Systematic assessment of training-induced changes in corticospinal output to hand using frameless stereotaxic transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Measuring changes in the characteristics of corticospinal output has become a critical part of assessing the impact of motor experience on cortical organization in both the intact and injured human brain. In this protocol we describe a method for systematically assessing training-induced changes in corticospinal output that integrates volumetric anatomical MRI with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A TMS coil is sited to a target grid superimposed onto a 3D MRI of cortex using a stereotaxic neuronavigation system. Subjects are then required to exercise the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle on two different tasks for a total of 30 min. The protocol allows for reliably and repeatedly detecting changes in corticospinal output to FDI muscle in response to brief periods of motor training

Genetic Predictions of Prion Disease Susceptibility in Carnivore Species Based on Variability of the Prion Gene Coding Region

Mammalian species vary widely in their apparent susceptibility to prion diseases. For example, several felid species developed prion disease (feline spongiform encephalopathy or FSE) during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic in the United Kingdom, whereas no canine BSE cases were detected. Whether either of these or other groups of carnivore species can contract other prion diseases (e.g. chronic wasting disease or CWD) remains an open question. Variation in the host-encoded prion protein (PrP(C)) largely explains observed disease susceptibility patterns within ruminant species, and may explain interspecies differences in susceptibility as well. We sequenced and compared the open reading frame of the PRNP gene encoding PrP(C) protein from 609 animal samples comprising 29 species from 22 genera of the Order Carnivora; amongst these samples were 15 FSE cases. Our analysis revealed that FSE cases did not encode an identifiable disease-associated PrP polymorphism. However, all canid PrPs contained aspartic acid or glutamic acid at codon 163 which we propose provides a genetic basis for observed susceptibility differences between canids and felids. Among other carnivores studied, wolverine (Gulo gulo) and pine marten (Martes martes) were the only non-canid species to also express PrP-Asp163, which may impact on their prion diseases susceptibility. Populations of black bear (Ursus americanus) and mountain lion (Puma concolor) from Colorado showed little genetic variation in the PrP protein and no variants likely to be highly resistant to prions in general, suggesting that strain differences between BSE and CWD prions also may contribute to the limited apparent host range of the latter

Psychopharmaka

TREND: Die Verordnungsstruktur der Psychopharmaka hat sich in den letzten Jahren auffällig verändert. Im Durchschnitt haben die Verordnungen der Antidepressiva in der letzten Dekade nochmals um mehr als 40 % zugenommen. Dieser Anstieg wurde vor allem von den selektiven Serotonin-Rückaufnahme-Inhibitoren (SSRI) und den Serotonin-Noradrenalin-Rückaufnahme-Inhibitoren (SNRI) getragen, während die älteren nichtselektiven Monoamin-Rückaufnahme-Inhibitoren (NSMRI, Trizyklika) seit 2010 in ihrer Verordnung rückläufig waren. Ungebrochen ist auch der Verordnungsanstieg bei den sog. atypischen Neuroleptika, der durch einen nur sehr moderaten Rückgang der Verschreibung klassisch hochpotenter Neuroleptika nicht kompensiert wird. Es handelt sich also vermutlich um Indikationsausweitungen oder einen Trend zu höheren Dosierungen. Niedrigpotente Neuroleptika werden in stets gleichbleibendem Umfang verordnet. Die Verordnungen von Psychostimulanzien sind seit starken Zuwächsen in den 2000er Jahren nunmehr seit 5 Jahren annähernd konstant, und die von Tranquillantien schon seit vielen Jahren weiter rückläufig. Circa ein Drittel der Psychopharmakaverordnungen stammen von Allgemeinmedizinern