Caspian Journal of Neurological Sciences
Volume:10 Issue: 36, Jan 2024

Alzheimer disease (AD), as the leading cause of dementia and cognitive decline, requires innovative drug solutions addressing its multifaceted nature. To combat this complex disease, researchers explored various strategies, such as antioxidant mechanisms, promoting non-amyloidogenic pathways in amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing, inhibiting amyloid beta formation and polymerization, metal chelation, and cholinesterase inhibition. These diverse approaches aim to enhance AD’s neuro-protecting, cognitive-enhancing, and mood-modulating potential. Traditional medicine and pharmacy use plant secondary metabolites to mitigate AD side effects. Monoterpenes and diterpenes, characterized by their low molecular weight, exhibit valuable biological properties and clinical applications. Recent research has focused on their anti-AD properties. This study comprehensively reviews monoterpenes’ and diterpenes’ potential effects and mechanisms in addressing AD pathology. Additionally, clinical studies in this field are scrutinized, shedding light on the promising role of these secondary metabolites in managing AD.

Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is essential because the challenges that ASD children and their parents face will be managed better by developmental and behavioral intervention at earlier ages.

This study aims to diagnose ASD based on electroencephalography (EEG) with the help of an artificial neural network (ANN).

The statistical population includes all girls and boys aged 3 to 7 years referred to child psychiatry and neurodevelopmental centers in Mashhad City, Iran. A total of 34 children with ASD (5 girls and 29 boys) and 11 children without any neurodevelopmental disorders (8 girls and 3 boys) participated in this study. EEG signals were recorded through C3 and C4 channels based on the standard 10-20 system. With the help of programming codes, the absolute power of the frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, mu rhythm, beta, and gamma) was extracted from the brain signals of the samples.

This study showed a significant difference in mu rhythm between the two groups. The classification result based on discriminant function analysis in two groups gave a sensitivity of 67.6% in the third stage of EEG recording. Seven band frequencies were used as features for ANN inputs. The results indicated that the radial basis function network with 402 neurons in the hidden layer accurately diagnosed and classified the EEG signals of ASD children from non-neurodevelopmental
children (mean square error=1.22325e-5).

It can be concluded that band frequencies are notable features in diagnosing ASD.

Based on research, acne vulgaris is associated with a high prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This study investigates the comorbidity of ADHD and acne vulgaris in individuals with acne vulgaris who were referred to the Razi Dermatology Specialist Clinic and Beesat Clinic of Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht City, Iran, in 2021.

This case-control study includes 85 individuals with acne vulgaris and 85 without acne vulgaris. The Conners’ adult ADHD rating scales (CAARS) were used to evaluate ADHD symptoms. The study data were analyzed with SPSS software, version 24 at a significant level of <0.05.

The Mean±SD age of the study participants was 35.12±13.19 years, and 64.1% of them (n=109) were women. Of the total participants, 7.6% had ADHD, and the frequency of ADHD in individuals with acne vulgaris compared to controls was 8.2% vs 7.1%, and this difference was not significant (P=0.773). The frequency of ADHD and the mean score of ADHD in individuals with acne vulgaris were higher in those aged ≤30, women, and severe types of acne, but this difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05).

Our findings showed no statistically significant difference between subjects with acne vulgaris and the control group in the score and frequency of ADHD. Also, we found no statistically significant difference in the score and the frequency of ADHD based on the severity of acne vulgaris.

The rising use of formulated insecticides called for an evaluation of their effects on the substantia nigra defensive mechanisms to identify potential therapeutic windows.

The purpose of this study is to assess the defense system of substantia nigra after shortterm exposure to formulated pyrethroid insecticide.

A total of 32 adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups, each consisting of 8 animals. Group A was kept as the control group, while groups B, C, and D were given a mixture of dichlorvos and cypermethrin for 2 h, 3 h, and 4 h/d, respectively, for 4 weeks. The neurobehavioral test was carried out on the final day of exposure. The animals were sacrificed and cardiac perfused with heparinized saline 24 h after the last exposure. An occipitofrontal incision was made to remove the brain to assess glucose and astrocytes. After the brain mapping, the fixation was performed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for 48 h.

Groups A, B, C, and D had glucose levels of 68.91, 71.66, 74.27, and 75.85 mg/dL, respectively, and all of them were statistically significant at P=0.000. The astrocyte expressions were 19.50, 31.13, 33.63, and 57.88 μg/mL in groups A, B, C, and D, respectively, and groups C and D were statistically significant at P=0.026 and P=0.000, respectively, while group B was not significant at P=0.086. The means of motor function were 1.42, 1.33, 1.10, and 0.75 minutes in groups A, B, C, and D, respectively, and the groups B, C, and D were not statistically significant at P=0.999, P=0.936, and P=0.850, respectively.

Regarding the blood-brain barrier and the gliosis process, the structural integrity of astrocytes serves as the first line of protection against xenobiotic (foreign substance) inversion of the brain. According to this research, the increased astrocyte expression and elevated glucose levels are attempts to maintain motor capabilities after exposure to insecticides with pyrethrin formulations, which explains the time-dependent slow decline in the motor activities of the experimental animals.

Gum arabic (GA) contains anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds and protects tissues.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of GA on the spinal cord’s motor neurons after ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury.

Thirty-five male rats (Sprague-Dawley) were randomly divided into five groups: Intact, sham surgery, control (4 mL/kg distilled water+I/R), low-dose gum arabic (GA 1 g/kg+I-R), and high-dose gum arabic (GA 4 g/kg+I-R). In the experimental groups, oral gavages’ treatment was performed for 21 days before surgery. Three days after I-R, the rats were evaluated for neurological function, biochemical, and histological analysis.

The mean motor deficit index (MDI) in the GA groups versus the control group was significantly lower (P<0.01). About 72 hours after I-R, the mean plasma level of superoxide dismutase and total anti-oxidant capacity in the GA 4 g/kg group were higher than the control group (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the plasma level of catalase between the GA 4 g/kg and the control groups (P<0.05). Approximately 67% of the motor neurons were destroyed in the control group, while this ratio was about 18% in the GA 4 g/kg group.

This study showed that GA (4 g/kg) protects the motor neurons of the spinal cord against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Ultrasonic therapy is used locally to repair damaged peripheral nerves.

This study was designed to examine the effect of low-intensity remote ultrasound on peripheral nerve regeneration.

In the present study, 24 male rats were randomly divided into three groups: Sham surgery (SS: No sciatic crush injury, no ultrasonic treatment, n=8), control (C: Sciatic crush injury, without ultrasonic treatment, n=8), and remote ultrasound (RU: Sciatic crush injury, ultrasonic treatment, n=8). To induce nerve crush, the sciatic nerve was clamped 1 cm above the bifurcation site for 30 seconds. In the RU group, the opposite leg was treated with low-intensity ultrasound for 10 minutes, 3 times a week for 4 weeks (1.1 MHz frequency with an intensity of 0.5 W/cm2). Neurological evaluation was done by examining the sciatic nerve index (SFI) on days 7, 21, 28, 35, 49, and 56 after surgery. The samples were evaluated histologically, biochemically, and immunohistologically on days 28 and 56 after surgery.

The mean SFI, transverse diameter of muscle fibers, and the number of myelinated axons in the RU group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Also, the mean plasma levels of total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, interleukin-6, and HSP70 in the control group differed from the RU group on days 28 and 56 after surgery (P<0.05).

The results of the present study show that low-intensity remote ultrasound has beneficial effects on the crushed sciatic nerve.

Changes in the body fluid and serum electrolyte status following major operations, such as brain tumor resection, are always expected. These changes can increase post-operation morbidity and mortality.

We aimed to evaluate the changes in serum electrolyte levels and renal function parameters in brain tumor patients after operation.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 168 patients with supratentorial tumors in Poursina Hospital, Rasht City, Iran, in 2020. The study parameters included patients’ demographics, hemodynamic stability, serum sodium, potassium, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels, urine specific gravity, and urinary output, measured immediately and 12 hours after the operation.

This study revealed statistically significant increases in serum sodium level (from 139.70±5.60 meq/L to 140.34±6.23 meq/L, P=0.002), urinary output (from 1043.70±455.00 mL to 1967.50±661.10 mL, P=0.008), urine specific gravity (from 1.010±0.007 to 1.012±0.008, P=0.011), and in serum BUN level (from 17.46±6.92 to 18.41±6.40, P=0.001), but significant decrease in serum potassium level (from 3.88±0.49 meq/L to 3.78±0.28 meq/L, P=0.017) during the first 12 hours after operation. However, the change in serum creatinine level was not significant (from 1.18±2.08 mg/dL to 1.17±2.08 mg/dL, P=0.787).

Significant changes in serum electrolytes (sodium and potassium) and renal function indicators (urine output, specific gravity, and serum BUN) are expected within the first 12 hours after brain tumor operation.

Applying efficient feature extraction and selection methods is essential in improving the performance of machine learning algorithms employed in brain-computer interface (BCI) systems.

The current study aims to enhance the performance of a motor imagery-based BCI by improving the feature extraction and selection stages of the machine-learning algorithm applied to classify the different imagined movements.

In this study, a multi-rate system for spectral decomposition of the signal is designed, and then the spatial and temporal features are extracted from each sub-band. To maximize the classification accuracy while simplifying the model and using the smallest set of features, the feature selection stage is treated as a multiobjective optimization problem, and the Pareto optimal solutions of these two conflicting objectives are obtained. For the feature selection stage, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), an evolutionary-based algorithm, is used wrapper-based, and its effect on the BCI performance is explored. The proposed method is
implemented on a public dataset known as BCI competition III dataset IVa.

Extracting the spatial and temporal features from different sub-bands and selecting the features with an evolutionary optimization approach in this study led to an improved classification accuracy of 92.19% which has a higher value compared to the state of the art.

The results show that the proposed improved classification accuracy could achieve a high-performance subject-specific BCI system.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, anosmia, the loss of the sense of smell, has emerged as a curious and widespread symptom. While the sense of smell in many individuals has eventually recovered, some grapple with anosmia for extended periods. In our recent study entitled "Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Findings of Brain Olfactory Areas in Patients With COVID-19-Related Anosmia," we embarked on a journey to explore the neurochemical underpinnings of anosmia in COVID-19 patients. This commentary extends our original research, providing insights into the evolving landscape of COVID-19-related anosmia and its implications.