The International journal of neuroscience
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The nine members of the voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav) family mediate inward sodium currents that depolarize neurons and lead to action potential firing. Increased Nav expression and function in sensory ganglia may drive ectopic action potentials and result in neuropathic pain. Using patch-clamp electrophysiology and molecular biology techniques, experiments were performed to elucidate the contribution of Nav channels to sodium currents in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons following the L5/L6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model of neuropathic pain. ⋯ Among Nav transcripts encoding TTX-R channels, Scn10a (Nav1.8) and Scn11a (Nav1.9) expression was twenty- to thirty-fold lower, while among Nav transcripts encoding TTX-S channels, Scn3a (Nav1.3) expression was four-fold higher in injured compared to uninjured DRG by qRT-PCR analysis. In summary, the SNL model of neuropathic pain induced a phenotypic switch in Nav expression from TTX-R to TTX-S channels in injured DRG neurons. Transcriptional reprogramming of Nav genes may drive ectopic action potential firing and contribute to neuropathic pain.
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The objectives of the study were to analyze the association between Parkinson's disease and restless legs syndrome, and to explore the relationship between mood disorder comorbidity (anxiety and depression), pain, and restless legs syndrome. ⋯ Pain interference, pain severity, and pain disability is greater among Parkinson's disease patients with anxiety and depression, in comparison to Parkinson's disease patients without anxiety and depression. On the contrary, the prevalence of restless legs syndrome was not found to be relevant.
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To investigate the protection effect of dexmedetomidine preconditioning on global cerebral ischemic injury following asphyxial cardiac arrest (CA) in rats. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine preconditioning protected against cerebral ischemic injury and was associated with upregulation of HIF-1α and VEGF expression.
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Previous studies have demonstrated that prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) has a neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia. However, it remains unknown whether PGE1 promotes angiogenesis and neurogenesis after ischemic stroke. In this study, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to permanently distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). ⋯ The lipo-PGE1 treatment also significantly improved the neurological recovery after MCAO. These results indicate that treatment with lipo-PGE1 promotes post-stroke angiogenesis, neurogenesis and their interaction, which would contribute to neurological recovery after cerebral infarction. Our study provides novel experimental evidences for the neuroprotective roles of PGE1 in ischemic stroke.
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Increasing shortage of intensive care resources is a worldwide problem. While routine postoperative admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of patients undergoing neurosurgery is a long established practice for many hospitals. Therefore, some neurosurgical patients have to be cared in post anesthesia care unit (PACU) before ICU admission during high ICU occupancy. ⋯ Average GCS on ICU discharge was higher in immediately admitted group (13.0 ± 3.5 vs. 11.4 ± 4.5, p = 0.012). However, delayed admission to ICU post neurosurgery was not associated with prolonged ICU length of stay, increased ICU mortality, increased postoperative complication and hospital/ICU cost (all p > 0.05). Thus, an algorithm for appropriate disposition of neurosurgical patients is warranted so as to balance the quality of care and control of scarce intensive resources.