TGFβ1 treatment reduces hippocampal damage, spontaneous recurrent seizures, and learning memory deficits in pilocarpine-treated rats.

Studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective activity of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1), protecting neurons against different kinds of insults. However, the role of exogenous TGFβ1 in the neuronal damage following status epilepticus (SE) and the related spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) is unknown. The present study aimed to determine the effect of intranasal TGFβ1 administration on SRS and cognitive function following lithium-pilocarpine-induced SE and associated hippocampal damage.

Retinoid receptors in gastric cancer: expression and influence on prognosis.

Background: Gastric cancer is frequently lethal despite aggressive multimodal therapies, and new treatment approaches are therefore needed. Retinoids are potential candidate drugs: they prevent cell differentiation, proliferation and malignant transformation in gastric cancer cell lines. They interact with nuclear retinoid receptors (the retinoic acid receptors [RARs] and retinoid X receptors [RXRs]), which function as transcription factors, each with three subclasses, α, β and γ.

When connectedness increases hemispatial neglect.

Patients with left neglect were tested with "chimeric" figures composed of the right and left halves of two different objects. The connectivity relation was modulated between the two half figures. For some displays, the two chimeric halves were separated by a small gap, while in others, the separate halves were connected by a line segment.

Thunderclap headache triggered by micturition: responsive to nimodipine.

Primary thunderclap headache (TCH) is a rare condition, of which the onset can be triggered by coughing, exercise, and sexual activity. Micturition is a recognized trigger of secondary TCH with pheochromocytoma in bladder, but not of primary TCH. We describe a patient with an apparent primary TCH, which repeatedly occurred immediately after micturition until she achieved a therapeutic dosage of nimodipine.

Familial neuralgia of occipital and intermedius nerves in a Chinese family.

Cranial nerve neuralgia usually occurs sporadically. Nonetheless, familial cases of trigeminal neuralgia are not uncommon with a reported incidence of 1-2%, suggestive of an autosomal dominant inheritance. In contrast, familial occipital neuralgia is rarely reported with only one report in the literature.

Age-related differences in attentional networks of alerting and executive control in young, middle-aged, and older Chinese adults.

Previous studies suggest that aging is associated with impairment of attention. However, it is not known whether this represents a global attentional deficit or relates to a specific attentional network. We used the attention network test to examine three groups of younger, middle-aged, and older participants with respect to the efficiency of three anatomically defined attentional networks: alerting network, orienting network, and executive control network.

Association between the PD1.3A/G polymorphism of the PDCD1 gene and systemic lupus erythematosus in European populations: a meta-analysis.

Background: Linkage studies suggest a locus, SLEB2, involved in susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1) gene locates in this region. The association of PDCD1 polymorphism (PD1.3A/G) with SLE has been widely investigated, but there are no unambiguous conclusions.

Prefrontal cortex involvement in the event-based prospective memory: evidence from patients with lesions in the prefrontal cortex.

Primary Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the event-based prospective memory (EBPM) and time-based prospective memory (TBPM) in patients with lesion in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and test the hypothesis that the prefrontal cortex is involved in the prospective memory (PM) network.

Research Design: The performance of patients with lesion in PFC (n = 30) was compared with that of a demographically matched control group (n = 30).

Methods And Procedures: A neuropsychological battery of tests including EBPM and TBPM tasks were administered to both groups.

Selective impairment of attentional networks of orienting and executive control in schizophrenia.

Background: Difficulty attending is a common deficit of schizophrenic patients. However, it is not known whether this is a global attentional deficit or relates to a specific attentional network.

Method: This study used the attention network test to compare schizophrenic patients (N=77) with controls (N=53) on the efficiency of three anatomically defined attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control.