Caspian Journal of Neurological Sciences
Volume:8 Issue: 29, Apr 2022

Facing environmental factors during early postnatal life, directly or indirectly via mother-infant relationships, profoundly affects the structure and function of the mammals’ Central Nervous System (CNS).

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of morphine consumption during the lactation period on short-term synaptic plasticity of the hippocampal Cornu Ammonis 1 (CA1) neurons in rat offspring.

In addition to a group of control mother rats (CO), three groups subcutaneously received 5 (M5), 10 (M10), or 20 (M20) mg/kg morphine every 12 hours during the lactation period. At 45 days old, following the stimulation of the Schaffers’ collaterals, basic field Excitatory Post-Synaptic Potentials (fEPSPs) were recorded in their offspring’s hippocampal CA1 neuronal circuits. After the construction input/output curve, paired-pulse stimulations with the inter-stimulus intervals of 20, 80, and 200 ms were applied to determine the short-term synaptic plasticity, and the paired-pulse ratio was evaluated.

The baseline synaptic responses of the rats CA1 neurons whose mothers received 10 and 20 mg/kg morphine twice daily during the lactation period decreased compared to the CO animals (P<0.01 & P<0.001, respectively). Furthermore, compared to the controls, the Paired-Pulse Ratio (PPR) of the CA1 neural circuits of M10 and M20 rats at 20 and 80 ms Inter-Stimulus Intervals (ISI) decreased (P<0.01).

Morphine exposure during the lactation period has a detrimental impact on the primary synaptic activity and short-term synaptic plasticity of the hippocampal CA1 neuronal circuits of rats’ offspring.

Wrong eating behaviors increase the risk of numerous chronic diseases.

This study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) in the Iranian population.

In a validation study at the University of Guilan City, Iran, in 2019-2020. First, the MEQ was translated based on the forward-backward method. After applying the changes to the Persian version of MEQ (P-MEQ), 50 participants responded to the P-MEQ twice with an interval of 3 weeks. Then, 384 Iranian students selected by the two-stage cluster sampling method completed the P-MEQ to determine its construct validity. Sixty participants simultaneously filled the P-MEQ and the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI-SF) to determine concurrent validity. To determine known-group validity, 23 very obese participants and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 35 kg/m2 were compared to individuals with a healthy weight (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 ).

The test-retest reliability of the P-MEQ was obtained as 0.59 for the total score, and it ranged from 0.58 to 0.79 for the subscales. The first-order Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results indicated that after removing four items with weak factor loading, the five-factor P-MEQ model had appropriate goodness of fit (χ2 /df=2.516, RMSEA=0.067, AGFI=0.835, IFI=0.924, & CFI=0.916). The second-order CFA revealed that the latent components of awareness, distraction, disinhibition, emotional response, and external cues reflected the concept of higher levels of mindful eating acceptably (χ2 /df=2.545, RMSEA=0.067, AGFI=0.825, IFI=0.912, & CFI=0.905). However, there was a poor relationship between the total score of P-MEQ and FMI-SF (r=0.24, P=0.07).

Regardless of concurrent validity, the Persian version of MEQ has proper construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency.

Adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder is among the most prevalent causes of pain and disability in individuals.

We aimed to evaluate the effect of Photobiomodulation (PBM) on pain, range of motion, and thickness and function of supraspinatus muscle in patients with adhesive capsulitis.

Overall, 52 subjects (n=26/group) with adhesive capsulitis referring to Poorsina Hospital, physiotherapy ward, Rasht City, Iran, in 2019 participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to 2 groups of control or routine physical therapy and PBM group. The variables were pain (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS), range of motion (goniometer), the supraspinatus muscle thickness in rest and contraction, and muscle function (ultrasonography). The outcomes were examined before, after 5 and 10 sessions, and at a 1-month follow-up.

There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the demographic characteristics and studied variables. The interaction of group and time (2×4) was significant for pain (P=0.02). Finally, the Bonferroni post hoc test data indicated the pain reduction in the PBM group was higher than the control group at the follow-up (P=0.03). The mixed two-factor analysis of variance indicated that the interaction of the group and time of shoulder abduction (P=0.6), shoulder external rotation (P=0.46), supraspinatus muscle thickness, rest (P=0.31), supraspinatus muscle thickness, contraction (P=0.11), and rest-contraction (P=0.66) were not significant.

The PBM revealed greater analgesic effects than routine physical therapy in the short term and one-month follow-up. However, the effects on a range of motion and muscle thickness and function were insignificant.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease that resulted in 4533645 deaths until September first, 2021. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients receive immunosuppressive drugs. Thus, there is a concern that these drugs will reduce the patient’s immune system resistance against COVID19.

This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of COVID19 and its impact on MS patients in our university hospital in Tehran City, Iran.

A cross-sectional study was conducted based on hospital-based registry data from May 2020 to March 2021. Among more than 500 registered MS patients in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran City, Iran, referring within our study period, 84 patients reported SARS-COV2 infection. The diagnosis of MS was confirmed by the McDonald criteria. Moreover, the diagnosis of COVID-19 in MS patients was established by the real-time-PCR technique and chest computed tomography.

Out of 84 MS patients with SARS-COV2 infection, 55(65.5%) were women, and their mean age was 37.48 years. The most commonly used medications by MS patients were Rituximab 20 (26.3%) and Dimethyl Fumarate 14(18.4%). Totally, 9(10.8%) of the patients needed to be hospitalized due to COVID-19, with a mean hospitalization duration of 5.88 days. A total of 1 (1.2%) death was reported.

Compared to the healthy population, COVID-19 is not more serious in MS patients. Most MS patients with COVID-19 infection were not hospitalized and continued their medication during the infection.

The prevalence and incidence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have increased in Iran.

This study aimed to observe the temporal trends and provide a predictive model in the prevalence and incidence of MS in Khuzestan Province, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was performed from 2006 to 2019 in Khuzestan Province, Southwestern Iran, on 2676 patients registered in the Khuzestan Multiple Sclerosis Center. The simple exponential smoothing model was used to study the time trends and predict the prevalence and incidence of MS in 2020.

The mean±SD age of the examined patients with MS was 31.40±8.94 years; while the mean±SD age-incidence of MS was 29.19±9.16 years. The sex ratio (female to male) was measured as 3.05. The patients’ prevalence and average annual incidences were 57.77 and 4.35per 100000 individuals from 2006 to 2019, respectively. The trend in the MS incidence has been upward with a very slight slope during the years 2006 to 2019. The slope of the increase from 2006 to 2019 was higher for women than men.

The collected results suggested that Khuzestan Province is a high-risk area for MS; the prevalence and incidence of the disease are increasing, especially in women. We prognosticate a slight increase in the incidence of MS in the age group of 20 to 50 years. However, the prevalence of the disease in this age group was similar to 2019

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) recently created a pandemic with high mortality. People with underlying diseases are prone to severe infection. The nature of NMOSD disease and its treatment by immunosuppressants predisposes patients to infection.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical course of NMOSD and the characteristics of COVID-19 infection in NMOSD patients.

This descriptive study was performed in Isfahan City, Iran, Iran, from March 2020 to March 2021. We considered relapses during the epidemic and the year before and the presentation of COVID-19 infection in the patients of NMOSD Clinic of Isfahan Kashani hospital.

The study included 120 patients. Their Mean±SD age was 36.37±9.69 years, and the mean duration of disease was 8.49±5.35 years. Overall, they experienced 36 relapses during the year before the epidemic (ARR:0.3) and 29 during the COVID-19 epidemic (ARR:0.24). The maintenance therapy of NMOSD was rituximab in 96 cases, azathioprine in 22, and methotrexate in 2 ones. 35 patients infected by COVID-19 (based on RT-PCR test). 6 were admitted to the hospital, and two patients received ICU care. There was one death due to respiratory failure.

Despite the suppression of the immune system, neither incidence nor the number of severe complications of COVID-19 infection was high. Therefore, regarding the disabling nature of NMOSD and the prolonged epidemic period, it may be reasonable to continue the routine treatment of these patients and train them to stick to health protection instructions.

Seizure is due to the abnormal electric activity of neurons in the brain. Because of the side effects of synthetic drugs, plant medicines can be used instead to control seizures. 

This study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise and α-pinene on pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mature male rats.

A total of 40 Wistar male rats (weight: 200-250 g) were divided into five groups: control (receiving normal saline), positive control (receiving 1 mg/kg diazepam as an antiepileptic drug), aerobic exercise (receiving five sessions of exercise per week, each session for 30 min), α-pinene (receiving 200 mg/kg for 4 weeks), and aerobic exercise plus α-pinene. Thirty minutes after the intervention, 85 mg/kg Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) was intraperitoneally administered to the rats in all experimental groups, and their seizure-related behaviors were observed and recorded.

Combined use of α-pinene and aerobic exercise significantly increased the delay of onset of seizure (P<0.05) and decreased the duration of the tonic-clonic seizure (P<0.001) and the total duration of seizure P<0.001) compared to the control group.

The findings showed that the use of α-pinene together with exercise can have preventive effects against pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mature male rats through their antioxidant activity.

The COVID-19 pandemic can cause various anxiety, fear, and tension in society. The negative impact of the pandemic is not limited to physical health problems. It can generate serious consequences, such as anxiety, depression, and stress, especially neurological diseases. 

The present study investigated depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with MS and epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this study, the keywords depression, anxiety, stress, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and COVID-19 in the title and abstract of articles published in 2020 (May) and 2021 (July) in reputable international scientific databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were searched. The PRISMA checklist was used to review and control the quality of articles.

Overall, 394 English articles were retrieved. Finally, 27 final articles were selected for comprehensive review and data extraction. The obtained results suggested that patients with MS and epilepsy experienced depression, anxiety, stress, fear, poor sleep quality, mental fatigue, and poor quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantine has limited patients’ access to medication and treatment, resulting in increased seizures and disease severity.

The COVID-19 pandemic reduced patients’ mental health with MS and epilepsy. The psychological consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19 might be associated with patients with MS and epilepsy for years; thus, it is necessary to adopt psychological interventions to reduce psychological distress in these patients.