National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Head-Down Contact and Spearing in Tackle Football

OBJECTIVE: To present recommendations that decrease the risk of cervical spine fractures and dislocations in football players. BACKGROUND: Axial loading of the cervical spine resulting from head-down contact is the primary cause of spinal cord injuries. Keeping the head up and initiating contact with the shoulder or chest decreases the risk of these injuries. The 1976 rule changes resulted in a dramatic decrease in catastrophic cervical spine injuries. However, the helmet-contact rules are rarely enforced and head-down contact still occurs frequently. Our recommendations are directed toward decreasing the incidence of head-down contact. RECOMMENDATIONS: Educate players, coaches, and officials that unintentional and intentional head-down contact can result in catastrophic injuries. Increase the time tacklers, ball carriers, and blockers spend practicing correct contact techniques. Improve the enforcement and understanding of the existing helmet-contact penalties.     

Information Capacity of the Corticospinal Tract Recordings as a Neural Interface

Recording the motor output of the central nervous system from the cervical spinal cord was investigated as a method of generating voluntary command signals, potentially to be used in quadriplegic individuals. Corticospinal volleys evoked by motor cortex stimulation were recorded from the spinal cord surface with multicontact electrodes in anesthetized cats. The multicontact recordings were analyzed for their information-carrying capacity as a neural interface. Neural signals resulting from the stimulation of various points in the motor cortex were considered as symbols of an alphabet that were sent through a discrete information channel. The information capacity of this channel at the thermal noise level of the electrode contacts was calculated. The maximum information rate was 1.57 bits in a trial for a 4-symbol alphabet. The background noise that reduces the information rate to 50% of its maximum theoretical value was defined as the half-bitrate-noise-tolerance (HBR-NoiseTol) and used as a measure of symbol distinguishability. The HBR-NoiseTol for all trials on average was 24 +/- 12%, 18 +/- 10%, and 15 +/- 9% for interfaces with 2-, 3-, and 4-symbol alphabets (n = 11 trials). The average peak-to-peak amplitude of the neural volleys was 13.5 +/- 6.7 microV (n = 11). These results suggest that the corticospinal signals can be recorded with spatial selectivity from the spinal cord surface and thus warrant further investigation of their potential use for a spinal cord-computer interface.     

Naturally occurring human IgA autoantibodies against IgE-DES myeloma protein

The prevalence and specificity of naturally occurring human IgA anti-IgE autoantibodies (a-E Ab) were studied by ELISA with anti-IgA monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and a purified myeloma IgE as solid-phase protein, i.e., IgE-DES(κ). Such detected IgA a-E Ab were common among adults, and significantly increased geometric means (GM) were found in patients with atopy (P= 0.006; n= 41; GM = 79.3 arbitrary units (AU)/ml) and filariasis (P= 0.02; n= 41; GM = 75.9 AU/ml), as compared with nonatopic controls (n= 42; GM = 48.8 AU/ml). No such difference was observed between age-matched nonatopic (n= 22; GM = 36.7 AU/ml) and atopic (n= 22; GM = 38.6 AU/ml) children. Children had significantly (P= 0.001) lower IgA a-E Ab concentrations than adults, probably as a result of age, because IgA a-E Ab concentrations and age of children were significantly correlated (n= 44; P<0.05; r_s= 0.30). IgA a-E Ab concentrations were very low in cord serum (n= 32; median <0.1 AU/ml). Sex did not influence IgA a-E Ab concentrations in any study group. The specificity of IgA a-E Ab in nine sera was studied by ELISA inhibition assay using IgE-DES myeloma as solid-phase protein and inhibitory proteins of the IgG, IgM, IgD, and IgE classes, including five different IgE myeloma proteins, as well as three enzymatic fragments of IgE-DES. The inhibitions indicated that all IgA a-E Ab tested reacted in a low-affinity reaction with determinants restricted to IgE-DES, i.e., the solid-phase protein. These epitopes were heat-resistant (2 h; 56°C) and located in the Fab_?-DES fragment. No isotype-specific IgA a-E Ab were found because none of the four other IgE proteins were inhibitory. Subclass typing indicated that most IgA a-E Ab belonged to the IgA 1 subclass. It is unlikely, for reasons of restricted specificity, low affinity, and common prevalence, that such IgA 1 a-E Ab are connected with IgE-mediated disorders. The study also raises questions on the definition of anti-IgE antibodies.     

神经调节素-1β对小鼠脑缺血再灌注损伤的干预作用及可能的机制

目的 研究神经调节素-1β(NRG-1β)对小鼠脑缺血再灌注后神经行为功能,脑梗死体积,脑组织含水量,神经细胞凋亡以及胶质细胞水通道蛋白-4(AQP-4)表达的影响和神经保护的作用机制.方法 应用线栓法建立小鼠大脑中动脉闭塞再灌注(MCAO/R)模型,经颈内动脉微量注射NRG-1β(2μg/kg)干预治疗,Bederson法评价动物的神经行为功能;氯化三苯基四氮唑(TTC)染色,观察脑梗死体积;干湿重法测定脑组织含水量;免疫荧光染色检测神经细胞凋亡;免疫组织化学检测AQP-4的表达.结果 脑缺血再灌注损伤后,动物均表现神经行为功能障碍,缺血侧出现脑梗塞病灶,脑组织含水量、神经细胞凋亡数量和胶质细胞AQP-4表达均高于假手术组.与对照组相比较,NRG-1β治疗组缺血24h,动物神经行为功能损伤明显改善,凋亡神经细胞数明显减少,脑梗塞体积显著缩小(P<0.05);但脑组织含水量和AQP-4表达与对照组比较无显著性差异(P>0.05).缺血再灌注22h、46h和70h组,上述5项指标较相应的对照组均有显著性差异(P<0.05).结论 NRC-1β可能通过下调脑缺血再灌注损伤诱导的胶质细胞AQP-4表达和抑制细胞凋亡,减轻脑水肿和缩小梗死体积,从而改善动物的神经行为功能.     

大鼠提睾肌缺血再灌注损伤时血管平滑肌细胞和内皮细胞的增殖与凋亡

目的研究大鼠提睾肌缺血再灌注后血管平滑肌细胞和内皮细胞的增殖和凋亡。方法以免疫组织化学SP法和末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶介导生物素标记法 (TUNEL)对大鼠提睾肌缺血再灌注后的血管平滑肌细胞和内皮细胞的Bcl-2、Bax、P53和增殖细胞核抗原 (PCNA)的表达进行观察研究。结果缺血再灌注后 ,血管平滑肌细胞和内皮细胞均有Bcl-2、Bax、P53和PCNA的表达 ,在平滑肌细胞 ,Bcl-2阳性细胞数量明显高于Bax和P53。PCNA阳性细胞明显增多。在内皮细胞 ,Bax和P53的表达最强 ,TUNEL阳性细胞率最高。结论大鼠提睾肌缺血再灌注可造成平滑细胞的增殖和内皮细胞的凋亡 ,其结果可能与微循环障碍有关。     

Influence of Various Immunomodulators on the Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis in Lewis Rats

The effect of various immunomodulators on the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is evaluated in the Lewis rat. Bordetella pertussis (BP) is the optimal inductor of EAE in this rat strain. Treatment of the animals with BP either before or after or simultaneously with guinea-pig spinal cord preparation (GpSC) resulted in an EAE about two weeks thereafter. Additional injection of living BCG, of CFA, IFA (incomplete Freund's adjuvant) or Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase (VCN) did not augment or mitigate the effect induced by BP or GpSC. Living BCG, IFA, VCN or Corynebacterium parvum (CP) did not induce EAE when given in combination with GpSC but without BP. CFA combined with GpSC only occasionally induced EAE. However, EAE could be induced by the combination of CFA and GpSC or IFA and GpSC in a part of the animals tested if they had been pretreated or simultaneously been injected with living BCG by intravenous route. EAE could not be enhanced by the additional injection of VCN. Surprisingly, most of the animals peracutely died after injection of CFA and BP in combination with GpSC when they had been pretreated with CP. This effect was most pronounced when pretreatment was done on day -4. No acute effect could be seen when CP was given simultaneously to CFA, BP and GpSC. Animals which did not peracutely succumb developed EAE similarly as those in the positive control groups. CP treatment simultaneously with BP but without CFA resulted in a reduction of the EAE specific mortality. This reduction could not be seen if treatment with CP was done after injection of GpSC and BP.     

闭合性脑外伤脑电图变化与脑电地形图结果比较

目的:探讨脑电学检查在闭合性脑外伤中的应用.方法:对123例闭合性脑外伤患者进行EEG和BEAM检查.结果:EEG异常率为56.9%,表现为弥漫性或局部性慢波增多,BEAM异常率为70.7%,表现为θ或δ频带功率呈弥漫性或局限性增高.结论:闭合性脑外伤的损伤程度与EEG的变化有良好的正相关性;闭合性脑外伤EEG和BEAM,两者有显著性差异;多次重复脑电学检查,有重要临床价值.     

miR-30a-3p靶向NOD1对心肌细胞缺氧复氧损伤的影响

目的　探究miR-30a-3p与NOD1的靶向关系，及其对心肌细胞缺氧复氧损伤的影响和机制。 方法　将细胞分为Ctrl组、H/R组、miR-30a-3p mimic组和miR-30a-3p inhibitor组，经过缺氧复氧处理后，转染相应的miRNA处理细胞，RT-PCR检测miR-30a-3p和NOD1基因表达水平，荧光素酶报告检测miR-30a-3p和NOD1靶向关系，Western blot检测NOD1、p-RPI2、p38 MAPK、NF-κB（p65）、cl-caspase-3蛋白表达水平，CCK8法检测细胞活性，Hoechst检测细胞凋亡，试剂盒检测LDH、CK、MDA、T-SOD水平。 结果　miR-30a-3p表达水平随缺氧复氧处理时间增长而下降，NOD1基因表达水平随缺氧复氧处理时间增长而升高。在荧光素酶报告实验中，NOD1 WT+miR-30a-3p mimic荧光素酶活性显著低于NOD1 WT+NC组。与Ctrl组比较，H/R组miR-30a-3p基因表达水平、细胞活性、T-SOD水平降低，NOD1、p-RPI2、p38 MAPK、NF-κB（p65）、cl-caspase-3蛋白表达水平、LDH、CK、MDA水平、细胞凋亡率升高；与H/R组比较，miR-30a-3p mimic组miR-30a-3p基因表达水平、细胞活性、T-SOD水平升高，NOD1、p-RPI2、p38 MAPK、NF-κB（p65）、cl-caspase-3蛋白表达水平、LDH、CK、MDA水平、细胞凋亡率降低，miR-30a-3p inhibitor组miR-30a-3p基因表达水平、细胞活性、T-SOD水平降低，NOD1、p-RPI2、p38 MAPK、NF-κB（p65）、cl-caspase-3蛋白表达水平、LDH、CK、MDA水平、细胞凋亡率升高。 结论　miR-30a-3p可靶向作用于NOD1，缓解心肌细胞缺氧复氧造成的损伤，其作用机制可能与调控NF-κB信号通路有关。     

生长抑素样免疫反应物在山羊脊髓和背根节的分布─ABC法研究

用免疫细胞化学ＡＢＣ法研究了生长抑素样免疫反应物在山羊脊髓和背根节的分布。在整个脊髓背角，出现浓密的生长抑素样纤维和终末网，在板层Ⅱ和Ⅲ形成不规则的波形带。在带的深面，大量的生长抑素阳性小细胞（直径小于１５μｍ）形成细胞带，这些细胞呈卵圆形或梭形，大多是双极细胞。在背角最表层仅有稀疏的生长抑素阳性纤维。这种分布型式显著不同于以前报道的其它动物。在胸髓中间外侧核有为数不多的生长抑素阳性细胞，在脊髓的其它部位如中间带区和腹角有少量散在纤维和终末。还发现纤细的生长抑素阳性纤维和终末网出现于骶髓中央管的背外侧区域。此外，在所有背根节只见到极少数生长抑素阳性神经元；切断背根时，相应节段的脊髓背角的生长抑素样免疫反应物无明显变化。本研究结果表明，山羊脊髓背角的生长抑素主要来源于脊髓背角的固有神经元，而不是背根节细胞。出现于脊髓板层Ⅱ和Ⅲ的生长抑素阳性神经元可能属于岛细胞。本研究还提示，生长抑素可能在脊髓的感觉和内脏运动系统中起作用，还表明生长抑素免疫反应物的分布存在着种属差异。