فصلنامه علوم اعصاب شفای خاتم
سال هشتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 42، زمستان 1398)

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neuropathological disorder caused by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Quercetin (SNPC) is a compound with both anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects, which can cross the blood brain barrier. The aim of the present study was to evaluate neuroprotective effect of quercetin in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced model of PD in male mice.

48 male NMRI mice were divided into 6 groups (n=8); control, saline, MPTP, MPTP+ 20mg/kg quercetin, MPTP+ 25mg/kg quercetin, and MPTP+ 30mg/kg quercetin. To induce PD model, MPTP (25mg/ Kg) was injected intraperitoneally (i.e.) for 4 day. Catalepsy test was assessed by test bars one and 21 days after the last injection MPTP. Quercetin (20, 25, 30mg/kg/day) was applied orally for 21 days. Dopaminergic neurons of SNPC were determined by immunohistochemical labeling. The levels of interleukin 10 and TNF-α were determined in the substantia nigra and the striatum using ELISA technique.

Treatment with quercetin was significantly improved catalepsy. Furthermore, quercetin significantly enhanced the number of neurons in SNPC, increased interleukin 10 protein levels, and reduced TNF-α protein values.

Quercetin may exert a neuroprotective effect on progressive cell damage and the neuronal death in the substantia nigra in PD; possibly via modulation of inflammatory mediators.

oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is one of the most common externalizing disorders in childhood and one of the most common psychiatric disorders among clients of health centers. The purpose of this study was to formulate and validate a social cognition training program and determine its effectiveness on symptoms of oppositional defiant.

The present study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, after reviewing the literature, therapeutic theories and concepts in the field of social cognition and training program were developed. Then, ten clinical and child psychologists determined the content validity of the training program. In the second stage, a semi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test and follow-up with a control group was used. The statistical population consisted of all male students aged 7 to 9 years in Tehran schools during 2019-2020 that were evaluated by two-stage sampling. In the first stage, screening was performed. In the second stage, 30 children according to inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The social cognition training program was administered to the experimental group for 10 sessions, and after one month, the experimental group was followed up. Data was collected using Hormerson et al. oppositional defiant disorder rating scale.

The results indicated that social cognition training program has acceptable content validity. Furthermore, the results of training intervention showed that social cognition training significantly reduced the symptoms of ODD in children and this effect was significant in the follow-up phase.

Social cognition training program can be considered as a valid and effective program for alleviation of ODD symptoms in children.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of hippotherapy on quality of life in women with multiple sclerosis.

This study is a semi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test and a control group. Among patients with multiple sclerosis, 24 patients from a clinical center in Isfahan were recruited through convenient sampling and randomly and put in the experimental and control groups. In the pre-test step, participants filled out Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 Questionnaire. Then, the experimental group practiced hippotherapy training for 8 weeks (3 days in a week for 30 minutes). After completing the intervention, subjects in both groups participated in the post-test.

A significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in physical and mental health dimensions of quality of life was observed.

Our data indicate that hippotherapy training has a positive effect on the quality of life of women with multiple sclerosis.

Treatment-resistant depression is a severe form of major depression that often fails with multiple treatments with standard antidepressants and has a poor long-term prognosis. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of memory specificity training, behavioral activation treatment, and cognitive behavioral therapy on treatment-resistant depression.

This is a semi-experimental research with pre-test, post-test and follow-up with a control group. The participants are all patients with treatment-resistant depression in Rafsanjan, Iran. Sixty patients with treatment-resistant depression who referred to a psychiatrist and two psychologists in 2017 were selected. They were randomly divided into four groups of 15 persons; three experimental and one control groups. Data were collected by Beck depression, rumination and dysfunctional attitude questionnaire.

The results have shown a significant difference in the post-test depression of all three treatment groups compared to the control group. This difference was also evident in the follow-up phase. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the rumination variable between the memory specificity training and behavioral activation in the post-test and follow-up stages. In addition, there was a significant difference in the attitude level between the memory specificity training and behavioral activation in the post-test phase and between the memory specificity training and cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavioral activation in the follow-up phase.

According to the results, the use of psychotherapy, especially memory specificity training, is suggested as an effective psychological intervention in the management of treatment-resistant depression.

Anxiety disorders, depression, and dementia are common in elderly, which may overlap in various neurological disorders. Stress can be a risk factor for long-term depression. It also suggests that depression plays a role in developing dementia. Amnesia is the most problem in dementia. Is amnesia a risk factor for depression? Considering the common underlying mechanisms for causing these disorders, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of amnesia in developing depression.

Forty-eight wistar rats were divided into two main groups (sham-A and intervention-B) and four subgroups (Control-C, Chronic mild stress-D, hypoperfusion without stress-E, hypoperfusion with Mild stress-F). Permanent occlusion of bilateral common carotid artery was performed to induce cerebral hypoperfusion. Radial arm maze test and chronic unpredictable mild stress were used to evaluate amnesia and depression, respectively. Forced swim test was performed to assess severity of depression and finally we used neuronal count for evaluating cellular degeneration in the CA1 hippocampus region.

Cerebral hypoperfusion causes amnesia and significantly reduced the mean number of cells in the hippocampal CA1 area. Cerebral hypoperfusion and stress significantly increased the incidence of depression-like behavior.

Amnesia caused by cerebral hypoperfusion can increase the risk of depression, especially under stressful situations.

Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent health problems in the victims of the Iran-Iraq war. Despite many advantages of the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as the first-line treatment of PTSD, a large number of the patients still need more effective therapies. The purpose of this study was to comparison of the effectiveness of sertraline, transcranial direct stimulation current (TDCS), and the combined treatment (TDCS and sertraline) to relieve the symptoms of PTSD in the veterans in Tehran, Iran.

The current study was a semi-experimental study including pre- and post-tests, a control group, and three-month follow-up. The population of study was veterans who lived in Tehran in 2018. 68 veterans were selected by purposive sampling method and then randomly divided to control and experimental groups. The first group was treated with sertraline, the second group received TDCS, and the third group treated with the combined treatment. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5(PCL-5) was used as a research tool.

All of the treatment approaches were effective in reduction of symptoms in patients with PTSD. In the post-test and follow-up phase, there was a significant difference in PCL-5 scores between sertraline, TDCS, and combined treatment in comparison with the control group. Combined treatment (TDCS and sertraline) have shown a significantly higher and persistence effectiveness.

Combined treatment with TDCS and sertraline can be used as an efficient and effective approach to reduce PTSD symptoms in veterans.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, debilitating nervous system disease, which damages the myelin of the central nervous system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks Pilates training and direct transcranial stimulation (tDCS) on motor and cognitive functions in women with MS.

The present study was a semi-experimental one in which the women with MS in Tabriz, Iran were selected and 36 of them were selected as subjects with age range of 20-40 years. They were randomly divided into four groups; Pilates + tDCS, Pilates + Placebo, tDCS, and control groups. The Pilates and tDCS training program consisted of 8 weeks (three sessions/60 minutes) Pilates training plus 20 minutes of electrical stimulation.

The results have shown that after exercise and electrical stimulation, the tDCS + exercise and exercise + placebo groups improved motor functions (general endurance, general speed, flexibility, balance). The results also revealed that among the measured cognitive factors, there was a significant improvement in the cognitive flexibility in the tDCS + exercise, the exercise + placebo, and the tDCS groups.

Considering the combined effects of exercise with tDCS on motor functions, it seems that the use of these two techniques is helpful in improving motor functions in MS patients. However, this combined therapy can not improve cognitive functions of patients with MS.

Sleep disorder seriously affects cognitive and physical functions. The aim of the present research was to investigate the effectiveness of behavioral activation group therapy on ineffective attitudes rate and rumination in women with sleep disorder.

The research design was a pre-test and post-test with a control group. The research population consisted of all women with insomnia disorder who referred to a psychiatric clinic in Ahvaz, Iran. The sample consisted of 30 individuals who were selected through purposive sampling method and then randomly assigned to two groups of experimental and control. Then, behavioral activation group therapy was performed for 8 sessions (90 minutes per session) for the experimental group. Data was collected using ineffective attitudes and rumination inventory questionnaires.

The results showed that after the behavioral activation group therapy, the mean scores of ineffective attitude and rumination were significantly different in the experimental group compared to the control group.

Our data indicate that behavioral activation group therapy reduces ineffective attitudes and rumination in people with insomnia disorder.

The quality of life in cancer patients has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive model of quality of life in patients with breast cancer based on psychological hardiness, religious orientation, perceived social support, and self-efficacy with mediation of resiliency and death anxiety.

The research method was analytical and structural equation modeling. The statistical population in this study included all patients with breast cancer referring to Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini and Milad hospitals in Tehran, Iran in 2018. Purposeful sampling method was used to select the sample. 300 patients with breast cancer were selected based on the criteria for entering and leaving criteria. The research tool was a general self-efficacy questionnaire of Sherer et al., multi-dimensional perceived social support questionnaire Zamet et al., Allport Religious Orientation Questionnaire, Kobasa Psychological Hardiness Questionnaire, Templar Death Anxiety Scale, The Conor-Davidson Resilience Questionnaire, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale.

The results of the model analysis showed that the factor structure of the research scales was acceptable. The results of the conceptual model test showed that the fitting indices of the research model are in a favorable condition. Religious orientation and psychological hardiness on quality of life in patients with breast cancer have significant direct and indirect effects on resiliency and death anxiety. In addition, perceived social support and self-efficacy exhibits a significant indirect effect on death anxiety of patients. Furthermore, resiliency and death anxiety have a significant direct effect on the quality of life of patients with breast cancer.

Our results indicate the importance of the antidote to psychological hardiness, religious orientation, and perceived social support in improvement of the quality of life of patients with breast cancer.

Self-renewable and differentiable cells or stem cells are high-potential cells for the repair of tissue damages. Therefore, this is a promising approach to treat brain tissue damage following neurological disorders, such as stroke. Animal studies have shown the beneficial effects of various stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, inducible pluripotent stem cells, neural stem cells, and mesenchymal stem cells, in stroke recovery. The healing process may be due to replacement of damaged cells, neuroprotective effects, endogenous neurogenesis, angiogenesis, modulation of inflammation, and immune responses. Currently, stem cell-based methods have attracted the attention of many scientists and practitioners due to their curative effect on stroke.

Although numerous clinical studies indicate that stem cells have high efficacy and safety in stroke treatment, some key issues should be considered. The positioning of these cells, survival, traceability, immunity, and cell transplantation protocols, such as the rate of usage and timing, are the challenges in stem cell-based treatment. Although the stem cell therapy is a potential new approach for treatment of stroke, further studies are still needed to improve the efficacy of this therapeutic method. This review article is a summary of current knowledge and concerns of the use of stem cells in post-stroke healing.

In recent years, the population of the elderly has risen in Iran. It is expected that the elderly population triple over the next 30 years. Therefore, addressing illnesses and problems of aging is a very important issue. The present study is a review of the literature on the subject of late life depression and dementia. The following issues are discussed; is there a relation between late depression and dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease? can depression be considered a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease? what are the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and late life depression?

This article discusses the link between late life depression and Alzheimer’s disease and describes the common mechanism pathways of these two pathological conditions.

Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder. In this disease, mitochondrial defects and oxidative stress lead to the enhancement of the free radicals and the death of dopamine neurons in the Sabstantia nigra. The clinical symptoms of this disease are including tremor, muscle stiffness, and inability to walk as well as cognition, memory and learning deficits. Aging increases the severity of Parkinson's disease.

Any therapeutic strategy which can modulate antioxidant homeostasis and neuroprotection may increase the life expectancy and quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is often selected as an excitatory target in the brain. A wide range of cognitive functions that can be modulated by the stimulation of this area makes it difficult to predict precise stimulation effect. The stimulation of DLPFC by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be effective in modifying a wide range of cognitive activities. From a relatively simple and low-level activity, such as the attention process, to the complex cognitive functions, such as decision making and working memory, can be affected by tDCS. The effects of tDCS are very diverse and dependent on stimulation parameters, which sometimes lead to conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to investigate and identify various cognitive domains resulting from the effect of tDCS on DLPFC.

Several complex cognitive activities are carried out by the DLPFC. The stimulation of this area by tDCS simultaneously activates multiple cognitive processes. This can lead to the facilitatation and sometimes inhibition of cognitive function, which subsequently may promote some behavior dysfunctions. To improve our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of tDCS on cognitive functions modulated by DPFLC, further investigations are needed.