Cerebral blood flow in relation to peripheral endothelial function in youth bipolar disorder.

Introduction: Anomalous cerebral blood flow (CBF) is evident in bipolar disorder (BD), however the extent to which CBF reflects peripheral vascular function in BD is unknown. This study investigated endothelial function, an index of early atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk, in relation to CBF among youth with BD.

Methods: Participants included 113 youth, 13-20 years old (66 BD; 47 healthy controls [HC]).

Association of cannabis use with neurocognition in adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) and cannabis use are each associated with neurocognitive deficits in adolescents. However, little is known regarding the association of neurocognition with cannabis use among adolescents with BD. Therefore, we examined this topic in a sample of adolescents with BD and healthy control (HC) adolescents.

Sex differences in cerebral blood flow among adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Background: Abnormalities in cerebral blood flow (CBF) are common in bipolar disorder (BD). Despite known differences in CBF between healthy adolescent males and females, sex differences in CBF among adolescents with BD have never been studied.

Objective: To examine sex differences in CBF among adolescents with BD versus healthy controls (HC).

Endothelial Function in Youth With Bipolar Disorder: Preliminary Evidence for Mood Polarity Differences.

Bipolar disorder (BD) confers risk for accelerated atherosclerosis and early cardiovascular disease (CVD). In adults, mood symptom burden is associated with CVD. Here we examine endothelial dysfunction, considered an early predictor of CVD, in relation to mood states and symptoms among youth with BD.

Differential association of endothelial function with brain structure in youth with versus without bipolar disorder.

Background: Mood symptoms and disorders are associated with impaired endothelial function, a marker of early atherosclerosis. Given the increased vascular burden and neurostructural differences among individuals with mood disorders, we investigated the endothelial function and brain structure interface in relation to youth bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: This cross-sectional case-controlled study included 115 youth, ages 13-20 years (n = 66 BD; n = 49 controls [CG]).

Elevated C-reactive protein among symptomatic youth with bipolar disorder.

Rationale And Objectives: Increased levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with mood symptoms in adults with bipolar disorder (BD). The few studies on this topic in youth with BD have not included controls. We, therefore, examined CRP levels in relation to symptomatic status in youth with and without BD.

Inflammatory markers, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and the symptomatic course of adolescent bipolar disorder: A prospective repeated-measures study.

Background: Numerous studies have found elevated pro-inflammatory markers and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) during symptomatic episodes of bipolar disorder (BD) in adults. There is a paucity of research examining these markers in youth with BD, or longitudinally in any BD age group.

Methods: 79 adolescents, ages 13-19 years, were enrolled, including 43 symptomatic adolescents with BD and 36 age-matched healthy controls (HC).

Normal Cerebral Oxygen Consumption Despite Elevated Cerebral Blood Flow in Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder: Putative Neuroimaging Evidence of Anomalous Energy Metabolism.

Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) is reportedly altered in both adolescents and adults with bipolar disorder (BD). Whether these CBF differences are part of an overall imbalance in cerebral energy homeostasis remains unknown. Therefore, we examined global cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO) as a physiological index of brain metabolism in adolescents with and without BD.

Characterizing Spontaneous Motor Recovery Following Cortical and Subcortical Stroke in the Rat.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of neurological disability, often resulting in long-term motor impairments due to damage to cortical or subcortical motor areas. Despite the high prevalence of subcortical strokes in the clinical population, preclinical research has primarily focused on investigating and treating cortical strokes. Moreover, while both humans and animals show spontaneous recovery following stroke, little is known about how injury location affects this process.

Does Stroke Rehabilitation Really Matter? Part B: An Algorithm for Prescribing an Effective Intensity of Rehabilitation.

Background: The proportional recovery rule suggests that current rehabilitation practices may have limited ability to influence stroke recovery. However, the appropriate intensity of rehabilitation needed to achieve recovery remains unknown. Similarities between rodent and human recovery biomarkers may allow determination of rehabilitation thresholds necessary to activate endogenous biological recovery processes.

Does Stroke Rehabilitation Really Matter? Part A: Proportional Stroke Recovery in the Rat.

Background: In human upper-limb stroke, initial level of functional impairment or corticospinal tract injury can accurately predict the degree of poststroke recovery, independent of rehabilitation practices. This proportional recovery rule implies that current rehabilitation practices may play little or no role in brain repair, with recovery largely a result of spontaneous biological recovery processes.

Objective: The present study sought to determine if similar biomarkers predict recovery of poststroke function in rats, indicating that an endogenous biological recovery process might be preserved across mammalian species.

A physiological characterization of the Cafeteria diet model of metabolic syndrome in the rat.

Many promising findings from pre-clinical research have failed to translate to the clinic due to their inability to incorporate human disease co-morbidity. A variety of rodent diets and feeding durations are currently used in models of human metabolic syndrome, obesity and diabetes. One model, the Cafeteria (CAF) diet, makes use of grocery store-purchased food items that more closely approximate the human ultra-processed diet than commercial high-fat or high-sugar rodent diets.

Exercise and Environmental Enrichment as Enablers of Task-Specific Neuroplasticity and Stroke Recovery.

Improved stroke care has resulted in greater survival, but >50% of patients have chronic disabilities and 33% are institutionalized. While stroke rehabilitation is helpful, recovery is limited and the most significant gains occur in the first 2-3 months. Stroke triggers an early wave of gene and protein changes, many of which are potentially beneficial for recovery.