Do psychogenic erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation share a neural circuit?: evidence from a fMRI systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies investigated the brain correlates of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (PED) and premature ejaculation (PE), representing the most common sexual dysfunctions in men. These studies allowed a wide set of brain regions in PED and PE patients when compared to healthy men. In the present meta-analysis, we aim at assessing the presence of homogeneity in the cerebral underpinnings of PED and PE. Methods: Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and after the electronic search, duplicate removal and the application of pre-exclusion criteria, nine PED and ten PE studies were considered eligible with a Cohen’s k of 0.84 and 0.75, respectively. The effect sizes of the sociodemographic and psychological/urological dimensions were calculated. We extracted brain clusters from the retrieved studies, comparing patients and controls, and we calculated brain maps with Seed-Based D Mapping software. Results: We found a homogenous involvement of the frontal gyrus and insula in both dysfunctions, suggesting a common network. Conclusions: The anterior insula plays a key role in the processing of emotional features of stimuli, while the posterior insula in interoceptive information is relevant for sexual response. The prefrontal and inferior frontal cortices are important for sexual inhibition/disinhibition

Step-by-step: the effects of physical practice on the neural correlates of locomotion imagery revealed by fMRI

Previous studies have shown that mental imagery is a suitable tool to study the progression of the effect of practice on brain activation. Nevertheless, there is still poor knowledge of changes in brain activation patterns during the very early stages of physical practice. In this study, early and late practice stages of different kinds of locomotion (i.e., balanced and unbalanced) have been investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging during mental imagery of locomotion and stance. During the task, cardiac activity was also recorded. The cerebral network comprising supplementary motor area, basal ganglia, bilateral thalamus, and right cerebellum showed a stronger activation during the imagery of locomotion with respect to imagery of stance. The heart beat showed a significant increase in frequency during the imagery of locomotion with respect to the imagery of stance. Moreover, early stages of practice determined an increased activation in basal ganglia and thalamus with respect to late stages. In this way, it is proposed the modulation of the brain network involved in the imagery of locomotion as a function of physical practice time

Kajian Perbedaan Konsentrasi Larutan Garam Pada Perendaman Rgh Dan Vaksin Terhadap Kelulushidupan Dan Pertumbuhan Benih Ikan Lele Sangkuriang (Clarias Gariepinus)

Berdasarkan data KKP (2013), pencapaian produksi ikan lele pada tahun 2013 mampu melampaui target. Ikan lele merupakan ikan yang mudah dibudidayakan, sehingga banyak dilakukan penelitian agar didapatkan benih lele dengan pertumbuhan dan kelulushidupan yang lebih baik, serta tahan terhadap serangan penyakit. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh konsentrasi larutan garam yang berbeda dan konsentrasi yang terbaik pada perendaman rGH dan vaksin terhadap kelulushidupan dan pertumbuhan benih lele sangkuriang. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada tanggal 13 November 2014 – 15 Februari 2015 di Satuan Kerja Pembenihan dan Budidaya Ikan Air Tawar (SATKER PBIAT), Siwarak, Ungaran, Semarang. Ikan uji yang digunakan adalah benih lele sangkuriang umur 12 hari. Metode yang digunakan adalah eksperimental dengan rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) 4 perlakuan dan 3 ulangan, yaitu: (A) perlakuan tanpa larutan garam, (B) konsentrasi 0,5%, (C) konsentrasi 1,0% dan (D) konsentrasi 1,5%. Pemeliharaan ikan dilakukan selama 42 hari. Variabel data yang diamati meliputi kelulushidupan, SGR, panjang mutlak, FCR, EPP dan kelulushidupan setelah uji tantang. Analisa data dengan menggunakan anova untuk mengetahui pengaruh perlakuan yang berbeda nyata, apabila hasil yang didapatkan berbeda nyata, maka dilanjutkan dengan uji duncan untuk mengetahui perlakuan yang terbaik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan perlakuan terbaik adalah perlakuan C, dengan nilai kelulushidupan (87,00±1,00%), SGR (7,79±0,03%), nilai panjang mutlak (6,75±0,15cm), nilai FCR (0,71±0,01) dan nilai EPP (140,28±1,25%), sedangkan untuk kelulushidupan setelah uji tantang didapatkan hasil yang tidak berbeda nyata, dimana: A (93,33±5,77%), B (96,67±5,77%), C (96,67±5,77%) dan D (96,67±5,77%). Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini ialah pemberian konsentrasi larutan garam yang berbeda berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap kelulushidupan, SGR, panjang mutlak, FCR dan EPP, namun tidak berpengaruh nyata terhadap kelulushidupan setelah uji tantang. Konsentrasi larutan garam terbaik pada penelitian ini adalah 1,0%. Based on data from KKP (2013), the achievement of the production of catfish in 2013 was able of exceeding the target. Catfish is a fish that easily cultivated, so a lot of research done to get catfish\u27s seed with better survival and growth, and it can resistant to attack of deseases. This research was aimed to find out the effect of different salt solution concentrations and the best concentration from immersion of rGH and vaccine for survival rate and growth of sangkuriang catfish\u27s seed. This research was conducted on November 13th, 2014 – February 15th, 2015 at Satuan Kerja Pembenihan dan Budidaya Ikan Air Tawar (SATKER PBIAT), Siwarak, Ungaran, Semarang. The fish that used for this research is sangkuriang catfish\u27s seed aged 12 days. Completely randomized design (CRD) was used in this research with four treatments and three replication, which treatments are: (A) without salt solution concentration, (B) Using concentration 0.5%, (C) Concentration 1.0% and (D) Concentration 1.5%. The Fishes are maintained for 42 days. Observational variable are survival rate, SGR, absolute length, FCR, EPP and survival rate after challenge test. Data analysis using anova to know the effect of treatment is significantly different, if the result is significantly different, then continue with duncan test to know the best treatment. The best result is treatment C, with survival rate (87.00±1.00%), SGR (7.79±0.03%), absolute length (6.75±0.15cm), FCR (0.71±0.01), EPP (140.28±1.25%), and for survival rate after challenge test are not significantly different, where: treatment A (93.33±5.77%), B (96.67±5.77%), C (96.67±5.77%) and D (96.67±5.77%). The conclusion of this research is giving of salt solution with different concentration take significantly effect for survival rate, SGR, absolute length, FCR and EPP, but did not take significantly effect for survival rate after challenge test. The best salt solution concentration is 1.0%

Macrostructural Alterations of Subcortical Grey Matter in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction

Psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) has been defined as the persistent inability to attain and maintain an erection sufficient to permit sexual performance. It shows a high incidence and prevalence among men, with a significant impact on the quality of life. Few neuroimaging studies have investigated the cerebral basis of erectile dysfunctions observing the role played by prefrontal, cingulate, and parietal cortices during erotic stimulation. In spite of the well-known involvement of subcortical regions such as hypothalamus and caudate nucleus in male sexual response, and the key role of nucleus accumbens in pleasure and reward, poor attention was paid to their role in male sexual dysfunction. In this study, we determined the presence of grey matter (GM) atrophy patterns in subcortical structures such as amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, putamen, pallidum, thalamus, and hypothalamus in patients with psychogenic ED and healthy men. After Rigiscan evaluation, urological, general medical, metabolic and hormonal, psychological and psychiatric assessment, 17 outpatients with psychogenic ED and 25 healthy controls were recruited for structural MRI session. Significant GM atrophy of nucleus accumbens was observed bilaterally in patients with respect to controls. Shape analysis showed that this atrophy was located in the left medial-anterior and posterior portion of accumbens. Left nucleus accumbens volumes in patients correlated with low erectile functioning as measured by IIEF-5 (International Index of Erectile Function). In addition, a GM atrophy of left hypothalamus was also observed. Our results suggest that atrophy of nucleus accumbens plays an important role in psychogenic erectile dysfunction. We believe that this change can influence the motivation-related component of sexual behavior. Our findings help to elucidate a neural basis of psychogenic erectile dysfunction

Modafinil alters intrinsic functional connectivity of the right posterior insula: a pharmacological resting state fMRI study.

Modafinil is employed for the treatment of narcolepsy and has also been, off-label, used to treat cognitive dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders. In a previous study, we have reported that single dose administration of modafinil in healthy young subjects enhances fluid reasoning and affects resting state activity in the Fronto Parietal Control (FPC) and Dorsal Attention (DAN) networks. No changes were found in the Salience Network (SN), a surprising result as the network is involved in the modulation of emotional and fluid reasoning. The insula is crucial hub of the SN and functionally divided in anterior and posterior subregions.Using a seed-based approach, we have now analyzed effects of modafinil on the functional connectivity (FC) of insular subregions.Analysis of FC with resting state fMRI (rs-FMRI) revealed increased FC between the right posterior insula and the putamen, the superior frontal gyrus and the anterior cingulate cortex in the modafinil-treated group.Modafinil is considered a putative cognitive enhancer. The rs-fMRI modifications that we have found are consistent with the drug cognitive enhancing properties and indicate subregional targets of action.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01684306

Transplantation of Mesenchymal Cells Improves Peripheral Limb Ischemia in Diabetic Rats

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ADSCs) are a prominent cellular source for regenerative medicine. We tested whether transplantation of ADSCs into the ischemic muscular tissue of diabetic animals would attenuate impaired cell metabolism and microcirculatory function. We induced unilateral hind limb ischemia in male streptozotocin-treated rats and nondiabetic controls. One day after femoral artery ligation, six rats per group were intramuscularly injected allogeneic ADSCs (10(6)-10(7)-10(8) cells/mL); or conditioned media from ADSC cultures (CM); or saline; or allogeneic fibroblasts (10(7) cells/mL); or nonconditioned medium. Rats underwent magnetic resonance angiography; short time inversion recovery (STIR) edema-weighed imaging; proton MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS); immunoblotting and immunofluorescence on both hind limbs for 4 weeks. T1-weighted and STIR images showed tissue swelling and signal hyperintensity, respectively, in the ischemic tissue. The mean total ratio of creatine/water for the occluded limbs was significantly lower than for the nonoccluded limbs in both nondiabetic and diabetic rats. ADSC and CM groups had greater recovery of tCr/water in ischemic limbs in both diabetic and nondiabetic rats, with increased expression of α-sarcomeric actinin, vascular endothelial growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor, as well as increased vessel density. ADSCs improve ischemic muscle metabolism and increase neovasculogenesis in diabetic rats

Between-group comparison of the right posterior insula pattern before and after drug/placebo treatment.

<p>Image depicts the map obtained after contrast T1 (drug>placebo) >T0 (drug>placebo) for the right posterior insula (PIrh). The map is overimposed on a Talairach atlas and in radiological convention (p<0.02 FDR corrected). Differences are assessed by means of a mixed model voxel wise ANOVA with a between-group factor (Drug vs Placebo) and a repeated measure factor (T0 vs. T1).</p