1,721,009 research outputs found
Evaluation of brain apoptosis in a CADASIL postmortem case
No full textOBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of brain lesions in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), a hereditary microangiopathy leading to cognitive decline and dementia, caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Detection of apoptotic nuclei in temporal lobe, brain stem, medulla oblongata, hippocampus and basal ganglia from one young CADASIL patient was performed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL).
RESULTS:
Our results showed a great involvement of glial cells in apoptotic cell death in the majority of the brain regions examined; neuronal apoptosis was significantly present only in the brain stem region.
CONCLUSIONS:
We hypothesized that in the early stages of the disease neuronal involvement of apoptosis is limited to the cells of the brain stem, sparing the cortical area which is involved in neuronal apoptosis and cognitive decline later
Electrodiagnosis in cranial botulism
Full text linkBotulism is an acute neurologic disorder that causes potentially life-threatening neuroparalysis resulting
in weakness and laccid paralysis. In addition to the autonomic nervous system, botulism may involve
only the cranial nerves, thus posing special diagnostic problems. Almost all cranial nerves are not easily
testable. The anatomical and physiological characteristics of the spinal accessory nerve makes it very
suitable to electrophysiological diagnosis of cranial botulism.
Although with a working diagnosis of botulism, treatment should not be delayed pending
neurophysiological tests, electrophysiological studies including spinal accessory nerve may assist in
diagnostic differentiation between cranial botulism and other disorders with similar clinical
presentations such as Miller-Fisher and myasthenia gravis
Changes in corticomotor pathway excitability after exercise training in Parkinson's disease
No full textBackground Altered corticospinal excitability in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is related to many of the motor signs. Objective We examined whether the recruitment properties of the corticospinal pathway to hand muscles are changed after 8 weeks of specialized upper limbs exercise in PD.
Methods Seven PD subjects were enrolled. Upper limb exercise was achieved by using a specially designed device. The input–output (I–O) curves were obtained by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The conduction of peripheral axons and H reflex was also recorded. UPDRS scale, part-III motor examination was used to assess the motor symptom. Clinical and neurophysiological
data were obtained before and after 2-month exercise training. Results After 2-month exercise training, the UPDRS score was significantly improved. Threshold, slope, and V50 (i.e., the stimulus intensity required to obtain a response 50% of the maximum) of the I–O curve were unchanged, whereas the plateau value was significantly higher. Conclusions Exercise training affects the larger motoneurons, that is those activated at higher TMS stimulation intensity. These motoneurones are related to the large, type IImotor units. Clinical improvement after exercise may depend upon restoration of the recruitment of the large motor unit, i.e., those necessary to perform rapid and strong movements, known to be deficient in P
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
A case of 3243A>G mutation in mtDNA presenting as apparently idiopathic hyperCKemia.
No full textThe 3243A>G mutation of mtDNA usually is associated with MELAS syndrome. Here we report a patient with the 3243A>G mutation presenting only recurrent muscle fatigue and elevated levels of serum creatine kinase (CK). The mother of the proband was referred to us for type 2 diabetes mellitus, muscle pain and sensorineural hearing loss. The percentage of mutation load in different tissues was similar in both subjects, except in the urinary epithelium. The mutation load in the son's urinary epithelial cells (UEC) was consistently higher (nearly 50%) than in his muscle (nearly 20%). We conclude that a correlation between the proportion of the UEC mutation load and the severity of the disease was lacking in this pedigree. The use of UEC as the tissue of choice in the noninvasive diagnosis of the 3243A>G mutation offers a very attractive alternative to muscle biopsy. Finally, our data expand the clinical spectrum of the 3243A>G mutation
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