CXCR4 and CXCL12 expression is increased in the nigro-striatal system of Parkinson's disease.

Except for a handful of inherited cases related to known gene defects, Parkinson's disease (PD) is a sporadic neurodegenerative disease of unknown etiology. There is increasing evidence that inflammation and proliferation of microglia may contribute to the neuronal damage seen in the nigro-striatal dopaminergic system of PD patients. Microglia events that participate in neuronal injury include the release of pro-inflammatory and neurotoxic factors.

Opening the black box of post-stroke rehabilitation: stroke rehabilitation patients, processes, and outcomes.

DeJong G, Horn SD, Conroy B, Nichols D, Healton EB. Opening the black box of post-stroke rehabilitation: stroke rehabilitation patients, processes, and outcomes. This article introduces the journal's supplement devoted to the methods and findings of the 7-site Post-Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes Project (PSROP), a study designed to provide a very granular in-depth understanding of stroke rehabilitation practice and how practice is related to outcomes.

Laying down the law: reducing illegal tobacco sales to minors in central Harlem.

Objectives: This study compared the impact of educational and enforcement interventions on retailers' sale of tobacco to minors in Central Harlem, New York.

Methods: In a randomized trial with repeated measures, 152 stores were randomly divided into control, education, and enforcement groups.

Results: Overall tobacco sales to 12- and 13-year-old minors at baseline (98%) were among the highest in the nation.