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Current Medical Science Oct 2019Recent researches have found that 7 Tesla SWI can detect the alteration of substantia nigra hyperintensity in Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA),...
Recent researches have found that 7 Tesla SWI can detect the alteration of substantia nigra hyperintensity in Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The aim of this study was to investigate whether 3 Tesla SWI (3T SWI) can visualize anatomical alterations occurring in a hyperintense structure of the substantia nigra in PD and vascular parkinsonism (VP), and whether the evaluation of abnormal signal can be used as a factor in the differential diagnosis of PD and VP. Using 3 Tesla MRI, we evaluated 38 healthy subjects, 33 patients with PD and 34 patients with VP. Two blinded readers independently assessed the images. We found that the dorsolateral nigral hyperintensity was absent in 31 of 33 patients with PD and 15 of 34 patients with VP. The dorsolateral nigral hyperintensity was present in 19 of 34 patients with VP and 35 of 38 healthy controls. Group comparisons of absence of dorsolateral nigral hyperintensity revealed significant differences between the patients with PD and those with VP (P<0.001). The sensitivity of SWI for PD was 93.9% and the specificity was 92.1%. Visual assessment of dorsolateral nigral hyperintensity on high-field SWI scans may serve as a new simple diagnostic imaging marker for PD. And our study results indicate that 3T SWI can be used as a tool to identify PD and VP.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Dementia, Multi-Infarct; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Sensitivity and Specificity; Substantia Nigra
PubMed: 31612404
DOI: 10.1007/s11596-019-2113-4 -
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences Sep 2019Alzheimer's disease (AD), the leading disorder of memory impairment in our aging population, is increasing at an alarming rate. AD is currently identified by three 'gold... (Review)
Review
Alzheimer's disease (AD), the leading disorder of memory impairment in our aging population, is increasing at an alarming rate. AD is currently identified by three 'gold standard criteria': (i) dementia in life, (ii) amyloid plaques at autopsy, and (iii) neurofibrillary tangles at autopsy. Several autopsy studies have indicated that dementia in life is a consequence of lost synaptic networks in the brain, while many clinical trials targeting neurotoxic amyloid beta (Aβ) have consistently failed to produce therapeutic effects on memory function in AD patients. Restoring cognitive function(s) by activating endogenous repairing/regenerating mechanisms that are synaptogenic and antiapoptotic (preventing neuronal death), however, is emerging as a necessary disease-modifying therapeutic strategy against AD and possibly for other degenerative dementias, such as Parkinson's disease and multi-infarct dementia.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Animals; Cognition Disorders; Humans; Nerve Regeneration; Neural Stem Cells; Neurons; Synapses; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
PubMed: 31402121
DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2019.07.008 -
Acupuncture in Medicine : Journal of... Oct 2019Patients with multiple infarct dementia (MID) have subtle deficits that commonly go unnoticed, and are at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Oxidative stress...
BACKGROUD
Patients with multiple infarct dementia (MID) have subtle deficits that commonly go unnoticed, and are at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Oxidative stress induced by ischaemic injury results in intracellular calcium accumulation and neuronal apoptosis, leading to cognitive impairment by triggering various cellular signal transduction pathways. Several studies have suggested that NF-κB in the presence of p53 has a pro-apoptotic function in various models, but the mechanism is unclear.
AIMS
The aim of this study was to investigate whether acupuncture could protect cognitive function against cerebral multi-infarction (CMi) induced oxidative stress by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and its target gene p53.
METHODS
An animal model of CMi was established by injecting homologous blood emboli into the right internal carotid artery of male Wistar rats. After 2 weeks of acupuncture treatment, cognitive function was detected by novel object recognition. Electron spin resonance and Fluo-3 fuorescence imaging were used to test the generation of ROS and intracellular calcium accumulation, respectively. Expression of NF-κB and p53 was examined by Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence.
RESULTS
CMi induced spatial learning and memory impairment, overproduction of intracellular hydroxyl radicals, and elevations of Ca, which were ameliorated by verum acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture inhibited activation of NF-κB and its downstream target gene p53.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that acupuncture could protect cognitive function against oxidative stress induced by CMi, which is partially associated with suppression of NF-κB-p53 activation.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Animals; Calcium; Cerebral Infarction; Cognitive Dysfunction; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Male; NF-kappa B; Oxidative Stress; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reactive Oxygen Species; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
PubMed: 31166115
DOI: 10.1136/acupmed-2017-011491