Cross-modal plasticity in deaf child cochlear implant candidates assessed using visual and somatosensory evoked potentials.

Introduction: Cross-modal plasticity has been extensively studied in deaf adults with neuroimaging studies, yielding valuable results. A recent study in our laboratory with deaf-blind children found evidence of cross-modal plasticity, revealed in over-representation of median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP N20) in left hemisphere parietal, temporal and occipital regions. This finding led to asking whether SEP N20 changes are peculiar to deaf-blindness or are also present in sighted deaf children.

Low frequency of common LRRK2 mutations in Mexican patients with Parkinson's disease.

Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2) account for as much as 5-6% of familial Parkinson's disease (PD) and 1-2% of sporadic PD. These mutations represent the most frequent cause of autosomal dominant PD, particularly in certain ethnic groups. In this first report concerning LRRK2 mutations in Mexican-mestizos, we screened 319 consecutive PD patients (186 males; 133 females; mean age at onset: 52.

Lipid peroxidation in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurocysticercosis.

The variety of symptoms observed in patients with neurocysticercosis (NCC) is associated with the generation of reactive species by inflammatory cells. Reactive species can damage the cell membrane, inducing lipid peroxidation (LP) and giving rise to genotoxic free radicals. In this study we investigated the presence of LP products in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the frequency of DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes from 25 patients with NCC.