Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy With Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) in a 25-Year-Old Patient: A Case Report.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene, resulting in subcortical infarctions and leukoencephalopathy. It predominantly affects the brain's small blood arteries, resulting in repeated ischemic episodes including transient ischemic attacks and strokes leading to cognitive impairment and mental symptoms. We provide a case study of a 25-year-old patient suspected of having meningoencephalitis.

Takayasu's Arteritis: An Uncommon Cause of Hemorrhagic Stroke in Young Individuals.

The aorta is particularly damaged by Takayasu's arteritis (TA), a rare form of vasculitis. Chest discomfort, exhaustion, fever, elevated blood pressure, heart failure, and stroke can all result from this. Major intimal fibrosis with vascular constriction is the disease's hallmark; although anybody can have it, Asian females in their 20s or 30s seem to be most typically affected.

Unexplained Chronic Liver Disease and Hemolytic Anemia in a Young Girl: A Case of Wilson's Disease.

Wilson's disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting the metabolism of copper that can present with a variety of clinical symptoms. Low levels of serum copper and ceruloplasmin, increased excretion of copper in the urine, and/or increasing quantities of copper in the liver are diagnostic indicators. The gold standard for diagnosis is genetic testing.

A case report of acquired Haemophilia A: A rare medical emergency.

Acquired Haemophilia A (AHA) is a rare potentially lifethreatening bleeding disorder caused by the presence of autoantibodies against coagulation factors. It is usually characterised by severe spontaneous haemorrhage, which can lead to high morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis is often challenging.

Nucleus accumbens D1-receptors regulate and focus transitions to reward-seeking action.

It is well established that dopamine transmission is integral in mediating the influence of reward expectations on reward-seeking actions. However, the precise causal role of dopamine transmission in moment-to-moment reward-motivated behavioral control remains contentious, particularly in contexts where it is necessary to refrain from responding to achieve a beneficial outcome. To examine this, we manipulated dopamine transmission pharmacologically as rats performed a Go/No-Go task that required them to either make or withhold action to gain either a small or large reward.

Age-dependent effects of embryonic ethanol exposure on anxiety-like behaviours in young zebrafish: A genotype comparison study.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is characterized by a variety of morphological, behavioural and cognitive deficits, ranging from mild to severe. Numerous animal models, including the zebrafish, have been employed to better understand the onset, expression and progression of this disorder. Embryonic ethanol-induced deficits in learning and memory, anxiety, social responses and elevated alcohol self-administration have been successfully demonstrated in zebrafish.

Prognostic importance of deranged sodium level in critically ill patients: A systemic literature to review.

It is common upon admission or during stay at a hospital or intensive care unit (ICU) for patients to present with or acquire a serum sodium abnormality. Hyponatremia, serum sodium level less than 135 mmol/L, frequently associated with critical illnesses such as heart failure and liver cirrhosis, is an indicator of disease severity as well as a risk factor for poor prognosis. Hypernatremia, serum sodium level greater than 145 mmol/L, results due to any ailment disabling a patient's modality of thirst or the ability to relieve it once sensed.

Exploring existing drugs: proposing potential compounds in the treatment of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 situation had escalated into an unprecedented global crisis in just a few weeks. On the 30 of January 2020, World Health Organization officially declared the COVID-19 epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern. The confirmed cases were reported to exceed 105,856,046 globally, with the death toll of above 2,311,048, according to the dashboard from Johns Hopkins University on the 7 of February, 2021, though the actual figures may be much higher.

Subthalamic beta-targeted neurofeedback speeds up movement initiation but increases tremor in Parkinsonian patients.

Previous studies have explored neurofeedback training for Parkinsonian patients to suppress beta oscillations in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). However, its impacts on movements and Parkinsonian tremor are unclear. We developed a neurofeedback paradigm targeting STN beta bursts and investigated whether neurofeedback training could improve motor initiation in Parkinson's disease compared to passive observation.

Beta Oscillation-Targeted Neurofeedback Training Based on Subthalamic LFPs in Parkinsonian Patients.

Increased oscillatory activities in the beta frequency band (13-30 Hz) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), and in particular prolonged episodes of increased synchrony in this frequency band, have been associated with motor symptoms such as bradykinesia and rigidity in Parkinson's disease (PD). Numerous studies have investigated sensorimotor cortical beta oscillations either as a control signal for Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) or as target signal for neurofeedback training (NFB). However, it still remains unknown whether patients with PD can gain control of the pathological oscillations recorded from a subcortical site - the STN - with neurofeedback training.

Representation of spontaneous movement by dopaminergic neurons is cell-type selective and disrupted in parkinsonism.

Midbrain dopaminergic neurons are essential for appropriate voluntary movement, as epitomized by the cardinal motor impairments arising in Parkinson's disease. Understanding the basis of such motor control requires understanding how the firing of different types of dopaminergic neuron relates to movement and how this activity is deciphered in target structures such as the striatum. By recording and labeling individual neurons in behaving mice, we show that the representation of brief spontaneous movements in the firing of identified midbrain dopaminergic neurons is cell-type selective.

Action initiation shapes mesolimbic dopamine encoding of future rewards.

It is widely held that dopamine signaling encodes predictions of future rewards and such predictions are regularly used to drive behavior, but the relationship between these two is poorly defined. We found in rats that nucleus accumbens dopamine following a reward-predicting cue was attenuated unless movement was correctly initiated. Our results indicate that dopamine release in this region is contingent on correct action initiation and not just reward prediction.

Vitamin B12 supplementation in treating major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Background/objective: Recent literature has identified links between vitamin B12 deficiency and depression.We compared the clinical response of SSRI-monotherapy with that of B12-augmentation in a sample of depressed patients with low normal B12 levels who responded inadequately to the first trial with the SSRIs.

Methods: Patients with depression and low normal B12 levels were randomized to a control arm (antidepressant only) or treatment arm (antidepressants and injectable vitamin B12 supplementation).

Arsenic exposure and oral cavity lesions in Bangladesh.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between arsenic exposure and oral cavity lesions among an arsenic-exposed population in Bangladesh.

Methods: We carried out an analysis utilizing the baseline data of the Health Effects of Arsenic Exposure Longitudinal Study, which is an ongoing population-based cohort study to investigate health outcomes associated with arsenic exposure via drinking water in Araihazar, Bangladesh. We used multinomial regression models to estimate the risk of oral cavity lesions.

Quality of life and mental health status of arsenic-affected patients in a Bangladeshi population.

Contamination of groundwater by inorganic arsenic is one of the major public-health problems in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted (a) to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) and mental health status of arsenic-affected patients and (b) to identify the factors associated with the QOL. Of 1,456 individuals, 521 (35.

Oscillatory entrainment of subthalamic nucleus neurons and behavioural consequences in rodents and primates.

We investigated the functional role of oscillatory activity in the local field potential (LFP) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). It has been postulated that beta (15-30 Hz) oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia induces PD motor symptoms. To assess this hypothesis, an LFP showing significant power in the beta frequency range (23 Hz) was used as a stimulus both in vitro and in vivo.

Association of depression with treatment outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a cross-sectional study from Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: To assess the associations of depression with glycemic control and compliance to self-care activities in adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary-care hospital in Karachi (Aga Khan University Hospital). Equal numbers of depressed and non-depressed patients were consecutively recruited from the diabetic clinic. Information on demographic and clinical characteristics was collected in face-to-face interviews and from medical records.

Effect of sensory stimulation in rat barrel cortex, dorsolateral striatum and on corticostriatal functional connectivity.

The striatum integrates sensory information to enable action selection and behavioural reinforcement. In the rat, a large topographical projection from the rat barrel cortex to widely distributed areas of the striatum is assumed to be an important structural component supporting these processes. The striatal sensory response is, however, not comprehensively understood at a network level.

A prospective study of the synergistic effects of arsenic exposure and smoking, sun exposure, fertilizer use, and pesticide use on risk of premalignant skin lesions in Bangladeshi men.

Skin lesions are classic clinical signs of toxicity due to long-term exposure to arsenic, and they are considered precursors to arsenic-related skin cancer. The authors prospectively evaluated synergisms between effects of arsenic exposure and those of tobacco use, sun exposure, and pesticide and fertilizer use on incident skin lesions using risk factor data from 5,042 men from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Araihazar, Bangladesh, which recruited participants from October 2000 to May 2002. Discrete time hazard models were used to estimate measures of synergistic interactions on the additive scale.

Behavioral problems among children living in orphanage facilities of Karachi, Pakistan: comparison of children in an SOS Village with those in conventional orphanages.

Purpose: This study compared the behavioral problems of children living in an SOS Village, which attempts to provide a family setup for its children, with those living in conventional orphanages.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 330 children, aged 4-16 years, living either in an SOS or other conventional orphanages of Karachi, and assessed their behavioral problems using strengths and difficulty questionnaire (SDQ). Behavioral problems on composite SDQ and subscales, rated by foster mothers, were compared between children in the two groups using χ(2) test of independence.

Horseshoe kidney in an 80 year old with chronic kidney disease.

This image illustrates a horseshoe kidney from an elderly man that was being evaluated for chronic kidney disease associated with diabetes. Horseshoe kidney is the most common renal fusion abnormality, with an incidence of 1/400 worldwide and a male-to-female ratio of 2:1 and is not a cause of impaired kidney function. One theory of the abnormal fusion of the kidneys is that the metanephric blastemas close together before renal capsule maturation, resulting in fusion.