Gait speed is more challenging than cognitive load on the stride-to-stride variability in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency

Background

Several investigations have studied gait variability of individuals with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency; however, the effect of dual-tasking on the gait variability of these individuals remained unclear. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of gait speed and dual-tasking on knee flexion–extension variability in subjects with and without ACL deficiency.

Relationship between female sexual difficulties and mental health in patients referred to two public and private settings in Tehran, Iran

IntroductionSexual difficulty has various effects on patients suffering from this condition that can impact on interpersonal and marital relationships. Sexual function may be adversely affected by stress of any kind and emotional disorders. There have been limited studies focusing on the mental health of those suffering from this problem.AimTo determine the relationship between sexual difficulties and mental health in female patients seeking help in psychiatric clinics.MethodsThe study was based on the case–control design methodology in which the case group consisted of 165 outpatients of two psychiatric clinics, who were diagnosed with different mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobia, aggression, and somatic complaints (33 subjects for each type of disorder). The 33 subjects in the control group were chosen among the patients’ relatives and visitors who had no history of either seeking psychiatric help or taking psychiatric drugs. The subjects of both case and control groups were selected based on a convenience sampling method. Moreover, the data were collected based on two techniques of “interview” and “questionnaire;” the latter was of three different subcategories, each dealt with demographic characteristics, sexual difficulties, and a Symptom Check-List-90-Revised.Main Outcome MeasureAssessing female sexual difficulties associated with mental health and differences between women with and without psychiatric problems.ResultsThe obtained results indicated that there was a significant difference between the prevalence of sexual difficulties (e.g., sexual desire and orgasm disorders) in the case group and that of the control group. It was also revealed that there was a significant difference between the depressed, aggressive, as well as those with somatic complaints, and their control group counterparts.ConclusionsIn Iran, sexual difficulties seem to be more frequent in those seeking psychiatric help in clinics than in those within the normal population. Azar M, Noohi S, and Shafiee Kandjani AR. Relationship between female sexual difficulties and mental health in patients referred to two public and private settings in Tehran, Iran.     

Electrical Low Frequency Stimulation of the Kindling Site Preserves the Electrophysiological Properties of the Rat Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Neurons From the Destructive Effects of Amygdala Kindling: The Basis for a Possible Promising Epilepsy Therapy

BackgroundDeep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of neurological disorders including epilepsy. However, the cellular mechanism responsible for the effects of DBS remains largely undefined. Therefore, using electrophysiological approach, we aimed to determine the antiepileptic effects and restorative potential of low frequency stimulation (LFS) on amygdala kindling-induced changes in electrophysiological properties of rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons.MethodsAnimals were kindled by electrical stimulation of amygdala in a rapid kindling manner (12 times per day). In one group of animals, immediately after termination of daily 12 rapid kindling stimulations, the kindling site was subjected to 4 packages of LFS at intervals of 5 min (each package contained 200 monophasic square-wave pulses, 0.1 ms pulse duration at 1 Hz). Whole cell patch clamp recording under current clamp conditions was performed on visually identified pyramidal neurons in hippocampal slice preparations obtained from amygdala-kindled rats and the rats receiving LFS.ResultsKindling of the right basolateral amygdala profoundly affected spontaneous firing behavior and repetitive discharge characteristics of pyramidal neuronal electrophysiological properties. Application of LFS at the kindling site almost completely prevented the development of epilepsy and the disruptive effects of kindling on neuronal electrical activity through restoration of the normal electrophysiological characteristics.ConclusionsThe results of this study implied that application of LFS during kindling acquisition prevents the kindling induced changes in functional electrical properties of CA1 pyramidal neurons, suggesting that this action may be involved in the antiepileptogenic mechanism of LFS.     

The Subarachnoid Hemorrhage International Trialists (SAHIT) Repository: Advancing Clinical Research in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Researchers and other stakeholders continue to express concern about the failure of randomized clinical trials (RCT) in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) to show efficacy of new treatments. Pooled data may be particularly useful to generate hypotheses about causes of poor outcomes and reasons for failure of RCT in SAH, and strategies to improve them. Investigators conducting SAH research collaborated to share data with the intent to develop a large repository of pooled individual patient data for exploratory analysis and testing of new hypotheses relevant to improved trial design and analysis in SAH. This repository currently contains information on 11,443 SAH patients from 14 clinical databases, of which 9 are datasets of recent RCTs and 5 are datasets of prospective observational studies and hospital registries. Most patients were managed in the last 15 years. Data validation and quality checks have been conducted and are satisfactory. Data is available on demographic, clinical, neuroimaging, and laboratory results and various outcome measures. We have compiled the largest known dataset of patients with SAH. The SAHIT repository may be an important resource for advancing clinical research in SAH and will benefit from contributions of additional datasets.     

The effects of cognitive loading on balance control in patients with multiple sclerosis

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of concurrent cognitive task (silent backward counting) on balance performance between two groups of multiple sclerosis (MS) (n = 23) and healthy (n = 23) participates. Three levels of postural difficulty were studied on a force platform, i.e. rigid surface with eyes open, rigid surface with eyes closed, and foam surface with eyes closed. A mixed model analysis of variance showed that under difficult sensory condition of foam surface with eyes closed, execution of concurrent cognitive task caused a significant decrement in variability of sway velocity in anteroposterior direction for the patient group (P < 0.01) while this was not the case for healthy participants (P = 0.22). Also, the variability of sway velocity in mediolateral direction was significantly decreased during concurrent execution of cognitive task in patient group (P < 0.01) and not in healthy participants (P = 0.39). Furthermore, in contrast to single tasking, dual tasking had the ability to discriminate between the 2 groups in all conditions of postural difficulty. In conclusion, findings of variability in sway velocity seem to confirm the different response to cognitive loading between two groups of MS and healthy participants.     

Collagen mutation causes changes of the microdamage morphology in bone of an OI mouse model

Previous studies have postulated that ultrastructural changes may alter the pattern and capacity of microdamage accumulation in bone. Using an osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) mouse model, this study was performed to investigate the correlation of collagen mutation with the microdamage morphology and the associated brittleness of bone. In this study, femurs from mild OI and wild type mice were fatigued under four-point bending to create microdamage in the specimens. Then, the microdamage morphology of these specimens was examined using the bulk-staining technique with basic fuchsin. Similar with the results of previous studies, it was observed that linear microcracks were formed more easily in compression, whereas diffuse damage was induced more readily in tension for both wild-type and mild-type mice. However, less diffuse damage was found in the tensile side of mild OI mouse femurs (collagen mutation) compared with those of wild type mice, showing that the microdamage morphology is correlated to the brittleness of bone. The results of this study provide direct evidence that supports the prediction made by the previous numerical simulation studies, suggesting that microdamage morphology in bone is significantly correlated with the integrity of the collagen phase.