Topic Review
Stomatognathic Diseases in Neurological Disorders
Patients affected by neurological disorders can develop stomatognathic diseases (SD) related to decreased bite force and quality of mastication, bruxism, severe clicking and other temporomandibular disorders (TMD), which deeply affect patients’ swallowing, masticatory and phonation functions and, therefore, their quality of life. 
  • 461
  • 23 May 2023
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.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis
Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most common muscle disease of older people and is clinically characterized by slowly progressive asymmetrical muscle weakness, predominantly affecting the quadriceps, deep finger flexors, and foot extensors. 
  • 148
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Molecular Biomarkers
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive degenerative illness that affects 1 in every 6 to 11,000 live births. This autosomal recessive disorder is caused by homozygous deletion or mutation of the SMN1 gene (survival motor neuron). As a backup, the SMN1 gene has the SMN2 gene, which produces only 10% of the functional SMN protein. Nusinersen and risdiplam, the first FDA-approved medications, act as SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing modifiers and enhance the quantity of SMN protein produced by this gene. The emergence of new therapies for SMA has increased the demand for good prognostic and pharmacodynamic (response) biomarkers in SMA.
  • 167
  • 14 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Speech- and Language-Based Classification of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most devastating brain diseases in the world, especially in the more advanced age groups. It is a progressive neurological disease that results in irreversible loss of neurons, particularly in the cortex and hippocampus, which leads to characteristic memory loss and behavioral changes in humans. Communicative difficulties (speech and language) constitute one of the groups of symptoms that most accompany dementia and, therefore, should be recognized as a central study instrument. This recognition aims to provide earlier diagnosis, resulting in greater effectiveness in delaying the disease evolution. Speech analysis, in general, represents an important source of information encompassing the phonetic, phonological, lexical-semantic, morphosyntactic, and pragmatic levels of language organization. The first signs of cognitive decline are quite present in the discourse of neurodegenerative patients so that diagnosis via speech analysis of these patients is a viable and effective method, which may even lead to an earlier and more accurate diagnosis.
  • 438
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Sonothrombolysis for Ischemic Stroke
Stroke is a major cause of death and disability globally, with ischemic stroke being the predominant mechanism. While spontaneous recanalization may occur, significant neuronal injury would have occurred in the interim. Intravenous thrombolysis administered within the first 4.5 h after stroke onset and endovascular thrombectomy within 24 h in patients with a salvageable penumbra improves functional independence. Ultrasound has been shown in both in vivo and in vitro models to enhance clot lysis, even more-so in the presence of thrombolytic agents. The use of transcranial Doppler and transcranial color-coded Doppler ultrasound in acute IS has been reported in case series, case-controlled studies, and clinical trials. While ultrasound at a frequency of 300 kHz increases the risk of intracranial hemorrhage, the 2 MHz range ultrasound aids thrombolysis and improves recanalization without significantly increasing the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Despite this, functional independence was not increased in clinical trials, nor was a benefit shown with the adjunctive use of microbubbles or microspheres. Nonetheless, newer technologies such as endovascular ultrasound, endovascular delivery of microbubbles, and thrombolytic-filled microbubbles await clinical trials. More evidence is needed before sonothrombolysis can be routinely used in the hyperacute management of ischemic stroke.
  • 79
  • 07 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Social Distancing and Brain Health
Social distancing has been a critical public health measure for the COVID-19 pandemic, yet a long history of research strongly suggests that loneliness and social isolation play a major role in several cognitive health issues. What is the true severity and extent of risks involved and what are potential approaches to balance these competing risks? This review aimed to summarize the neurological context of social isolation and loneliness in population health and the long-term effects of social distancing as it relates to neurocognitive aging, health, and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The full scope of the underlying causal mechanisms of social isolation and loneliness in humans remains unclear partly because its study is not amenable to randomized controlled trials; however, there are many detailed experimental and observational studies that may provide a hypothesis-generating theoretical framework to better understand the pathophysiology and underlying neurobiology. To address these challenges and inform future studies, we conducted a topical review of extant literature investigating associations of social isolation and loneliness with relevant biological, cognitive, and psychosocial outcomes, and provide recommendations on how to approach the need to fill key knowledge gaps in this important area of research.
  • 346
  • 28 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Small Fiber Neuropathy in Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis (SC) is a granulomatous disease of an unknown origin. The most common SC-related neurological complication is a small fiber neuropathy (SFN) that is often considered to be the result of chronic inflammation and remains significantly understudied. 
  • 595
  • 28 Mar 2022
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.
  • 1.6K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Skin Biopsy in Peripheral Neuropathies
Skin biopsy is a minimally invasive technique with the advantage, compared to sural nerve biopsy, of being suitable to be applied to any site in our body, of being repeatable over time, of allowing the identification of each population of nerve fiber through its target. In patients with symptoms and signs of small fiber neuropathy the assessment of IntraEpidermal Nerve Fiber density is the gold standard to confirm the diagnosis while the quantification of sudomotor, pilomotor, and vasomotor nerve fibers allows to evaluate and characterize the autonomic involvement. All these parameters can be re-evaluated over time to monitor the disease process and to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments. Myelinated fibers and their receptors can also be evaluated to detect a "dying back" neuropathy early when nerve conduction study is still normal. Furthermore, the morphometry of dermal myelinated fibers has provided new insight into pathophysiological mechanisms of different types of inherited and acquired large fibers neuropathies. In genetic neuropathies skin biopsy has become a surrogate for sural nerve biopsy, no longer necessary in the diagnostic process, to study genotype–phenotype correlations. 
  • 562
  • 15 Apr 2021
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