The Homeostasis-Enrichment-Plasticity (HEP) Approach for Premature Infants with Developmental Risks: A Pre-Post Feasibility Study.

: The environmental enrichment (EE) framework has inspired several early intervention (EI) approaches. This study evaluated the feasibility, safety, caregiver acceptance, and satisfaction of implementing the HEP Approach intervention, a novel EI model based on the EE paradigm. Outcome measures for motor development, individual functional goals, sensory functions, caregiver-provided environmental affordances, and motivation for movement were examined.

HEP (Homeostasis-Enrichment-Plasticity) Approach Changes Sensory-Motor Development Trajectory and Improves Parental Goals: A Single Subject Study of an Infant with Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy and Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence (TAPS).

Background: Early intervention (EI) for infants identified as being at high risk for cerebral palsy (CP), or who have been diagnosed with it, is critical for promotion of postnatal brain organization. The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the Homeostasis-Enrichment-Plasticity (HEP) Approach, which is a contemporary EI model that applies the key principles of enriched environment paradigms and neuronal plasticity from experimental animal studies to ecological theories of human development on the motor development, sensory functions, and parental goals of an infant with twin anemia polycythemia sequence (TAPS) and CP.

Methods: An AB phase with follow-up single case study design which consisted of multiple baseline assessments with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2) and the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI) was used.

Evaluation of Ayres Sensory Integration Intervention on Sensory Processing and Motor Function in a Child with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome: A Case Report.

The Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome (RSTS) literature is limited about sensory integration, which is a foundational neurological function of the central nervous system that may affect the development of cognitive, social, and motor skills. The aim of this case report was to investigate the effects of Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) intervention on processing and integrating sensations, motor functions and parental goals of 3-year-old child with RSTS. Analysis of assessment data reviewed before and after treatment.

Use of acellular dermal matrix in peripheral nerve reconstruction: an experimental study on rat sciatic nerve defect.

Background: In patients with nerve tissue defects, the use of autologous nerve grafts is the standard method of treatment. Alternatives to autologous, nerve grafts have attracted the attention of reconstructive surgeons. In this study, the results of nerve repairs using acellular dermal matrix (ADM) in an experimental rat sciatic nerve defect model are presented.

Quantifying Neurological Examination in 21 Century: Yilmaz- Ilbay Plantar Flexion Test, A Novel and Reliable Test for Evaluation of Plantar Flexion in L5-S1 Disc Herniation.

Background: Current methods used to measure the muscle strength required to achieve plantar flexion may yield highly variable results depending on the perception of the physician conducting the examination because these tests involve subjective and qualitative evaluation.

Objective: To describe and evaluate the efficacy of a novel examination technique that can quantitatively measure plantar flexion in L5-S1 disc herniation.

Materials And Methods: A total of 32 patients (average age: 49.

Neonatal Tactile Stimulation Downregulates Dendritic Spines in Layer V Pyramidal Neurons of the WAG/Rij Rat Somatosensory Cortex.

Objective: The aim of our study is to examine the effects of neonatal tactile stimulations on the brain structures that previously defined as the focus of epilepsy in the Wistar-Albino-Glaxo from Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) rat brain with genetic absence epilepsy.

Methods: In the present research, morphology and density of dendritic spines were analyzed in layer V pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex (SoCx) of WAG/Rij rats (nonstimulated control, tactile-stimulated, and maternal separated rats) and healthy Wistar (nonepileptic) rats. To achieve this, a Golgi-Cox method was used.

Effects of Postnatal Caffeine Exposure on Absence Epilepsy and Comorbid Depression: Results of a Study in WAG/Rij Rats.

The present study aims to investigate effect of early caffeine exposure on epileptogenesis and occurrence of absence seizures and comorbid depression in adulthood. For this purpose, Wistar Albino Glaxo from Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) rats were enrolled in a control and two experimental groups on the 7th day after the delivery. The rats in experimental groups received either 10 or 20 mg/kg caffeine subcutaneously while animals in control group had subcutaneous injections of 0.

Spectrochemical and biochemical assay comparison study of the healing effect of the Aloe vera and Hypericum perforatum loaded nanofiber dressings on diabetic wound.

Diabetic wounds have a slow healing process and easy to be infected. In addition to current drug treatments, supportive approaches are needed for diabetic wound treatment. In this study, we aimed to load Aloe Vera (AV) and Hypericum perforatum oil (HPO) with PCL/Ge (Poly (ɛ-caprolactone)/Gelatine) polymeric biodegradable by electrospinning method into nanofiber dressings on an experimental diabetic wound model to compare the diabetic wound healing effect.

Neonatal Tactile Stimulations Affect Genetic Generalized Epilepsy and Comorbid Depression-Like Behaviors.

Recent studies suggest that development of absence epilepsy and comorbid depression might be prevented by increased maternal care of the offspring, in which tactile stimulation induced by licking/grooming and non-nutritive contact seem to be crucial. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of neonatal tactile stimulations (NTS) on absence epilepsy and depression-like behaviors in adulthood. Wistar Albino Glaxo from Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) rat pups with a genetic predisposition to absence epilepsy were divided into tactile stimulation (TS) group, deep touch pressure (DTP) group, maternal separation (MS) group or control group.

Side-Effects of Convulsive Seizures and Anti-Seizure Therapy on Bone in a Rat Model of Epilepsy.

The severe sole effects of seizures on the cortical part of bone were reported in our previous study. However, the side effects of anti-epileptic drug therapy on bones has not been differentiated from the effects of the convulsive seizures, yet. This study provides the first report on differentiation of the effects of seizures and carbamazepine (a widely used antiepileptic drug) therapy on bones; 50 mg/kg/day drug was given to genetically induced absence epileptic rats for five weeks.

Prevention of Epidural Fibrosis in Rats by Local Administration of Mitomycin C or Daunorubicin.

Aim: Epineural adhesion after peripheral nerve surgery is common. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the macroscopic and histopathologic effects of topical mitomycin C and daunorubicin on epineural scar formation.

Material And Methods: In this study, we used 15 rats (30 nerves).

Epileptic seizures induce structural and functional alterations on brain tissue membranes.

Epilepsy is characterized by disruption of balance between cerebral excitation and inhibition, leading to recurrent and unprovoked convulsions. Studies are still underway to understand mechanisms lying epileptic seizures with the aim of improving treatment strategies. In this context, the research on brain tissue membranes gains importance for generation of epileptic activities.

Investigation of compositional, structural, and dynamical changes of pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures on a rat brain by FT-IR spectroscopy.

To accomplish the appropriate treatment strategies of epilepsy action mechanisms underlying epileptic seizures should be lightened. The identification of epileptic seizure-induced alterations on the brain related to their pathologies may provide information for its action mechanism. Therefore, the current study determined molecular consequences of seizures induced by pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), which is a widely used convulsant agent, on rat brain.

Botulinum toxin in the treatment of lingual dystonia induced by speaking.

Primary lingual dystonia is a rare condition, especially when it is only induced by speaking. Trihexyphenidyl failed to improve the symptoms. Several case series have demonstrated the effectiveness of botulinum toxin injection for the management of focal lingual movement disorders.

Effect of pentylenetetrazole and sound stimulation induced single and repeated convulsive seizures on the MDA, GSH and NO levels, and SOD activities in rat liver and kidney tissues.

Objectives: the aim of our study was to evaluate the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the levels of glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO) in liver and kidney tissues in a rat model of convulsive seizure induced by single and repeated doses of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and sound stimulation with key ringing.

Materials And Methods: male Wistar adult rats (n=48), were used in the experiment. The animals were divided into six groups: (1) Single Seizure Control Group (SS-Control; n=8), (2) Repeated Seizures Control Group (RS-Control; n=8), (3) PTZ induced Single Seizure Group (SS-PTZ Group; n=8), (4) PTZ induced Repeated Seizures Group (RS- PTZ Group; n=8), (5) Key-Ringing Induced Single Seizure Group (SS-KEY Group; n=8), (6) Key-Ringing Induced Repeated Seizures Group (RS-KEY Group; n=8).

Recurrent neural networks for diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome using electrophysiologic findings.

This paper presents the use of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) (normal, right CTS, left CTS, bilateral CTS). The RNN is trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The RNN is trained on the features of CTS (right median motor latency, left median motor latency, right median sensory latency, left median sensory latency).

Differentiation of two subtypes of adult hydrocephalus by mixture of experts.

This paper illustrates the use of mixture of experts (ME) network structure to guide model selection for diagnosis of two subtypes of adult hydrocephalus (normal-pressure hydrocephalus-NPH and aqueductal stenosis-AS). The ME is a modular neural network architecture for supervised learning. Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm was used for training the ME so that the learning process is decoupled in a manner that fits well with the modular structure.

Diagnosis of airway obstruction or restrictive spirometric patterns by multiclass support vector machines.

This paper presents the use of multiclass support vector machines (SVMs) for diagnosis of spirometric patterns (normal, restrictive, obstructive). The SVM decisions were fused using the error correcting output codes (ECOC). The multiclass SVM with the ECOC was trained on three spirometric parameters (forced expiratory volume in 1s--FEV1, forced vital capacity--FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio).

Analysis of spike-wave discharges in rats using discrete wavelet transform.

A feature is a distinctive or characteristic measurement, transform, structural component extracted from a segment of a pattern. Features are used to represent patterns with the goal of minimizing the loss of important information. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) as a feature extraction method was used in representing the spike-wave discharges (SWDs) records of Wistar Albino Glaxo/Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) rats.

Discrete wavelet transform for analysis of spike-wave discharges in rats.

In this paper, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) as a feature extraction method was used in representing the spike-wave discharges (SWD) records of WAG/Rij rats. The SWD records of WAG/Rij rats were decomposed into time-frequency representations using the DWT and the statistical features were calculated to depict their distribution. The obtained wavelet coefficients were used to identify characteristics of the signal that were not apparent from the original time domain signal.

Vagus nerve stimulation suppresses generalized seizure activity and seizure-triggered postictal cardiac rhythm changes in rats.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), a proposed treatment for patients with intractable epilepsy, on cardiac rhythm following seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) in Wistar rats. After a baseline recording of electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure (BP), rats in the first group received a single convulsive dose of PTZ (70 mg/kg) (Group 1). In the other two groups, the Wistar rats were implanted with a cuff electrode on the left cervical vagus nerve.

Immunocytochemistry of neuron specific enolase (NSE) in the rat brain after single and repeated epileptic seizures.

The aim of this study was to investigate neuron-specific enolase (NSE) immunoreactivity of the different brain regions after pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)- induced epileptic seizures in rats. Light microscopic examinations provided evidences for changes of neuronal activity after single and repeated seizures. The number of NSE (+) cells was well correlated with Nissl staining.

Suppression of generalized seizures activity by intrathalamic 2-chloroadenosine application.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of micro-injecting 2-chloroadenosine (2-CADO; an adenosine receptor agonist) into the thalamus alone and with theophylline (a nonspecific adenosine receptor antagonist) pretreatment on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced tonic-clonic seizures in male Wistar albino rats. Following intrathalamic 2-CADO injection alone or theophylline pretreatment, 50 mg kg(-1) PTZ was given ip after 1 and 24 hrs. The duration of epileptic seizure activity was recorded by cortical electroencephalogram (EEG), and seizure severity was behaviorally scored.

Topical application of mitomycin C prevents epineural scar formation in rats.

The role of topically applied mitomycin C in preventing postoperative perineural fibrosis was examined by gross anatomical dissection and histological analysis in rats. The sciatic nerve was exposed bilaterally in 24 Wistar adult male rats, and an abrasion injury was produced on the exposed surface of the biceps femoris muscle in all animals. In the experimental group, cotton pads soaked with mitomycin C (0.