Comparison of Wrist Tapping Parameters in Healthy Adults with and Without Anxiety Using a Modified Original Technique

The aim of the present study was to assess the main characteristics of the tempo-rhythm in healthy adults. Materials and Methods: We examined 60 healthy adults without neurological and endocrinological pathology. Participants were divided into 2 groups. In Group 1 there were 33 adults without deviations on the scale of anxiety and depression were, and in Group 2, there were 27 persons with subclinically expressed anxiety according to the test results. The test was conducted using hospital anxiety and depression scale HADS. (6). The study was conducted using a modified original technique “Method of exogenous rhythmic stimulation influence on an individual human rhythm.” Results: We found that anxiety statistically significant affects the quantitative and qualitative parameters of wrist tapping (individual rhythm and rhythm stability) in healthy adults. Conclusion: The obtained data can be used in neurorehabilitation for patients with a wide range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy

The Role of Non-Drug Treatment Methods in the Management of Epilepsy

This review is dedicated to the issue of non-pharmacological treatment of epilepsy in the adult population in Russia and other countries. A literature review was conducted using international databases for the period between 2010 and 2017. A total of 64 full-text editions were included in this review, which allowed us to reveal the basic non-pharmacological epilepsy treatment options. However, not all of these options have a sufficient evidence base, and some of them are not always safe. Particularly, methods with a low level of evidence include acupuncture and aromatherapy. Further studies are needed to explore the methods aimed at eliminating the dominant epileptic system through the development of a new, more powerful dominant system. One of the methods that can influence the pathogenesis of epilepsy is physical activity for patients with epilepsy, since epileptiform activity is reported to disappear from the EEG during exercises. The positive results of the application of music therapy are also described in the modern literature. Specifically, according to the results of some studies, the positive effect of reducing the frequency of seizures was achieved in epileptic patients who listened to music during sleep over a year. However, these studies are not numerous, so they cannot constitute a high level of evidence. Therefore, care should be exercised in applying these methods in epileptic patients

Influence of anxiety on wrist tapping parameters and individual perception of one minute in healthy adults and in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

Aim ― To study the influence of anxiety on parameters of wrist tapping in normal conditions and in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Material and Methods ― We evaluated 105 people aged 16 to 55 years old (average: 31.6±10.2 years). The sample was comprised of two groups: first (I) group – healthy volunteers (n=60); second (II) group – patients with JME (n=45). Every group was stratified into two subgroups: subgroup Ia (n=33) – healthy volunteers without symptoms of anxiety; subgroup Ib (n=27) – healthy volunteers with subclinical anxiety; subgroup IIa (n=19) – patients with JME without symptoms of anxiety; subgroup IIb (n=26) – patients with JME with subclinical anxiety. Wrist tapping parameters were studied using method of our authorship named «Method of influencing a person’s individual rhythm through exogenous rhythmic stimulation». We studied reference ranges of basic characteristics of wrist tapping. Results ― Comparison of basic parameters of wrist tapping in subgroups Ia and IIa revealed a trend towards an increase in rhythm stability in patients with JME when compared to healthy volunteers. At the same time, subclinical anxiety led to a pronounced increase in frequency of individual rhythm in subgroup IIb when compared to subgroup Ia. Conclusion ― Influence of anxiety on wrist tapping parameters is more pronounced in patients with JME when compared to healthy volunteers

Clinical Experience of High Frequency and Low Frequency TENS in Treatment of Diabetic Neuropathic Pain in Russia

Background: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is presently one of the main methods of treatment for neuropathic pain in type II diabetes mellitus. The discussion about which TENS frequency is more effective in the treatment of neuropathic pain has been ongoing for many years. Despite this, the response of different aspects of neuropathic pain to various TENS modalities has not been sufficiently studied. Aim: To analyze changes in characteristics of neuropathic pain depending on the frequency of TENS. Materials and methods: Seventy-five Russian diabetic patients with painful distal axonal neuropathy were enrolled in the study. Patients were assigned to three groups: in the HF TENS group, 25 patients received standard drug therapy (Alpha-lipoic acid, Pentoxifylline, Vitamin B12, Gabapentin) + high-frequency TENS (HF); in the LF TENS group, 25 patients received standard drug therapy (Alpha-lipoic acid, Pentoxifylline, Vitamin B12, Gabapentin) + low-frequency TENS (LF); in the control group, 25 patients underwent just standard drug therapy (Alpha-lipoic acid, Pentoxifylline, Vitamin B12, Gabapentin). Pain intensity was calculated before and after treatment with visual analogue scale (VAS), McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ), Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4) and Pain Drawing. Results: TENS increased the therapeutic effect of standard drug therapy, in the treatment of neuropathic pain, by 65.9% and prolonged its efficacy by 31% for up to 6 months after treatment. HF TENS had a more pronounced analgesic effect than LF TENS based on VAS (34.7%), sensory (57.6%) MPQ dimensions and DN4 (21%). Affective MPQ dimension with the use of LF TENS was lower than HF TENS by 34.7% immediately after treatment, by 47.3% after 2 months and by 34.8% after 6 months of the follow-up period. Conclusion: There are significant differences between HF and LF TENS based on pain assessment using various pain scales. This reflects the distinctive effects of different TENS modalities on different aspects of neuropathic pain

Genetic Predisposition to Schizophrenia and Depressive Disorder Comorbidity

Background: Patients with schizophrenia have an increased risk of depressive disorders compared to the general population. The comorbidity between schizophrenia and depression suggests a potential coincidence of the pathophysiology and/or genetic predictors of these mental disorders. The aim of this study was to review the potential genetic predictors of schizophrenia and depression comorbidity. Materials and Methods: We carried out research and analysis of publications in the databases PubMed, Springer, Wiley Online Library, Taylor & Francis Online, Science Direct, and eLIBRARY.RU using keywords and their combinations. The search depth was the last 10 years (2010–2020). Full-text original articles, reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical observations were analyzed. A total of 459 articles were found, of which 45 articles corresponding to the purpose of this study were analyzed in this topic review. Results: Overlap in the symptoms and genetic predictors between these disorders suggests that a common etiological mechanism may underlie the presentation of comorbid depression in schizophrenia. The molecular mechanisms linking schizophrenia and depression are polygenic. The most studied candidate genes are GRIN1, GPM6A, SEPTIN4, TPH1, TPH2, CACNA1C, CACNB2, and BCL9. Conclusion: Planning and conducting genome-wide and associative genetic studies of the comorbid conditions under consideration in psychiatry is important for the development of biological and clinical predictors and a personalized therapy strategy for schizophrenia. However, it should be recognized that the problems of predictive and personalized psychiatry in the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia and comorbid disorders are far from being resolved

Managing Wound Healing with a High-Risk Patient: A Case Report

Wound healing is a complex, multi-step process. This process begins immediately after skin damage. The outcome of wound healing depends on the quality of each stage of this process: a normal or pathological scar. Violation of wound healing entails a decrease in the function of scar tissue as well as aesthetic dissatisfaction with the patient. This problem is especially important in aesthetic surgery. Patients who have come for beauty feel frustration, obtaining pathological scars. We have been dealing with the problem of wound healing after plastic surgery for about 10 years. Our approach includes the assessment of the risk of pathological wound healing and the treatment of high-risk patients. The risk assessment includes historical data on wound healing, signs of connective tissue dysfunction (especially patients with connective tissue dysplasia), and genetic polymorphisms of genes responsible for the structure of the components of the extracellular matrix of the skin. In the future, patients with a high risk of pathological scarring can be prescribed treatment after surgery. This article presents a clinical case in which we demonstrate our approach

Molecular Basic of Pharmacotherapy of Cytokine Imbalance as a Component of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Treatment

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and associated conditions are an important problem in modern medicine. The onset of IDD may be in childhood and adolescence in patients with a genetic predisposition. With age, IDD progresses, leading to spondylosis, spondylarthrosis, herniated disc, spinal canal stenosis. One of the leading mechanisms in the development of IDD and chronic back pain is an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, classical therapeutic strategies for correcting cytokine imbalance in IDD do not give the expected response in more than half of the cases. The purpose of this review is to update knowledge about new and promising therapeutic strategies based on the correction of the molecular mechanisms of cytokine imbalance in patients with IDD. This review demonstrates that knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of the imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines may be a new key to finding more effective drugs for the treatment of IDD in the setting of acute and chronic inflammation

Molecular Basic of Pharmacotherapy of Cytokine Imbalance as a Component of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Treatment

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and associated conditions are an important problem in modern medicine. The onset of IDD may be in childhood and adolescence in patients with a genetic predisposition. With age, IDD progresses, leading to spondylosis, spondylarthrosis, herniated disc, spinal canal stenosis. One of the leading mechanisms in the development of IDD and chronic back pain is an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, classical therapeutic strategies for correcting cytokine imbalance in IDD do not give the expected response in more than half of the cases. The purpose of this review is to update knowledge about new and promising therapeutic strategies based on the correction of the molecular mechanisms of cytokine imbalance in patients with IDD. This review demonstrates that knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of the imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines may be a new key to finding more effective drugs for the treatment of IDD in the setting of acute and chronic inflammation

Genetic Predictors of Antipsychotic Efflux Impairment via Blood-Brain Barrier: Role of Transport Proteins

Antipsychotic (AP)—induced adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a current problem of biological and clinical psychiatry. Despite the development of new generations of APs, the problem of AP-induced ADRs has not been solved and continues to be actively studied. One of the important mechanisms for the development of AP-induced ADRs is a genetically-determined impairment of AP efflux across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We present a narrative review of publications in databases (PubMed, Springer, Scopus, Web of Science E-Library) and online resources: The Human Protein Atlas; GeneCards: The Human Gene Database; US National Library of Medicine; SNPedia; OMIM Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man; The PharmGKB. The role of 15 transport proteins involved in the efflux of drugs and other xenobiotics across cell membranes (P-gp, TAP1, TAP2, MDR3, BSEP, MRP1, MRP2, MRP3, MRP4, MRP5, MRP6, MRP7, MRP8, MRP9, BCRP) was analyzed. The important role of three transporter proteins (P-gp, BCRP, MRP1) in the efflux of APs through the BBB was shown, as well as the association of the functional activity and expression of these transport proteins with low-functional and non-functional single nucleotide variants (SNVs)/polymorphisms of the ABCB1, ABCG2, ABCC1 genes, encoding these transport proteins, respectively, in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). The authors propose a new pharmacogenetic panel “Transporter protein (PT)—Antipsychotic (AP) Pharmacogenetic test (PGx)” (PTAP-PGx), which allows the evaluation of the cumulative contribution of the studied genetic biomarkers of the impairment of AP efflux through the BBB. The authors also propose a riskometer for PTAP-PGx and a decision-making algorithm for psychiatrists. Conclusions: Understanding the role of the transportation of impaired APs across the BBB and the use of genetic biomarkers for its disruption may make it possible to reduce the frequency and severity of AP-induced ADRs, since this risk can be partially modified by the personalized selection of APs and their dosing rates, taking into account the genetic predisposition of the patient with SSD

Efficiency of Direct Transcutaneous Electroneurostimulation of the Median Nerve in the Regression of Residual Neurological Symptoms after Carpal Tunnel Decompression Surgery

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most frequent entrapment neuropathy. CTS therapy includes wrist immobilization, kinesiotherapy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, carpal tunnel steroid injection, acupuncture, and physical therapy. Carpal tunnel decompression surgery (CTDS) is recommended after failure of conservative therapy. In many cases, neurological disorders continue despite CTDS. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of direct transcutaneous electroneurostimulation (TENS) of the median nerve in the regression of residual neurological symptoms after CTDS. Material and Methods: 60 patients aged 28–62 years with persisting sensory and motor disorders after CTDS were studied; 15 patients received sham stimulation with a duration 30 min.; 15 patients received high-frequency low-amplitude TENS (HF TENS) with a duration 30 min; 15 patients received low-frequency high-amplitude TENS (LF TENS) with a duration 30 min; and 15 patients received a co-administration of HF TENS (with a duration of15 min) and LF TENS (with a duration of 15 min). Results: Our research showed that TENS significantly decreased the pain syndrome, sensory disorders, and motor deficits in the patients after CTDS. Predominantly, negative and positive sensory symptoms and the pain syndrome improved after the HF TENS course. Motor deficits, reduction of fine motor skill performance, electromyography changes, and affective responses to chronic pain syndrome regressed significantly after the LF TENS course. Co-administration of HF TENS and LF TENS was significantly more effective than use of sham stimulation, HF TENS, or LF TENS in patients with residual neurological symptoms after CTDS