Linking brain stroke risk factors to human movement features for the development of preventive tools

This paper uses human movement analyses to assess the susceptibility of brain stroke, one of the most important causes of disability in elders. To that end, a computerized battery of nine neuromuscular tests has been designed and evaluated with a sample of 120 subjects with or without stoke risk factors. The kinematics of the movements produced was analyzed using a computational neuromuscular model and predictive characteristics were extracted. Logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis with leave-one-out cross-validation was used to infer the probability of presence of brain stroke risk factors. The clinical potential value of movement information for stroke prevention was assessed by computing area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the diagnostic of risk factors based on motion analysis. AUC mostly varying between 0.6 and 0.9 were obtained, depending on the neuromuscular test and the risk factor investigated (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, and cardiac disease). Our results support the feasibility of the proposed methodology and its potential application for the development of brain stroke prevention tools. Although further research is needed to improve this methodology and its outcome, results are promising and the proposed approach should be of great interest for many experimenters open to novel approaches in preventive medicine and in gerontology. It should also be valuable for engineers, psychologists, and researchers using human movements for the development of diagnostic and neuromuscular assessment tools

Linking the main modifiable brain stroke risk factors with human movements features

This paper investigates the assessment of brain stroke susceptibility using human movement analyses. It is supported by the knowledge that 1) many stroke risk factors are correlated with human movement characteristics and 2) the anecdotal reports of motor control disturbance (e.g. in handwritten signatures and handwriting) prior to some cerebrovascular accidents. Thus, to investigate the potential plus-value of human movement information for the development of tools dedicated to stroke prevention, we analyzed the relationship between human motor control and brain stroke risk factors. Hundred and twenty subjects with or without stoke risk factors have performed a neuromuscular test battery. The kinematic of the movements was analyzed using a computational neuromuscular model and predictive characteristics were extracted. Logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis with leave-one-out cross-validation was used to infer, from movements characteristics, the probability of presence of brain stroke risk factors. The clinical potential value of movement information for stroke prevention was assessed by computing area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the diagnostic of risk factors based on motion analysis. AUC mostly varying between 0.6-0.9 are obtained, depending on the neuromuscular test and the risk factor investigated (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, and cardiac disease). Our results support the feasibility of the proposed methodology and its potential application for the development of brain stroke prevention tools. Considering the novelty of this topic, these results are promising. Further research is needed to improve this methodology and its outcome

Contribution of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea to Cognitive Functioning of Males With Coronary Artery Disease: A Relationship With Endocrine and Inflammatory Biomarkers

IntroductionOur exploratory study aimed to determine whether obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) could affect cognitive functioning in males with coronary artery disease (CAD), and whether such impact could be associated with changes in thyroid hormones and inflammatory marker regulation on cognitive functioning.MethodWe evaluated different endocrine and inflammatory biomarkers, including free triiodothyronine [fT3], free tetraiodothyronine [fT4], N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide [NT-pro-BNP], and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] serum levels in 328 males (x¯ = 57 ± 10 years), undergoing cardiac rehabilitation after an acute coronary event. Participants underwent full-night polysomnography and were classified in mild/non-OSA (n = 253) and OSA (n = 75) according to an apnoea-hypopnoea index ≥ 15 event/h. Cognitive functioning testing included the Digit Span Test, Digit Symbol Test (DSST), and Trail Making Test. Analyses of variance assessed the impact of OSA on cognitive functioning and possible relationships of fT3/fT4, NT-pro-BNP and with hs-CRP on cognitive measures.ResultsSignificant group (OSA, mild/non-OSA) × NT-pro-BNP (<157.0 vs. ≥157.0, ng/L) interactions were found for the DSST raw score (F(2,324) = 3.58, p = 0.014). Decomposition of interactions showed that the DSST scores of the OSA group with NT-pro-BNP ≥ 157.0 ng/L (M = 33.2; SD = 8.1) were significantly lower, p = 0.031, than those of the mild/non-OSA with NT-pro-BNP < 157.0 ng/L (M = 37.7; SD = 8.9).ConclusionThese findings indicate that males with OSA and clinically elevated NT-pro-BNP levels experienced inferior psychomotor performance compared to those without OSA and reduced NT-pro-BNP levels

Pharmaco-Ontogenic Modulation of Feeding by Oxytocin, Bombesin, and Their Antagonists

Oxytocin (OX) and bombesin (BN) can both suppress food intake in adult rats. In light of important transient fluctuations in peptide and/or receptor expression early after birth, this study characterized the feeding-suppressant effects of OX and BN during early development and explored their physiological relevance, using BN or OX antagonists, [D-Phe6,des-Met6-14]BN(6-14), ethyl amide (des-Met), and [des-Glycinamide9,d(CH2)5\u27,O-Me-Tyr2,Thr4,Orn8]-vaso toc in (vasotocin), respectively. On postnatal days (PD) 1, 5, 10, and 15, groups of food-deprived Sprague-Dawley rat pups (n = 8-11) were injected SC with saline (control) or BN (0.6, 0.06, or 0.006 mg/kg), des-Met (10 mg/kg), OX (1.2, 0.6, 0.3, or 0.15 mg/kg), or vasotocin (1.0 mg/kg), and their intake of milk (from a piece of absorbent paper saturated with warm milk) was monitored. Results revealed that BN and OX suppressed milk intake from PD 1 to PD 15. Although the milk intake varied with the peptide dose, this effect was age dependent. The doses of BN (but not OX) required to suppress feeding were higher than those needed in adults. When administered alone, OX or BN antagonists did not affect food intake, except at PD 15 for des-Met and PD 1 and PD 10 for vasotocin, where they enhanced feeding. These results suggest that pharmacological effects to OX and BN are apparent from hours after birth and that these peptides may play a role in the regulation of ingestive behavior from early on in ontogeny

Regulation of ingestion by CRF and bombesin-like peptides: distinct meal-related peptide level changes.

Bombesin (BN) and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) have both been shown to induce satiety in rats when injected centrally. The present study assessed temporal changes in the utilization of BN- and CRF-like peptides in relationship to feeding status, fluctuations that may indicate the physiological participation of these peptides in the regulation of feeding. Alterations in the endogenous levels of CRF- and BN-like peptides associated with the initial spontaneous meal of the nocturnal cycle were determined in 15 hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic brain nuclei in the following three groups of rats: 1) a preprandial group consisting of rats killed before feeding, 2) a prandial group consisting of rats killed during the meal, and 3) a postprandial group consisting of rats killed 8-12 min after the meal. Findings revealed site-specific changes in BN and CRF content during the course of a meal. During ingestion, levels of BN were significantly elevated at the paraventricular, arcuate, and dorsomedial nuclei of the hypothalamus and reduced at the nucleus accumbens. In the case of CRF, feeding-related alterations were observed at the lateral (LH) and ventromedial (VMH) hypothalamic nuclei and at the central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce). At the LH, CRF content decreased after feeding compared with preprandial levels. At the VMH, CRF levels were significantly elevated both before and after food intake compared with prandial levels. In contrast, at the Ce marked increases in CRF concentrations were observed during ingestion. These data demonstrate, for the first time, site-specific fluctuations of BN and CRF in relationship to the animal\u27s feeding status and suggest that these peptides may play a role in the regulation of food intake