Electroacupuncture stimulation modulates functional brain connectivity in the treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy: a case report.

Background: Pediatric cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive brain injury syndrome characterized by central motor dysfunction and insufficient brain coordination ability. The etiology of CP is complex and often accompanied by diverse complications such as intellectual disability and language disorders, making clinical treatment difficult. Despite the availability of pharmacological interventions, rehabilitation programs, and spasticity relief surgery as treatment options for CP, their effectiveness is still constrained.

Abnormal brain activity patterns during spatial working memory task in patients with end-stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis: a fMRI study.

Hemodialysis (HD) is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, the neural mechanism of spatial working memory (SWM) impairment in HD-ESRD patients remains unclear. We investigated the abnormal alterations in SWM-associated brain activity patterns in HD-ESRD patients using blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) technique during n-back tasks.

Long-term exposure to ephedrine leads to neurotoxicity and neurobehavioral disorders accompanied by up-regulation of CRF in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in rhesus macaques.

Drug addiction continues to threaten the health and welfare of people worldwide, and ephedrine abuse is a serious drug problem in many areas of the world. Ephedrine toxicity is thought to induce behavioral effects primarily through actions on the central nervous system. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system plays an important role in regulating behavioral effects induced by addictive drugs, but whether CRF is related to ephedrine toxicity remains unclear.

Effects of Chronic Ephedrine Toxicity on Functional Connections, Cell Apoptosis, and CREB-Related Proteins in the Prefrontal Cortex of Rhesus Monkeys.

Ephedrine abuse has spread in many parts of the world, severely threatening human health. The mechanism of ephedrine toxicity is still unclear. To explore the possible neural mechanisms of ephedrine toxicity, this study established a non-human primate model of ephedrine exposure, analyzed the functional connectivity changes in its prefrontal cortex through resting state BOLD-fMRI, and then inspected the pathophysiological changes as well as the expression of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (CREB), phosphorylated CREB (P-CREB), and CREB target proteins (c-fos and fosB) in the prefrontal cortex.

Behavioral Changes and Neuronal Damage in Rhesus Monkeys after 10 Weeks of Ketamine Administration Involve Prefrontal Cortex Dopamine D2 Receptor and Dopamine Transporter.

The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) and dopamine transporter (DAT) play a regulatory role in dopaminergic neurotransmission and thus play an important role in drug addiction. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), a critical part of the mesencephalic dopaminergic system, is thought to be involved in the development and maintenance of drug addiction. The addiction to ketamine is thought to induce behavioral effects primarily through actions on the central nervous system.

Exploring the neuromechanism of chronic ephedrine addiction in rhesus monkeys: A behavioural and brain resting-state fMRI study.

Ephedrine is thought to exert behavioural effects primarily through actions on the central nervous system. However, the neuromechanism underlying the effects of ephedrine addiction still remains unclear. Our study aimed to establish chronic ephedrine addiction models in rhesus monkeys and to investigate the neuromechanism of chronic ephedrine addiction using the behavioural methods combined with resting-state blood oxygenation level dependent-functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI).

Impaired decision-making and functional neuronal network activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with cognitive deficit but the exact neural mechanisms remain unclear.

Purpose: To explore sequential brain activities using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the performance of a decision-making task, and to determine whether serum or clinical markers can reflect the involvement of the brain in SLE.

Subjects: Sixteen female SLE patients without overt clinical neuropsychiatric symptoms and 16 healthy controls were included.

cAMP Response Element Binding Protein Expression in the Hippocampus of Rhesus Macaques with Chronic Ephedrine Addiction.

Background: Drug addiction is classified as a chronic relapse nature brain disease with complicated neurobiology mechanisms. There are an increasing number of researchers that are investigating the possible mechanisms for solving the thorny problem.

Methods: The model of chronic addiction of rhesus monkey ephedrine was established, where changes in body weight and behavior were monitored.

Decision-making in primary onset middle-age type 2 diabetes mellitus: a BOLD-fMRI study.

Although type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a well-recognized risk factor for dementia, the neural mechanisms that underlying cognitive impairment in T2DM remain unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a computerized version of the Iowa Gambling Task to investigate the neural basis of decision making at the initial onset stage of T2DM. Eighteen newly diagnosed middle-aged T2DM patients, with no previous diabetic treatment history, and 18 matched controls were recruited.

Spatial Working Memory Impairment in Patients with Non-neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Blood-oxygen-level Dependent Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Objective: Using ethology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore mild cognitive dysfunction and spatial working memory (WM) impairment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without overt neuropsychiatric symptoms (non-NPSLE) and to study whether any clinical biomarkers could serve as predictors of brain dysfunction in this disease.

Methods: Eighteen non-NPSLE patients and 18 matched subjects were all tested using the Montreal cognitive assessment scale test and scanned using blood-oxygen-level dependent fMRI while performing the n-back task to investigate the activation intensity of some cognition-related areas.

Results: Ethology results showed that non-NPSLE patients had mild cognitive dysfunction and memory dysfunction (p < 0.

Diagnosis and treatment of pediatric benign pneumoperitoneum: A case report series of 9 patients.

Introduction: Benign pneumoperitoneum (BPPT) is defined as asymptomatic free intraabdominal air or as pneumoperitoneum without peritonitis. Symptomatic free air requires surgical anagement, but management of asymptomatic pneumoperitoneum is controversial. In this study, we investigate the diagnosis and treatment of BPPT in children.

Diethylstilbestrol Regulates the Expression of LGR8 in Mouse Gubernaculum Testis Cells.

BACKGROUND Hormonal effects on the gubernaculum can affect testicular descent. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen that disrupts the outgrowth of gubernaculums, leading to testis maldescent. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

An insight into insulin-like factor 3 regulate its receptor RXFP2 in mouse gubernaculum testis cells.

The etiology of testicular dysgenesis syndrome is multifactorial and involves abnormalities in the anatomical structures and endocrine factors. Several studies have shown that the abnormal development of the gubernaculum may affect testicular descent, and the insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) appears to play an important role in development of the gubernaculum have been proved. INSL3 binds its specific receptor (Relaxin family peptide 2, RXFP2), which was highly expressed in gubernaculum, to produce a crucial effect in the first transabdominal descent stage, but its mechanism still remain unclear.

Spatial working memory impairment in primary onset middle-age type 2 diabetes mellitus: An ethology and BOLD-fMRI study.

Purpose: To explore mild cognitive dysfunction and/or spatial working memory impairment in patients with primary onset middle-age type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM] using ethology (behavior tests) and blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI).

Materials And Methods: Eighteen primary onset T2DM patients and 18 matched subjects with normal blood glucose levels were all tested using the Montreal cognitive assessment scale test, the Wechsler Memory Scale Chinese-revised test, and scanned using BOLD-fMRI (1.5T, EPI sequence) while performing the n-back task to find the activation intensity of some cognition-related areas.