Glucose and Oxygen Levels Modulate the Pore-Forming Effects of Cholesterol-Dependent Cytolysin Pneumolysin from .

A major pathogenic factor is the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin pneumolysin, binding membrane cholesterol and producing permanent lytic or transient pores. During brain infections, vascular damage with variable ischemia occurs. The role of ischemia on pneumolysin's pore-forming capacity remains unknown.

Canalis cruropopliteus - the overlooked canal of Wenzel Gruber.

It is widely known that the popliteal fossa and the lower leg are connected by a canal, containing the neuro-vascular bundle to the posterior leg region, containing the tibial nerve and the posterior tibial artery and veins. The existence of this canal has not been duly recognized in literature, even though it has been named by Wenzel Gruber in 1871, and its contents, walls, entrance, and exits have been extensively described by him in 1878. In the present paper, we would like to pay a homage to the work of this prominent anatomist, which retains its significance for contemporary surgical practice.

Dendritic spine loss deep in the neocortex and dendrite distortion with diffusion disturbances occur early in experimental pneumococcal meningitis.

Introduction: (pneumococcus) meningitis is a serious disease with substantial lethality and long-term disability in survivors. Loss of synaptic staining in the superficial layers of the neocortex in rodent models and in humans, and pneumolysin (a major pneumococcal toxin)-dependent dendritic spine collapse in brain slices have been described. It remains unclear how deep in the neocortex more discrete changes are present, how soon after disease onset these changes occur, and whether other properties of dendrites are also affected.

Easy to build cost-effective acute brain slice incubation system for parallel analysis of multiple treatment conditions.

Background: Acute brain slices represent a powerful tool for analysis of brain function in physiology and pathology. Commercial systems and custom-build solutions with carbogen (95% O/5% CO) aeration, but they are expensive, have a high working volume requiring large amount of substances, and only limited options for treatment in parallel are possible.

New Method: We developed a novel cost-effective incubation system using materials available in every laboratory, allowing parallel incubation of several treatment conditions, thus also reducing the number of experimental animals.

Visible Meridian Phenomena after Acupuncture: A Series of Case Reports.

Background: In accordance with the meridian theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), meridian phenomena are observed along the course of a meridian following acupuncture. Their visible manifestations include alterations in the color (reddening or whitening) of the skin as well as papule and vesicle formation.

Objectives: The aim of the present work is to report a series of visible meridian phenomena manifested in human subjects and to correlate them to TCM concepts.

Using antifibrinolytics to tackle neuroinflammation.

Plasmin is generally known as a promotor of inflammation. Recent advancement suggests that it has a complex role as immunity modulator. Pharmacological inhibition of plasmin production and activity has been proven to improve neurological outcomes in traumatic brain injury and subarachnoid hemorrhage, most probably by preventing re-bleeding.

Glial cells in intracerebral transplantation for Parkinson's disease.

In the last few decades, intracerebral transplantation has grown from a dubious neuroscientific topic to a plausible modality for treatment of neurological disorders. The possibility for cell replacement opens a new field of perspectives in the therapy of neurodegenerative disorders, ischemia, and neurotrauma, with the most lessons learned from intracerebral transplantation in Parkinson's disease. Multiple animal studies and a few small-scale clinical trials have proven the concept of intracerebral grafting, but still have to provide a uniform and highly efficient approach to the procedure, suitable for clinical application.

Roscovitine, an experimental CDK5 inhibitor, causes delayed suppression of microglial, but not astroglial recruitment around intracerebral dopaminergic grafts.

Inhibitors of cell cycle proteins are known to reduce glial activation and to be neuroprotective in a number of settings. In the context of intracerebral grafting, glial activation is documented to correlate with graft rejection. However, the effects of modification of glial reactivity following grafting in the CNS are poorly understood.

Is the Newly Described Interstitial Network the Anatomical Basis of Acupuncture Meridians? A Commentary.

A network passing through interstitial tissues of the human body has been recently described. Despite its functional importance is yet unknown, we try to briefly summarize the known data and to interpret it from the viewpoint of Traditional Chinese medicine. We consider the peculiarities of the interstitium to be the morphological basis of at least some of the known phenomena along acupuncture meridians.

Acupuncture causes serotonin release by mast cells.

Mast cells (MCs) are important object in experimental acupuncture due to their putative involvement in local reactions to needling. In the rat, they are shown to contain in their granules, among other tissue mediators, serotonin, also called 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). The aim of this study is to examine the normal distribution of 5-HT-containing MCs in soft tissues of Zusanli (ST36) acupuncture point (acupoint) and their morphological changes caused by experimental acupuncture.

Astrogliosis has Different Dynamics after Cell Transplantation and Mechanical Impact in the Rodent Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Transplantation of fetal mesencephalic tissue is a well-established concept for functional reinnervation of the dopamine-depleted rat striatum. However, there is no extensive description of the glial response of the host brain following this procedure.

Aims: The present study aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively analyse astrogliosis surrounding intrastriatal grafts and compare it to the reaction to mechanical injury with the transplantation instrument only.