Archives of Neuroscience
Year:2018 | Volume:5 | Issue:3|Papers Count:12

Background and Objectives: Depression has an effective role in the performance of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and causes several health disorders that affect all life aspects of such patients including their goals and communications and most importantly, health-related quality of life. The current study aimed at investigating depression in patients with SCI referred to the specialized centers of SCI in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: In the current descriptive study, depression status of 51 patients with SCI referred to the specialized centers of the SCI in Tehran from July to November 2017 was investigated using the second version of Beck depression inventory (BDI). The mean depression in and the different levels of the SCI were compared using the statistical tests of Kruskal-WallisHand independent samples t test; the severity of depression in these groups was determined according to test instructions and the distribution of individuals into different classes of severity of depression was determined and compared using the statistical tests of Pearson correlation, chi-square, and the Fisher exact. Results: The mean score of BDI was above 18 in age and gender groups and there was no significant difference between the groups regarding age (P = 0. 301), gender (P = 0. 199), and level of SCI (P = 0. 374). But, there was a significant difference in the distribution of individuals according to the classification of the severity of depression in the age groups (P = 0. 045), however, the difference in the distribution of subjects was not significant in both the gender and the SCI level groups (P = 0. 567 and P = 0. 477, respectively). Conclusions: The obtained results revealed the need for paying more attention by the authorities and policy makers to the psychological complications, especially depression and providing proper therapeutic services for patients with SCI.

Background: A link between bone loss or bone mineral density and neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’ s and Parkinson‘ s diseases has been recently demonstrated. Human endometrium is an anactive tissue that includes human endometrial stem cells, which are able to differentiate into various cell lines. The goal of this study was to differentiate these cells into osteoblast cells and to culture the differentiated cells onto the scaffolds out of PLGA/Bioglass to be considered as a new method for bone regeneration in neurodegenerative disease. Methods: Endometrial cells were treated with osteogenicmediaincluding-glycerol phosphate, ascorbic acid, anddexamethasone for 21 days in order to be differentiated to the bone. Differentiated osteoblast cells were then cultured onto the scaffolds. Morphology of the cells was examined using SEM and expression of osteoblast markers was studied by real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry. Moreover, biocompatibility of the scaffolds was measured by MTT. Results: The results showed that the scaffold made by the freeze-drying method presented a better biocompatibility and capability to up-regulate the expression of osteoblast-specific genes. Conclusions: Since, hEnSCs are recently found in the stem cell origin for bone tissue repair in vitro, especially when expanded on PLGA/Bioglass scaffolds. Therefore, usage of hEnSCs for bone reconstruction is a new therapeutic approach for interim bone loss in neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: Parkinson’ s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder more commonly seen in people aged over 50 years old. The etiology of the disease is unknown, yet the impact of factors, such as vitamin D as a hormone on Parkinson’ s disease has been demonstrated in previous studies. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of low levels of this factor on the severity and duration of the disease. Methods: In 2015 to 2016, the current researchers conducted this case-control study on 50 patients with Parkinson’ s disease and 50 healthy subjects as the control group in Babol, Iran. Demographic information (age, gender, and education), serum levels of vitamin D in the two groups, disease duration, disease severity, and cardinal features of the disease in the patient group were investigated. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 23 software with the t-test, KruskalWallis, Mann-Whitney, and adjusted logistic regression. Results: Themeanserum vitaminDlevels was 27. 28 27. 75 (ng/mL) and 32. 00 17. 76 (ng/mL) in patient and control groups, respectively (P = 0. 009). In terms of the duration of the disease, 34 (68%) patients had the disease for less than five years, nine (18%) for five to ten years and seven (14%) for more than ten years. The duration was significantly higher in females (P = 0. 001). Logistic regression analysis with adjusted demographic variables showed that the observed lower levels of serum vitamin D in cases compared with the control group was statistically significant (OR = 4. 17; 95% CI: 1. 37, 12. 71; P = 0. 012). Conclusions: There was a significant relationship between low serum vitamin D levels and the duration and severity of Parkinson’ s disease in patients under 60 years of age.

Introduction: Aphasia is an acquired language injury apart from cognitive, motor, or sensory damages, as the result of a brain injury and stroke in the left hemisphere. In the acute phase of aphasia (the first two or three months) a preponderance of people show certain degrees of recovery, the neural mechanisms of which are yet to be detected, other than the fact that it is related to the plasticity changes in the patient’ s brain. Neuroplasticity is the capacity of a brain to change or be modified at cellular or behavioral levels. Objectives: The current study aimed at reviewing the literature on neuroplasticity and factors affecting language recovery of patients with aphasia. Data Sources: PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Irandoc, Magiran, SID, Web of Knowledge, Ovid, Springer, and manual search of reference lists from January 1990 to April 2017. Inclusion Criteria: Neuroplasticity and aphasia keywords in the title of the article, studies conducted only on human samples, and adult samples with acquired aphasia. Results: Out of the 6637 retrieved studies, eight articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and two related papers were further reported. Recent studies show that three types of changes, in the nervous activity following stroke are closely related to aphasia recovery: reactivation of the injured areas of the left hemisphere or perilesional left hemisphere regions regarding language assignments, the ability to process language in the right hemisphere, and compensatory activity of the right hemisphere, which can hinder language recovery. Conclusions: Most studies demonstrated that areas around the left hemisphere lesion engage in the recovery of the language; certain studies, on the other hand, reported that areas around the right hemisphere are involved, and some consider both hemispheres to be involved in the language recovery. It is difficult to predict the improvement of language owing to the involvement of various factors. Limitations: One of the most important limitations was the unavailability of the full-text of three articles.

Objectives: The current study aimed at investigating the effect of neurofeedback (NF) therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on reduction of anxiety symptoms in females with social anxiety disorders. Methods: The current pseudo-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and a control group was conducted on a population of patients with social anxiety disorder referring to a psychology clinic in Kurdistan Province, Iran. The sample size comprised of 30 females selected by random sampling method and assigned to groups of NF and CBT. Data elicited from the Libowitz social anxiety questionnaire to detect the subjects with social anxiety and the Millon clinical multiaxial inventory (MCMI III) in order to exclude subjects with personality disorder. Data were analyzed with SPSS. Covariance analysis test and dependent t test were performed on CBT and NF groups. Results: The current study findings showed that both CBT and NF groups were impressive in reducing the level of social anxiety in the study subjects. Also, based on the results of the current study the therapy methods had no significant differences between the two groups. Conclusions: Both treatments were significantly effective, and therefore both NF and CBT can be applied as choice therapies to treat social anxiety.

Background: The present study was conducted to evaluate the cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) difference between female and male patients before induction of anesthesia and during anesthesia in neurosurgical procedures. Methods: Atotal of 120 patients scheduled for elective neurosurgeries were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. SpO2, end tidal CO2 (EtCO2), and bilateral frontal rSO2 values were recorded during (1) the baseline (BL), (2) after raising FiO2, (3) after induction of anesthesia (Ind), (4) after tracheal intubation (after intub), (5) before positioning (pre-pos), and (6) after positioning for each patient at 1, 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after positioning. Results: A total of 111 patients were included for statistical analysis; of whom 59 were female and 52 were male. The mean age was 45. 2 years for women and 47. 7 years for men. Hemoglobin concentration was statistically lower in female patients. (12. 5  1. 3 vs 13. 6  1. 3, P value < 0. 05). The measured values of rSO2 in every recorded time showed a statistically significant difference in rSO2 values between female and male patients from the baseline (BL) until 60 minutes after positioning. There was not any significant correlation between age and rSO2 (r =-0. 003, P = 0. 997) or BMI and rSO2 (r = 0. 05, P = 0. 965). No significant difference was obtained between right and left side rSO2. Conclusions: This study revealed that even after reducing the confounding role of hemoglobin, measured values of rSO2 were lower in the female group undergoing neurosurgical procedures.

Background: Space is a harsh environment that affects the body in many ways. Humans venturing into the environment of space can have negative effects on the body. Objectives: This study focused on the effects of simulated microgravity on -endorphin receptor concentration. Methods: Rats (n = 16) were divided in two groups (n = 8/group), freely moving (control group) and hindlimb unloading. A rat-tail suspension model was used in experiment groups for 14 days to explore the effect of simulated microgravity on the -endorphin receptor concentration in the hippocampus, brain stem, and prefrontal cortex. Results: The results showed that the concentration of -endorphin receptor in the brain stem and prefrontal cortex, but not in hippocampus, was significantly higher in hindlimb unloading rats than controls. Conclusions: It is possible that simulated microgravity may increase the -endorphin receptor expression in the prefrontal cortex and brain stem in the rat.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability globally, and serum sodium disorders are the most common and probably the most poorly understood electrolyte disorders in neurological diseases. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum sodium level and its disorders including hyponatremia and hypernatremia in patients with TBI and evaluate the sodium levels at the time of admission, the first week, and the second week after admission. Methods: This observational prospective descriptive-analytic study included patients with TBI admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Saint Al-Zahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran during 2015-2016. Patients’ demographic factors, hemodynamic and paraclinical data were documented in the information forms and imported to and analyzed using SPSS v. 22. All of the statistical tests were conducted at an error level of 5%. Results: Demographic indices were not significantly different in the first and second weeks of the study between patients who died and the recovered or survived individuals. It was found that themean of serum sodium was 146. 26 mEq/L in patients who died and 142. 66 in alive patients (P < 0. 001) in the first week and 147. 8 in the patients who died and 144. 03 in alive patients (P < 0. 001) in the second week. Conclusions: The mortality prevalence of patients with TBI admitted to the ICU who have dysnatremia is high and can increase the risk of mortality remarkably. The mortality risk of hypernatremia is significantly higher than that of hyponatremia.

Background: Neurological trauma and diseases are the second cause of mortality and the main reason of acquired disability. Neurocritical care plays a major role in treating such patients. A longer life expectancy, treatment of incurable diseases, and limited resources available to add to hospital beds necessitates engineering the knowledge of health systems to prioritize allocation of current resources and present a proper pattern. Objectives: The current study aimed at optimizing bed use and shortening the length of patients‘ hospitalization in neurocritical care unit (NCCU) of Loghman Hakim hospital affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and completely stimulating the procedure of bed allocation and prioritization of patients. Methods: Data of 420 patients hospitalized in NCCU was gathered and the procedure of bed allocation simulation was performed considering the priorities defined based on the length of hospitalization and patients’ chance of survival. The PROMETHEE (preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation) method was used to prioritize and allocate beds. To study the consequences of the suggested method, event discrete simulation tool was used to compare the current status and the results of the new method for 20 periods each including one month data. Results: The mean number of patients admitted to NCCU during one month without any prioritization was 76, while it increased to 86 based on prioritization. Conclusions: Patients’ simulation and prioritization using the PROMETHEE method resulted in 13% rise in the number of patients admitted to NCCU and higher utilization of this ward.

Background: Among different kinds of cells involved in the wound healing process, fibroblasts play a pivotal role in the proliferation phase of this procedure wherein they induce the production of local growth factors and cytokines. Fetal fibroblasts with low immunogenic property and different wound healing process could be considered as a suitable alternative to neonatal foreskin cell based products in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Cell therapy is an almost newly introduced method in the medical field and is also a challenging issue, which should assure the safety of the final product and the absence of viral or bacterial contamination with minimal immunogenic response. Therefore, based on current GMP (cGMP) principles, it is a matter of great importance to monitor raw materials’ quality and the conformity of all production procedures including cell culture, collection, and cryopreservation with validated standard operating procedures (SOPs). In the current study, we demonstrated the GMP-compatible and clinical-grade fetal fibroblast cells banking to be used for clinical applications. Methods: All steps of isolation and culturing and cryopreservation of fetal fibroblast cells were performed under the sterile condition according to cGMP guidelines in the clean room. During the cell culture procedures, bacteriological investigation was performed in order to identify the probable contamination of the samples. Results: Isolated fetal dermal fibroblasts were harvested and stored at early passages. The viability of fibroblasts was 98%, indicating successful establishment of fibroblast banking. Flow cytometry analysis has revealed the high purity of isolated and cultured fibroblastic population Karyotyping of fibroblasts at the 10th subculture shows a normal diploid male pattern. Conclusions: The manufactured cells, according to the highest level of safety are considered as the most appropriate treatment option for cellular therapy. Based-on the current evidence, clinical-grade fetal fibroblasts throw new light on efficient and prompt healing of acute and chronic wounds of any etiology.

Background: Fatigue is taken into account as one of the most important factors affecting quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis. Such patients can certainly control levels of fatigue, increase their abilities to perform daily activities, and show adaptive behaviors if they are aware of non-pharmacological approaches to reduce fatigue. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of motivational interviewing on fatigue among patients affected by multiple sclerosis in the city of Ilam, Iran. Methods: In the present quasi-experimental study, a totalnumberof 60patients with multiple sclerosis referring to Shahid Mostafa Khomeini Teaching Hospital in the city of Ilam were randomly allocated to two experimental (intervention) (32 patients)andcontrol (28 patients) groups. To collect the data, the fatigue impact scale (FIS) was used. The experimental (intervention) group also received motivational interviewing based on Miller and Rollnick’ s Model. To this end, the given patients were divided to seven groups of five individuals and the motivational interviews were conducted lasting between 45 to 60 minutes during five sessions and on a weekly basis for each group. The questionnaires were also completed prior to the interventionandfour weeks after the final training session by patients in the experimental (intervention) and control groups. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed and significance level of less than 0. 05 was considered. Results: The findings of this study showed that there was no difference between fatigue before and after the intervention in the experimental (66. 32 (10. 87)) and control (63. 28 (8. 29)) groups. However, after the intervention, the fatigue of the experimental (41. 75 (14. 35)) patients was reduced compared to that of control (62. 13 (7. 69)) and pre-intervention patients. Conclusions: The findings of the present study showed that implementation of motivational interviewing could alleviate fatigue among patients with multiple sclerosis; therefore, nurses were recommended to give daily care to these patients using this type of interview and to provide the basis for promoting health status of such patients.

Background: Aphasia is characterized by language comprehension and production deficits and it also reduces the ability to spontaneously monitor speech errors. Recent concepts stress the role of medial frontal areas, especially the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in self-monitoring of speech. The current study mainly aimed at examining the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the ACC on speech monitoring abilities in individuals with aphasia. Methods: A randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, within-subject study was designed to explore the involvement of ACC in individuals with non-fluent aphasia. Participants will be 20 patients with a left unilateral stroke for at least six months post onset of lesion classified as aphasic based on brain imaging reports, neurological exams, and the results of a Persian aphasia screening test. They are expected to be fluent in Farsi speaking before the stroke and be able to produce single words now. During four separate sessions, participants will perform four 108-item picture naming tasks in either the normal or noised-masked auditory conditions during anodal (20 minutes, 2 mA) or sham tDCS over the ACC. The interval between sessions will be at least seven days. Performance accuracy and the amount of self-monitoring behaviors will serve as primary outcome measures. Discussion: This will be the first study which explores the effects of tDCS over the ACC on the ability of individuals with aphasia to detect and repair error responses in both overt and inner speech situations. Results will be discussed in relation to recent selfmonitoring concepts in speech production and available data about monitoring skills in aphasia.