Increased beat-to-beat variability of cerebral microcirculatory perfusion during atrial fibrillation: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is associated with cognitive decline/dementia, independently from clinical strokes or transient ischaemic attacks (TIA). Recent in silico data suggested that AFib may induce transient critical haemodynamic events in the cerebral microcirculation. The aim of this study is to use non-invasive spatially resolved cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (SRS-NIRS) to investigate in vivo beat-to-beat microcirculatory perfusion during AFib and after sinus rhythm (SR) restoration.

Acute, post-ischemic sensorimotor deficits correlate positively with infarct size but fail to predict its occurrence and magnitude after middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

This study investigated whether sensorimotor deficits measured soon after reperfusion could predict the occurrence and magnitude of cerebral infarct following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Rats were subjected to left MCAO for 2 h according to the intraluminal thread method. At 0, 1, 2, and 3 h after reperfusion, the animals were examined for neurological deficits using an expanded scale comprising the following tests: (A) postural reflex, (B) circling motion, (C) falling to contralateral side, (D) placement of the contralateral forelimb during motion, and (E) general state of alertness or consciousness.

Child safety restraint use among children attending day care centers.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of child safety restraint use and factors associated.

Methods: Observational cross-sectional study using a stratified sampling conducted in the city of Maringá, Southern Brazil, between March and May 2007. Each day care center was visited at one day only.

Tacrolimus (FK506) reduces hippocampal damage but fails to prevent learning and memory deficits after transient, global cerebral ischemia in rats.

Transient, global cerebral ischemia (TGCI) leads to hippocampal damage and disruption of spatial learning and memory. The immunosuppressant, tacrolimus (FK506), prevents TGCI-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration, but its effectiveness in promoting the recovery of learning and memory performance after TGCI has been little investigated. Here, we use a confined version of the aversive, non-food rewarded radial maze to evaluate further the effects of FK506 on TGCI-induced learning and memory deficits.