Pregnancy: Function of the corpus luteum, the endometrium and the trophoblast after treatment of tubal pregnancy by prostaglandin F2{alpha}

The activity of the corpus luteum, the endometrium and the trophoblastwas studied after local medical treatment of 31 women with tubalpregnancy. We measured the serum concentration of progesterone,the secretory endometrial protein placental protein 14 (PP14),and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) before and after treatmentby injection of prostaglandin F₂ into the site of the gestationand into the corpus luteum. There was no significant differencein the pre-treatment serum progesterone and serum PP14 concentrationsof 26 women who were treated successfully and of five women,who were operated on after failure of the treatment. After theprostaglandin treatment the serum progesterone and PP14 concentrationsdecreased simultaneously with the serum HCG concentration orremained at a low, constant concentration. We conclude thatmeasurement of serum progesterone and PP14 cannot be used forselection of patients for treatment by prostaglandin F₂ or formonitoring the effect of the treatment. The injection of prostaglandininto the ovary has either no effect on the activity of the corpusluteum or induces only a partial luteolysis.     

Functional connectivity between parietal cortex and the cardiac autonomic system in uremics

Although the central autonomic network (CAN) has been well researched in animal models, the CAN in humans is still unclear, especially for cardiovascular control. This study aimed to investigate which areas of the cerebral cortices are associated with the peripheral cardiac autonomic control involved in the CAN in uremic patients with autonomic dysfunction and normal controls. The central and peripheral autonomic network in 19 uremic patients with significant autonomic dysfunction and 24 age- and sex-matched controls [mean age ± standard deviation (SD), 55.16 ± 10.45 years and 55.42 ± 5.42 years, respectively] were evaluated by simultaneous spectral analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography recording (ECG), along with serial autonomic tests [autonomic questionnaire and orthostatic blood pressure (BP) change]. Only frequency-domain heart rate variability (f-HRV) during the deep-breathing stage could differentiate the two groups. Although there is no significant difference in f-HRV during the quiet-breathing stage, different patterns of central oscillation and their correlation with peripheral cardiac autonomic indices could be found for the two groups. Although the power of specific EEG bands under electrode T3 and T6 correlated significantly with the power of peripheral HRV indices in the control group, those under electrodes P3 and Pz had significant correlations in the uremic group suggesting a role of functional connectivity between them. In addition, sympathetic activity is correlated with slow wave EEG (theta/delta) power whereas parasympathetic activity is correlated with fast wave EEG (beta) power. In conclusion, there is functional connectivity between the parietal cortex and the peripheral cardiac autonomic system (PAN) in uremics and the pattern of central autonomic connectivity differs between uremic patients with autonomic dysfunction and normal controls.     

Stereotactic brachytherapy using iodine 125 seeds for the treatment of primary and recurrent anaplastic glioma WHO° III

Cognitive impairment has been reported in 27–83?% of adults with World Health Organization (WHO) grade I–III glioma. However, the few studies in this field used different methods for cognitive assessment. The objective of the present study was to establish the prevalence of cognitive impairment in patients with WHO grade I–III primary brain tumors and determine the effect sizes of a comprehensive battery of tests. This study used a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to examine 27 patients. To control for false positives, prevalence was estimated from the overall neuropsychological score. Size effects were determined using Cohen’s d. Cognitive impairment was observed in 51.9?% (95?% CI 33?70.7?%) of the patients; the impairment affected action speed (38.5?%), cognitive (33?%) and behavioral (21.7?%) executive functions, oral expression (29.6?%), episodic memory (29.6?%) and visuoconstructive abilities (19.2?%). The largest effect sizes (d?≥?1.645) were observed for the Digit Symbol Substitution test, global hypoactivity, free recall, Stroop time, the Boston Naming test (BNT), the Trail Making test B (TMTB), verbal fluency and the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test. Four of these scores (global hypoactivity, the Digit Symbol Substitution test, the TMTB perseveration, and the BNT) were combined to make a shortened battery (AUC 0.872; 95?% CI 0.795–0.949). The overall neuropsychological score was the sole factor associated with the functional outcome. Our results suggest that about half of survivors with a grade I–III primary brain tumor suffer from cognitive impairment. Tests with a large effect size should be included in future large-scale studies.     

Muscarinic receptors in gastric mucosa are increased in peptic ulcer disease.

Muscarinic receptors stimulate the secretion of acid pepsinogen and mucous in gastric mucosa. Whether muscarinic receptors are involved in the pathogenesis of benign gastric disease is unknown. Receptor changes in these conditions were therefore sought. An autoradiographic technique was developed to determine quantitatively muscarinic receptors in microtome sections of biopsy specimens obtained during gastroscopy. Muscarinic receptor density was mean (SEM) 18.4 (1.2) fmol/mg protein in the corpus and 8.9 (0.7) fmol/mg protein in the antrum (n = 53). Neither chronic nor active gastritis was associated with receptor changes in the antrum but chronic gastritis was associated with a receptor loss in the corpus. Patients with acute or recent duodenal or antral ulcers (n = 23) had significantly higher levels of muscarinic receptors in the corpus than controls (n = 25) (22.2 (1.5) v 16.9 (1.7) fmol/mg protein respectively (p < 0.025). These results suggest that muscarinic M3 receptor is overexpressed in duodenal ulcer disease and may play a part in its pathogenesis.     

Deep brain stimulation treated dystonia‐trajectory via status dystonicus

Background : Status dystonicus (SD) is a life‐threatening condition. Objective and Methods : In a dystonia cohort who developed status dystonicus, we analyzed demographics, background dystonia phenomenology and complexity, trajectory previous to‐, via status dystonicus episodes, and evolution following them. Results : Over 20 years, 40 of 328 dystonia patients who were receiving DBS developed 58 status dystonicus episodes. Dystonia was of pediatric onset (95%), frequently complex, and had additional cognitive and pyramidal impairment (62%) and MRI alterations (82.5%); 40% of episodes occured in adults. Mean disease duration preceding status dystonicus was 10.3 ± 8 years. Evolution time to status dystonicus varied from days to weeks; however, 37.5% of patients exhibited progressive worsening over years. Overall, DBS was efficient in resolving 90% of episodes. Conclusion : Status dystonicus is potentially reversible and a result of heterogeneous conditions with nonuniform underlying physiology. Recognition of the complex phenomenology, morphological alterations, and distinct patterns of evolution, before and after status dystonicus, will help our understanding of these conditions. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society     

Changes in global functional network properties predict individual differences in habit formation

Prior evidence suggests that sensorimotor regions play a crucial role in habit formation. Yet, whether and how their global functional network properties might contribute to a more comprehensive characterization of habit formation still remains unclear. Capitalizing on advances in Elastic Net regression and predictive modeling, we examined whether learning‐related functional connectivity alterations distributed across the whole brain could predict individual habit strength. Using the leave‐one‐subject‐out cross‐validation strategy, we found that the habit strength score of the novel unseen subjects could be successfully predicted. We further characterized the contribution of both, individual large‐scale networks and individual brain regions by calculating their predictive weights. This highlighted the pivotal role of functional connectivity changes involving the sensorimotor network and the cingulo–opercular network in subject‐specific habit strength prediction. These results contribute to the understanding the neural basis of human habit formation by demonstrating the importance of global functional network properties especially also for predicting the observable behavioral expression of habits.