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Topic Review
The Tryptophan-Kynurenine Metabolic Pathway
Tryptophan (TRP) is one of the essential amino acids, which participates in protein synthesis. The tryptophan’s main metabolic route is the kynurenine pathway (KP) through which approximately 90-95% of TRP degrades into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and other bioactive metabolites. The appropriate amount of NAD+ is essential to maintain the operation and the viability of cells. The other molecules are neurotoxic, neuroprotective, oxidant, antioxidant, and/or immune modifiers. They play an important role in the function of the brain and the peripheral tissues. The change in the levels of the bioactive molecules is considered to contribute to the development of a wide range of illnesses from cancer to immunologic, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric diseases.
  • 11.5K
  • 10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Algorithm for Dysphagia Screening
Dysphagia is often unrecognized because many people are unfamiliar with symptoms and signs of dysphagia  besides choking during swallowing.  Dysphagia screening is therefore important. A good screening should be a quick process and minimally invasive but can determine the likelihood of dysphagia. Here, an algorithm for dysphagia screening is introduced. The algorithm can be used for people unspecialized in dysphagia.
  • 4.3K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Curcumin and Peripheral Neuropathies
Peripheral neuropathies (PN) can be triggered after metabolic diseases, traumatic peripheral nerve injury, genetic mutations, toxic substances, and/or inflammation. PN is a major clinical problem, affecting many patients and with few effective therapeutics. Recently, interest in natural dietary compounds, such as polyphenols, in human health has led to a great deal of research, especially in PN. Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from the root of Curcuma longa. This molecule has long been used in Asian medicine for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. However, like numerous polyphenols, curcumin has a very low bioavailability and a very fast metabolism. This part provides an overview of curcumin in the treatment of PN (anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-endoplasmic reticulum stress (anti-ER-stress), neuroprotection, and glial protection). Finally, because PN are associated with numerous pathologies (e.g., cancers, diabetes, addiction, inflammatory disease...), this part is likely to interest a large audience.
  • 4.0K
  • 20 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are the only drugs that have demonstrated success in slowing shrinkage (atrophy) of the cortex, hippocampus, and basal forebrain, major areas of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated brain damage and dementia. The main barrier to taking advantage of this new success in treating, or even preventing, AD is that the old available AChE inhibitors are weak reversible inhibitors that cause intolerable nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea if given in the higher doses needed. A promising new strategy for producing high-level AChE inhibition in the brain as needed for effective treatment of AD is the use of AChE inhibitors that are of a different type, the  irreversible inhibitors. 
  • 3.3K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Benefits of Table Tennis for Brain Health Maintenance and Prevention of Dementia
Table tennis is an extremely popular sport throughout the world as it requires no expensive equipment, specialized amenities, or physical contact among players, and the pace of play can be adapted to allow participation by players of all skill levels, ages, and abilities. It is an aerobic-dominant sport driven primarily by the phosphagen system because rallies are relatively brief (several seconds) and separated by longer rest periods. Several studies have shown that physical interventions including table tennis can help prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Accordingly, the present paper provides an overview of the basic physical and cognitive demands of table tennis, reviews previous studies reporting improvements in physical and brain health across different non-clinical and clinical populations, and critically evaluates the usefulness of table tennis intervention for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia. This review suggests that table tennis intervention could be a powerful strategy to prevent cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly. 
  • 3.2K
  • 26 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common adverse event of several first-line chemotherapeutic agents, including platinum compounds, taxanes, vinca alkaloids, thalidomide, and bortezomib, which negatively affects the quality of life and clinical outcome.
  • 2.8K
  • 22 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Neuron Migration
Radial neuron migration in the developing cerebral cortex is a complex journey, starting in the germinal zones and ending in the cortical plate. In mice, migratory distances can reach several hundreds of microns, or millimeters in humans. Along the migratory path, radially migrating neurons slither through cellularly dense and complex territories before they reach their final destination in the cortical plate.
  • 2.1K
  • 06 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)—the worldwide third most common inherited muscular dystrophy caused by the heterozygous contraction of a 3.3 kb tandem repeat (D4Z4) on a chromosome with a 4q35 haplotype—is a progressive genetic myopathy with variable onset of symptoms, distribution of muscle weakness, and clinical severity.  A rough correlation between the phenotypic severity of FSHD and the D4Z4 repeat size has been reported, and the majority of patients with infantile FSHD obtain a very short D4Z4 repeat length (one to three copies, EcoRI size 10–14 kb), in contrast to the classical, slowly progressive, form of FSHD (15–38 kb). With the increasing identifications of case reports and the advance in genetic diagnostics, recent studies have suggested that the variant of FSHD is not a genetically separate entity but a part of the FSHD spectrum. Nevertheless, many questions about the clinical phenotype and natural history of FSHD remain unanswered, limiting evidence-based clinical management.
  • 2.0K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
MAPK/ERK Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases
The signaling pathway of the microtubule-associated protein kinase or extracellular regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) is a common mechanism of extracellular information transduction from extracellular stimuli to the intracellular space. The transduction of information leads to changes in the ongoing metabolic pathways and the modification of gene expression patterns. In the central nervous system, ERK is expressed ubiquitously, both temporally and spatially. The MAP-ERK pathway is a key element of the neuroinflammatory pathway triggered by glial cells during the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as prionic diseases. The process triggered by MAPK/ERK activation depends on the stage of development (mature or senescence), the type of cellular element in which the pathway is activated, and the anatomic neural structure. However, extensive gaps exist with regards to the targets of the phosphorylated ERK in many of these processes.
  • 2.0K
  • 31 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Clinical Presentation of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of upper and lower motor neurons, resulting in progressive weakness of all voluntary muscles and eventual respiratory failure. Non-motor symptoms, such as cognitive and behavioral changes, frequently occur over the course of the disease.
  • 1.9K
  • 06 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases are affecting more and more people around the world. Current therapies only treat the symptoms and not the causes of the disease. However, the pathophysiology of these diseases is now better known. In the case of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, some common mechanisms have been identified. One of the first known mechanisms is the accumulation of proteins: α-synuclein (Parkinson's disease), Tau (Alzheimer's disease) and β-amyloid (Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) proteins. Protein accumulation is related to a disruption of mitochondrial activity associated with cell death and oxidative stress. Inflammation is also another important mechanism, which is disrupted in these pathologies.
  • 1.9K
  • 15 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Essential Oils and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Despite the improvements in life expectancy, neurodegenerative conditions have arguably become the most dreaded maladies of older people. The neuroprotective and anti-ageing potentials of essential oils (EOs) are widely evaluated around the globe. The entry focuses on analysing the effectiveness of EOs as neuroprotective remedies among the four common age-related neurodegenerative diseases. The literature was extracted from three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar) between the years of 2010 to 2020 using the medical subject heading (MeSH) terms “essential oil”, crossed with “Alzheimer’s disease (AD)”, “Huntington’s disease (HD)”, “Parkinson’s disease (PD)” or “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)”. Eighty three percent (83%) of the studies were focused on AD, while another 12% focused on PD. No classifiable study was recorded on HD or ALS. EO from Salvia officinalis has been recorded as one of the most effective acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors. However, only Cinnamomum sp. has been assessed for its effectiveness in both AD and PD. 
  • 1.9K
  • 31 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Whole-Brain Models
Whole-brain models are sets of equations that describe the dynamics and interactions between neural populations in different brain regions. Most whole-brain models are built considering three basic elements: brain parcellation, anatomical connectivity matrix, and local dynamics.
  • 1.9K
  • 21 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Sleep in Declarative Memory Consolidation
There is ample evidence supporting a key role of sleep in memory consolidation. Thalamo-cortical and hippocampal-neocortical interactions allow the reconfiguration of synapses. Oscillatory and molecular changes are involved during sleep in memory consolidation and synaptic rescalling.
  • 1.8K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Stem Cell Therapy
Neurodegenerative diseases resulting from the progressive loss of structure and/or function of neurons contribute to different paralysis degrees and loss of cognition and sensation. The lack of successful curative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders leads to a considerable burden on society and a high economic impact. Over the past 20 years, regenerative cell therapy, also known as stem cell therapy, has provided an excellent opportunity to investigate potentially powerful innovative strategies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
  • 1.8K
  • 08 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Risk Factors of Glioblastoma Multiforme
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive malignancies and also the most common malignant primary tumor of the brain and central nervous system, accounting for 14.5% of all central nervous system tumors and 48.6% of malignant central nervous system tumors. The median overall survival (OS) of GBM patients is low, at only 15 months.
  • 1.7K
  • 27 May 2022
Topic Review
Neurotransmission
Neurotransmission is the process by which a signal is conveyed between neurons via endogenous signaling molecules called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters released from the axon terminal of one neuron cross the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the dendrites of another neuron, which are then converted into electrical signals. Synapse, the junction between neurons, has a tripartite structure that consists of presynaptic and postsynaptic nerve terminals along with the intimate association of glial cells.
  • 1.7K
  • 26 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Hsp70
A molecular weight of 70 kDa (Hsp70) plays a particularly important role in protecting cells and the whole body from various types of stress. These proteins are molecular chaperones that restore the native conformation of partially denatured proteins after exposure to proteotoxic forms of stress and are critical for the folding and intracellular trafficking of de novo synthesized proteins under normal conditions. Hsp70s are expressed at high levels in the central nervous system (CNS) of various animals and protect neurons from various types of stress, including heat shock, hypoxia, and toxins. Numerous molecular and behavioral studies have indicated that Hsp70s expressed in the CNS are important for memory formation. These proteins contribute to the folding and transport of synaptic proteins, modulate signaling cascades associated with synaptic activation, and participate in mechanisms of neurotransmitter release.
  • 1.6K
  • 22 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Magnetoencephalography
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional brain imaging technique that measures magnetic flux on the surface of the head associated with underlying neuronal electrical dipoles.
  • 1.6K
  • 08 Mar 2021
Topic Review
FDA-Approved Multiple Sclerosis Drugs
The molecular effects of traditional and more recently FDA-approved Multiple Sclerosis (MS) drugs on four CNS cell types.
  • 1.6K
  • 26 Oct 2020
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