, and in the new year. Past and future thinking occurred while L's pupil size was monitored with eye-tracking glasses. L demonstrated higher specificity during future than during past thinking. Critically, the results demonstrated a larger pupil size during future than during past thinking. The larger pupil size during future thinking observed in L can be attributed to the high cognitive load involved in future thinking. selleck chemicals Our study not only demonstrates preserved future thinking in a patient with dissociative retrograde amnesia, but also shows that pupillometry can be used for the physiological assessment of future thinking in retrograde amnesia patients.MEG and EEG source analysis is frequently used for the presurgical evaluation of pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients. The source localization of the epileptogenic zone depends, among other aspects, on the selected inverse and forward approaches and their respective parameter choices. In this validation study, we compare the standard dipole scanning method with two beamformer approaches for the inverse problem, and we investigate the influence of the covariance estimation method and the strength of regularization on the localization performance for EEG, MEG, and combined EEG and MEG. For forward modelling, we investigate the difference between calibrated six-compartment and standard three-compartment head modelling. In a retrospective study, two patients with focal epilepsy due to focal cortical dysplasia type IIb and seizure freedom following lesionectomy or radiofrequency-guided thermocoagulation (RFTC) used the distance of the localization of interictal epileptic spikes to the resection cavity resp. RFTC lesion as reference for good localization. We found that beamformer localization can be sensitive to the choice of the regularization parameter, which has to be individually optimized. Estimation of the covariance matrix with averaged spike data yielded more robust results across the modalities. MEG was the dominant modality and provided a good localization in one case, while it was EEG for the other. When combining the modalities, the good results of the dominant modality were mostly not spoiled by the weaker modality. For appropriate regularization parameter choices, the beamformer localized better than the standard dipole scan. Compared to the importance of an appropriate regularization, the sensitivity of the localization to the head modelling was smaller, due to similar skull conductivity modelling and the fixed source space without orientation constraint.Hemispheric differences in emotional processing have been observed for over half a century, leading to multiple theories classifying differing roles for the right and left hemisphere in emotional processing. Conventional acceptance of these theories has had lasting clinical implications for the treatment of mood disorders. The theory that the left hemisphere is broadly associated with positively valenced emotions, while the right hemisphere is broadly associated with negatively valenced emotions, drove the initial application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Subsequent rTMS research has led to improved response rates while adhering to the same initial paradigm of administering excitatory rTMS to the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) and inhibitory rTMS to the right PFC. However, accumulating evidence points to greater similarities in emotional regulation between the hemispheres than previously theorized, with potential implications for how rTMS for MDD may be delivered and optimized in the near future.