Directional Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation Better Improves Gait and Balance Disorders in Parkinson's Disease Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of directional subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-dDBS) on gait and balance disorders, including freezing of gait (FOG), in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: We included 10 participants who underwent STN-DBS and presented severe preoperative FOG, in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. We used segmented DBS electrodes to investigate whether directing the predicted volume of tissue activated (VTA) to overlap the central STN preferentially improved gait and balance disorders compared to directional DBS applied in the more posterior STN (sensorimotor).

Sperm histone modifications may predict success in human assisted reproduction: a pilot study.

Purpose: Currently, assisted reproduction clinics employ various sperm selection techniques to identify the best sperm for fertilization. However, these techniques may not assess crucial sperm traits that can substantially impact embryonic quality. To address this, we propose analyzing diverse histone modifications as potential markers of sperm functionality and success in assisted reproduction techniques.

Clinical gait analysis reveals altered walking patterns in critical Covid 19 survivors.

Background: Covid-19 has dramatically increased the number of admissions in intensive care units due to respiratory complications. In some cases, the arousal of neurological impairments, such as peripheral neuropathies, have been revealed. The purpose of this research was to characterize the gait pattern and muscle activity changes in Covid-19 survivors compared to physiological gait.

Influence of different calibration methods on surface electromyography-informed musculoskeletal models with few input signals.

Background: Although model personalization is critical when assessing individuals with morphological or neurological abnormalities, or even non-disabled subjects, its translation into routine clinical settings is hampered by the cumbersomeness of experimental data acquisition and lack of resources, which are linked to high costs and long processing pipelines. Quantifying the impact of neglecting subject-specific information in simulations that aim to estimate muscle forces with surface electromyography informed modeling approaches, can address their potential in relevant clinical questions. The present study investigates how different methods to fine-tune subject-specific neuromuscular parameters, reducing the number of electromyography input data, could affect the estimation of the unmeasured excitations and the musculotendon forces.

Center of mass-based posturography for free living environment applications.

Background: Postural assessment is crucial as risk of falling is a major health problem for the elderly. The most widely used devices are force and balance plates, while center of pressure is the most studied parameter as measure of neuromuscular imbalances of the body sway. In out-of-laboratory conditions, where the use of plates is unattainable, the center of mass can serve as an alternative.

Quantitative assessment of training effects using EksoGT® exoskeleton in Parkinson's disease patients: A randomized single blind clinical trial.

Background: Gait alterations are among the most disabling motor-symptoms associated with Parkinson's Disease (PD): reduced stride length, stride velocity and lower limb joint range of motion are hallmarks of parkinsonian gait. Research focusing on optimal functional rehabilitation methods has been directed towards powered lower-limb exoskeletons which combines the advantages delivered from the grounded robotic devices with the ability to train the patient in a real-world environment As gait involves both central (CNS) and peripheral nervous systems (PNS), targeted rehabilitation must restore not only mechanics but also neurophysiological gait patterns.

Methods: Two cohorts of subjects will be enrolled and equally distributed between one group (n = 25) who will undergo a functional kinematic therapy, and one group (n = 25) who will undergo an overground wearable-exoskeleton training.

Different perspectives in understanding muscle functions in Parkinson's disease through surface electromyography: Exploring multiple activation patterns.

Gait disorders are one of the cardinal features of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and might be affected by a modified pattern of motor unit activation. This work explores how PD affects the lower limb muscle control and how muscle activity contributes to gait impairment. Using clinical gait analysis data, the onset and the offset of the surface electromyographic (sEMG) signal of four lower limb muscles were determined in 18 people with PD and compared with 10 heathy controls.

Paternal alcohol consumption has intergenerational consequences in male offspring.

Purpose: Alcoholism is a heterogeneous set of disorders caused by ethanol intake. Harmful effects of paternal consumption on the offspring are poorly explored and not fully understood. We analyzed the effect of paternal alcohol consumption on both their own reproductive capacity and that of their male offspring.

Changes of biomechanics induced by Equistasi® in Parkinson's disease: coupling between balance and lower limb joints kinematics.

Axial disorders, including postural deformities, postural instability, and gait disturbances, are among the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Equistasi®, a wearable proprioceptive stabilizer device, has been proposed as neurological rehabilitative device for this set of symptoms. To investigate the effects of the device on gait and balance, 24 participants affected by PD were enrolled in this crossover double-dummy, randomized, controlled study.

Electromyography-informed modeling for estimating muscle activation and force alterations in Parkinson's disease.

Electromyography (EMG)-driven neuromusculoskeletal modeling (NMSM) enables simulating the mechanical function of multiple muscle-tendon units as controlled by nervous system in the generation of complex movements. In the context of clinical assessment this may enable understanding biomechanical factor contributing to gait disorders such as one induced by Parkinson's disease (PD). In spite of the challenges in the development of patient-specific models, this preliminary study aimed at establishing a feasible and noninvasive experimental and modeling pipeline to be adopted in clinics to detect PD-induced gait alterations.

Relationship between Muscular Activity and Postural Control Changes after Proprioceptive Focal Stimulation (Equistasi) in Middle-Moderate Parkinson's Disease Patients: An Explorative Study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Equistasi, a wearable device, on the relationship between muscular activity and postural control changes in a sample of 25 Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects. Gait analysis was carried out through a six-cameras stereophotogrammetric system synchronized with two force plates, an eight-channel surface electromyographic system, recording the activity of four muscles bilaterally: Rectus femoris, tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL). The peak of the envelope (PoE) and its occurrence within the gait cycle (position of the peak of the envelope, PPoE) were calculated.

Human sperm decondensation in vitro is related to cleavage rate and embryo quality in IVF.

Purpose: To investigate whether the ability of human spermatozoa to decondense in vitro in the presence of heparin (Hep) and glutathione (GSH) is related to assisted reproduction (ART) success.

Methods: Cross-sectional pilot study involving male partners of 129 infertile couples undergoing ICSI with (45) or without (84) donor oocytes at two infertility clinics in CABA, Argentina, between October 2012 and December 2013. In vitro decondensation kinetics with Hep and GSH and DNA fragmentation (TUNEL) were determined on the same sample used for ICSI.

effects of endosulfan-based insecticides on mammalian sperm.

Endosulfan is an organochloride insecticide extensively used in several countries to protect crops from pests. As several studies indicate that endosulfan can affect human and animal development, the aim of this study was to analyse whether sperm parameters and the process of chromatin decondensation could be altered by endosulfan in mice sperm. Spermatozoa from cauda epididymis were obtained from mature male mice and incubated in the presence of two commercial formulations (CFs) of endosulfan (Master® and Zebra Ciagro®) or the active ingredient (AI) alone.

Sperm pretreatment with heparin and l-glutathione, sex-sorting, and double cryopreservation to improve intracytoplasmic sperm injection in bovine.

In bovine, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) remains inefficient partially due to low levels of sperm decondensation. The aim of this study was to determine whether the injection of normal size sperm pretreated with heparin (Hep) and l-glutathione (GSH), the use of sex-sorted sperm, the double round of sperm freezing/thawing (re frozen), or the combination of these approaches can improve sperm decondensation and embryo development after ICSI in cattle. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were evaluated on days 2 and 7 post ICSI.

Heterogeneous distribution of histone methylation in mature human sperm.

Purpose: To analyze the presence of various histone modifications in ejaculated human spermatozoa

Methods: In this prospective study, seminal ejaculates from 39 normozoospermic individuals were evaluated for semen analysis and the presence of histone modifications in isolated nuclei.

Results: We observed heterogeneous presence of histone methylation in normal mature human sperm. We observed that 12 to 30 % of the nuclei of normal sperm contain a heterogeneous distribution of the marks H3K4Me1, H3K9Me2, H3K4Me3, H3K79Me2, and H3K36Me3.

Dermatan sulfate synergizes with heparin in murine sperm chromatin decondensation.

The mammalian sperm nucleus contains an unusually condensed chromatin, due to replacement of the majority of histones by protamines. However, soon after the spermatozoon penetrates the ooplasm at fertilization, decondensation of this densely packed chromatin must occur to allow formation of the male pronucleus and syngamy. Decondensation is accomplished by protamine disulfide bond reduction by oocyte glutathione and replacement of protamines by oocyte histones with the aid of an acceptor molecule.

Heparin enhances protamine disulfide bond reduction during in vitro decondensation of human spermatozoa.

Background: Human sperm nuclear decondensation in vivo involves protamine disulfide bond reduction by glutathione (GSH) and protamine/histone exchange, presumably with heparan sulfate (HS) as the protamine acceptor. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that these two events occur simultaneously rather than sequentially, as has been hitherto accepted, and to test for the presence of HS in the human oocyte.

Methods: Spermatozoa and isolated sperm nuclei obtained from normal volunteers were exposed in vitro to heparin, the functional analogue of HS and either GSH or dithiothreitol (DTT) as the disulfide reducing agent.

α(2)-Adrenoceptors enhance cell proliferation and mammary tumor growth acting through both the stroma and the tumor cells.

We have previously described enhanced human breast cancer cell proliferation and mouse mammary tumor growth induced by α(2)-adrenoceptor (α(2)-AR) expression in epithelial cells. The aim of the present work was to assess if stromal fibroblasts can contribute to this effect. α(2)-AR expression was assessed by immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry, cell proliferation by [(3)H]-Thymidine incorporation and tumor growth by measuring with caliper.

The presence of heparan sulfate in the mammalian oocyte provides a clue to human sperm nuclear decondensation in vivo.

Background: Previous results from our laboratory have led us to propose heparan sulfate (HS) as a putative protamine acceptor during human sperm decondensation in vivo. The aim of this paper was to investigate the presence of glycosaminoglycans in the mammalian oocyte in an effort to better support this contention.

Methods: Two experimental approaches are used: oocyte labeling to identify the presence of HS and analysis of sperm decondensing ability of fresh oocytes in the presence or absence of specific glycosidases.

Further evidence on the role of heparan sulfate as protamine acceptor during the decondensation of human spermatozoa.

Background: Human spermatozoa decondense in vitro upon exposure to heparin and glutathione. Glutathione is also the disulfide bond reducer in vivo, and heparan sulfate, a functional analogue of heparin, has been proposed as the protamine acceptor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the decondensing ability of chemically modified heparins and different glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on isolated sperm nuclei in vitro, and to analyse the possible role of different GAGs as protamine acceptors.

Heparan sulphate: a putative decondensing agent for human spermatozoa in vivo.

Background: Human sperm decondense in vitro upon exposure to heparin and glutathione. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this decondensing ability of heparin in vitro is related to structural characteristics of the molecule and to test the in-vitro decondensing ability of other glycosaminoglycans.

Methods: Capacitated sperm obtained from normospermic semen samples were decondensed in the presence of heparin (or its equivalent) and glutathione.