Effects of Near-Infrared Pulsed Light on the Attention of Human Beings Using Electroencephalography.

In our previous studies, photobiomodulation (PBM) stimulation can induce significant brain activation in normal subjects. In an open-eye study, the PBM stimulation was able to increase the power of alpha rhythms and theta waves, as well as decrease the beta activities after PBM stimulation. However, in the closed eyes study, the alpha rhythms in the laser group were reduced.

Prognostic Features of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: An Analysis of Taiwan's Nationwide Surveillance.

Objectives: To study the prognostic features of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and shed light on its future therapy.

Design: Retrospective cohort study of a longitudinal national cohort of the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control.

Setting And Participants: All patients with suspected CJD are reported to the CJD surveillance unit of the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control.

Effect of Near-Infrared Pulsed Light on the Human Brain Using Electroencephalography.

In our previous study, the low-level laser (LLL) stimulation at the palm with a stimulation frequency of 10 Hz was able to induce significant brain activation in normal subjects. The electroencephalography (EEG) changes caused by the stimulation of light-emitting diode (LED) in normal subjects have not been investigated. This study aimed at identifying the effects of LED stimulation on the human brain using EEG analysis.

Incidence of and Mortality Due to Human Prion Diseases in Taiwan: A Prospective 20-Year Nationwide Surveillance Study from 1998 to 2017.

Introduction: Epidemiologic studies of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) have been undertaken worldwide since the new variant CJD outbreak in 1996 in the United Kingdom. A nationwide report system, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit (CJDSU), directed by the Centers for Disease Control of Taiwan, was established in 1997 to identify human prion diseases.

Methods: From 1998 to 2017, 647 cases were referred to the committee for confirmation.

Effect of low-level laser stimulation on EEG power in normal subjects with closed eyes.

In a previous study, we found that the low-level laser (LLL) stimulation at the palm with a frequency of 10 Hz was able to induce significant brain activation in normal subjects with opened eyes. However, the electroencephalography (EEG) changes to LLL stimulation in subjects with closed eyes have not been studied. In the present study, the laser array stimulator was applied to deliver insensible laser stimulations to the palm of the tested subjects with closed eyes (the laser group).

Effect of low-level laser stimulation on EEG.

Conventional laser stimulation at the acupoint can induce significant brain activation, and the activation is theoretically conveyed by the sensory afferents. Whether the insensible low-level Laser stimulation outside the acupoint could also evoke electroencephalographic (EEG) changes is not known. We designed a low-level laser array stimulator (6 pcs laser diode, wavelength 830 nm, output power 7 mW, and operation frequency 10 Hz) to deliver insensible laser stimulations to the palm.

Subacute combined degeneration caused by nitrous oxide intoxication: case reports.

Purpose: Case reports with a comprehensive review of the current literature concerning subacute combined degeneration induced by nitrous oxide inhalation. A differential diagnosis should be considered when young patients present with progressive myelopathy because that the misuse of nitrous oxide has potentially serious outcomes.

Cases Report: Three young patients aged from 18 to 24, one male and two females, were diagnosed with progressive ascending numbness in four limbs or both legs and ataxia.

Pathophysiology of neuropathic pain in type 2 diabetes: skin denervation and contact heat-evoked potentials.

Objective: Neuropathic pain due to small-fiber sensory neuropathy in type 2 diabetes can be diagnosed by skin biopsy with quantification of intra-epidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density. There is, however, a lack of noninvasive physiological assessment. Contact heat-evoked potential (CHEP) is a newly developed approach to record cerebral responses of Aδ fiber-mediated thermonociceptive stimuli.

Painful neuropathy with skin denervation after prolonged use of linezolid.

The prolonged use of linezolid, a new antibiotic against drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens, might cause painful neuropathy. This finding raises the possibility that small-diameter sensory nerves in the skin, which are responsible for transmitting nociceptive information, might be affected. We report a 53-year-old female who developed pure small-fibre painful neuropathy (visual analogue scale, VAS =82 on 0-100 scale) with marked skin denervation in the leg (epidermal nerve density, END =2.

Patterns of contact heat evoked potentials (CHEP) in neuropathy with skin denervation: correlation of CHEP amplitude with intraepidermal nerve fiber density.

Objective: Contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) provide an objective approach to investigate cerebral responses to thermal stimuli mediated by Adelta fibers. Skin denervation is often associated with reduced thermal sensibilities. We aimed to investigate the influences of skin denervation on CHEPs in neuropathic patients.

Effects of aging on contact heat-evoked potentials: the physiological assessment of thermal perception.

Age significantly influences the detection thresholds to noxious heat; such thresholds depend on responses in the cerebral cortex to thermal stimuli and the psychophysical perception of such responses. To understand the influence of age on cerebral responses, we used contact heat-evoked potentials (CHEPs) to investigate the physiology of cerebral responses to thermal stimuli in 70 healthy subjects (33 men and 37 women, 39.56 +/- 12.

Neurological manifestations in severe acute respiratory syndrome.

During the worldwide outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003, there were 664 probable SARS patients reported in Taiwan. SARS patients usually present with symptoms related to the respiratory system while neurological manifestations have rarely been described. There were three patients who developed axonopathic polyneuropathy 3-4 weeks after onset of SARS; their clinical condition and electrophysiological studies revealed obvious improvement at follow-up.

Influence of aging on thermal and vibratory thresholds of quantitative sensory testing.

Quantitative sensory testing has become a common approach to evaluate thermal and vibratory thresholds in various types of neuropathies. To understand the effect of aging on sensory perception, we measured warm, cold, and vibratory thresholds by performing quantitative sensory testing on a population of 484 normal subjects (175 males and 309 females), aged 48.61 +/- 14.

Mortality in adult patients with epilepsy in Taiwan.

To investigate mortality in adult patients with epilepsy in Taiwan, a total of 263 patients with epilepsy aged > or = 17 years, referred to the outpatient epilepsy clinic between 1 Jan and 31 December 1991, were prospectively enrolled and followed up until 31 December 2000. A total of 32 deaths were reported. Overall case-fatality rate was 12.

Neuromuscular disorders in severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Objective: To delineate and clarify neuromuscular disorders in patients with probable severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Design: Case series with follow-up ranging from 3 weeks to 2 months.

Setting: National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei.

Skin denervation in type 2 diabetes: correlations with diabetic duration and functional impairments.

Sensory neuropathy is a prominent component of diabetic neuropathy. It is not entirely clear how diabetes influences skin innervation, and whether these changes are correlated with clinical signs and laboratory findings. To investigate these issues, we performed skin biopsies on the distal leg of 38 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients with sensory symptoms in lower limbs (25 males and 13 females, aged 56.

Effects of aging on human skin innervation.

To understand the effect of aging on human skin innervation, we investigated intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density of skin biopsies. IENF densities of the distal leg were lower in elderly (> or = 60 years of age) than in young adults (19-39 years of age; 7.80 +/- 0.

The diagnostic value of sensory evoked potentials in pediatric Wilson disease.

We studied the sensory evoked potentials in pediatric Wilson disease to verify their subclinical neurologic involvement and to elucidate the role of cirrhosis in abnormal evoked potentials in non-neurologic Wilson disease. Thirty children (17 male, 13 female), diagnosed with Wilson disease before 18 years, were enrolled. The mean age during studies was 15.