Articles: brain-pathology.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jun 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of subcutaneous interferon β-1a on MRI outcomes in a randomised controlled trial of patients with clinically isolated syndromes.
The REbif FLEXible dosing in early MS (REFLEX) study compared several brain MRI outcomes in patients presenting with clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis and treated with two dose-frequencies of subcutaneous interferon (IFN) β-1a or placebo. ⋯ Both subcutaneous IFN β-1a 44 µg regimens improved MRI outcomes versus placebo, with the three times a week regimen having a more pronounced effect than once a week dosing.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyEfficacy of a modern neuroscience approach versus usual care evidence-based physiotherapy on pain, disability and brain characteristics in chronic spinal pain patients: protocol of a randomized clinical trial.
Among the multiple conservative modalities, physiotherapy is a commonly utilized treatment modality in managing chronic non-specific spinal pain. Despite the scientific progresses with regard to pain and motor control neuroscience, treatment of chronic spinal pain (CSP) often tends to stick to a peripheral biomechanical model, without targeting brain mechanisms. With a view to enhance clinical efficacy of existing physiotherapeutic treatments for CSP, the development of clinical strategies targeted at 'training the brain' is to be pursued. Promising proof-of-principle results have been reported for the effectiveness of a modern neuroscience approach to CSP when compared to usual care, but confirmation is required in a larger, multi-center trial with appropriate evidence-based control intervention and long-term follow-up.The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a modern neuroscience approach, compared to usual care evidence-based physiotherapy, for reducing pain and improving functioning in patients with CSP. A secondary objective entails examining the effectiveness of the modern neuroscience approach versus usual care physiotherapy for normalizing brain gray matter in patients with CSP. ⋯ Findings may provide empirical evidence on: (1) the effectiveness of a modern neuroscience approach to CSP for reducing pain and improving functioning, (2) the effectiveness of a modern neuroscience approach for normalizing brain gray matter in CSP patients, and (3) factors associated with therapy success. Hence, this trial might contribute towards refining guidelines for good clinical practice and might be used as a basis for health authorities' recommendations.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The brain-enriched microRNA miR-124 in plasma predicts neurological outcome after cardiac arrest.
Early prognostication after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation is difficult, and there is a need for novel methods to estimate the extent of brain injury and predict outcome. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the cardiac arrest syndrome on the plasma levels of selected tissue-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) and assessed their ability to prognosticate death and neurological disability. ⋯ The brain-enriched miRNA miR-124 is a promising novel biomarker for prediction of neurological prognosis following cardiac arrest.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Study protocol: The Whitehall II imaging sub-study.
The Whitehall II (WHII) study of British civil servants provides a unique source of longitudinal data to investigate key factors hypothesized to affect brain health and cognitive ageing. This paper introduces the multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol and cognitive assessment designed to investigate brain health in a random sample of 800 members of the WHII study. ⋯ The integration of cutting-edge MRI techniques, clinical and cognitive tests in combination with retrospective data on social, behavioural and biological variables during the preceding 25 years from a well-established longitudinal epidemiological study (WHII cohort) will provide a unique opportunity to examine brain structure and function in relation to age-related diseases and the modifiable and non-modifiable factors affecting resilience against and vulnerability to adverse brain changes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Time to brain imaging in acute stroke is improving: secondary analysis of the INSTINCT trial.
Patients with acute ischemic stroke benefit from rapid evaluation and treatment, and timely brain imaging is a necessary component. We determined the effect of a targeted behavioral intervention on door-to-imaging time (DIT) among patients with ischemic stroke treated with tissue-type plasminogen activator. Second, we examined the variation in DIT accounted for by patient-level and hospital-level factors. ⋯ Performance on DIT improved similarly in intervention and control hospitals, suggesting that nonintervention factors explain the improvement. Hospital-level factors explain a modest proportion of variation in DIT, but further research is needed to identify the hospital-level factors responsible.