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Topic Review
Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Multiple Sclerosis
B cells play a central role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), as demonstrated through the success of various B cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies. Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a critical molecule in intracellular signaling from the receptor of B cells and receptors expressed in the cells of the innate immune system. BTK inhibitors may be a non-cell-depleting alternative to B cell modulation.
  • 931
  • 12 Nov 2021
Biography
Corrado I. Angelini
Corrado Angelini (born August 3, 1941) is a neurologist with a particular interest in neurometabolic and neuromuscular disorders. He received his medical degree at the University of Padova and has done his residency at the University of Padova, Mayo Clinic. He passed FLEX Examination in Minneapolis, in 1973 and obtained the North Dakota State License Examination (No. 3339), since 1973, he has he
  • 926
  • 06 May 2023
Topic Review
Classification of Dystonia
Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal and often repetitive, movements, postures, or both. Dystonic movements are typically patterned, twisting, and may be tremulous. Dystonia is often initiated or worsened by voluntary action and associated with overflow muscle activation. Because of its wide clinical spectrum, dystonia is often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. In clinical practice, dystonia could often present in association with other movement disorders. An accurate physical examination is essential to describe the correct phenomenology. 
  • 922
  • 02 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Mitophagy and the Brain
Mitophagy is a form of macroautophagy, were mitochondria and their contents are ubiquitinated, engulfed, and removed through lysosome degradation.
  • 918
  • 08 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Situational Factors Affecting Tic Severity
Much of the research regarding Tourette’s syndrome (TS) has focused on why certain individuals develop tics while others do not. However, a separate line of research focuses on the momentary influences that cause tics to increase or decrease in patients who are already known to have TS or another chronic tic disorder (CTD). Environmental and internal variables such as fatigue, anxiety, and certain types of thoughts all have been shown to worsen tic severity and may even overcome the positive effects of treatment. Other influences such as stress, distraction, and being observed have had mixed effects in the various studies that have examined them. Still, other variables such as social media exposure and dietary habits have received only minimal research attention and would benefit from additional study. Understanding the impact of these environmental and internal influences provides an opportunity to improve behavioral treatments for TS/CTD and to improve the lives of those living with these conditions. 
  • 913
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Role of Oligodendrocytes in Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an early neurodevelopmental disorder that involves deficits in interpersonal communication, social interaction, and repetitive behaviors. Although ASD pathophysiology is still uncertain, alterations in the abnormal development of the frontal lobe, limbic areas, and putamen generate an imbalance between inhibition and excitation of neuronal activity. Interestingly, recent findings suggest that a disruption in neuronal connectivity is associated with neural alterations in white matter production and myelination in diverse brain regions of patients with ASD. 
  • 902
  • 06 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Brain Metastasis from CUP
Brain metastases (BMs) are the most common intracranial tumours in adults and occur up to 3–10 times more frequently than primary brain tumours. BMs may be the cause of the neurological presenting symptoms in patients with otherwise previously undiagnosed cancer. In up to 15% of patients with BMs, the primary tumour cannot be identified. These cases are known as BM of cancer of unknown primary (CUP) (BM-CUP). CUP has an early and aggressive metastatic spread, poor response to chemotherapy, and poor prognosis. The pathogenesis of CUP seems to be characterized by a specific underlying pro-metastatic signature.  This entry is a review of modern diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to brain metastases from unknown primary tumor.
  • 901
  • 22 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Headache
Headaches are common complaints in children. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version), defines more than 280 types of headaches. Primary headaches refer to independent conditions that cause pain and include migraine, tension-type headaches (TTH) and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs). Several agents are involved in the pathogenesis of headaches. The factors associated with predisposition to atherosclerosis seem to be particularly important from the clinical point of view. The influence of obesity on the incidence of headaches has been well established. Moreover, idiopathic headaches, especially migraine, are thought to be one of the first signs of disorders in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. The risk of migraine increases with increasing obesity in children. Another factor that seems to be involved in both obesity and headaches is the adiponectin level.This review presents the current knowledge on the relationship between obesity and adiponectin and primary headaches.
  • 890
  • 24 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common brain disease characterized as a long-lasting propensity to engender epileptic seizures. These are defined by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), as a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms, due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. The ILAE also describes that patients with epilepsy, besides neurobiological problems, also face cognitive, psychological, and social issues. Epileptic seizures can be classified depending on the onset (focal, generalized or unknown) and depending on the etiology (genetic, structural, infectious, metabolic, immune, unknown, or with more than one etiology). Epileptogenesis is when a physiological and functional brain develops recurrent and unprovoked seizures, due to abnormal biological alterations. Epileptogenesis encompasses: The moment a precipitating injury (such as stroke or traumatic brain injury) or event (as status epilepticus (SE) or febrile seizure) occurs; the latent period between this epileptogenic insult and a modified epileptic brain (having spontaneous unprovoked seizures); and the mechanisms that occur during chronic epilepsy. Despite that the knowledge about the epileptogenesis process has significantly increased, most of the current drugs for epilepsy are used to treat symptoms, meaning to stop the seizures. These drugs, named AEDs, do not prevent or cure epilepsy. Therefore, finding drugs that work as antiepileptogenic, interreacting with the process of epilepsy development, is fundamental.
  • 887
  • 16 Nov 2020
Topic Review
RSTS
The Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is a rare congenital developmental disorder characterized by a typical facial dysmorphism, distal limb abnormalities, intellectual disability, and many additional phenotypical features. It occurs at between 1/100,000 and 1/125,000 births.
  • 881
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
The Sigma-2 Receptor
The sigma-2 receptor (S2R), encoded by TMEM97, is expressed in brain and retinal cells, and regulates cell functions via its co-receptor progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1), and through other protein–protein interactions. S2R modulates key pathways, including autophagy, trafficking, oxidative stress, and amyloid-β and α-synuclein toxicity, involved in age-related degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. Furthermore, S2R modulation can ameliorate functional deficits in cell-based and animal models of neurodegenerative disease.
  • 881
  • 06 Apr 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Benefits of Badminton for Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia
Badminton is one of the most popular racket sports played by all age groups worldwide. Anyone can practice and play badminton as a leisure or competitive sport, regardless of age, experience, or skill level. It does not require physical contact among players or expensive equipment. Compared with closed-skill exercises (e.g., running and swimming), open-skill exercises (e.g., badminton and table tennis) have been reported to significantly improve cognitive function and prevent cognitive decline. This mini review aimed to investigate the findings related to badminton intervention for cognitive function, with attention to the modifiable risk factors of dementia in adults. Additionally, we outlined the characteristics of badminton’s physical demands. This narrative review encompassed studies reported from 2013 to 2023 from multiple databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar. Keywords such as “badminton”, “dementia”, “cognitive function”, “physical activity”, and “depression” were used to identify relevant articles. Various studies, including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case–control studies, were selected to provide a comprehensive overview of badminton intervention. Quantitative data analysis suggests that at a cognitive level, high-intensity badminton can enhance cognitive function with at least 10 min of play once weekly or 20 min of play once weekly on average, whereas moderate-intensity badminton can be effective when played for at least 30 min once weekly or 35 min twice weekly on average. For modifiable risk factors, recreational badminton for about 3 h weekly could effectively manage blood pressure. For body fat percentage and fasting serum glucose levels, recreational badminton for about 10 h weekly exerted positive effects. For depressive states, a moderate-intensity badminton program for 100 min weekly was effective. For lipid profiles associated with dementia occurrence, prolonged badminton intervention for more than 3 months may be beneficial. The characteristics presented here indicate that intervention with regular badminton exercise could effectively improve cognitive function and prevent cognitive decline in older adults.
  • 880
  • 18 Jun 2024
Topic Review
Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Since impaired mitochondria are a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress is closely linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and has been assumed to be the principal molecular mechanism for the pathogenesis of various diseases, especially neurodegenerative disorders. Molecular imaging reflecting oxidative stress has improved our insights into the pathological mechanisms of diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, and is a promising tool for monitoring further antioxidant therapies.
  • 880
  • 10 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Type I Diabetes Mellitus
A considerable endeavor had taken place in order to understand the associated challenges for children and adolescents with Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) but also in order to describe the necessary skills and approaches that the care givers have to develop to assist both children and parents.
  • 880
  • 14 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Allosteric GABAA Receptor Modulators
Among the mammalian ligand-gated ion channels, the GABAA receptor family comprises the largest family with subunits encoded by 19 different genes. Some of these undergo alternative splicing, and, thereby, increase the variety. Their endogenous ligand known as the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been established as the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
  • 878
  • 29 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Chronic Nightmare in Psychiatric Disorders
Chronic nightmares are very common in psychiatric disorders, affecting up to 70% of patients with personality or post-traumatic stress disorders. In other psychiatric disorders, the relationships with nightmares are poorly known. This review aimed to clarify the relationship between nightmares and both mood and psychotic disorders.
  • 861
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Chronic Dexamethasone Treatment
Neuroinflammation has been correlated with the progress of neurodegeneration in many neuropathologies. Although glial cells have traditionally been considered to be protective, the concept of them as neurotoxic cells has recently emerged. Thus, a major unsolved question is the exact role of astroglia and microglia in neurodegenerative disorders. On the other hand, it is well known that glucocorticoids are the first choice to regulate inflammation and, consequently, neuroglial inflammatory activity. The objective of this study was to determine how chronic dexamethasone treatment influences the host immune response and to characterize the beneficial or detrimental role of glial cells. To date, this has not been examined using a natural neurodegenerative model of scrapie. With this aim, immunohistochemical expression of glial markers, prion protein accumulation, histopathological lesions and clinical evolution were compared with those in a control group. Although impact of dexamethasone administration on neuropathological lesions was not demonstrated and treatment did not seem to be clinically relevant to disease progress when clinical signs had already begun, the evident extension of survival in one case was hopeful. The findings presented in this study support a potential failure of astrocytes and a stimulation of phagocytosis of PrPsc deposits by microglia. Thus, it is evidenced here how the complex interaction between glial populations failed to compensate for brain damage in natural conditions, emphasizing the need for using natural models. Additionally, the data showed that modulation of neuroinflammation by anti-inflammatory drugs might become a research focus as a potential therapeutic target for prion diseases, similar to that considered previously for other neurodegenerative disorders classified as prion-like diseases.
  • 859
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Ageing, Microglia and Mitochondria in Parkinson’s Disease Neurodegeneration
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related chronic, progressive, multi-system, neurodegenerative disease with an incidence second only to Alzheimer’s disease. A PD diagnosis requires the presence of two core motor features, including diminished movement (bradykinesia), tremor, muscle rigidity, or postural instability, difficulty initiating voluntary movement (akinesia), involuntary eye movements, and blinking, which can take up to 15-20 years to become evident. There is now an increasing level of evidence linking mitochondrial dysfunction, including elevated oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impaired cellular energy production, with the overactivation and escalation of a microglial mediated proinflammatory immune response, as naturally occurring and damaging interlinked bidirectional and self-perpetuating cycles that share common pathological processes in aging and PD. This research proposes that both chronic inflammation, microglial activation and neuronal mitochondrial impairment should be considered as concurrently influencing each other along a continuum, rather than as separate and isolated linear metabolic events that affect specific aspects of neural processing and brain function.
  • 854
  • 18 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Atypical Positional Vertigo
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most frequent cause of vertigo. As its name indicates, it is characterized by vertigo episodes of sudden onset and end, triggered by changes in head’s position with regard to gravity. It is located in the labyrinth, and its cause is mechanical. However, this is an etiologic diagnosis, reached after questioning and examining the patient. Based on what patients report, the duration of symptoms lasts seconds; however, many overestimate the duration of the vertiginous sensation. The trigger effect of positional changes is a key issue to be addressed. A great variability of autonomic symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, can accompany BPPV. Gait instability, headache, and additional neurologic complaints are potential red flags in the differential diagnosis. With a defined position trigger effect, it is the neurologist’s job to perform an examination to confirm the diagnosis of paroxysmal positional vertigo (PPV), and by virtue of the vertigo duration and nystagmus characteristics, to determine lesion localization (peripheral versus central) and to design a management plan.
  • 850
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Psychiatric Disorders
Psychiatric disorders refer to the behavior or psychological pattern that can lead to significant distress or functional impairment.
  • 842
  • 01 Feb 2021
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