Atomoxetine-induced focal seizures with contralateral hypoperfusion and hyper-CKemia.

One of the drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome is atomoxetine. Usually, the drug is well tolerated but in rare cases adverse advents may occur. An 18-year-old female under atomoxetine (60 mg/d) since 2 years for attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome since age 13 years, developed sudden onset headache, hemianopia to the right, hypoesthesia of the tongue and right arm, aphasia, and depersonalisation.

Parkinson's disease: Research puts spotlight on thiamine deficiency and cardiovascular health.

The manuscript is a commenting on the article "Effects of vitamin B12, folate, and entacapone on homocysteine levels in levodopa-treated Parkinson's disease patients: A randomized controlled study", recently published by Anamnart and Kitjarak (2021), in this prestigious journal. The authors demonstrated that combination supplementation with vitamin B12 and folate was associated with significantly decreased plasma homocysteine (Hcy), suggesting that plasma Hcy levels should be monitored during levodopa treatment, and supplementation with inexpensive vitamin B12 and folate is beneficial for levodopa-treated PD patients. Considering some evidences - i) that it has to be indicated that dietary and supplemental thiamine intake has a protective effect on various medical conditions, including PD; ii) that several studies highlighted a possible relationship between PD low levels of thiamine in the serum, suggesting that elevated thiamine levels might protect against PD; iii) that thiamine deficiency is not just a common finding in patients with cardiovascular dysfunctions, but it might also have a role in the development and prognosis of PD - our research group believes that some comprehensive cardiovascular screening protocols should be developed for PD patients in order to reduce fatal events in these individuals.

New Brazilian variant of the SARS-CoV-2 (P1/Gamma) of COVID-19 in Alagoas state.

Since the beginning of 2020, health authorities have been monitoring the cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has grown every day in Brazil and around the world, becoming pandemic. The new coronavirus, also called SARS-CoV-2 by scientists spreads rapidly, causing fear, deaths, and threats for the economy of several countries. This work aimed to describe the clinical characterization of the first cases of a new Brazilian variant of SARS-CoV-2 (P1) in the State of Alagoas, which occurred on February 16th, 2021.

Effects of fish oil supplementation on spatial memory in rats with pilocarpine-induced epilepsy assessed using the Morris Water Maze test.

Objective: Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) are at high risk of experiencing cognitive impairment. Such dysfunction is also observed in an animal model of TLE, the rat model of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy.

Methods: We investigated the effects of fish oil supplementation on spatial memory in rats with pilocarpine-induced epilepsy using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test.

SARS-CoV-2 Impairs Vision.

Objectives: Affection of the central nervous system and the eyes is increasingly recognized as manifestations of a SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19). This review aims at summarizing and discussing recent advances concerning causes and locations of impaired vision because of an infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: On a literature search through PubMed and ScholarOne, all available publications about COVID-19 patients with impaired vision were retrieved.

Cardioprotection stimulated by resveratrol and grape products prevents lethal cardiac arrhythmias in an animal model of ischemia and reperfusion.

Purpose: To evaluate the preventive cardioprotective effects of resveratrol and grape products, such as grape juice and red wine, in animal model of cardiac ischemia and reperfusion.

Methods: Male Wistar rats orally pretreated for 21-days with resveratrol and grape products were anesthetized and placed on mechanical ventilation to surgically induce cardiac ischemia and reperfusion by obstruction (ischemia) followed by liberation (reperfusion) of blood circulation in left descending coronary artery. These rats were submitted to the electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis to evaluate the effects of pretreatment with resveratrol and grape products on the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias (VA), atrioventricular block (AVB) and lethality (LET) resulting from cardiac ischemia and reperfusion.

Guillain-Barre syndrome in 220 patients with COVID-19.

This review summarises and discusses recent findings concerning the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of SARS-CoV-2-associated Guillain-Barre syndrome (SC2-GBS). By the end of December 2020, at least 220 patients with SC2-GBS have been published in 95 papers. SC2-GBS is most likely secondary due to an immune reaction against SARS-CoV-2 since the virus has not been found in the CSF of any SC2-GBS patient so far reported.