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The International Journal of... Jun 2024The principle of gain control determines the efficiency of neuronal processing and can be enhanced with pharmacological or brain stimulation methods. It is a key factor...
BACKGROUND
The principle of gain control determines the efficiency of neuronal processing and can be enhanced with pharmacological or brain stimulation methods. It is a key factor for cognitive control, but the degree of how much gain control may be enhanced underlies a physical limit.
METHODS
To investigate whether methylphenidate (MPH) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) share common underlying mechanisms and cognitive effects, we administered MPH and anodal tDCS (atDCS) over the right inferior frontal gyrus both separately and combined, while healthy adult participants (n = 104) performed a response selection and inhibition task. The recorded EEG data were analyzed with a focus on theta band activity, and source estimation analyses were conducted.
RESULTS
The behavioral data show that MPH and atDCS revealed interactive effects on the ability to inhibit responses. Both MPH and atDCS modulated task-related theta oscillations in the supplementary motor area when applied separately, making a common underlying mechanism likely. When both stimulation methods were combined, there was no doubling of effects in the supplementary motor area but a shift to inferior frontal areas in the cortical network responsible for theta-driven processing.
CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that both MPH and atDCS likely share a common underlying neuronal mechanism, and interestingly, they demonstrate interactive effects when combined, which are most likely due to the physical limitations of gain control increases. The current study provides critical groundwork for future combined applications of MPH and non-invasive brain stimulation.
Topics: Humans; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Male; Female; Adult; Young Adult; Methylphenidate; Inhibition, Psychological; Theta Rhythm; Electroencephalography; Central Nervous System Stimulants; Prefrontal Cortex; Motor Cortex
PubMed: 38742426
DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyae023 -
Analytical Methods : Advancing Methods... May 2024The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac (DCF) is an important environmental contaminant occurring in surface waters all over the world, because,...
The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac (DCF) is an important environmental contaminant occurring in surface waters all over the world, because, after excretion, it is not adequately removed from wastewater in sewage treatment plants. To be able to monitor this pollutant, highly efficient analytical methods are needed, including immunoassays. In a medical research project, monoclonal antibodies against diclofenac and its metabolites had been produced. Based on this monoclonal anti-DCF antibody, a new indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed and applied for environmental samples. The introduction of a spacer between diclofenac and the carrier protein in the coating conjugate led to higher sensitivity. With a test midpoint of 3 μg L and a measurement range of 1-30 μg L, the system is not sensitive enough for direct analysis of surface water. However, this assay is quite robust against matrix influences and can be used for wastewater. Without adjustment of the calibration, organic solvents up to 5%, natural organic matter (NOM) up to 10 mg L, humic acids up to 2.5 mg L, and salt concentrations up to 6 g L NaCl and 75 mg L CaCl are tolerated. The antibody is also stable in a pH range from 3 to 12. Cross-reactivity (CR) of 1% or less was determined for the metabolites 4'-hydroxydiclofenac (4'-OH-DCF), 5-hydroxydiclofenac (5-OH-DCF), DCF lactam, and other NSAIDs. Relevant cross-reactivity occurred only with an amide derivative of DCF, 6-aminohexanoic acid (DCF-Ahx), aceclofenac (ACF) and DCF methyl ester (DCF-Me) with 150%, 61% and 44%, respectively. These substances, however, have not been found in samples. Only DCF-acyl glucuronide with a cross-reactivity of 57% is of some relevance. For the first time, photodegradation products were tested for cross-reactivity. With the ELISA based on this antibody, water samples were analysed. In sewage treatment plant effluents, concentrations in the range of 1.9-5.2 μg L were determined directly, with recoveries compared to HPLC-MS/MS averaging 136%. Concentrations in lakes ranged from 3 to 4.4 ng L and were, after pre-concentration, determined with an average recovery of 100%.
Topics: Diclofenac; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Environmental Monitoring; Wastewater
PubMed: 38742423
DOI: 10.1039/d3ay01333b -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Jul 2024The capacity for organic micropollutant removal in granular activated carbon (GAC) filters for wastewater treatment changes over time. These changes are in general...
The capacity for organic micropollutant removal in granular activated carbon (GAC) filters for wastewater treatment changes over time. These changes are in general attributed to changes in adsorption, but may in some cases also be affected by biological degradation. Knowledge on the degradation of organic micropollutants, however, is scarce. In this work, the degradation of micropollutants in several full-scale GAC and sand filters was investigated through incubation experiments over a period of three years, using C-labeled organic micropollutants with different susceptibilities to biological degradation (ibuprofen, diclofenac, and carbamazepine), with parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that the degradation of diclofenac and ibuprofen in GAC filters increased with increasing numbers of bed volumes when free oxygen was available in the filter, while variations over filter depth were limited. Despite relatively large differences in bacterial composition between filters, a degradation of diclofenac was consistently observed for the GAC filters that had been operated with high influent oxygen concentration (DO >8 mg/L). The results of this comprehensive experimental work provide an increased understanding of the interactions between microbial composition, filter material, and oxygen availability in the biological degradation of organic micropollutants in GAC filters.
Topics: Diclofenac; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Ibuprofen; Filtration; Biodegradation, Environmental; Carbamazepine; Charcoal; Bacteria; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Oxygen; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Water Purification
PubMed: 38733780
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134449 -
BMC Biotechnology May 2024Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, and it leads to irreversible inflammation in intra-articular joints. Current treatment approaches...
BACKGROUND
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, and it leads to irreversible inflammation in intra-articular joints. Current treatment approaches for RA include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), corticosteroids, and biological agents. To overcome the drug-associated toxicity of conventional therapy and transdermal tissue barrier, an injectable NSAID-loaded hydrogel system was developed and explored its efficacy.
RESULTS
The surface morphology and porosity of the hydrogels indicate that they mimic the natural ECM, which is greatly beneficial for tissue healing. Further, NSAIDs, i.e., diclofenac sodium, were loaded into the hydrogel, and the in vitro drug release pattern was found to be burst release for 24 h and subsequently sustainable release of 50% drug up to 10 days. The DPPH assay revealed that the hydrogels have good radical scavenging activity. The biocompatibility study carried out by MTT assay proved good biocompatibility and anti-inflammatory activity of the hydrogels was carried out by gene expression study in RAW 264.7 cells, which indicate the downregulation of several key inflammatory genes such as COX-2, TNF-α & 18s.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the proposed ECM-mimetic, thermo-sensitive in situ hydrogels may be utilized for intra-articular inflammation modulation and can be beneficial by reducing the frequency of medication and providing optimum lubrication at intra-articular joints.
Topics: Hydrogels; Animals; Mice; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; RAW 264.7 Cells; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Extracellular Matrix; Diclofenac; Drug Liberation
PubMed: 38724967
DOI: 10.1186/s12896-024-00856-3 -
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and... Mar 2024A bradykinin B receptors antagonist PAV-0056, an 1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one derivative, intragastrically administrated to mice at doses of 0.1 and 1 mg/kg causes analgesia...
A bradykinin B receptors antagonist PAV-0056, an 1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one derivative, intragastrically administrated to mice at doses of 0.1 and 1 mg/kg causes analgesia in the "formalin test" not inferior to that of diclofenac sodium (10 mg/kg) and tramadol (20 mg/kg). PAV-0056 at doses of 0.1 and 10 mg/kg has no anxiolytic and central muscle relaxant effects in mice and does not damage the gastric mucosa in rats. Based on the results of the conditioned place preference test, PAV-0056 also does not induce addiction in mice.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Rats; Male; Analgesics; Diclofenac; Tramadol; Psychotropic Drugs; Bradykinin; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Bradykinin B1 Receptor Antagonists; Rats, Wistar; Gastric Mucosa; Pain Measurement
PubMed: 38724817
DOI: 10.1007/s10517-024-06071-6 -
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and... Mar 2024Leukocyte elastase is a marker of inflammation. Previously, a relationship was found between the severity of mental disorders in patients and elastase-like activity of...
Leukocyte elastase is a marker of inflammation. Previously, a relationship was found between the severity of mental disorders in patients and elastase-like activity of blood plasma. The effect of various neurotropic drugs on leukocyte elastase activity was analyzed in an in vitro experiment. We revealed an inhibitory effect of the benzodiazepine tranquilizers diazepam and bromodihydrochlorophenylbenzodiazepine and immunomodulators aminodihydrophthalazinedione and diclofenac on the plasma elastase-like activity of healthy donors and pure human neutrophil elastase. The antipsychotics chlorpromazine and alimemazine, as well as the nootropic vinpocetine increased elastase-like activity in a dose-dependent manner. The activating effect of chlorpromazine and vinpocetine, but not alimemazine, was reproduced in neutrophil elastase. We hypothesized that these drugs can affect the development of inflammatory reactions in the complex therapy of mental disorders.
Topics: Humans; Leukocyte Elastase; Chlorpromazine; Diazepam; Antipsychotic Agents; Diclofenac; Nootropic Agents; Tranquilizing Agents; Immunologic Factors; Vinca Alkaloids
PubMed: 38724813
DOI: 10.1007/s10517-024-06072-5 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Jul 2024Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with executive function deficits that are improved with medications. However, meta-analyses of stimulant... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with executive function deficits that are improved with medications. However, meta-analyses of stimulant effects on cognition have mostly tested single-dose effects, and there is no meta-analysis of non-stimulant effects. This systematic review and meta-analysis tested the clinically more relevant longer-term effects of Methylphenidate (20 studies; minimum 1 week) and Atomoxetine (8 studies; minimum 3 weeks) on reaction time, attention, inhibition, and working memory, searching papers on PubMed, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and PsycINFO. The meta-analysis of 18 studies in 1667 subjects showed that methylphenidate was superior to placebo in all cognitive domains with small to medium effect sizes (Hedges g of 0.34-0.59). The meta-analysis of atomoxetine included 7 studies in 829 subjects and showed no effects in working memory, but superior effects in the other domains with medium to large effect sizes (Hedge's g of 0.36-0.64). Meta-regression analysis showed no drug differences on cognitive effects. The meta-analyses show for the first time that chronic Methylphenidate and Atomoxetine have comparable effects of improving executive functions in people with ADHD.
Topics: Humans; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Executive Function; Central Nervous System Stimulants; Methylphenidate; Atomoxetine Hydrochloride; Memory, Short-Term
PubMed: 38718988
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105703 -
Communications Biology May 2024Chemogenetic approaches employing ligand-gated ion channels are advantageous regarding manipulation of target neuronal population functions independently of endogenous...
Chemogenetic approaches employing ligand-gated ion channels are advantageous regarding manipulation of target neuronal population functions independently of endogenous second messenger pathways. Among them, Ionotropic Receptor (IR)-mediated neuronal activation (IRNA) allows stimulation of mammalian neurons that heterologously express members of the insect chemosensory IR repertoire in response to their cognate ligands. In the original protocol, phenylacetic acid, a ligand of the IR84a/IR8a complex, was locally injected into a brain region due to its low permeability of the blood-brain barrier. To circumvent this invasive injection, we sought to develop a strategy of peripheral administration with a precursor of phenylacetic acid, phenylacetic acid methyl ester, which is efficiently transferred into the brain and converted to the mature ligand by endogenous esterase activities. This strategy was validated by electrophysiological, biochemical, brain-imaging, and behavioral analyses, demonstrating high utility of systemic IRNA technology in the remote activation of target neurons in the brain.
Topics: Animals; Neurons; Brain; Ligands; Mice; Phenylacetates; Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate; Male
PubMed: 38714803
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06223-4 -
Chemosphere Jun 2024In this study, neural networks and support vector regression (SVR) were employed to predict the degradation over three pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs):...
In this study, neural networks and support vector regression (SVR) were employed to predict the degradation over three pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs): Ibuprofen (IBP), diclofenac (DCF), and caffeine (CAF) within a stirred reactor featuring a flotation cell with two non-concentric ultraviolet lamps. A total of 438 datapoints were collected from published works and distributed into 70% training and 30% test datasets while cross-validation was utilized to assess the training reliability. The models incorporated 15 input variables concerning reaction kinetics, molecular properties, hydrodynamic information, presence of radiation, and catalytic properties. It was observed that the Support Vector Regression (SVR) presented a poor performance as the ε hyperparameter ignored large error over low concentration levels. Meanwhile, the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) model was able to provide rough estimations on the expected degradation of the pollutants without requiring information regarding reaction rate constants. The multi-objective optimization analysis suggested a leading role due to ozone kinetic for a rapid degradation of the contaminants and most of the results required intensification with hydrogen peroxide and Fenton process. Although both models were affected by accuracy limitations, this work provided a lightweight model to evaluate different Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) by providing general information regarding the process operational conditions as well as know molecular and catalytic properties.
Topics: Machine Learning; Diclofenac; Neural Networks, Computer; Hydrogen Peroxide; Ibuprofen; Kinetics; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Caffeine; Oxidation-Reduction; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Ozone; Support Vector Machine; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Ultraviolet Rays; Catalysis; Photolysis
PubMed: 38714249
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142222 -
The Journal of Head Trauma...To understand how methylphenidate (MPH) is used in youth with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during inpatient pediatric rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE
To understand how methylphenidate (MPH) is used in youth with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during inpatient pediatric rehabilitation.
SETTING
Inpatient pediatric rehabilitation.
PARTICIPANTS
In total, 234 children with TBI; 62 of whom received MPH and 172 who did not. Patients were on average 11.6 years of age (range, 2 months to 21 years); 88 of 234 were female; the most common mechanism of injury was motor vehicle collision (49%); median (IQR) acute hospital length of stay (LOS) and inpatient rehabilitation LOS were 16 (10-29) and 23 (14-39), respectively; 51 of 234 were in a disorder of consciousness cognitive state at time of inpatient rehabilitation admission.
DESIGN
Multicenter, retrospective medical record review.
MAIN MEASURES
Patient demographic data, time to inpatient pediatric rehabilitation admission (TTA), cognitive state, MPH dosing (mg/kg/day).
RESULTS
Patients who received MPH were older (P = .011); TTA was significantly longer in patients who received MPH than those who did not (P =.002). The lowest recorded dose range by weight was 0.05 to 0.89 mg/kg/d, representing an 18-fold difference; the weight-based range for the maximum dose was 0.11 to 0.97 mg/kg/d, a 9-fold difference. Patients in lower cognitive states at admission (P = .001) and at discharge (P = .030) were more likely to receive MPH. Five patients had side effects known to be associated with MPH; no serious adverse events were reported.
CONCLUSION
This multicenter study indicates that there is variable use of MPH during acute inpatient rehabilitation for children with TBI. Children who receive MPH tend to be older with lower cognitive states. Dosing practices are likely consistent with underdosing. Clinical indications for MPH use during inpatient pediatric rehabilitation should be better defined. The use of MPH, as well as its combination with other medications and treatments, during inpatient rehabilitation needs to be further explored.
Topics: Humans; Methylphenidate; Child; Female; Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Male; Adolescent; Child, Preschool; Retrospective Studies; Central Nervous System Stimulants; Infant; Practice Patterns, Physicians'; Young Adult; Inpatients; Length of Stay; Rehabilitation Centers
PubMed: 38709832
DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000889