OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test how the presence of central neuropathic pain (CNP) influences the performance of a motor imagery based Brain Computer Interface (BCI). METHODS In this electroencephalography (EEG) based study, we tested BCI classification accuracy and analysed event related desynchronisation (ERD) in 3 groups of volunteers during imagined movements of their arms and...

INTRODUCTION With chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been used to overcome the threshold load provided by intrinsic positive end expiratory pressure and decrease the inspiratory work of breathing. In this pilot study, we observed whether a continuous negative pressure (CNP) around the thorax and upper abdomen with a shell a...

Previous studies suggested the expression of mRNA, coding for CNP, exclusively in the central nervous system. In the present study, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique instead of the less sensitive Northern blot hybridization, CNP-specific sequences have also been detected in rat atria and ventricles of the heart as well as in organs of the immune system (thymus, spleen and lymp...

A 1.8-kb cDNA clone was isolated from a Bothrops jararaca venom gland cDNA library that encodes a 256-aa precursor for bradykinin-potentiating peptides (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) and a C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). The seven bradykinin-potentiating peptides are aligned tandemly after the hydrophobic signal peptide sequence, followed by a putative intervening sequence and a C...

Signals induced by mechanical loading and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) represent chondroprotective routes that may potentially prevent osteoarthritis (OA). We examined whether CNP will reduce hyaluronan production and export via members of the multidrug resistance protein (MRP) and diminish pro-inflammatory effects in human chondrocytes. The presence of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) increased HA p...

OBJECTIVE Abnormalities in the regulation of natriuretic peptides (NP) associated with major diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, and diabetes mellitus (DM) have been reported. We investigated levels of mRNA for the vasodilator C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) in the renal cortex of streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats and the influence of an angiotensin II inhibition. METHODS DM was i...

We studied the modes of activation of the salt-secreting rectal gland of the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, by the native cardiac peptide CNP. The stimulatory action of CNP in isolated perfused glands is inhibited by 10 mM procaine, presumably by blocking release of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) from nerves. Procaine reduces the slope of the dose-response curve of human CNP and that of...

RATIONALE Aortic valve disease is a cell-mediated process without effective pharmacotherapy. CNP (C-type natriuretic peptide) inhibits myofibrogenesis and osteogenesis of cultured valve interstitial cells and is downregulated in stenotic aortic valves. However, it is unknown whether CNP signaling regulates aortic valve health in vivo. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to determine whether a ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Recovery of aneurysm induced CNP after endosaccular coiling has been reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to assess in detail the parameters that affect the outcome after endovascular treatment of ophthalmoplegic aneurysms due CNP. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between November 1999 and March 2008, 30 consecutive patients (8 men, 22 women; mean age, 54.9 years)...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa coordinates its virulence expression and establishment in the host in response to modification of its environment. During the infectious process, bacteria are exposed to and can detect eukaryotic products including hormones. It has been shown that P. aeruginosa is sensitive to natriuretic peptides, a family of eukaryotic hormones, through a cyclic nucleotide-dependent sen...