Intra- and inter-hemispheric coupling of electroencephalographic 8-13 Hz rhythm in humans and force of static finger extension

Information on equipment and subcellular distribution of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms in myenteric neurons and pacemaker cells (ICC) might help to identify nitric oxide (NO) pathway(s) acting on gastrointestinal motility. In sections of mouse colon labelled with neuronal (n)NOS, endothelial (e)NOS and inducible (i)NOS antibodies, all myenteric neurons co-expressed eNOS and iNOS and a subpopulation of them co-expressed nNOS. ICC co-expressed nNOS and eNOS. In the neurons, nNOS-labeling was intracytoplasmatic, in the ICC at cell periphery. In both cell types, eNOS-labeling was on intracytoplasmatic granules, likely mitochondria. In conclusion, myenteric neurons and ICC co-express several NOS isoforms with specific subcellular distribution. Different nNOS splice variants are presumably present: intracytoplasmatic nNOSbeta and nNOSalpha producing neurogenic NO, plasma membrane-bound nNOSalpha producing ICCgenic NO. eNOS might be implicated in mitochondrial respiration and, in ICC, also in pacemaker activity. Neurons express iNOS also in basal condition.     

Intra-hemispheric functional coupling of alpha rhythms is related to golfer's performance: a coherence EEG study

It has been shown that frontocentral electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (about 10-12 Hz) were higher in amplitude in expert golfers in successful than unsuccessful putts, possibly reflecting the idea that amplitude regulation of frontocentral alpha rhythms is a physiological mechanism implied in motor control and golfer's performance (Babiloni et al., 2008). Here, we tested the ancillary hypothesis that golfer's performance is also associated to an improved coordination of cortical activity, as reflected by functional coupling of alpha rhythms across cortical regions. To this aim, between-electrodes spectral coherence was computed from spatially enhanced EEG data of the mentioned study (i.e. right handed 12 expert golfers; augmented 10-20 system; surface Laplacian estimation). Low- (about 8-10 Hz) and high-frequency (about 10-12 Hz) alpha sub-bands were considered with reference to individual alpha frequency peak. Statistical results showed that intra-hemispheric low-frequency alpha coherence in bilateral parietal-frontal (P3-F3 and P4-F4 electrodes) and parietal-central (P3-C3 and P4-C4 electrodes) was higher in amplitude in successful than unsuccessful putts (p<0.004). The same was true for intra-hemispheric high-frequency alpha coherence in bilateral parietal-frontal regions (p<0.004). These findings suggest that intra-hemispheric functional coupling of cortical alpha rhythms between "visuo-spatial" parietal area and other cortical areas is implicated in fine motor control of golfer's performance.     

Cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms deteriorate across time in subjects with amnesic mild cognitive impairment

Cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms are abnormal in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Here, we tested the hypothesis that these sources in amnesic MCI subjects further deteriorate over 1 year. To this aim, the resting state eyes-closed EEG data were recorded in 54 MCI subjects at baseline (Mini Mental State Examination I = 26.9; standard error [SE], 0.2) and at approximately 1-year follow-up (13.8 months; SE, 0.5; Mini Mental State Examination II = 25.8; SE, 0.2). As a control, EEG recordings were also performed in 45 normal elderly and in 50 mild Alzheimer's disease subjects. EEG rhythms of interest were delta (2–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha1 (8–10.5 Hz), alpha2 (10.5–13 Hz), beta1 (13–20 Hz), and beta2 (20–30 Hz). Cortical EEG sources were estimated using low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography. Compared with the normal elderly and mild Alzheimer's disease subjects, the MCI subjects were characterized by an intermediate power of posterior alpha1 sources. In the MCI subjects, the follow-up EEG recordings showed a decreased power of posterior alpha1 and alpha2 sources. These results suggest that the resting state EEG alpha sources were sensitive—at least at the group level—to the cognitive decline occurring in the amnesic MCI group over 1 year, and might represent cost-effective, noninvasive and widely available markers to follow amnesic MCI populations in large clinical trials.     

Reactivity of the dopa-dopamine-noradrenaline-adrenaline system in epileptic patients

We examined epileptic patients for the daily urine elimination of dopa, dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), and adrenaline (A). The changes in the excretion of these substances after L-dopa intake and the adrenaline and insulin test were also investigated. In addition to the evidence concerning the preserved reactivity of the dopa-DA-NA-A system to the L-dopa intake, data were obtained indicating its stressing and a reduction in the reserve potentials. The use of the adrenaline test revealed the absence of or a negative, response to DA and A in half the patients, which correlated with certain clinical parameters. In one third of the patients the insulin test was not accompanied by an increase in the excretion of A or its precursors. The findings obtained indicate an insufficiency of homeostatic reactions in epileptics, and possibly a deficiency in the repolarizing mechanisms.Translated from Zhurnal Nevropatologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 83, No. 6, pp. 810–815, June, 1983.     

Mobile phone technology and hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional surveillance study of bacterial colonization,and patient opinions and behaviours

Healthcare workers’ mobile phones provide a reservoir of bacteria known to cause nosocomial infections. UK National Health Service restrictions on the utilization of mobile phones within hospitals have been relaxed; however, utilization of these devices by inpatients and the risk of cross-contamination are currently unknown. Here, we examine demographics and characteristics of mobile phone utilization by inpatients and phone surface microbial contamination. One hundred and two out of 145 (70.3%) inpatients who completed a questionnaire detailing their opinions and utilization of mobile phones, also provided their mobile phones for bacteriological analysis and comparative bacteriological swabs from their nasal cavities; 92.4% of patients support utilization of mobile phones by inpatients; indeed, 24.5% of patients stated that mobile phones were vital to their inpatient stay. Patients in younger age categories were more likely to possess a mobile phone both inside and outside hospital (p <0.01) but there was no gender association. Eighty-six out of 102 (84.3%) patients’ mobile phone swabs were positive for microbial contamination. Twelve (11.8%) phones grew bacteria known to cause nosocomial infection. Seven (6.9%) phones and 32 (31.4%) nasal swabs demonstrated Staphylococcus aureus contamination. MSSA/MRSA contamination of phones was associated with concomitant nasal colonization. Patient utilization of mobile phones in the clinical setting is popular and common; however, we recommend that patients are educated by clear guidelines and advice on inpatient mobile phone etiquette, power charging safety, regular cleaning of phones and hand hygiene, and advised not to share phones or related equipment with other inpatients in order to prevent transmission of bacteria.     

托吡酯转换治疗成人癫癎的研究

目的:评价托吡酯(妥泰)转换用药对成人癫癎的疗效和安全性.方法:对38例用卡马西平或丙戊酸钠治疗效果不佳的成人癫癎患者,加用托吡酯治疗,在加量时逐渐减少原来用药剂量,观察其有效性和安全性.结果:托吡酯转换治疗后,患者癫癎发作减少,其中无发作3例(7.9%),显效17例(44.7%),有效10例(26.3%),无效8例(21%),总有效30例(78.9%).结论:对用卡马西平或丙戊酸钠疗效不佳的患者转换用托吡酯是安全有效的治疗措施.     

Global networks of functional coupling in eukaryotes from comprehensive data integration

No single experimental method can discover all connections in the interactome. A computational approach can help by integrating data from multiple, often unrelated, proteomics and genomics pipelines. Reconstructing global networks of functional coupling (FC) faces the challenges of scale and heterogeneity—how to efficiently integrate huge amounts of diverse data from multiple organisms, yet ensuring high accuracy. We developed FunCoup, an optimized Bayesian framework, to resolve these issues. Because interactomes comprise functional coupling of many types, FunCoup annotates network edges with confidence scores in support of different kinds of interactions: physical interaction, protein complex member, metabolic, or signaling link. This capability boosted overall accuracy. On the whole, the constructed framework was comprehensively tested to optimize the overall confidence and ensure seamless, automated incorporation of new data sets of heterogeneous types. Using over 50 data sets in seven organisms and extensively transferring information between orthologs, FunCoup predicted global networks in eight eukaryotes. For the Ciona intestinalis network, only orthologous information was used, and it recovered a significant number of experimental facts. FunCoup predictions were validated on independent cancer mutation data. We show how FunCoup can be used for discovering candidate members of the Parkinson and Alzheimer pathways. Cross-species pathway conservation analysis provided further support to these observations.The high-throughput functional analysis of genes and proteins is producing vast data resources that, if integrated into interaction networks, will be key to unraveling the function of all genes in an organism (Sonnhammer 2005). While no single data set provides enough confidence and coverage, much experimental evidence from, e.g., protein–protein interactions (PPIs) and mRNA coexpression (MEX) have been integrated into interaction networks in such organisms as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Homo sapiens (Jansen et al. 2003; Troyanskaya et al. 2003; Bader et al. 2004; Lee et al. 2004; Li et al. 2004; Beyer et al. 2007). Srinivasan et al. (2006) also used sequence-derived interaction evidence such as correlated evolution/inheritance and chromosomal colocation to integrate interaction networks in 11 microbes.However, as of today, using data from one organism alone is insufficient to reconstruct its interaction networks completely. It is possible to expand the data pool by transferring functional information between species via homologs (Hahn et al. 2005; von Mering et al. 2005) or orthologs (Matthews et al. 2001; Rhodes et al. 2005; Hulsen et al. 2006; Zhong and Sternberg 2006).Furthermore, functional coupling (FC) between two proteins can have several guises: direct physical interaction (PI), protein complex members (CM), links in metabolic pathways (ML), or links in regulatory/signaling pathways (SL).The data integration is thus multidimensional—using multiple evidence types from multiple species for predicting multiple classes of links. This puts high demands on the process, in terms of both computation and automatic parameter optimization for each new data set. It is thus necessary to develop a universal, fast, and sustainable methodology in order to discover functional connections in many eukaryotic organisms at the global scale.To achieve this, we adopted the naïve Bayesian network framework (NBN) and advanced many procedures for supervised NBN training in order to make it optimally suited for data integration in FC network reconstruction. The innovations concerned significance testing, continuous score discretization, orthologous evidence usage, and phylogenetic profiling. A major challenge was to efficiently use data not originally produced for FC discovery. Particular attention was given to data transfer between species via orthologs—the best way to enrich sparse data sources (Rhodes et al. 2005; Hulsen et al. 2006).These advancements allowed us to efficiently reconstruct comprehensive FC networks for eight of the most important eukaryotes: human, mouse, rat, fly, worm, yeast, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Ciona intestinalis. For these species, they are the largest reconstructed interactomes to date. For C. intestinalis, we managed to reconstruct a network in absence of any own large-scale data sets, by transferring such information from coupled orthologs only. We here present both the method and the resulting FunCoup database for discovery and analysis of FC in gene networks. To demonstrate the usefulness of network analysis in FunCoup, we applied it to discover new candidate members of important pathways, including those for Alzheimer''s (AD) and Parkinson''s (PD) diseases.     

Computational model of thalamo-cortical networks: dynamical control of alpha rhythms in relation to focal attention.

EEG/MEG rhythmic activities such as alpha rhythms, of the visual or of the somato-sensory cortex, are commonly modulated as subjects perform certain tasks or react to specific stimuli. In general, these activities change depending on extrinsic or intrinsic events. A decrease of the amplitude of alpha rhythmic activity occurring after a given event, which manifests as a decrease of a spectral peak, is called event-related desynchronization (ERD), whereas the inverse is called event-related synchronization (ERS), since it is assumed that the power of a spectral peak is related to the degree of synchrony of the underlying oscillating neuronal populations. An intriguing observation in this respect [Pfurtscheller and Neuper, Neurosci. Lett. 174 (1994) 93-96] was that ERD of alpha rhythms recorded over the central areas was accompanied by ERS, within the same frequency band, recorded over neighboring areas. In case the event was a hand movement, ERD was recorded over the scalp overlying the hand cortical area, whereas ERS was concomitantly recorded over the midline, whereas if the movement was of the foot the opposite was found. We called this phenomenon 'focal ERD/surround ERS'. The question of how this phenomenon may be generated was approached by means of a computational model of thalamo-cortical networks, that incorporates basic properties of neurons and synaptic interactions. These simulation studies revealed that this antagonistic ERD/ERS phenomenon depends on the functional interaction between the populations of thalamo-cortical cells (TCR) and reticular nucleus cells (RE) and on how this interaction is modulated by cholinergic inputs. An essential feature of this interaction is the existence of cross-talk between different sectors of RE that correspond to distinct sensory modules (e.g. hand, foot). These observations led us to formulate the hypothesis that this basic neurophysiological mechanism can account for the general observation that enhanced attention given to a certain stimulus (the focus) is coupled to inhibition of attention to other stimuli (the surround).     

Effects of 50 Hz electromagnetic fields on electroencephalographic alpha activity, dental pain threshold and cardiovascular parameters in humans

Recent studies indicate that exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF MFs) influences human electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha activity and pain perception. In the present study we analyse the effect on electrical EEG activity in the alpha band (8-13 Hz) and on nociception in 40 healthy male volunteers after 90-min exposure of the head to 50 Hz ELF MFs at a flux density of 40 or 80 microT in a double-blind randomized sham-controlled study. Since cardiovascular regulation is functionally related to pain modulation, we also measured blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) during treatment. Alpha activity after 80 microT magnetic treatment almost doubled compared to sham treatment. Pain threshold after 40 microT magnetic treatment was significantly lower than after sham treatment. No effects were found for BP and HR. We suggest that these results may be explained by a modulation of sensory gating processes through the opioidergic system, that in turn is influenced by magnetic exposure.     

Effects of morning melatonin administration on electroencephalographic theta to alpha power ratio in reproductive versus postmenopausal healthy female volunteers

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of exogenous morning melatonin administration on the electroencephalogram of reproductive versus postmenopausal women. Methods: Twenty-six female, reproductive and postmenopausal healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive melatonin or placebo at 9:00 in the morning. Twelve electroencephalographic recording sessions were performed before the intake of melatonin or placebo and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150, 180, 240, and 300 min. Theta to alpha ratios for every subject, channel and session were mathematically processed to yield the logarithm (base 10) of the spectral (theta power)/(alpha power) ratio for the 12 electroencephalographic sessions, weighted to the baseline ratio (LwRs). The LwRs were compared between melatonin groups (reproductive versus postmenopausal women) and also between melatonin and control groups. Results: Data from 24 women were analyzed. The LwRs in the reproductive women were significantly lower than the LwRs in postmenopausal women at 60, 180, 240 and 300 min after melatonin consumption (p = 0.007, 0.041, 0.008 and 0.040 respectively). In reproductive women, the LwRs of subjects who received melatonin were significantly lower compared to their controls at 60, 240 and 300 min after melatonin or placebo intake (p = 0.005, 0.006 and 0.019 respectively). In postmenopausal women, no significant differences in the LwRs were calculated for any time point between melatonin and control groups. Conclusions: Our results show that morning melatonin administration produces no electroencephalographic changes in postmenopausal women. In contrast, electroencephalographic changes suggesting a possible awaking effect were observed in reproductive women.     

Seroepidemiological observation of Taenia solium cysticercosis in epileptic patients in Korea.

Prevalence survey of neurocysticercosis was made in a mixed epilepsy patients of Changmi Club in Korea. From February 1987 to July 1990, a total of 2,667 randomly selected patients at 27 local centers was tested for their serum levels of anti-Cysticercus antibody (IgG) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Positive rate of the antibody was 4.0% in the examined patients. The standardized antibody positive rate by provincial population was 3.1%. The rate was the highest in patients living in Cheju Do (8.4%). The patient age brackets of 0 approximately 9 years and over 50-year showed higher positive rates of the antibody. In 750 normal persons who checked up routine physical examination, the antibody positive rate was 2.1% (standardized rate was 1.8%). These seroepidemiological data disclosed for the first time the prevalence of cysticercosis in epileptic patients and in population.     

Isoenzymes of alkaline phosphatase in epileptic patients receiving carbamazepine monotherapy.

The effects of carbamazepine monotherapy were investigated in 20 female and 21 male epileptic patients to determine whether treatment would induce an increase in serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, a known effect of many anticonvulsant drugs. Serum total ALP activity was increased in nine out of the 41 patients (22%), serum bone ALP activity was increased in 10 (24%), and serum non-bone ALP activity was increased in three (7%). There was no significant difference when the mean of the patients' serum total ALP was compared with that of the controls. Twenty per cent of the patients with increased serum bone ALP had normal serum total ALP, indicating that increased serum bone isoenzyme activity may precede an increase in the total enzyme activity. This should be considered when interpreting results of increased total ALP in epileptic patients.     

Reactivity of alpha rhythms to eyes opening is lower in athletes than non-athletes: A high-resolution EEG study

In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that compared with non-athletes, elite athletes are characterized by a reduction of reactivity of electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (about 8–12 Hz) to eyes opening in the condition of resting state, as a possible index of spatially selective cortical activation (i.e. “neural efficiency”). EEG data (56 channels; Eb-Neuro©) were recorded in 18 elite karate athletes and 28 non-athletes during resting state eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions. The EEG data were spatially enhanced by surface Laplacian estimation. Cortical activity was indexed by task-related power decrease (TRPD), namely the alpha power during the eyes-open referenced to the eyes-closed resting condition. Low-frequency alpha TRPD (about 8–10 Hz) was lower in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes in frontal (p < 0.00002), central (p < 0.008) and right occipital (p < 0.02) areas. Similarly, high-frequency alpha TRPD (about 10–12 Hz) was lower in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes in frontal (p < 0.00009) and central (p < 0.01) areas. These results suggest that athletes' brain is characterized by reduced cortical reactivity to eyes opening in the condition of resting state, in line with the “neural efficiency” hypothesis. The present study motivates future research evaluating the extent to which this general functional brain feature is related to heritable trait or intensive visuo-motor training of elite athletes.     

Event-related desynchronization of sensorimotor EEG rhythms in hemiparetic patients with acute stroke

Previous neuroimaging studies based on neurovascular coupling have shown that stroke affects both, strength and spatial extent of brain activation during upper limb movements. Here, we investigated the sub-second amplitude dynamics of a direct neuronal measure, i.e., event-related desynchronization (ERD) of EEG oscillations during finger movements, in patients with acute cortical and subcortical stroke. Acute cortical strokes were found to decrease the ERD of alpha oscillations for the affected pericentral sensorimotor areas compared to a control group. Within the cortical stroke group, the affected hemisphere showed a smaller alpha-ERD compared to the unaffected hemisphere when each was contralateral to the acting hand. Furthermore, when cortical stroke patients moved their paretic hand, the ipsilateral (i.e., contralesional) alpha-ERD was stronger than the contralateral (ipsilesional) ERD. Interestingly, the alpha-ERD amplitude in a hemisphere with a cortical stroke was relatively well preserved for non-paretic hand movements compared to alpha-ERD amplitude for paretic hand movements. This finding provides a new perspective for assessing the rehabilitative potential, which could be utilized through training of the still responsive cortical network, e.g., via enforced use of the paretic hand.     

Correlation analysis of EEG rhythms and functional asymmetry of the hemispheres in children with the hyperdynamic syndrome

Translated from Zhurnal Nevropatologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 71–78, March, 1991.     

Efficacy of topiramate (Topamax) in epileptic patients of different ages

The aim of the present work was to assess the efficacy and tolerance of topiramate (Topamax) in patients of different ages with different types of epilepsy. This agent was used as monotherapy and combined therapy in 114 patients (53 male, 61 female) of the following age groups: early childhood (16), preschool and school age (20), pubertal (16), young (23), adult (38), and elderly (1). Treatment produced complete clinical remission in 48% of patients and decreases in fit frequency by more than 50% in 44% of patients. In terms of remission, Topamax was more effective in adolescents, youths and adults than in younger children, and this pattern was also seen in the treatment of symptomatic epilepsy. Tolerance was good in patients of all groups, and cases of side effects (weight loss, irritability, allergic skin reactions, paresthesia) were occasional. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 106, No. 6, pp. 34–37, June, 2006.     

拉莫三嗪单药治疗各型癫癎的开放性自身对照临床研究

目的:评价拉莫三嗪(LTG)单药治疗不同类型癫癎发作的临床疗效和安全性.方法:收集单独应用LTG或原用其他抗癫癎药(AED)转换成LTG单药治疗58例各型癫癎发作病例,并进行开放性自身对照研究. 结果:41例中总有效率为80.49%,其中失神性癫癎有效率为100%.另17例服用其它AED已控制发作,转换为LTG单药治疗后也无复发.追踪1～3年,仍单用LTG且有效者占74.36%,平均剂量为4.12±1.50 mg/(kg·d-1),平均血药浓度为3.05±1.13 μg/ml,剂量与浓度呈直线相关(P<0.01).不良反应率为13.79%,主要表现为皮疹和偏头痛. 结论:LTG单药治疗各型癫癎发作均有效,尤以失神性发作型为著,不良反应发生率低且轻微.