4 research outputs found
Restorative Effect of Distillated Nerium Oleander Extract on Diabetic Neuropathy: Animal Model Study
The current study aims to investigate the possible role of Nerium oleander (NeOL) distillate in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. The restorative affects of distillated NeOL on the diabetes-induced electrophysiological alterations were investigated. Induction of diabetes was done by the combination of single dose streptozotocin injection together with a high fat diet for four weeks. Experimental groups were designed as follows: control, diabetic, and NeOL treated diabetic. Nerve conduction velocity (CV) recordings were performed through a suction electrode from the tibia branch of the sciatic nerve trunk. Diabetes results an increase in rheobase, chronaxie values together with a decrease in maximum depolarization (MD), compound action potential (CAP) area and CV measurements. With its antioxidant nature, NeOL treatment produced nearly complete restorations of the diabetes-induced alterations. Current study has shown that distillated NeOL (375 µg /0.5 ml dH2O /day) can be a highly potential therapeutic agent on the diabetes induced alterations
A rightward shift in the visuospatial attention vector with healthy aging
The study of lateralised visuospatial attention bias in non-clinical samples has revealed a systematic group-level leftward bias (pseudoneglect), possibly as a consequence of right hemisphere dominance for visuospatial attention. Pseudoneglect appears to be modulated by age, with a reduced or even reversed bias typically present in elderly participants. It has been suggested that this shift in bias may arise due to disproportionate aging of the right hemisphere and/or an increase in complementary functional recruitment of the left hemisphere for visuospatial processing. In this study, we report rightward shifts in subjective midpoint judgement relative to healthy young participants whilst elderly participants performed a computerized version of the landmark task (in which they had to judge whether a transection mark appeared closer to the right or left end of a line) on three different line lengths. This manipulation of stimulus properties led to a similar behavioural pattern in both the young and the elderly: a rightward shift in subjective midpoint with decreasing line length, which even resulted in a systematic rightward bias in elderly participants for the shortest line length (1.98° of visual angle). Overall performance precision for the task was lower in the elderly participants regardless of line length, suggesting reduced landmark task discrimination sensitivity with healthy aging. This rightward shift in the attentional vector with healthy aging is likely to result from a reduction in right hemisphere resources/dominance for attentional processing in elderly participants. The significant rightward bias in the elderly for short lines may even suggest a reversal of hemisphere dominance in favour of the left hemisphere/right visual field under specific conditions