فصلنامه علوم اعصاب شفای خاتم
سال یازدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 55، بهار 1402)

inflammation, oxidative stress, and reduction of cell antioxidant activity are among the most important causes of Parkinson's disease. In traditional medicine, Malva sylvestris L (M. sylvestris) is known as an immune system enhancer and anti-inflammatory compound. In this study, the effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of M. sylvestris on the histological alterations of the mice brain of an experimental model of Parkinson's disease was investigated.

In the present study, 40 mice were divided into four groups: negative control (recipient of normal saline), drug control (recipient of hydroalcoholic extract of M. sylvestris at a dose of 200 mg/kg), positive control (induced parkinsonism by injection of neurotoxin MPTP at a dose of 25 mg/kg with 24-hour intervals for 4 consecutive days), and finally the treatment group (induced parkinsonism along with a daily intraperitoneal injection of hydroalcoholic extract of M. sylvestris at a dose of 200 mg per kg for 28 days). At the end of the treatment the brain samples were taken, fixed in 4% buffered formalin solution, entered the stages of tissue passage and slices with a thickness of 12 micrometers were prepared. Slices were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and evaluated with tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemical staining.

The results showed that the number of cell bodies of neurons and astrocytes in the dense part of the substantia nigra significantly decreased in the treatment group compared to the negative control group However, the number of microglial cells significantly increased in this brain region. This was despite the fact that in the treatment group, all the investigated parameters were similar to the negative control group, and no statistically significant difference was observed.

It seems that the use of M. sylvestris can play an effective role in reducing the histological changes in the brain of an experimental Parkinson's disease model.

Main resources of acrylamide include tobacco smoking and fried foods with high temperatures as well as laboratory and occupational exposures. Acrylamide can cause carcinogenicity and neurotoxicity in animals and humans. Wheat sprout is an accessible herbal plant and contains a notable level of strong antioxidants and a high absorption rate. Therefore, the aim of the present study included investigating the protective effects of hydro alcoholic extract of wheat sprout against acrylamide toxicity in the hippocampal structure and spatial memory and learning of rats.

16 healthy adult rats were divided equally into 4 groups: control group (1 ml of distilled water), acrylamide group (50 mg/kg), wheat sprout group (200 mg/kg), and the treatment group receiving wheat sprout (200 mg/kg), and acrylamide (50 mg/kg). After 21 days, the Morris water maze test was done to study learning and spatial memory, and then blood and brain tissue samples were collected for serum biochemical and histological assessments, respectively.

After the second day, along with the training and learning process, the groups receiving acrylamide spent a longer duration finding the Morris platform compared to the control and wheat sprout groups. The histological structure showed a remarkable improvement in groups receiving wheat sprouts compared to the acrylamide group.

The results of the present study show that wheat sprouts can play a protective role against the negative effects of acrylamide in the histological structure as well as spatial memory and learning of the rats.

Today, the distortion of the executive functions of children with autism spectrum disorders is a controversial issue. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of transcranial direct stimulation on the executive functions of children with autism spectrum disorders.

This study was quasi-experimental research with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all children aged 10 to 12 years with autism spectrum disorder who were referred to treatment centers and clinics in Shahindej and Bukan cities in 1400-1401. A number of 30 children with autism spectrum disorder were purposefully selected and randomly replaced in two groups (15 in the transcranial direct current stimulation test group and 15 in the control group). Subjects in the transcranial direct current stimulation group underwent anodic transcranial direct current on the head for 10 minutes. Research tools included Gilliam's autism diagnosis scale, Wisconsin card sorting test, Stroop test, numerical memory subtest of Wechsler test, Andre-Ray test, and continuous performance test. Multivariate covariance analysis was used to analyze the research data.

The results showed that transcranial direct current stimulation significantly improved executive functions (cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, working memory, organization-planning and sustained attention.

In general, it can be concluded that transcranial direct current stimulation is a useful supplement to improve and strengthen executive functions in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Introductin: 

Sleep is an essential biological function that has a pivotal role in the development of cognitive skills. Sleep disorders make people susceptible to various cognitive and psychological problems. Therefore, this study aimed to Investigate the executive functions in adolescents with sleep disorders.

The method of the present research was a causal-comparative. The research population consisted of all those who were referred to the health centers and the psychiatric clinic in Tabriz, Iran. 240 adolescents (120 adolescents with sleep disorders and 120 normal adolescents) were selected using available sampling. A sleep disorder checklist (SDS-CL-17) and executive skills questionnaire (ESQ-R) were used to collect data.

The results show that adolescents with sleep disorders have more deficiency in all components of executive functions than the healthy group.

Our data indicate that sleep disorders make adolescents more susceptible to executive function problems.

The high attractiveness of online games, along with the significant prevalence of addiction to them has made these games receive attention from experts. Therefore, the present study was done to fit a causal model of addiction to online games based on the A, B, C, and D brain quadrants dominance in students with the mediating role of behavioral regulation of emotion.

The research method was descriptive and structural equations. The statistical population of the research included 291 students of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili during the academic year 2021-2022. These students were selected by the available sampling method and participated in the research through an online questionnaire.

The direct effect of the lateral cerebral superiority variable A (P < 0.01 and T = -2.81), lateral cerebral superiority variable B (P < 0.01 and T = -4.84), lateral cerebral superiority variable C (P < 0.01 and T = -2.30) and positive behavioral emotion regulation (P < 0.01 and T = -5.34) exerted negative effects on addiction to online games and the direct effect of lateral brain superiority variable D (01/ P>0 and T=5.78) and negative behavioral emotion regulation (P<0.01 and T=7.19) were positive and significant. Therefore, the causal model of the relationship between the addiction to online games, brain lateralization, and behavioral regulation of emotion was confirmed based on various fit indices. According to the amount obtained for the VAF statistic, 19.9% of the effect of lateral superiority B, 31.7 % of the effect of lateral superiority C, and 18.1% of the effect of lateral superiority D on addiction to online games through negative behavioral regulation of emotion, and 34.6% of the effect of lateral superiority C and 20.5% of the effect of lateral superiority D on addiction to online games through positive behavioral emotion regulation can be explained.

Due to the high prevalence of using smartphones, it will be extremely important to evaluate the condition of the dominant cerebral cortex and the behavioral emotion regulation on online games addiction.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder often show major problems in emotional and cognitive abilities, which have serious consequences on their academic and social performance. Therefore, growing efforts are being made to improve these abilities through neuro-psychological interventions to prepare these children for future challenges. This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program with/and without transcranial brain stimulation on emotional self-regulation and problem-solving performance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The current research was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all students aged 11 to 14 who were referred to the counseling centers in Khoy, Iran between 2021 and 2022. Forty-five children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder of the mixed type were selected among the individuals who enter the treatment in these centers by the purposeful sampling method and randomly replaced into one control and two experimental groups. Subjects in the first experimental groups received a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program combined with transcranial direct current stimulation while the second group received a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning for 8 weeks. In addition the subjects in the control group did not receive any intervention. All subjects were evaluated before and after the training using the emotional regulation checklist and the Tower of London test.

The mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program combined with transcranial stimulation exerted greater effectiveness on emotional self-regulation and problem-solving performance compared to the other groups. Moreover, the mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program had more effect on emotional self-regulation and problem-solving performance compared to the control group.

The mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program combined with transcranial stimulation is an effective intervention to improve the emotional and cognitive functions in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In clinical settings, the combination of these two interventions can be used to achieve promising results.

Any disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat is called cardiac arrhythmia. One of the most common methods of treating cardiac arrhythmias is radiofrequency ablation. Determining the position of the heart to be ablated is performed by a specialist physician during electrophysiological studies of the heart (EPS) and under X-ray radiation. ECG signal is a non-invasive, safe, and fast tool for understanding the electrical activity of the heart. On the other hand, the cardiac nervous system also controls the electrical activity of the heart. The present study aimed to identify focal atrial arrhythmia using ECG signal properties and to evaluate the effect of the autonomic nervous system in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

The standard 12-lead ECG signal was recorded in patients with atrial arrhythmia. The pulses of each signal are isolated by using the Pan-Tompkins algorithm and the properties of each pulse are extracted by the independent component analysis. Based on the extracted features and dictionary of the sparse decomposition algorithm, the locations of the arrhythmia foci inside the left atrium, right atrium, and septum were estimated. The function of the autonomic nervous system was also examined using the frequency characteristics of the heart rate variability signal.

The classification of the characteristics of each ECG signal from 52 patients determines the location of the arrhythmia foci within the right and left atrium and septum. Findings show that ECG signal analysis can estimate the location of ablation in the left or right atrium with more than 93% accuracy. Examination of sympathetic and parasympathetic balance in the autonomic nervous system using frequency analysis of HRV signal shows that this system plays an important role in exacerbating or improving cardiac arrhythmias.

ECG signal analysis of patients with atrial tachycardia is a suitable and accurate tool to identify the location of the arrhythmia foci before EPS and ablation. Maintaining the balance of the cardiovascular system is effective in treating arrhythmias and further clinical studies in this field will help increase the effectiveness of cardiac arrhythmia treatment.

Comparing the nanostructure of multiple scaffolds for tissue engineering using electron microscopy poses significant challenges in terms of time and cost. To overcome this, we have developed a novel method that enables the assessment of two different scaffolds on a single slide in scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

The Pura Matrix scaffold was used to study this method. Firstly, each scaffold was positioned at the bottom of a well, ensuring that every sample was placed on one specific side of the well. Then, each sample was washed with PBS and fixed with glutaraldehyde. After the scaffolds were fixed, they were washed three times with PBS and finally dried overnight at room temperature. After 24 hours, the samples were coated in gold and then observed using SEM. 

In this study, we utilized this method successfully to investigate the structures of different self-assembling peptides. Our split-well approach not only saves time for researchers and reduces confounding variables but also minimizes the cost of services by allowing simultaneous evaluation of two scaffolds. 

Our findings demonstrate that researchers can achieve precise comparisons using similar magnifications. Overall, the split-well approach proves to be a cost-effective and accurate method for comparing different scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Considering the need for emergency medical technicians and triage nurses to familiarize themselves with stroke triage tools for faster diagnosis and referral of patients, the present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the psychometric characteristics of stroke triage scales for patients with neurosensory complaints.

In this review, the concept of electronic search based on PRISMA guidelines in reliable databases PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar search engines using the main keywords include triage, stroke, hospital, prehospital, emergency, tool, and scale in combination and individually were done from 1990 to 2022. Then, the data extraction included the name of the first author, the year of publication, the target population, the country, the name of the scale, the type of scale, and the components of the scale based on the checklist prepared by the researchers.

In general, the Twenty-five triage scales of this group of patients can be divided into two categories: pre-hospital stroke scales (including 18 scales) and hospital (including 7 scales), each of which has different psychometric characteristics. Scales, such as LAPSS, MAS, OPSS, and IPSS, which have covered stroke mimics, have high specificity. Scales, such as IPSS, which in addition to mimics examine vision status seem more comprehensive.

Less comprehensive scales have high sensitivity and low specificity, and scales that cover stroke mimics have high specificity. The high incidence of strokes caused by the middle-occluded artery reduced the differences between the scales.

As a specialized organ consisting of complex tubules with different functional parts, the mammalian testis has evolved specifically to produce sperm and male sex hormones. Each of these functional parts consists of specialized cells whose functional units, the seminiferous tubules, are located within a network of loose connective tissue and interstitial cells. In seminiferous tubules, the epithelium is compartmented due to the presence of unique somatic cells called Sertoli cells. These cells, which contain cytoplasmic bundles, are essential for testicular formation and spermatogenesis and surround the spermatogonia all the way to the central lumen of the fallopian tubes. Many factors are synthesized and secreted by these cells, including proteins, growth factors, anti-inflammatory cytokines, prostaglandins, and key enzymes. Sertoli cells have a high therapeutic potential in the treatment of neurological diseases due to their immunity and resistance to immune system reactions, and secretion of nutritional and anti-inflammatory agents. These cells outside the testis have the ability to provide immune protection for connective tissues, increase cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation, and survive for long periods that are non-toxic to the central nervous system if transplanted into the brain and therefore are regarded as a good cellular source for transplantation.

Cell transplantation, nowadays, has been introduced as a promising way to cure debilitating neurological diseases. In this review study, the role of Sertoli cells in the treatment of movement disorders of the central nervous system is discussed.