Focused ultrasound for treatment of epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical and clinical studies.

Various preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the neuromodulatory and ablative effects of focused ultrasound (FUS). However, the safety and efficacy of FUS in clinical settings for treating epilepsy have not been well established. This study aims to provide a systematic review of all preclinical and clinical studies that have used FUS for the treatment of epilepsy.

Focused Ultrasound for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a leading cause of death and disability and pose a looming global public health crisis. Despite progress in understanding biological and molecular factors associated with these disorders and their progression, effective disease modifying treatments are presently limited. Focused ultrasound (FUS) is an emerging therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cognitive outcomes following unilateral magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for essential tremor: findings from two cohorts.

Magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound thalamotomy is a neurosurgical treatment for refractory essential tremor. This study examined cognitive outcomes following unilateral magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound thalamotomy, targeting the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus for essential tremor. The research was conducted at two sites: Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, and West Virginia University School of Medicine Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute in West Virginia, USA.

Comparative Evaluation of Cytotoxicity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Mixed With Herbal Extract as an Intracanal Medicament: A Zebrafish Model Study.

Objective In this study, zebrafish embryos are used to study the cytotoxic effects of a novel intracanal medication (ICM) based on zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) loaded with polyherbal extracts ( and ). Material and methods In the present study, a green and sustainable method was employed for the synthesis of ZnO NPs mixed with bark and seed extracts of and to be used as a polyherbal ICM. Formulation of ZnO NPs was confirmed with color change in mixture produced upon dissolving zinc acetate dihydrate in distilled water followed by slow addition of sodium hydroxide solution and herbal extracts.

Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Liquid Biopsy for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Solid Tumors: Their Clinical Utility and Reliability as Tumor Biomarkers.

Early cancer detection and accurate monitoring are crucial to ensure increased patient survival. Recent research has focused on developing non-invasive biomarkers to diagnose cancer early and monitor disease progression at low cost and risk. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanosized particles secreted into extracellular spaces by most cell types, are gaining immense popularity as novel biomarker candidates for liquid cancer biopsy, as they can transport bioactive cargo to distant sites and facilitate intercellular communications.

Current status of diagnostic assays for emerging zoonotic viruses: Nipah and Hendra.

Introduction: Nipah and Hendra viruses belong to the Paramyxoviridae family, which pose a significant threat to human health, with sporadic outbreaks causing severe morbidity and mortality. Early symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, and headache, which offer little in terms of differential diagnosis. There are no specific therapeutics and vaccines for these viruses.

ESR1 and p53 interactome alteration defines mechanisms of tamoxifen response in luminal breast cancer.

The canonical mechanism behind tamoxifen's therapeutic effect on estrogen receptor α/ESR1+ breast cancers is inhibition of ESR1-dependent estrogen signaling. Although ESR1+ tumors expressing wild-type p53 were reported to be more responsive to tamoxifen (Tam) therapy, p53 has not been factored into choice of this therapy and the mechanism underlying the role of p53 in Tam response remains unclear. In a window-of-opportunity trial on patients with newly diagnosed stage I-III ESR1+/HER2/wild-type p53 breast cancer who were randomized to arms with or without Tam prior to surgery, we reveal that the ESR1-p53 interaction in tumors was inhibited by Tam.

Neurosurgical neuromodulation therapy for psychiatric disorders.

Psychiatric disorders are among the leading contributors to global disease burden and disability. A significant portion of patients with psychiatric disorders remain treatment-refractory to best available therapy. With insights from the neurocircuitry of psychiatric disorders and extensive experience of neuromodulation with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in movement disorders, DBS is increasingly being considered to modulate the neural network in psychiatric disorders.

MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for lithium-induced tremor: a case report and literature review.

Drug-induced tremor is a common side effect of lithium with an occurrence of approximately 25% of patients. Cessation of the offending drug can be difficult, and many medical treatments for drug-induced tremor are ineffective. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown in a limited number of case reports to effectively reduce drug-induced tremor, however, which remains an invasive therapeutic option.

Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Opening and Aducanumab in Alzheimer's Disease.

Antiamyloid antibodies have been used to reduce cerebral amyloid-beta (Aβ) load in patients with Alzheimer's disease. We applied focused ultrasound with each of six monthly aducanumab infusions to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier with the goal of enhancing amyloid removal in selected brain regions in three participants over a period of 6 months. The reduction in the level of Aβ was numerically greater in regions treated with focused ultrasound than in the homologous regions in the contralateral hemisphere that were not treated with focused ultrasound, as measured by fluorine-18 florbetaben positron-emission tomography.

A cross-sectional study on the nasopharyngeal microbiota of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection across three COVID-19 waves in India.

Background: Multiple variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have plagued the world through successive waves of infection over the past three years. Independent research groups across geographies have shown that the microbiome composition in COVID-19 positive patients (CP) differs from that of COVID-19 negative individuals (CN). However, these observations were based on limited-sized sample-sets collected primarily from the early days of the pandemic.

Identifying biomarkers of drug use recurrence using wearable device technologies and phone applications.

Background: Identifying predictors of drug use recurrence (DUR) is critical to combat the addiction epidemic. Wearable devices and phone-based applications for obtaining self-reported assessments in the patient's natural environment (e.g.

Safety and feasibility clinical trial of nucleus accumbens deep brain stimulation for treatment-refractory opioid use disorder.

Objective: There were more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2021, the most ever recorded. Despite advances in behavioral and pharmacological treatments, over 50% of those receiving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) experience drug use recurrence (relapse). Given the prevalence of OUD and other substance use disorders (SUDs), the high rate of drug use recurrence, and the number of drug overdose deaths, novel treatment strategies are desperately needed.

Ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier opening uncovers an intracerebral perivenous fluid network in persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening is under investigation as a therapeutic modality for neurodegeneration, yet its effects in humans are incompletely understood. Here, we assessed physiologic responses to FUS administered in multifocal brain sites of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: At a tertiary neuroscience institute, eight participants with AD (mean age 65, 38% F) enrolled in a phase 2 clinical trial underwent three successive targeted BBB opening procedures at 2 week intervals using a 220 kHz FUS transducer in combination with systemically administered microbubbles.

Outcomes of a hypertension care program based on task-sharing with private pharmacies: a retrospective study from two blocks in rural India.

Low density of formal care providers in rural India results in restricted and delayed access to standardized management of hypertension. Task-sharing with pharmacies, typically the first point of contact for rural populations, can bridge the gap in access to formal care and improve health outcomes. In this study, we implemented a hypertension care program involving task-sharing with twenty private pharmacies between November 2020 and April 2021 in two blocks of Bihar, India.

Trends in Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Intracranial and Spinal Pathologies: Analysis of the Top 100 Most Cited Articles.

There is a plethora of papers on the role of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in various benign and malignant intracranial tumors, and it is possible to overlook the most important and landmark studies. Thus, the necessity of citation analysis arises, which reviews the most cited articles and recognizes the impact made by these articles. Utilizing the 100 most cited articles describing the use of SRS for intracranial and spinal pathologies, this article aims to provide meaningful information regarding the historical trends and recent directions in which this field is headed.

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the phosphate starvation alleviation mechanism of phosphate accumulating Pseudomonas putida in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Phosphate starvation is one of the major factors limiting plant productivity globally. Soil microflora with an inherent trait of phosphate accumulation directly influences soil phosphorus level by regulating its labile form in soil solution. However, the detailed mechanism involved during their interaction with plants under phosphate deficient conditions is still unexplored.

Focused ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier opening in Alzheimer's disease: long-term safety, imaging, and cognitive outcomes.

Objective: MRI-guided low-intensity focused ultrasound (FUS) has been shown to reversibly open the blood-brain barrier (BBB), with the potential to deliver therapeutic agents noninvasively to target brain regions in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative conditions. Previously, the authors reported the short-term safety and feasibility of FUS BBB opening of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (EC) in patients with AD. Given the need to treat larger brain regions beyond the hippocampus and EC, brain volumes and locations treated with FUS have now expanded.

A scientometric analysis of the 100 most cited articles on magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound.

Background: Diagnostic ultrasound has long been a part of a physician's armamentarium, but transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is an emerging treatment of neurological disorders. Consequently, the literature in this field is increasing at a rapid pace.

Objective: This analysis was aimed to identify the top-cited articles on FUS to discern their origin, spread, current trends highlighting future impact of this novel neurosurgical intervention.

Characterization of passive permeability after low intensity focused ultrasound mediated blood-brain barrier disruption in a preclinical model.

Background: Systemic drug delivery to the central nervous system is limited by presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Low intensity focused ultrasound (LiFUS) is a non-invasive technique to disrupt the BBB, though there is a lack of understanding of the relationship between LiFUS parameters, such as cavitation dose, time of sonication, microbubble dose, and the time course and magnitude of BBB disruption. Discrepancies in these data arise from experimentation with modified, clinically untranslatable transducers and inconsistent parameters for sonication.

Patient-Derived Xenograft Models for Studying Vascular Mimicry in Melanoma In Vivo.

Tumor growth needs supply of nutrients, oxygen, and blood like the rest of the tissue, but it has been observed that tumor tissue may develop its own neovascular vessels lined with tumor cells instead of the endothelial cells. This phenomenon is referred to as vascular mimicry. Understanding vascular mimicry in melanoma is necessary for the progress of targeted therapeutic research.

Lipid exposure activates gene expression changes associated with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer.

Improved understanding of local breast biology that favors the development of estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancer (BC) would foster better prevention strategies. We have previously shown that overexpression of specific lipid metabolism genes is associated with the development of ER- BC. We now report results of exposure of MCF-10A and MCF-12A cells, and mammary organoids to representative medium- and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.