Publications by authors named "En-Xiang Tao"

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopaminergic neuron death and the abnormal accumulation and aggregation of α-synuclein (α-Syn) in the substantia nigra (SN). Although the abnormal accumulation of α-Syn can solely promote and accelerate the progress of PD, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Mounting evidence confirms that the abnormal expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) plays an important role in PD.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) plays a significant role in the nervous system's regulation, and its phosphorylated form (pα-Syn) is linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
  • This study examined α-Syn and pα-Syn accumulation in the enteric nervous system (ENS) of 19 patients without neurodegeneration who had colorectal surgery, finding positive staining in all intestinal layers for α-Syn and age-dependent pα-Syn accumulation primarily in the submucosa and myenteric plexus.
  • The findings suggest that the presence of α-Syn pathology in non-neurodegenerative conditions may complicate the diagnosis of α-Synucleinopathies like Parkinson
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Chronic back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work and visits to the doctor. This report presents 2 interesting cases of chronic back pain that were effectively relieved by low-dose levodopa. These 2 patients showed no sign of anatomical problem of the spine or relative structures, but the discomforts on the back manifested some characteristics resembling those in restless legs syndrome (RLS), and one of them actually developed RLS after many years of back problem.

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Introduction: Rotigotine was demonstrated to be efficacious and well-tolerated in three placebo-controlled studies (CLEOPATRA-PD/PREFER/SP921) of patients with advanced-stage Parkinson's disease (PD), most of whom were Caucasian. This multicenter phase 3 study (SP1037; NCT01646255) was the first to investigate the efficacy and safety of rotigotine in Chinese patients with advanced-stage PD.

Methods: Chinese patients with PD, inadequately controlled on levodopa (stable dose ≥200 mg/day), with ≥2.

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Background: Neurology is complex, abstract, and difficult for students to learn. However, a good learning method for neurology clerkship training is required to help students quickly develop strong clinical thinking as well as problem-solving skills. Both the traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) and the relatively new team-based learning (TBL) methods have inherent strengths and weaknesses when applied to neurology clerkship education.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with epilepsy often need to take medicine for a long time, but stopping the medicine can lead to seizures coming back.
  • A study looked at 265 patients over 5 years to see if brain wave tests (called EEGs) could help predict if seizures would return after stopping medication.
  • The results showed that patients with normal EEGs had a lower chance of seizures returning compared to those with abnormal brain wave patterns, indicating that these tests are useful for predicting epilepsy recurrence.
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Aims: To establish a radiation-induced neural injury model using C17.2 neural stem cells (NSCs) and to investigate whether basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) can protect the radiation-induced injury of C17.2 NSCs.

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Aims: The aims of this study were to find out whether kallikrein could induce angiogenesis and affect the cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the early period after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R).

Methods: The adenovirus carried human tissue kallikrein (HTK) gene was administrated into the periinfarction region after CI/R. At 12, 24, and 72 h after treatments, neurological deficits were evaluated; expression of HTK and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were detected by immunohistochemistry staining; the infarction volume was measured; and rCBF was examined by( 14) C-iodoantipyrine microtracing technique.

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Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect of antisense oligonucleotides (ODN) on dopamine transporter (DAT) in rats and observe the response of the rats to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP).

Methods: The cannula was implanted in the substantia nigra compacta under a rat stereotaxic device, through which drugs were used. The rats with successful operation were divided randomly into four groups, and received injection of antisense, sense, missense oligonucleotides and saline respectively, in the substantia nigra compacta of each rat via the cannula, followed by MPTP (30 mg/kg) injection.

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Objective: To investigate the clinical heterogeneity of movement disorder in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Ninety-eight PD patients (68 males and 30 females) were divided into tremor-dominant PD (n=23), mixed subtype PD (n=29) and postural instability and gait disorder (PIGD)-dominant PD (n=46) groups, and the clinical heterogeneity of the movement function of the patients was compared.

Results: The initial symptom of tremor-predominant PD was tremor, but patients with PIGD-dominant PD had rigidity and gait disorder as the initial symptoms, commonly compromising the left limb.

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