Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep
September 2024
Purpose Of Review: The current review aims to provide an overview of migraine treatment strategies in medically complex patients, including those with renal, liver, and cardiovascular disease.
Recent Findings: In cardiovascular disease, gepants are likely safe for acute therapy; NSAIDs, ergotamines, and triptans are not recommended. Beta-blockers, ACEi/ARBs, and verapamil have potential cardiovascular benefits in addition to migraine preventive benefit.
J Labelled Comp Radiopharm
February 2024
Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the leading secondary cause of hypertension. Determining whether one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) adrenal glands are the source of PA in a patient remains challenging, and yet it is a critical step in the decision whether to recommend potentially curative surgery (adrenalectomy) or lifelong medical therapy (typically requiring multiple drugs). Recently, we have developed a fluorine-18 radiopharmaceutical [ F]CETO to permit greater access to PA molecular imaging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Neurol Neurosci Rep
July 2023
Overview: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is highly prevalent among individuals with primary headache disorders.
Purpose Of Review: (1) Provide an update on epidemiology, risk factors, and treatment strategies of MOH and (2) provide recommendations on the management of MOH.
Recent Findings: The prevalence of MOH ranges from 0.
Background: Adolescents with bipolar disorder have high rates of cannabis use, and cannabis use is associated with increased symptom severity and treatment resistance in bipolar disorder. Studies have identified anomalous resting-state functional connectivity among reward networks in bipolar disorder and cannabis use independently, but have yet to examine their convergence.
Methods: Participants included 134 adolescents, aged 13 to 20 years: 40 with bipolar disorder and lifetime cannabis use, 31 with bipolar disorder and no history of cannabis use, and 63 healthy controls without lifetime cannabis use.
Purpose: Positron emission tomography (PET) studies with radioligands for 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) have been instrumental in increasing our understanding of the complex role neuroinflammation plays in disorders affecting the brain. However, (R)-[C]PK11195, the first and most widely used TSPO radioligand has limitations, while the next-generation TSPO radioligands have suffered from high interindividual variability in binding due to a genetic polymorphism in the TSPO gene (rs6971). Herein, we present the biological evaluation of the two enantiomers of [F]GE387, which we have previously shown to have low sensitivity to this polymorphism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdvances in neonatal intensive care have meant improved survival of the extremely low birth weight neonate. We report the successful primary repair of a preterm neonate born with an oesophageal atresia and tracheo-oesophageal fistula with a birth weight of just 525 g, on day 1 of life, the smallest survivor so far reported in the literature, now followed up for 5 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anhedonia, a deficit in the ability to experience pleasure, is a cardinal symptom of major depressive episodes. In contrast to adolescent major depressive disorder, there is limited research examining anhedonia in the context of depression among adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD). We therefore examined clinical characteristics of anhedonia in a large sample of adolescents with BD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To investigate whether serum albumin (SA) concentration can predict the need for surgical intervention in neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
Methods: Retrospective review of all cases with NEC Bell's stage 2 and 3 that were treated in a single center between 2009 and 2015. Data on patient demographics, clinical parameters, laboratory findings and surgical status were recorded.
The trail-making test (TMT) is a popular neuropsychological test, which is used extensively to measure cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders in older adults. Behavioural performance on the TMT has been investigated in older populations, but there is limited research on task-related brain activity in older adults. The current study administered a naturalistic version of the TMT to a healthy older-aged population in an MRI environment using a novel, MRI-compatible tablet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMild cognitive impairment (MCI) can affect multiple cognitive abilities, leading to difficulty in performing complex, cognitively demanding daily tasks, such as driving. This study combined driving simulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate brain function in individuals with MCI while they performed a car-following task. The behavioral driving performance of 24 patients with MCI and 20 healthy age-matched controls was compared during a simulated car-following task.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranslocator protein (TSPO) is a biomarker of neuroinflammation, which is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases and has been exploited as a positron emission tomography (PET) target. Carbon-11-labelled PK11195 remains the most applied agent for imaging TSPO, despite its short-lived isotope and low brain permeability. Second-generation radiotracers show variance in affinity amongst subjects (low-, mixed-, and high-affinity binders) caused by the genetic polymorphism (rs6971) of the TSPO gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe clock-drawing test (CDT) is an important neurocognitive assessment tool, widely used as a screening test for dementia. Behavioral performance on the test has been studied extensively, but there is scant literature on the underlying neural correlates. To administer the CDT naturalistically to a healthy older aging population in an MRI environment, and characterize the brain activity associated with test completion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of the study is to determine driving habits and behaviors of patients with brain tumors in order to better inform discussions around driving safety in this population. Eight-four patients with brain tumors participated in a survey on their driving behaviors since their diagnosis. Thirteen of these patients and thirteen sex- and age-matched healthy controls participated in cognitive testing and several driving simulation scenarios in order to objectively assess driving performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Stroke can affect a variety of cognitive, perceptual, and motor abilities that are important for safe driving. Results of studies assessing post-stroke driving ability are quite variable in the areas and degree of driving impairment among patients. This highlights the need to consider clinical characteristics, including stroke subtype, when assessing driving performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe areas of driving impairment characteristic of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remain unclear. This study compared the simulated driving performance of 24 individuals with MCI, including amnestic single-domain (sd-MCI, n = 11) and amnestic multiple-domain MCI (md-MCI, n = 13), and 20 age-matched controls. Individuals with MCI committed over twice as many driving errors (20.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at an increased risk of driving impairment. There is a need for tools with sufficient validity to help clinicians assess driving ability.
Objective: Provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of the primary driving assessment methods (on-road, cognitive, driving simulation assessments) in patients with MCI and AD.
Background: Most guidelines recommend that patients should refrain from driving for at least one month after stroke. Despite these guidelines, and the fact that patients post-stroke may be at an increased risk for driving impairment, many patients report resuming driving within the acute phase of injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the driving performance of patients with acute mild stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis
December 2015
Driving is a complex activity that requires intact cognitive, behavioral, and motor function. Stroke is one of the most prevalent neurologic impairments and can affect all of these functions. However, diagnosis of stroke is not a definitive indicator of driving impairment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman-produced waste is a major environmental concern, with communities considering various waste management practices, such as increased recycling, landfilling, incineration, and waste-to-energy technologies. This article is concerned with how and why publics assemble around waste management issues. In particular, we explore Noortje Marres and Bruno Latour's theory that publics do not exist prior to issues but rather assemble around objects, and through these assemblages, objects become matters of concern that sometimes become political.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cerebellum, which is important for movement control and planning, is often affected by many neurological conditions. Until now there has been limited information regarding how the function of the cerebellum impacts driving ability. This study used fMRI with an integrated virtual reality driving simulator to determine which aspects of driving performance are related to the cerebellum in healthy drivers (Experiment 1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis critical review begins with a brief, but essential, introduction to the special nature of liquid crystal materials, their peculiar properties, and their commercial applications, followed by an introductory insight into the remarkable nature of the fluoro substituent, and its fascinating influence on the properties of organic compounds. However, the main focus of the review is to discuss the enormous amount of exciting research on fluorinated liquid crystals that has been reported. The small size of the fluoro substituent enables its incorporation into all types of liquid crystal, including calamitic, discotic, banana, lyotropic, and polymers, without ruining the liquid crystalline nature of the material.
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