Case series of two patients with Fibrocartilaginous Embolism mimicking Transverse Myelitis of the Spinal Cord

Fibrocartilaginous Embolism (FCE) refers to the extrusion of some of the fibro-cartilaginous nucleus pulposus material from within the inter-vertebral disc to eventually embolize into one of the spinal cord vessels with resultant spinal cord infarction. According to a 2016 review, AbdelRazek et al. (2106) [1] there are 41 pathologically confirmed and 26 clinically suspected cases in the literature till the end of 2015. We add two more clinically diagnosed cases.     

Pre-surgical cortical activation to food pictures is associated with weight loss following bariatric surgery

BackgroundRecent research suggests that preintervention functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data may predict weight loss outcomes among patients who participate in a behavioral weight loss plan. No study has examined whether presurgical brain activation can predict outcomes following bariatric surgery.MethodThe aim of the present study was to determine if brain activations during a presurgical fMRI food-motivation paradigm are associated with weight loss 3 and 6 months following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Nineteen participants viewed food and nonfood pictures from a well-established food motivation paradigm during an fMRI scanning session before LAGB surgery. Weight was assessed presurgery and 3 and 6 months postsurgery; data for all participants was available at each time point. fMRI data were analyzed using the BrainVoyager QX statistical package. Whole brain voxelwise correlations of presurgery (food–nonfood) brain activation and weight, corrected for multiple comparisons, were performed to analyze the relationship between presurgical brain activation and subsequent weight loss. The settings were a medical university brain imaging center and 2 surgical weight loss centers in a major metropolitan area.ResultsIncreased activity in frontal regions associated with cognitive control (medial, middle, superior frontal gyrus) and posterior cingulate cortex was associated with weight loss following LAGB.ConclusionWe found that neural activity in previously established regions associated with cognitive and behavioral self-regulation predicts weight loss following bariatric surgery. These preliminary findings highlight the role of neural circuitry in the success and maintenance of weight loss and suggest a possible future use of fMRI in screening LAGB surgery candidates.     

Extraction (DSX) from Erigeron breviscapus modulates outward potassium currents in rat retinal ganglion cells

AIM: To investigate the effect of DSX, an active component extracted from Erigeron breviscapus, on the voltage-gated outward K+ channel currents in rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) by using electrophysiological method, and to explore the possible mechanisms of DSX on optic nerve protection. METHODS: Outward K+ currents were recorded by using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques on acutely isolated rat RGCs. Outward K+ currents were induced by a series of depolarizing voltage pulses from a holding potential of -70 mV to +20 mV in an increment of 10 mV. RESULTS: Extracellular application of DSX voltage-dependently suppressed both the steady-state and peak current amplitudes of outward K+ currents in rat RGCs. Furthermore, DSX reversibly and dose-dependently inhibited the amplitudes of outward K+ currents of the cells. At +20 mV membrane potential DSX at the concentrations of 0.02 g/L and 0.05 g/L showed no significant effects on the currents. In contrast, DSX at higher concentrations (0.1 g/L, 0.2 g/L and 0.5 g/L) significantly suppressed the current amplitudes. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that DSX reversibly and dose-dependently suppress outward K+ channel currents in rat RGCs, which may be one of the possible mechanisms underlying Erigeron breviscapus prevents vision loss and RGC damage caused by glaucoma.     

Influences of Chronic Physical and Mental Health Conditions on Child and Adolescent Positive Health

ObjectivePediatric positive health refers to children's assessments of their well-being. The purpose of this study was to contrast positive health for children aged 8 to 17 years with and without chronic physical and mental health conditions.MethodsData were drawn from the National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) research program. Participants included 1764 children ages 8 to 17 years from 13 ECHO cohorts. We measured positive health using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Global Health and Life Satisfaction patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. We used multiple regression to examine cross-sectional associations between the PROs and parent-reported health conditions and sociodemographic variables. We defined a meaningful difference in average scores as a PROMIS T-score difference of >3.ResultsThe sample included 45% 13 to 17-year-olds, 50% females, 8% Latinx, and 23% Black/African-American. Fifty-four percent had a chronic health condition. Of the 16 chronic conditions included in the study, only chronic pain (β = -3.5; 95% CI: -5.2 to -1.9) and depression (β = -6.6; 95% CI: -8.5 to -4.6) were associated with scoring >3 points lower on global health. Only depression was associated with >3 points lower on life satisfaction (β = -6.2; 95% CI: -8.1 to -4.3). Among those with depression, 95% also had another chronic condition.ConclusionsMany children with chronic conditions have similar levels of positive health as counterparts without chronic conditions. The study results suggest that negative associations between chronic conditions and positive health may be primarily attributable to presence or co-occurrence of depression.     

Synapse elimination accompanies functional plasticity in hippocampal neurons

A critical component of nervous system development is synapse elimination during early postnatal life, a process known to depend on neuronal activity. Changes in synaptic strength in the form of long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) correlate with dendritic spine enlargement or shrinkage, respectively, but whether LTD can lead to an actual separation of the synaptic structures when the spine shrinks or is lost remains unknown. Here, we addressed this issue by using concurrent imaging and electrophysiological recording of live synapses. Slices of rat hippocampus were cultured on multielectrode arrays, and the neurons were labeled with genes encoding red or green fluorescent proteins to visualize presynaptic and postsynaptic neuronal processes, respectively. LTD-inducing stimulation led to a reduction in the synaptic green and red colocalization, and, in many cases, it induced a complete separation of the presynaptic bouton from the dendritic spine. This type of synapse loss was associated with smaller initial spine size and greater synaptic depression but not spine shrinkage during LTD. All cases of synapse separation were observed without an accompanying loss of the spine during this period. We suggest that repeated low-frequency stimulation simultaneous with LTD induction is capable of restructuring synaptic contacts. Future work with this model will be able to provide critical insight into the molecular mechanisms of activity- and experience-dependent refinement of brain circuitry during development.     

Heisenberg's Roadmap Guides our Journey to the Small Cognitive World of Drosophila

Abstract: Professor Martin Heisenberg is one of the pioneers in the exploration of neuroethology. With his inspiration and earnest help, we employed the fruitfly as a model system to investigate the underlying neural mechanism of cognitive behaviors. Here, we recalled the help from Martin in the early years and introduced some findings from our lab about visual cognition behaviors in Drosophila, such as decision making, selective attention, and experience-dependent visual pattern recognition. From the results so far, the circuit composed of mushroom bodies, central complex, and dopaminergic neurons may play an essential role in these behaviors.     

Short-Term Visual Experience Leads to Potentiation of Spontaneous Activity in Mouse Superior Colliculus

Spontaneous activity in the brain maintains an internal structured pattern that reflects the external environment,which is essential for processing information and developing perception and cognition.An essential prerequisite of spontaneous activity for perception is the ability to reverberate external information,such as by potentiation.Yet its role in the processing of potentiation in mouse superior colliculus(SC)neurons is less studied.Here,we used electrophysiological recording,optogenetics,and drug infusion methods to investigate the mechanism of potentiation in SC neurons.We found that visual experience potentiated SC neurons several minutes later in different developmental stages,and the similarity between spontaneous and visually-evoked activity increased with age.Before eye-opening,activation of retinal ganglion cells that expressed ChR2 also induced the potentiation of spontaneous activity in the mouse SC.Potentiation was dependenton stimulus number and showed feature selectivity for direction and orientation.Optogenetic activation of parvalbumin neurons in the SC attenuated the potentiation induced by visual experience.Furthermore,potentiation in SC neurons was blocked by inhibiting the glutamate transporter GLT1.These results indicated that the potentiation induced by a visual stimulus might play a key role in shaping the internal representation of the environment,and serves as a carrier for short-term memory consolidation.