This review focuses on the putative role of hyper-homocysteinemia in the pathogenesis of different diseases affecting the nervous system, including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, a firm pathogenic role of homocysteine in these diseases has never been established. Lowering plasma homocysteine levels troug...

The large conductance, Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels (BKCa, KCa1.1) are expressed in various brain neurons where they play important roles in regulating action potential duration, firing frequency and neurotransmitter release. Membrane potential depolarization and rising levels of intracellular Ca(2+) gated BKCa channels, which in turn results in an outward K(+) flux that re/hyperpolarizes the...

Sleep problems are frequently addressed as a primary or secondary concern during the visit to the pediatric neurology clinic. Sleep disorders can mimic other neurologic diseases (e.g., epilepsy and movement disorders), and this adds challenges to the diagnostic process. Sleep disorders can significantly affect the quality of life and functionality of children in general and those with comorbid ...

This paper discusses the most common neurological diseases in sheep and goats, including listeriosis and polioencephalomalacia. Because diagnostic techniques may be limited, a thorough history and complete physical examination are imperative. Tips for taking a history, performing a physical exam and some diagnostic techniques are presented. Treatment options are also presented where applicable.

The term "junk DNA" has been reconsidered following the delineation of the functional significance of repetitive DNA regions. Typically associated with centromeres and telomeres, DNA repeats are found in nearly all organisms throughout their genomes. Repetitive regions are frequently heterochromatinized resulting in silencing of intrinsic and nearby genes. However, this is not a uniform rule, w...

The ketogenic diet (KD) is a broad-spectrum therapy for medically intractable epilepsy and is receiving growing attention as a potential treatment for neurological disorders arising in part from bioenergetic dysregulation. The high-fat/low-carbohydrate "classic KD", as well as dietary variations such as the medium-chain triglyceride diet, the modified Atkins diet, the low-glycemic index treatme...

The availability of high-throughput genome sequencing technologies is expected to revolutionize our understanding of not only hereditary neurological diseases but also sporadic neurological diseases. The molecular bases of sporadic diseases, particularly those of sporadic neurodegenerative diseases, largely remain unknown. As potential molecular bases, various mechanisms can be considered, whic...

Early developmental process of mammalian embryo is almost completely directed by the behavior of stem cells, which is controlled by both environmental and intrinsic factors. These cells commonly subject to dividing, migration, deterioration or death. Comparing to all other tissues in the body, central nervous system has a considerably limited capacity to regenerate. Recent knowledge on neural s...

Cell therapy is a field witch has undergone tremendous expansion in recent years. A search in PubMed of the research studies on this particular subject shows an increase of up to 30,000 per year, over the past 12 years. Cell therapy is based on the idea that exogenous administration of stem cells will provide protection of the partially damaged cells and stimulate the endogenous mechanisms of t...

UNLABELLED The presence of middle-latency evoked auditory potentials allows for integrity evaluation of both peripheral and the central auditory systems, and also, that of the nucleus and auditory pathways of sub-cortical region. They have also been used to study alterations of these structures in different neurological diseases. AIMS the aim of this study is to verify the latency of the midd...