International Journal of Neuroscience

DALKILIC, NIZAMETTIN; YURUTEN, BETIGUL

doi: 10.1080/00207450490269417pmid: 14702203

Distal and proximal motor (M) responses were recorded from the "Abductor Pollicis Brevis" (APB) muscle by using the collision method; median motor nerve was stimulated at distal (elbow) and proximal (wrist) regions in a concurrent manner. The delay between two stimuli (ISI: Inter-stimulus Interval), beginning at 9 ms, was decreased by 0.1 ms steps, until the proximal potential completely disappeared. Areas of M responses recorded for each ISI were calculated. Because the area difference between two subsequent ISIs is proportional to the number of muscle fibers innervated by the conduction velocity group at that interval, the relative numbers of muscle fibers for each velocity group were calculated. The results show that the motor nerve conduction velocities belonging to the innervating APB muscle vary between 38 m/s and 57 m/s; the conduction velocity of the group innervating the greatest number of muscle nerves was found to be 55-57 m/s, which comprised 10% of all fibers

DALKILIC, NIZAMETTIN; YURUTEN, BETIGUL; ILHAN, BARKIN

doi: 10.1080/00207450490269426pmid: 14702204

Collision technique is one of the methods used to obtain the relative number of fibers in a nerve bundle. In 25 normal subjects, the right median nerve has been concurrently stimulated at proximal (elbow) and distal (wrist) locations, and the resultant compound action potentials (CAP) were recorded at the middle finger via ring electrodes. The delay between the two stimuli (Inter Stimulus Interval; ISI), beginning from 7 ms, has been decreased in 0.1 ms steps, until the CAPs, elicited by proximal stimulation, totally disappeared. The obtained data have been transferred to computer medium for further analysis. In this procedure, areas under proximal CAPs have been obtained for each ISI value. Using these areas, the relative numbers of fibers (%) belonging to the middle proper palmar digital (MPPD) component of sensory median nerve have been derived. The mean conduction velocities in MPPD component of sensory median nerve ranged from 40 m/s to 68 m/s. In the histogram,a large amount of heaping of the relative number of fibers has been observed in 48-59 m/s conduction velocity interval with the ratio of 64%, although there has been a 21% group having 43-47 ms conduction velocity. These results can be a guide to future studies concerning basic and clinical nerve conduction studies

TUNCER, OGUZ; ÇAKSEN, HÜSEYIN; ARSLAN, SÜKRÜ; ATAS, BÜLENT;; ÜNER, ABDURRAHMAN; ÖNER, AHMET FAIK; ODABAS, DURSUN

doi: 10.1080/00207450490269435pmid: 14702205

The cranial computed tomography (CT) findings of 48 children with purulent meningitis were examined, prospectively, to determine the importance of cranial CT findings on the prognosis of childhood meningitis, in a developing country. The age of children ranged from 2 months to 13 years. Of 48 patients, 29 (60.5%) survived without sequelae, 13 (27%) survived with sequelae, and six (12.5%) died. Cranial CT was normal in 21 (43%) patients of 48 children with meningitis at admission. Abnormal CT findings were detected in 10, 11, and 6 children in the groups of survived without sequelae, survived with sequelae, and deaths, respectively, at admission (p < .05) We found that CT scan results were correlated with neurological signs (p < .05). At least one or more cranial CTs were was re-taken in children in whom the first CT revealed abnormal findings; we did not find a statistically significant difference for the follow-up CT findings between the groups (p > .05). Hydrocephalus and subdural effusion were the commonest abnormal CT findings. In conclusion, our findings showed that cranial CT may safely be used to detect intracranial complications of meningitis in childhood and the ratio of sequelae and death were more common in children with abnormal cranial CT than those of normal cranial CT findings. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between CT scan results and neurological signs

SÁNCHEZ, JORGE LUIS; BURITICÁ, OMAR; PINEDA, DAVID; SANTIAGO URIBE, CARLOS; GUILLERMO PALACIO, LUIS

doi: 10.1080/00207450490269444pmid: 14702206

Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) and Parkinsonism (Ps) in Antioquia (Colombia), using the Capture-Recapture method. The two biggest institutions for attending neurological patients in Antioquia were selected as sources for the use of the Capture-Recapture method. Prevalences of PD (PPD) and Ps (PPs) were estimated according to the following expression: PPD (or PPs) = n/Nl105. The number of cases (n) of PD (or Ps), n = a + b + c + d, where a = cases identified from the two sources, b = cases identified only in the first source, c = cases identified only in the second source, and d = nondetected cases from any source = bc/a. The projected Antioquian population for the year 2000 was used as denominator. Information obtained between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2000, was reviewed in order to identify the clinical records of all patients that fulfilled the Ps or PD criteria. General prevalence of PD in Antioquia was 30.7/100.000 (C195% = 29.2-32.2), and that of Ps was 42.1/100.000 (CI95% = 40.3-43.8). Prevalence of PD in people older than 50 years was 176.4/100.000 (CI95% = 166.6-186.3) and that of Ps was of 339.6/100.000 (C195% = 326.0-353.2). Ps and PD prevalences in Antioquia were lower than the figures reported by the National Neuroepidemiologic Study (470/100.000) and similar to the estimated prevalence of these diseases in Caucasian populations (80 to 270/100.000). These findings evidence the great variability of PD prevalence in different regions; therefore, a nationwide study is necessary to determine the prevalence of PD and Ps in Colombia

ATAUS, SÜREYYA; ÖNAL, M. ZÜLKÜF; OZDEM, SADI S.; LOCKE, KENNETH W.; BALKAN, SEVIN

doi: 10.1080/00207450490249329pmid: 14702207

The neuroprotective efficacies of citicoline and lamotrigine, alone and in combination, were investigated in experimental permanent focal ischemia. Seven groups of adult male rats underwent focal cerebral ischemia and were given the following treatments: placebo (P), low and high doses of citicoline (C250 and C500, 250 and 500 mg/kg/day i.p., respectively), low and high doses of lamotrigine (L50 and L100, 50 and 100 mg/kg/day p.o., respectively), and combination regimes of both drugs in low (C250 + L50) and high doses (C500 + L100). Citicoline, but not lamotrigine, exerted neuroprotective efficacy during this acute ischemic stroke model. The citicoline and lamotrigine combination did not provide a significant additive neuroprotective effect

RODRIGUES, R. W. P.; GOMIDE, V. C.; CHADI, G.

doi: 10.1080/00207450490249338pmid: 14702208

Astroglial and microglial activation were analyzed in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in adult male Wistar rats, after an unilateral striatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) injection. Different doses (8, 4, and 1 μg) of 6-OHDA were injected in the left side of the neostriatum; animals were sacrificed 22 days later. Control animals received an injection of the same volume of the solvent. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive dopamine cells, the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immuno-labeled astrocytes, and the OX42 immunoreactive microglia were visualized by means of immunohistochemistry and quantified by stereologic methods employing the optical dissector and the point intercepts. The number and the density of TH immunoreactive cell bodies were decreased by 45% and 46%, respectively, in the sampled field of the ipsilateral VTA of 8 μg 6-OHDA injected rats. The GFAP immunohistochemistry revealed in the ipsilateral VTA increases the number and density of astroglial cells (154% and 166% of control, respectively) in the rats with a higher dose of the 6-OHDA, and also in the volume fraction of the astroglial processes after 8 μg (41% of control) and 4 μg (24% of control) of 6-OHDA. Increased number (76% of control) and density (77% of control) of OX42 microglial labeled profiles and microglial processes (51% of control) were found in the ipsilateral VTA of the 8 μg 6-OHDA injected animals. These results suggest that the retrograde degeneration of the mesostriatal dopamine pathways, induced by a striatal injection of 6-OHDA, leads to astroglial and microglial reactions in the VTA. The interaction between activated glial cells may be involved in the wounding and repair events in the partial lesioned system, and also in the trophic paracrine responses in the surviving VTA dopamine neurons

BORGES, NUNO; CEREJO, ANTÓNIO; SANTOS, ALEJANDRO; SARMENTO, ANTÓNIO; AZEVEDO, ISABEL

doi: 10.1080/00207450490249419pmid: 14702209

The objective of this study was to evaluate 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining in the brain tissue of rats submitted to a closed head traumatic injury, in comparison to control rats not submitted to trauma. The closed head, weight drop trauma model described by Marmarou et al. (1994) was used. Animals were all sacrificed 24 h after trauma. Staining of cerebral coronal slices using TTC, coupled to image analysis software, was used to measure the level of staining. An ultrastructural study of the brain region underneath the impact zone, as well as from the correspondent region of control rats, was also done. The TTC image analysis revealed a significant decrease in the percentage of white area, in traumatized rats (mean ± SEM 23.93% ± 2.26, n = 4 for control, 12.13% ± 1.72, n = 9 for traumatized rats, p < .05). The ultrastructural analysis revealed that the number of axons showing at least one mitochondrion was significantly higher in the trauma group (mean ± SEM 49.3%, n = 4 rats, 75 photographs, 2443 axons) than in control groups (23%, n = 3 rats, 30 photographs, 6220 axons (p < .001). Another difference observed was the larger mitochondrial size in the axons of traumatized rats (mean diameter ± SEM 0.520 ± 0.003 μm) compared to the controlled rats (0.368 ± 0.006 μm; p < .001). The ultrastructural observation of the traumatized brain revealed a significantly higher number of peroxisomes per photograph (mean number ± SEM 10.58 ± 1.18, n = 75) compared to the control group (0.19 ± 0.08, n = 30, p < .001). The results indicate an increase of mitochondrial and peroxysomal relative mass, with a higher succinate dehydrogenase activity, 24 h after the induction of traumatic brain injury

HERNÁANDEZ, ALEJANDRO; CONSTANDIL, LUIS; LAURIDO, CLAUDIO; PELISSIER, TERESA; MARCHAND, FABIEN; ARDID, DENIS; ALLOUI, ABDELKRIM; ESCHALIER, ALAIN; SOTO-MOYANO, RUBÉN

doi: 10.1080/00207450490269453pmid: 14702210

doi: 10.1080/nes.114.2.243.243pmid: N/A

ÇAKIRBAY, HASIM; BILICI, MUSTAFA; KAVAKÇI, ÖNDER; ÇEBI, ALAADDIN; GÜLER, MUSTAFA; TAN, ÜNER

doi: 10.1080/00207450490269471pmid: 14702212

The purpose of this study was to determine the discriminative factors between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with and without major depression (MD). We assessed subjective sleep quality, pain, and cell-mediated immune functions in RA patients with (n = 20) and without (n = 20) MD by using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), visual analogue scale (VAS), and fluorescein isothiocyanat (FITC) labeled CD3, CD4, CD8, CDI9, CD45, CD56, and HLADR T monoclonal antibodies by flow cytometry. We found that the RA patients with MD had significantly higher pain level, poorer sleep equality, higher HDRS points, and higher HLADR T cell level than those without MD; and that these variables are discriminant factors between patient groups. These findings suggest that the RA patients with MD may be differentiated from those without MD by using VAS, PSQI, and HLADR levels; that these variables correctly classify the depressed and non-depressed groups up to an accuracy level of 96.8%