The CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 impairs reconsolidation of pavlovian fear memory in the rat basolateral amygdala

We have investigated the requirement for signaling at CB1 receptors in the reconsolidation of a previously consolidated auditory fear memory, by infusing the CB1 receptor antagonist AM251, or the FAAH inhibitor URB597, directly into the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in conjunction with memory reactivation. AM251 disrupted memory restabilization, but only when administered after reactivation. URB597 produced a small, transient enhancement of memory restabilization when administered after reactivation. The amnestic effect of AM251 was rescued by coadministration of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline at reactivation, indicating that the disruption of reconsolidation was mediated by altered GABAergic transmission in the BLA. These data show that the endocannabinoid system in the BLA is an important modulator of fear memory reconsolidation and that its effects on memory are mediated by an interaction with the GABAergic system. Thus, targeting the endocannabinoid system may have therapeutic potential to reduce the impact of maladaptive memories in neuropsychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder.This work was conducted within the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, a joint initiative funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Medical Research Council, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. This work was funded by a UK Medical Research Council programme grant (no. G1002231) awarded to BJE and ALM. PR was supported by a Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Fellowship at the Sapienza University of Rome, and an Italian Society of Pharmacology Fellowship. ALM is the Ferreras-Willetts Fellow in Neuroscience at Downing College, Cambridge. The manuscript was partly prepared while ALM was an Erskine Visiting Cambridge Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Mortality

Background and purpose: Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions: During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT

Between the Vinča and Linearbandkeramik worlds: the diversity of practices and identities in the 54th–53rd centuries cal BC in south-west Hungary and beyond

Szederkény-Kukorica-dűlő is a large settlement in south-east Transdanubia, Hungary, excavated in advance of road construction, which is notable for its combination of pottery styles, variously including Vinča A, Ražište and LBK, and longhouses of a kind otherwise familiar from the LBK world. Formal modelling of its date establishes that the site probably began in the later 54th century cal BC, lasting until the first decades of the 52nd century cal BC. Occupation, featuring longhouses, pits and graves, probably began at the same time on the east and west parts of the settlement, the central part starting a decade or two later; the western part was probably abandoned last. Vinča pottery is predominantly associated with the east and central parts of the site, and Ražište pottery with the west. Formal modelling of the early history and diaspora of longhouses in the LBK world suggests their emergence in the Formative LBK of Transdanubia c. 5500 cal BC and then rapid diaspora in the middle of the 54th century cal BC, associated with the ‘earliest’ (älteste) LBK. The adoption of longhouses at Szederkény thus appears to come a few generations after the start of the diaspora. Rather than explaining the mixture of things, practices and perhaps people at Szederkény by reference to problematic notions such as hybridity, we propose instead a more fluid and varied vocabulary including combination and amalgamation, relationships and performance in the flow of social life, and networks; this makes greater allowance for diversity and interleaving in a context of rapid change

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Mortality.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). RESULTS: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. CONCLUSIONS: During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT

Evaluation of postural stability based on a front and back stability margin of people with multiple sclerosis after rehabilitation

Postępujący charakter stwardnienia rozsianego pogłębia ubytki neurologiczne oraz niepełnosprawność, która w niektórych przypadkach przybiera postać znacznego inwalidztwa. Do naj-częstszych problemów osób z SM (multiple sclerosis) należą zaburzenie chodu i równowagi. Różnorodność i zmienność objawów oraz trudny do przewidzenia przebieg choroby powodują, że rehabilitacja chorych jest skomplikowanym zadaniem. Celem pracy było określenie wpływu ćwiczeń równoważnych oraz ćwiczeń koordynacji wzrokowo-ruchowej (biofeedback) na stabilność postawy osób ze stwardnieniem rozsianym, zobrazowaną wielkością marginesu stabilności. Badaniami objęto 20 osób z SM w wieku od 22 do 67 lat. Efektem zastosowanych ćwiczeń było uzyskanie istotnie większego przedniego marginesu stabilności (p = 0,00004). Natomiast tylny margines stabilności uległ nieistotnej statystycznie zmianie. Uzyskany istotny wzrost parametru koordynacji wzrokowo--ruchowej (p = 0,0003) wskazuje na większą skuteczność świadomej autokorekcji postawy z zastosowaniem wzrokowego sprzężenia zwrotnego. Uzyskane wyniki dowodzą większej sprawności kon-troli postawy u osób chorych na SM po fizjoterapii.Progressive nature of the multiple sclerosis (SM) results in the increase of neurological defects and the intensification of disability which in some cases turns into notable invalidity. The most regnant symptoms of SM are gait disorders and impaired balance. Rehabilitation of patients suffering from SM is complicated due to the variability and changeability of symptoms and difficulties in predicting illness course. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of the stability training and visual-motor coordination exercises (biofeedback) on the body stability. 20 patients between 22 and 67 years of age were enrolled into this study. The result of exercises was significance improvement of front stability margin (p = 0,00004). However, back stability margin insignificantly changed insignificantly only. The significancet improvement of visual-motor coordination (p = 0,0003), was observed, it means the improvement of the effectiveness of self correction of posture based on a conscious visual control of own posture (biofeedback). This study has shown that physiotherapy resulted in better postural control of patients with SM

Dynamics of body temperature changes in women due to the whole-body cryotherapy.

Od 1989 r. prowadzone są w ośrodku wrocławskim badania nad zastosowaniem temperatur kriogenicznych w rehabilitacji i odnowie biologicznej. W obecnej pracy analizowano zmiany zachodzące w różnych obszarach ciała w czasie 10-dniowej kuracji. Grupę badawczą stanowiły kobiety w wieku ok. 55 lat, skierowane na zabiegi krioterapii (kriostymulacji) ogólnoustrojowej. Na podstawie badań antropometrycznych określono dwie grupy badanych; grupę A o normalnej masie ciała oraz grupę B z nadwagą (BMI – body mass index) i otyłością (WHR – waist to hip ratio). Termowizyjna analiza temperatury poszczególnych obszarów ciała przed i bezpośrednio po zabiegu wykazała zależność pomiędzy składem ciała a zmianami temperatur w kolejnych dniach zabiegowych. Przedstawione wyniki są badaniami wstępnymi i stanowią fragment badań dotyczących dynamiki zmian rozkładu temperatury w zabiegach krioterapeutycznych.The cryogenic temperatures are used in the Wroclaw centre from 1989. In this work, changes of temperature distribution in various body areas during a 10-day treatment, were analyzed. Women in age of about 55 were exposed to the systemic cryotherapy (cryostimulation). On the basis of anthropometric measurements two sub-groups were defined; group A – with normal body mass and group B comprising of overweight subjects (BMI – body mass index) and subjects with obesity (WHR – waist to hip ratio). Thermo-visual analysis of chosen body areas before and directly after the treatment revealed correlation between body composition and temperature changes after cryotherapy. Presented results of the preliminary study are the fragment of more extended examination of the dynamics of temperature changes in course of cryotherapeutic treatment