MEG resting state functional connectivity in Parkinson's disease related dementia

Parkinson's disease (PD) related dementia (PDD) develops in up to 60% of patients, but the pathophysiology is far from being elucidated. Abnormalities of resting state functional connectivity have been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study was performed to determine whether PDD is likewise characterized by changes in resting state functional connectivity. MEG recordings were obtained in 13 demented and 13 non-demented PD patients. The synchronization likelihood (SL) was calculated within and between cortical areas in six frequency bands. Compared to non-demented PD, PDD was characterized by lower fronto-temporal SL in the alpha range, lower intertemporal SL in delta, theta and alpha1 bands as well as decreased centro-parietal gamma band synchronization. In addition, higher parieto-occipital synchronization in the alpha2 and beta bands was found in PDD. The observed changes in functional connectivity are reminiscent of changes in AD, and may reflect reduced cholinergic activity and/or loss of cortico-cortical anatomical connections in PDD. © 2008 The Author(s)

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Individual Alpha Activity in Human EEG

Non-invasive electrical stimulation of the human cortex by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been instrumental in a number of important discoveries in the field of human cortical function and has become a well-established method for evaluating brain function in healthy human participants. Recently, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has been introduced to directly modulate the ongoing rhythmic brain activity by the application of oscillatory currents on the human scalp. Until now the efficiency of tACS in modulating rhythmic brain activity has been indicated only by inference from perceptual and behavioural consequences of electrical stimulation. No direct electrophysiological evidence of tACS has been reported. We delivered tACS over the occipital cortex of 10 healthy participants to entrain the neuronal oscillatory activity in their individual alpha frequency range and compared results with those from a separate group of participants receiving sham stimulation. The tACS but not the sham stimulation elevated the endogenous alpha power in parieto-central electrodes of the electroencephalogram. Additionally, in a network of spiking neurons, we simulated how tACS can be affected even after the end of stimulation. The results show that spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) selectively modulates synapses depending on the resonance frequencies of the neural circuits that they belong to. Thus, tACS influences STDP which in turn results in aftereffects upon neural activity

Knowledge of obstetric fistula prevention amongst young women in urban and rural Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study

Obstetric fistula is a sequela of complicated labour, which, if untreated, leaves women handicapped and socially excluded. In Burkina Faso, incidence of obstetric fistula is 6/10,000 cases amongst gynaecological patients, with more patients affected in rural areas. This study aims to evaluate knowledge on obstetric fistula among young women in a health district of Burkina Faso, comparing rural and urban communities. This cross-sectional study employed multi-stage sampling to include 121 women aged 18-20 years residing in urban and rural communities of Boromo health district. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to compare differences between the groups and to identify predictors of observed knowledge levels. Rural women were more likely to be married (p<0.000) and had higher propensity to teenage pregnancy (p=0.006). The survey showed overall poor obstetric fistula awareness (36%). Rural residents were less likely to have adequate preventive knowledge than urban residents [OR=0.35 (95%-CI, 0.16–0.79)]. This effect was only slightly explained by lack of education [OR=0.41 (95%-CI, 0.18–0.93)] and only slightly underestimated due to previous pregnancy [OR=0.27 (95%-CI, 0.09–0.79)]. Media were the most popular source of awareness amongst urban young women in contrast to their rural counterparts (68% vs. 23%). Most rural young women became ‘aware’ through word-of-mouth (68% vs. 14%). All participants agreed that the hospital was safer for emergency obstetric care, but only 11.0% believed they could face pregnancy complications that would require emergency treatment. There is urgent need to increase emphasis on neglected health messages such as the risks of obstetric fistula. In this respect, obstetric fistula prevention programs need to be adapted to local contexts, whether urban or rural, and multi-sectoral efforts need to be exerted to maximise use of other sectoral resources and platforms, including existing routine health services and schools, to ensure sustainability of health literacy efforts

Health effects of saturated and trans-fatty acid intake in children and adolescents: Systematic review and meta-analysis

© 2017 Te Morenga, Montez. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Background: Elevated cholesterol has been linked to cardiovascular disease in adults and preclinical markers of atherosclerosis in children, thus reducing saturated (SFA) and trans-fatty acids (TFA) intake from an early age may help to reduce cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. The aim of this review is to examine the evidence for health effects associated with reducing SFA and TFA intake in free-living children, adolescents and young adults between 2 to 19 years of age. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies. Study selection, assessment, validity, data extraction, and analysis were undertaken as specified by the Cochrane Collaboration and the GRADE working group. Data were pooled using inverse variance models with random effects. Data sources: EMBASE; PubMed; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; LILACS; and WHO Clinical Trial Registry (up to July 2016). Eligibility criteria for selecting trials: RCTs involving dietary interventions aiming to reduce SFA or TFA intakes and a control group, and cohort studies reporting the effects of SFA or TFA exposures, on outcomes including blood lipids; measures of growth; blood pressure; insulin resistance; and potential adverse effects. Minimum duration was 13 days for RCTs and one year for cohort studies. Trials of weight loss or confounded by additional medical or lifestyle interventions were excluded. Results: Compared with control diets, there was a highly statistically significant effect of reduced SFA intake on total cholesterol (mean difference (MD) -0.16 mmol/l, [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.25 to -0.07]), LDL cholesterol (MD -0.13 mmol/l [95% CI:-0.22 to -0.03]) and diastolic blood pressure (MD -1.45 mmol/l [95% CI:-2.34 to -0.56]). There were no significant effects on any other risk factors and no evidence of adverse effects. Conclusions: Advice to reduce saturated fatty acids intake of children results in a significant reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol levels as well as diastolic blood pressure without evidence of adverse effects on growth and development. Dietary guidelines for children and adolescents should continue to recommend diets low in saturated fat