Caspian Journal of Neurological Sciences
Volume:7 Issue: 26, Jul 2021

World population is rapidly aging, and the elderly are most at risk of cognitive impairment. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA-Sulfate (DHEAS) have an essential effect on neuroprotection and might effectively improve cognition and memory.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the level of DHEA and memory function in the elderly.

The present study was a cross-sectional analytical study, and the study population included the elderly (age 60 years and older) living in Rasht City, the north of Iran, in 2020. The participants completed a demographic questionnaire and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), and their serum DHEA levels were measured by the hormonal automation method. The data were analyzed by SPSS v. 23, using t-test, the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient.

The participants included 100 older people (57 females and 43 males) with a Mean±SD age of 67.38±5.39 years. There was no correlation between serum DHEA concentrations with a total score of the WMS (r=0.117, P=0.247). However, the correlation between the DHEA level and the scores of personal and current information and visual reproduction subscales were statistically significant (r=0.219, P=0.029; r=0.206, P=0.04).

The study indicates that the total memory score was not associated with the level of serum DHEA.

Neuroticism is one of the serious mental health problems of people. No study has been conducted on the impact of identity issues in the treatment of neurotic people.

This study aims to formulate, design, and investigate the effect of identity-based psychodrama educational program on identity styles and neuroticism.

This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test design using a control group. The study participants were 40 people aged 15-30 years referred to Pendare Nik Counseling Center in Najafabad City, Isfahan Province, Iran, in 2020. They were selected using a convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into the intervention (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The data collection instruments were Berzonsky Identity Style Inventory (1992) and McCrae and Costa 5-factor inventory (1992). A Researcher-made Identity-Based Psychodrama Program (2020) was used for the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using ANCOVA in SPSS v. 23.

The educational-therapeutic program significantly affected identity styles and neuroticism (P<0.001). It significantly reduced the neuroticism level of people in the intervention group (F=200.71, η2=0.84).

The identity-based psychodrama program reduced diffuse-avoidant, normative, and informational identity styles and neuroticism and promoted the achieved identity style.

Thrombolytic therapy is the recommended treatment of acute ischemic stroke. It is crucial to evaluate the treatment results with recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (r-TPA) in patients with acute stroke.

This study aimed to evaluate treatment outcomes with r-TPA in patients with acute stroke in a referral stroke center in Iran.

In this retrospective study, 87 patients with symptoms of acute stroke were examined. They were referred to a stroke center in Gilan Province, Iran, from June 2016 to April 2020 and received r-TPA (0.9 mg/kg). Demographic information, the time interval between the onset of symptoms and r-TPA administration, complications, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) upon arrival and discharge and death of patients were extracted from their hospital files. The paired t-test, independent t-test, and Pearson correlation test were used to compare variables using IBM SPSS for Windows version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

The Mean±SD of NIHSS reduced from 14.7±6.4 to 8.9±7.6 (P<0.001). The most common complication was Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH) (12.6%). The hospital mortality rate was 23%. ICH occurred among 40% (n=8) of those who expired, and 4.47% (n=3) of them survived, and this difference was significant (P<0.001).

The recovery with r-TPA administration in the stroke center was acceptable. Mortality and ICH occurrence rates were higher than other non-Iranian studies. It seems that we should change the case selection criteria and prescription dose to achieve better results of treatment with TPA.

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) is the second cause of death and disability in the world. Heart failure can co-occur with CVA and increases the risk of death and disability in patients.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of heart failure in patients with ischemic stroke.

In this cross-sectional study, the information of patients with ischemic stroke was collected in 2016 from their files. They were referred to the Emergency Department of Poursina Hospital. Statistical analysis of data was performed by using descriptive statistical methods. Estimation of mean and frequency was done by SPSS v. 22.

A total of 291 patients were recruited in the study. Also, 157 patients (54%) were male, and 134 (46%) were female. The Mean±SD age of patients was 61.68 (12.98) years. Systolic heart
failure prevalence was 59.8%, and diastolic heart failure was 65.7%.

Based on the findings, more than half of the patients with ischemic stroke also develop heart failure. Therefore, it is recommended that the patient be evaluated and treated for heart failure when faced with ischemic stroke.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. ANKRD55 rs6859219 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are reported as a potential novel MS risk gene, but the biological reasons underlying this correlation are still mysterious.

This study aimed to investigate the potential association of ANKRD55 rs6859219 SNP with the risk of MS in Iranian patients.

Blood samples were taken from 80 patients and healthy individuals. Afterward, the effects of some related-risk factors, such as age, gender, smoking status, drug allergy, and exposure to chemicals (such as detergents, cleansing chemical, acids, etc., in their common work area or their daily home exposure) were measured on the incidence of Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS) patients. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed, and the PCR products were genotyped using the Sanger sequencing system.

The GT genotype of ANKRD55 rs6859219 SNP more increased in MS patients than healthy subjects, and a significant association was found between MS and the rs6859219 SNP in the single-variable association analysis (P=0.04). In the additive model, our findings indicated that the rs6859219 SNP increased the risk of MS. Additionally, the results of all crude models, additive, recessive, dominant, and overdominant, were significantly different in participants with MS compared to the controls.

Eventually, the GT genotype of ANKRD55 rs6859219 SNP significantly increased the risk of MS compared to the TT genotype.

Pathological conditions, including ischemic stroke, are associated with severe Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress that induces apoptosis and cell death. Herbal medicines are natural treatments with few side effects in such situations.

In the present study, we examined the probable neuroprotective effects of Viola spathulata, Lamium album, and Urtica dioica on splicing of ER stress mRNA gene marker (X-box Binding Protein-1 [XBP-1]) and Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) activation in the brain of the rat stroke model.

Sixty male Wistar albino rats (weight: 220-250 g) were selected for this study and divided into two major groups. The first major group comprised the healthy animals that are subdivided into groups number 1 to 5. The second major group comprised the Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) group subdivided into groups number 6-10. The reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction was performed after pretreatment with different herbal extracts (5, 10 mg/kg), Viola spathulata, and 100 mg/ kg Urtica dioica and Lamium album). The results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance in IBM SPSS v. 22.

MCAO-induced ischemia caused a marked increase in XBP-1 splicing in all rats of the MCAO group in comparison to the control groups (P<0.05), and pretreatment with 3 herbal extracts dramatically decreased target gene splicing in the MCAO studied groups (P<0.05).

All three herbal extracts of U. dioica, L. album, and V. spathulata had the promising potential to use as a neuroprotective agent by reducing ER stress.

Different alleles of Fragile X Mental Retardation1 (FMR1) gene with separate molecular etiologies cause Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and Fragile X-associated Tremor and Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS). Premutation alleles with 55 to 200 repeats in the FMR1 gene lead to FXTAS. It is carried by 1 in 209 women and 1 in 430 men. FXTAS commonly appears in 50- to 70-year-old adults.

An 11 months old boy was referred to the hospital due to clinical presentations of productive cough seizure, mental disability, and ataxia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Electroencephalography (EEG), hematology, biochemistry, hormone, and genetic tests were done. Triplet repeat PCR (TP PCR) showed 99 CGG repeats as permutation alleles.

In this study, the authors reported the early onset of FXTAS in an 11 months old boy for the first time.