Contribution of different somatosensory afferent input to subcortical somatosensory evoked potentials in humans

ObjectivesTo investigate the subcortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to electrical stimulation of either muscle or cutaneous afferents.MethodsSEPs were recorded in 6 patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease (PD) who underwent electrode implantation in the pedunculopontine (PPTg) nucleus area. We compared SEPs recorded from the scalp and from the intracranial electrode contacts to electrical stimuli applied to: 1) median nerve at the wrist, 2) abductor pollicis brevis motor point, and 3) distal phalanx of the thumb. Also the high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) were analysed.ResultsAfter median nerve and pure cutaneous (distant phalanx of the thumb) stimulation, a P1-N1 complex was recorded by the intracranial lead, while the scalp electrodes recorded the short-latency far-field responses (P14 and N18). On the contrary, motor point stimulation did not evoke any low-frequency component in the PPTg traces, nor the N18 potential on the scalp. HFOs were recorded to stimulation of all modalities by the PPTg electrode contacts.ConclusionsStimulus processing within the cuneate nucleus depends on modality, since only the cutaneous input activates the complex intranuclear network possibly generating the scalp N18 potential.SignificanceOur results shed light on the subcortical processing of the somatosensory input of different modalities.     

Dorsal suspension for Morton’s neuroma: A comparison with neurectomy

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the clinical outcomes of dorsal suspension with those of neurectomy for the treatment of Morton’s neuroma.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study of dorsal suspension and neurectomy group. The dorsal suspension was performed by dorsal transposition of neuroma over the dorsal transverse ligament after neurolysis. The visual analog scale (VAS), the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM), postoperative satisfaction, and complications were evaluated.ResultsBoth groups reported significant pain relief, and there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to postoperative pain. The postoperative FAAM outcomes showed no significant between-group differences. Satisfaction analysis showed ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ results in the dorsal suspension and neurectomy groups (95% and 77.7%, respectively). Complications of numbness and paresthesia reported in the dorsal suspension group (5% and 5%, respectively) were significantly fewer than those of neurectomy group (61.1% and 33.3%, respectively) (both, p < .05).ConclusionsWith its favorable results, dorsal suspension can be another operative option for the treatment of Morton’s neuroma.Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative case series.     

Diagnostic sensitivity of electrophysiology and ultrasonography in ulnar neuropathies of different severity

ObjectiveTo assess the diagnostic performance of electrophysiology and nerve ultrasound in ulnar neuropathies of varying clinical severity in 135 consecutive patients.MethodsClinical severity of ulnar neuropathy was graded on a 4 point scale from very mild (symptoms only) to severe (marked atrophy of intrinsic hand muscles). Sensitivity and localization ability of electrophysiology and nerve ultrasound were assessed for each point of the scale.ResultsUltrasound had higher sensitivity than electrophysiology in clinically very mild (20% and 3% for ultrasound and electrophysiology, respectively) and mild (62% and 47% for ultrasound and electrophysiology, respectively) neuropathies, had greater localizing ability in axonal ulnar neuropathies, and identified nerve hypermobility.Ultrasound nerve cross-sectional area had strong positive correlation with both clinical and electrophysiological severity scores, but with significant overlap across the severity groups.ConclusionThe diagnostic work-up of ulnar neuropathies was improved by using both electrophysiology and ultrasound at all levels of clinical severity. Ultrasound increased the diagnostic yield in very mild and mild neuropathies, localized all the ulnar neuropathies with abnormal non-localizing electrophysiology and identified nerve hypermobility.SignificanceThis is the first detailed analysis of the diagnostic performance of electrophysiology and ultrasound in ulnar neuropathies of varying severity.     

环化酶激活剂对大鼠感觉神经元保护作用的实验研究

目的探讨环化酶激活剂（前列腺素E1、腺苷及Zn^2＋离子）对周围神经损伤后感觉神经元的保护作用.方法在大鼠坐骨神经夹毁模型术后21 d,取背根节用图像分析法观测前列腺素E1（PGE1）、腺苷（Ade）和高Zn^2＋饲料（Zn^2＋）对背根节细胞数、核偏心率及核等圆径的影响,并与人胎盘神经生长因子（hNGF）的作用相比较.结果NGF及环化酶激活剂组与夹毁对照组相比都能增进背根节细胞的存活和减轻核偏移（P＜0.05）;NGF组和高Zn^2＋饲料组在背根节细胞存活数、核偏心率及核等圆径方面与假手术组无差别（P＞0.05）.结论PEG1、Ade及Zn^2＋离子等环化酶激活剂对DRG神经元均有保护作用,其中Zn^2＋离子的保护效应与NGF无差别.     

大鼠骶髂关节传入神经通路的实验研究

目的:通过逆行神经追踪法研究大鼠骶髂关节的传入神经通路。方法:30只雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠随机分成非交感神经切除组(A组)和交感神经切除组(B组),每组15只,交感神经切除组切除左侧L1以下椎旁交感干。两组左侧骶髂关节注入30%的辣根过氧化物酶(HRP)20μl,72h后取出双侧的L1-S1背根神经节(DRG),TMB法染色后在光学显微镜下观察HRP阳性神经元细胞并计数。结果:两组左侧L1、L2背根神经节内HRP阳性神经元差异有显著性意义(P<0·05),B组HRP阳性神经元明显减少;左侧L3-S1背根神经节内HRP阳性神经元差异无显著性意义(P>0·05)。结论:L1-S1神经节含有支配同侧骶髂关节的传入神经元,同侧椎旁交感干可能是骶髂关节到L1-L2神经节重要的传入神经旁路,而不是到L3-L5神经节的传入旁路或重要的传入旁路。     

Ultrastructural detection of neuronally transported choleragenoid by postembedding immunocytochemistry in freeze-substituted Lowicryl HM20™ embedded tissue

Choleragenoid (cholera toxin B-fragment; CTB) is an anterograde, retrograde and transganglionic neuronal tracer. We describe a method for detecting CTB-labeled neuronal cell bodies, neurites and boutons at the ultrastructural level, using postembedding immunogold techniques on freeze-substituted Lowicryl HM20™ embedded nervous tissue. Primary afferents and motoneurons were labeled by injection of CTB in the dorsal ramus of the C2 spinal nerve of the rat. Following fixation with paraformaldehyde (4%) and glutaraldehyde (0.25%), tissue sections from the spinal cord C2 segment were freeze-substituted and embedded in Lowicryl HM20™ and subsequently processed with postembedding immunocytochemistry for CTB and glutamate. Immunogold particles indicating CTB immunoreactivity were found over primary afferents and motoneurons. In primary afferents in the central cervical nucleus (CCN) and motor nuclei, immunogold labeling was seen in boutons over vesicle-containing axoplasm and to a lesser extent over axoplasm devoid of vesicles, but not over mitochondria or axolemma. In motoneurons, immunogold particles were seen over the Golgi apparatus in the soma and over lysosomes in both soma and dendrites. Quantification of glutamate-like immunoreactivity in 20 CTB-labeled and 20 CTB-negative boutons in the neuropil was found similar, indicating that CTB does not interfere with the immunocytochemical detection of neuronal epitopes such as the transmitter substance glutamate.     

Monolateral hypoplasia of the motor vagal nuclei in a case of sudden infant death syndrome

During the development of motor vagal nuclei (MVN), the neuroblasts of the myeloencephalic basal plate migrate in the dorsolateral direction to form the dorsal motor vagal nucleus (DMVN) and ventrolaterally to form the ventral motor vagal nucleus (VMVN). Those neuroblasts that remain close to the median sulcus will form the hypoglossal nucleus. In support of the congenital origin of the alteration of the MVN in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), we report the case of an 8‐month‐old female child who was found dead in her cot. The neuropathological assessment revealed that the medullary triangle of the 4th ventricle floor was asymmetric, owing to the presence of three prominences to the left side of the median sulcus. The medial prominence corresponded to the hypoglossal nucleus, which showed a marked increase in the number of large neurons; the intermediate prominence corresponded to the DMVN whose large neurons were reduced and were recognizable mainly at the level of the medial fringe; the lateral prominence corresponded to the solitary nucleus. The left solitary tract showed a reduction of the transverse diameter. Also, the left VMVN showed marked reduction in the number of neurons. Inflammatory and astrocytic reactions were absent. We suggest that in SIDS cases the hypocellularity of the MVN and the increased number of neurons of the hypoglossal nucleus are intimately related, indicating a congenital alteration due to incomplete migration of the vagal neuroblasts with abnormality of the autonomic cardio‐respiratory control.     

Extracellular characteristics of putative cholinergic neurons in the rat laterodorsal tegmental nucleus

The extracellular electrophysiological properties of neurons in the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT), a major source of cholinergic afferents to the thalamus, were studied in chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. A combination of antidromic activation from the thalamus and histological verification of recording sites was used to correlate the identity of extracellular recordings in the rat LDT with cholinergic neurons in that region. All neurons antidromically activated by stimulation of the anteroventral thalamus were histologically verified to be within clusters of cholinergic (NADPH-d-positive) cells in the LDT or in the adjacent nucleus locus coeruleus (LC). The thalamically projecting LDT neurons had a homogeneous neurophysiological profile consisting of long duration action potentials (mean = 2.5 ms), slow conduction velocities (mean = 0.78 m/s), and lengthy chronaxie values (mean = 0.725 ms). The appearance and axonal characteristics of these neurons resembled those of noradrenergic LC neurons, but the two populations exhibited substantially different spontaneous activity patterns and sensory responsiveness. These characteristics may be useful in the preliminary identification of putative cholinergic neurons in vivo, and thereby provide a foundation for exploring the neuropharmacology, afferent modulation, sensory responsiveness and behavioral correlates of the brainstem cholinergic system.     

Dopaminergic transmission in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus to produce acupuncture analgesia in correlation with the pituitary gland

Acupuncture analgesia (AA) caused by low frequency stimulation of the acupuncture point (AP) was abolished by hypophysectomy and adrenalectomy. Termination of the AA producing pathway from the AP to the pituitary gland was in the medial hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (M-HARN). The origin of the descending pain inhibitory system associated with AA was in the posterior HARN (P-HARN). AA in the hypophysectomized rats, and enhanced neuronal activity in the P-HARN that were abolished during acupuncture stimulation, were both restored by intraperitoneal microinjection of 0.5 mg/kg morphine or 0.1 micrograms beta-endorphin into the P-HARN during acupuncture stimulation. Of the analgesia produced by dopamine or beta-endorphin injected into the P-HARN, that caused by beta-endorphin disappeared after denervation of the M-HARN. The P-HARN neurons that responded to acupuncture stimulation also responded to iontophoretic dopamine, but not to iontophoretic morphine nor ultramicroinjected beta-endorphin. The transmission between the M-HARN and P-HARN may be dopaminergic, and beta-endorphin might presynaptically modulate this transmission. Reduction of sodium ions may have been the reason for abolition of AA after adrenalectomy.     

Loss of basal forebrain P75(NTR) immunoreactivity in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

The long-held belief that degeneration of the cholinergic basal forebrain was central to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis and occurred early in the disease process has been questioned recently. In this regard, changes in some cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) markers (e.g. the high affinity trkA receptor) but not others (e.g., cortical choline acetyltransferase [ChAT] activity, the number of ChAT and vesicular acetylcholine transporter-immunoreactive neurons) suggest specific phenotypic changes, but not frank neuronal degeneration, early in the disease process. The present study examined the expression of the low affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)), an excellent marker of CBF neurons, in postmortem tissue derived from clinically well-characterized individuals who have been classified as having no cognitive impairment (NCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and mild AD. Relative to NCI individuals, a significant and similar reduction in the number of nucleus basalis p75(NTR)-immunoreactive neurons was seen in individuals with MCI (38%) and mild AD (43%). The number of p75(NTR)-immunoreactive nucleus basalis neurons was significantly correlated with performance on the Mini-Mental State Exam, a Global Cognitive Test score, as well as some individual tests of working memory and attention. These data, together with previous reports, support the concept that phenotypic changes, but not frank neuronal degeneration, occur early in cognitive decline. Although there was no difference in p75(NTR) CBF cell reduction between MCI and AD, it remains to be determined whether these findings lend support to the hypothesis that MCI is a prodromal stage of AD.