Basal ganglia dysfunction in OCD: subthalamic neuronal activity correlates with symptoms severity and predicts high-frequency stimulation efficacy.

Functional and connectivity changes in corticostriatal systems have been reported in the brains of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, the relationship between basal ganglia activity and OCD severity has never been adequately established. We recently showed that deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), a central basal ganglia nucleus, improves OCD. Here, single-unit subthalamic neuronal activity was analysed in 12 OCD patients, in relation to the severity of obsessions and compulsions and response to STN stimulation, and compared with that obtained in 12 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Dendritic cells--immunodeficiency virus (HIV): early interactions.

Since 1973, when Steinman and Cohn highlighted the importance of dendritic cells as mediators of immunity, a large series of subsequent researches have been registered concerning these amazing cells and their implications in different pathologies. Although in small number, they are widely distributed and represent crucial elements in immune responses against pathogens. Data gathered in the last period, mostly based on in vitro studies, helped us understand the early events of HIV-host interactions, the important roles of dendritic cells in this phase, but fails to fully explain the complex mechanisms underlying these interactions, such as the ways developed by HIV to evade the immune system and to facilitate viral dissemination.

Dermatomyositis and polyradiculoneuritis, a rare association.

The association between dermatomyositis and polyradiculoneuritis is rarely citated in the speciality literature. Our patient had at first a disorder that looked like dermatomyositis, then she associated polyradiculoneuritis. At the presentation to our hospital the two diseases were combined, being very difficult to differentiate.

[Pulmonary hypertension due to chronic lung disease. Recommendations of the Cologne Consensus Conference 2010].

The 2009 European Guidelines on Pulmonary Hypertension did not cover only pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) but also some aspects of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in chronic lung disease. The European Guidelines point out that the drugs currently used to treat patients with PAH (prostanoids, endothelin receptor antagonists and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors) have not been sufficiently investigated in other forms of PH. Therefore, the European Guidelines do not recommend the use of these drugs in patients with chronic lung disease and PH.

Regression of precancerous epithelial alteration in patients with Helicobacter pylori chronic gastritis.

As a Group 1 carcinogen for gastric cancer, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) was involved in many studies and researches focused on physiopathology and morphopathologic changes induced by this bacterium. The study included 3069 gastric endoscopies performed between January 2005 and December 2009 in "Colentina" Clinical Hospital.

No proprioceptive deficits in autism despite movement-related sensory and execution impairments.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often involves sensory and motor problems, yet the proprioceptive sense of limb position has not been directly assessed. We used three tasks to assess proprioception in adolescents with ASD who had motor and sensory perceptual abnormalities, and compared them to age- and IQ-matched controls. Results showed no group differences in proprioceptive accuracy or precision during active or passive tasks.

Seeing is believing: effects of visual contextual cues on learning and transfer of locomotor adaptation.

Devices such as robots or treadmills are often used to drive motor learning because they can create novel physical environments. However, the learning (i.e.

Split-belt treadmill training poststroke: a case study.

Background And Purpose: Even after rehabilitation, many individuals with strokes have residual gait deviations and limitations in functional walking. Applying the principles of motor adaptation through a split-belt treadmill walking paradigm can lead to short-term improvements in step length asymmetry after stroke. The focus of this case study was to determine whether it is possible to capitalize on these improvements for long-term gain.

Perceptual reasoning predicts handwriting impairments in adolescents with autism.

Background: We have previously shown that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have specific handwriting deficits consisting of poor form, and that these deficits are predicted by their motor abilities. It is not known whether the same handwriting impairments persist into adolescence and whether they remain linked to motor deficits.

Methods: A case-control study of handwriting samples from adolescents with and without ASD was performed using the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment.

Utility of esophageal temperature monitoring during pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation using duty-cycled phased radiofrequency ablation.

Introduction: A novel ablation system has been introduced for rapid treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). This system delivers duty-cycled phased radiofrequency (RF) energy via an over-the-wire catheter (PVAC® , Medtronic) to achieve pulmonary vein (PV) isolation. Lower power and depth control suggests that collateral damage might be minimized.

[Pulmonary hypertension due to chronic lung disease. Recommendations of the Cologne Consensus Conference 2010].

The 2009 European Guidelines on Pulmonary Hypertension did not cover only pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) but also some aspects of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in chronic lung disease. The European Guidelines point out that the drugs currently used to treat patients with PAH (prostanoids, endothelin receptor antagonists and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors) have not been sufficiently investigated in other forms of PH. Therefore, the European Guidelines do not recommend the use of these drugs in patients with chronic lung disease and PH.

Longitudinal tracking of gait and balance impairments in cerebellar disease.

Cerebellar damage typically results in ataxia and can be caused by stroke, tumor, or one of many forms of degenerative disease. Since few pharmacological options are available, most treatments rely heavily on rehabilitation therapy. Little data exist on methods for tracking the progression of ataxia, which is critical for assessing the efficacy of current and newly developing treatments.

Size of error affects cerebellar contributions to motor learning.

Small errors may affect the process of learning in a fundamentally different way than large errors. For example, adapting reaching movements in response to a small perturbation produces generalization patterns that are different from large perturbations. Are distinct neural mechanisms engaged in response to large versus small errors? Here, we examined the motor learning process in patients with severe degeneration of the cerebellum.

Thinking about walking: effects of conscious correction versus distraction on locomotor adaptation.

Control of the human walking pattern normally requires little thought, with conscious control used only in the face of a challenging environment or a perturbation. We have previously shown that people can adapt spatial and temporal aspects of walking to a sustained perturbation generated by a split-belt treadmill. Here we tested whether conscious correction of walking, versus distraction from it, modifies adaptation.

Protein aggregation in inclusion body myositis, a sporadic form among protein aggregate myopathies, and in myofibrillar myopathies--a comparative study.

Unlabelled: Protein aggregation has been identified in muscle fibres and, thus, in certain neuromuscular disorders. There are certain similarities between IBM and DRM: midlife or late-onset clinical symptoms, apparently of both sporadic and genetic background, morphologically autophagocytosis by vacuole formation, which is frequent in IBM though rare in DRM, and presence of tubulofilamentous aggregates, which is almost regular in IBM but scantily found in DRM as beta-amyloid components have been identified as accruing proteins, both in IBM and DRM. Previous studies pointed to the hypothesis that clear morphological borders between the two types of diseases--hereditary inclusion body myopathies/myositis and desmin-related myopathies may not exist.

Carcinogenesis and infection with Helicobacter pylori.

It was accepted several years ago that, in the carcinogenesis process of human cancers, biologic agents, especially the viruses, are playing an etiologic role. This is the case of lymphomas (retroviruses), hepatocarcinoma (hepatic viruses) and cervical carcinoma (papilloma viruses). Helicobacter pylori is the first bacteria recognized as a first class carcinogen for gastric cancer.

E-cadherin and beta-catenin expression in gastric neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions--correlations with H. pylori infection.

Gastric cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies, as incidence and as evolution as well. Although, due to the new findings about etiology, carcinogenesis, precancerous conditions and their detection, as well as the treatment, in the latest decade, there is an improvement in these data, gastric cancer remains a redoubtable enemy because of its incidence, prevalence and mortality. Researches are focusing on early detection of precursor lesions and on establishing their reversibility potential by bringing more clinical and statistical information and by setting new clinical hypotheses.

Diagnosis and treatment in Helicobacter pylori infection.

In our days, Helicobacter pylori is considered to be the bacterium responsible for the most frequent and persistent chronic infection worldwide, involving half of the entire world population. Untreated, the infection is lasting for the whole life. In Romania, the number of carrying people is variable between 90-94%, while in western countries, the prevalence of this infection is much lower, under 50-60%, with a high tendency to decrease, due both to the higher socio-economic level and to advanced methods of diagnosis and treatment, with a special focus on prevention.

Neurophysiologic and rehabilitation insights from the split-belt and other locomotor adaptation paradigms.

Locomotion is incredibly flexible. Humans are able to stay upright and navigate long distances in the face of ever-changing environments and varied task demands, such as walking while carrying a heavy object or in thick mud. The focus of this review is a behavior that is critical for this flexibility: motor adaptation.

Sensorimotor function and sensorimotor tracts after hemispherectomy.

Hemispherectomy is currently the only effective treatment for relieving constant seizures in children with severe or progressive unilateral cortical disease. Although early hemispherectomy has been advocated to avoid general dysfunction due to continued seizures, it remains unclear whether age at surgery affects specific sensorimotor functions. Little is know about the anatomical status of sensorimotor pathways after hemispherectomy and how it might relate to sensorimotor function.

Children with autism show specific handwriting impairments.

Background: Handwriting skills, which are crucial for success in school, communication, and building children's self-esteem, have been observed to be poor in individuals with autism. Little information exists on the handwriting of children with autism, without delineation of specific features that can contribute to impairments. As a result, the specific aspects of handwriting in which individuals with autism demonstrate difficulty remain unknown.

Pulmonary vein isolation using a novel decapolar over-the-wire mapping and ablation catheter.

Recently, a novel radiofrequency (RF) ablation system has been developed to perform pulmonary vein (PV) isolation. The system consists of a decapolar, steerable, over-the-wire mapping and ablation catheter combined with a multichannel RF generator that delivers energy in a temperature-controlled, power-limited fashion in both uni- and bi-polar modes. Using this technique, long continuous ablation lesions can be created within the left atrial antrum around the PV ostium.

Split-belt treadmill adaptation shows different functional networks for fast and slow human walking.

New walking patterns can be learned over short time scales (i.e., adapted in minutes) using a split-belt treadmill that controls the speed of each leg independently.

Rectal leiomyoma--report of two cases originating in muscularis mucosae.

We present two rare cases of rectal leiomyoma originating in muscularis mucosae. The lesions were incidentally discovered in a 58-years-old woman and 53-years-old man during colonoscopy performed for unrelated symptoms. Both presented as small polyps and were removed by conventional colonoscopic snare polypectomy without clinical recurrence.