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Title : The Neuroendocrine and Reproductive Functions of Asprosin in Mammalian Physiology
Name : Haluk Kelestimur
University : Istanbul Okan University
Country : Turkey
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Asprosin, an adipokine released from the white adipose tissue during fasting, was first discovered in patients with neonatal progeroid syndrome. Asprosin is encoded by the fibrillin 1 (FBN1) gene, weighs approximately 30 kDa, and consists of 140 amino acids. Asprosin is an orexinergic hormone that modulates hepatic glucose release and hence has a role in metabolic processes. Recent studies suggest that asprosin may extend its influences on reproductive and sensory physiology, impacting various neuroendocrine pathways associated with sexual maturation and behavior in mammals. Studies indicate that while asprosin does not typically alter the timing of puberty onset, it is associated with the advancement of specific reproductive milestones in both sexes. In males, asprosin has been linked to enhanced sexual motivation and an accelerated ejaculation phase, while in females, it is associated with the advancement of the first estrus phase and heightened sexual exploration. Additionally, asprosin appears to improve olfactory performance in both male and female subjects, possibly through olfactory receptor-mediated pathways, suggesting a role in sensory processing that may complement its reproductive functions. Asprosin has been shown to act by binding to the OLFR734 receptor, which is an olfactory receptor. Asprosin has been shown to elevate levels of key reproductive hormones, such as corticosterone, folliclestimulating hormone (FSH), estrogen, and oxytocin, which are critical for sexual maturation and function. Furthermore, histological analyses have revealed its stimulatory effects on ovarian follicle development in females and enhanced testicular activity in males, underscoring asprosin’s potential role in promoting reproductive tissue development. Overall, asprosin emerges as a multi-functional hormone influencing both neuroendocrine and sensory pathways. Its roles in sexual behavior, olfactory performance, and hormone regulation highlight asprosin as an important contributor to mammalian reproductive and sensory physiology. These insights broaden the understanding of adipokines in endocrine signaling and suggest potential therapeutic applications for asprosin in treating reproductive and metabolic disorders. This study was supported by TUBITAK (Project # 220S744).
Biography:
Dr Haluk Kelestimur is a Professor of Physiology in Istanbul Okan University. He gained his PhD in Physiology in 1984 from the University of Firat, Turkey. He then completed his postdoctoral training at University College London in 1988. After he worked 42 years in Firat University, he began to work in Istanbul Okan University in 2022. His work focusses on neuroendocrinology. Professor Haluk Kelestimur was elected to membership in the
International Union of Physiological Sciences Academy in 2021.
Title : Decoding the Brain: How Oscillations Enable Flexible Switching Between Spatial and Temporal Information Processing
Name : Hubert Loffler
University :
Country : Austria
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In this presentation. I examine the relationship between space and time in neuronal information processing. Neurons communicate via electrical impulses (spikes), and the spatial and temporal patterns of these spikes are essential for brain function. I will discuss how brain oscillations can convert temporal spike patterns into spatial ones and vice versa, allowing the brain to switch flexibly between spatial and temporal coding depending on the situation. Previous models, such as “Tempotron” and “ReSuMe,” could recognize spike patterns or generate precise outputs but were unable to directly store these patterns. Together with Gupta and Bahmer, I developed a model that links the timing of spikes to the spatial structure of a neuron’s dendritic tree or to ensembles of neurons using oscillations, enabling the single neuron or the ensemble of neurons to remember and reproduce precise temporal patterns. Research shows that different types of sensory information are coded differently: auditory and tactile stimuli often rely on spatial coding, while sensory intensity is typically encoded temporally. Brain oscillations are key to enabling the transformation between these coding forms. We demonstrate how a spatial input can be converted into a temporal spike train, stored, transmitted to distant locations, and recalled through spike bursts similar to Sharp Wave Ripples. This temporal representation can also be transformed back into a spatiotemporal pattern. Using a simple feed-forward spiking neural network, we illustrate the principles of this transformation, where the frequencies and phases of Subthreshold Membrane Oscillations play a critical role. The model provides insights into multiplexing information and phenomena like stretching or compressing the time of spike patterns. Temporal coding could also be crucial for processes like pattern separation, where even very similar spatial patterns trigger distinct temporal responses in a neuron. In summary, I highlight how the brain enhances information processing by flexibly utilizing both spatial and temporal coding, with oscillations being fundamental in mediating these transitions.
Biography:
Hubert Löffler is a private researcher in Austria, working on neural coding based on spiking neural networks.
Title : The Utility of Therapeutic Hypothermia on Cerebral Autoregulation
Name : Haiyan Liu
University : University of Science and Technology of China
Country : China
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Cerebral autoregulation (CA) dysfunction is a strong predictor of clinical outcome in patients with acute brain injury (ABI). CA dysfunction is a potential pathologic defect that may lead to secondary injury and worse functional outcomes. Early therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in patients with ABI is controversial. Many factors, including patient selection, timing, treatment depth, duration, and rewarming strategy, impact its clinical efficacy. Therefore, optimizing the benefit of TH is an important issue. This paper reviews the state of current research on the impact of TH on CA function, which may provide the basis and direction for CA-oriented target temperature management (TTM).
Biography:
Haiyan Liu is an associate chief physician & clinical nutritionist at Neurocritical Care Unit of The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Anhui, China. With expertise in acute brain injury, she has contributed significantly to study on cerebral autoregulation in acute brain injury.
Title : To Treat or Not to Treat: The Ethics of Management of Refractory Status Myoclonus Following Pediatric Anoxic Brain Injury
Name : Alyson Baker
University : University of Nebraska College of Medicine
Country : USA
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The development of status myoclonus (SM) in a post-cardiac arrest patient has historically been thought of as indicative of not only a poor neurologic outcome but of neurologic devastation. In many instances, this may lead clinicians to initiate conversations about withdrawal of life sustaining therapies (WLST) regardless of the time from return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Recent studies showing a percentage of patients may make a good recovery has called into question whether a self-fulfilling prophecy has developed where the concern for a poor neurologic outcome leads clinicians to prematurely discuss WLST. The issue is only further complicated by changing terminology, lack of neuro-axis localization, and limited data regarding association with electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics, all of which could aid in the understanding of the severity of neurologic injury associated with SM. Here we review the initial literature reporting SM as indicative of poor neurologic outcome, the studies that call this into question, the various definitions of SM and related terms as well as data regarding association with EEG backgrounds. We propose that improved prognostication on outcomes results from combining the presence of SM with other clinical variables (eg. EEG patterns, MRI findings, clinical exam). We discuss the ethical implications of using SM as a prognostic tool and its impact on decisions about life-sustaining care in children following cardiac arrest. We advocate for prognostication efforts to be delayed for at least 72 hours following ROSC and thus to treat SM in those early hours and days.
Biography:
Dr. Alyson Baker received her medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri. She completed her pediatric residency at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center at University of Connecticut, pediatric critical care fellowship at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University and pediatric neurocritical care fellowship at St Louis Children’s Hospital at Washington University in St Louis MO. She is an assistant professor of Pediatrics in Pediatric Critical Care at UNMC College of Medicine. Dr. Baker’s clinical interests include treating all critically ill children, but has a passion for those with neurocritical conditions including such conditions as status epilepticus, stroke and traumatic brain injury.
Title : Sphingomyelin Regulates Nuclear Activity in Embryonic Hippocampal Cells
Name : Federico Fiorani
University : University of Perugia
Country : Italy
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Nuclear sphingomyelin is located in nuclear membrane, nuclear matrix, nucleolus and active chromatin. In inner nuclear membrane, sphingomyelin links cholesterol to form nuclear lipid microdomains also called nuclear lipid raft. Nuclear lipid microdomains act as platform for nuclear receptor as glucocorticoid receptors and vitamin D receptor. Moreover, these structures play a role as anchoring for active chromatin by regulating DNA duplication and RNA transcription. Of note, nuclear lipid microdomains are associated with a double strands and/or circular RNAs, unsensitive to RNase treatment. The aim of the work was to investigate the composition of RNA associated with nuclear lipid microdomains and to demonstrate the protective role of sphingomyelin-cholesterol complex on double strands/circular RNA in embryonic hippocampal cell (HN9.10e cell line). The results showed that the RNA present in the nuclear lipid microdomains was the 20% of the total RNA in nucleus and this RNA was resistant to RNase treatment performed during the microdomain extraction. By incubating the cells with increasing concentration of sphingomyelin- cholesterol, RNAse-resistant RNA increased. The opposite result was obtained treating the cells with neutral sphingomyelinase, able to degrade sphingomyelin producing ceramide and phosphocholine. In order to understand which types of RNA were protect by sphingomyelin, we isolated total RNA from nuclear lipid microdomains and we found different species of RNA like protein coding RNA, miRNA, miscRNA, retained intron, snRNA, lincRNA, nonsense-mediated decay RNA and small nucleolar RNA. We focused only on miRNA and mRNA because they were more abundant in nuclear lipid microdomains than whole nuclei. Regarding miRNA, 22 were expressed in different statistically significant manner compared to the nucleus, 8 showing higher expression and 14 showing lower expression. All overexpressed miRNAs were correlated with neuro-psychological diseases as chronic epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and psychological disorders. About mRNA, 20 mRNAs were differentially concentrated in nuclear lipid microdomains respect to nuclei, all involved in chromatin remodeling and in the development of nervous system. To justify the high amount of miRNA in nuclear lipid microdomains, we investigated the possible presence of EIciRNA known to act as sponges for miRNA. The results showed the presence of 18 significant EIciRNAs. In conclusion, this study indicates a new role for sphingomyelin-cholesterol complex in nuclear lipid microdomains of embryonic hippocampal cells. The data demonstrate that sphingomyelin can regulate nuclear activity by protecting and maintaining the double-strand and/or circular structure of different RNA types involved in chromatin organization and brain pathophysiology.
Biography:
Federico Fiorani is a PhD Student in biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory, headed by Prof. Albi Elisabetta at Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. With expertise in sphingolipid metabolism, nuclear lipids, extracellular communication and role of Vitamin D both in physiological and pathological conditions. Its research interests include the metabolism of sphingolipids and their role in regulating nuclear activity. In addition, he studies the sphingolipids’ ability to control the extracellular communication, in particular to influence release, incorporation and biogenesis of extracellular vesicles with focus on exosomes in embryonic hippocampal cells and neurodegenerative model. Moreover, he studies the functions, metabolism and single nucleotide polymorphism of Vitamin D and its receptor, in correlation with sphingolipids, in mental health and breast cancer.
Title : Role of Machine Learning Algorithms in Suicide Risk Prediction: A Systematic Review-Meta Analysis of Clinical Studies
Name : Houriyeh Ehtemam
University : Anglia Ruskin University
Country : UK
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Suicide is a complex and multifactorial public health problem. Understanding and addressing the various factors associated with suicide is crucial for prevention and intervention efforts. Machine learning (ML) could enhance the prediction of suicide attempts. A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and SID databases. We aim to evaluate the performance of ML algorithms and summarize their effects, gather relevant and reliable information to synthesize existing evidence, identify knowledge gaps, and provide a comprehensive list of the suicide risk factors using mixed method approach. Forty-one studies published between 2011 and 2022, which matched inclusion criteria, were chosen as suitable. We included studies aimed at predicting the suicide risk by machine learning algorithms except natural language processing (NLP) and image processing. The neural network (NN) algorithm exhibited the lowest accuracy at 0.70, whereas the random forest demonstrated the highest accuracy, reaching 0.94. The study assessed the COX and random forest models and observed a minimum area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.54. In contrast, the XGBoost classifier yielded the highest AUC value, reaching 0.97. These specific AUC values emphasize the algorithm-specific performance in capturing the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity for suicide risk prediction. Furthermore, our investigation identified several common suicide risk factors, including age, gender, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, alcohol consumption, marital status, income, education, and occupation. This comprehensive analysis contributes valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of suicide risk, providing a foundation for targeted preventive strategies and intervention efforts. The effectiveness of ML algorithms and their application in predicting suicide risk has been controversial. There is a need for more studies on these algorithms in clinical settings, and the related ethical concerns require further clarification.
Biography:
Houriyeh Ehtemam is a Ph.D. student in Robotics at Anglia Ruskin University. Her research journey began in 2017, focusing on data mining methods for breast cancer prediction. During her master’s studies, she delved into suicide prediction using machine learning algorithms, which sparked her interest in the intersection of suicide prevention and machine learning. In 2024, she immigrated to the United Kingdom to further her education in the fields of Robotics and medical wearable devices. Simultaneously, she continues her work on suicide prevention. Houriyeh seizes every opportunity for learning and growth.
Title : MicroRNA and Metabolic Arrest
Name : Kenneth B. Storey
University : Carleton University
Country : Canada
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Unlike the brains of humans, animal brains are subject to extremes of environment – and must keep neural function intact during and after extreme conditions. Frogs and turtles totally freeze in winter, displaying no measurable brain activity and a flat-lined heart. Hibernating ground squirrels have brains that survive weeks at 0oC. Mole rats survive deep hypoxia/anoxia and maintain CNS function . These states are termed “suspended animation” and are characterized by global suppression of metabolic functions and the reprioritization of energy usage to essential survival processes . This extreme reorganization is elicited, in large part, by the regulatory controls of microRNAs. Our studies are the first to investigate miRNA biogenesis and regulation in extreme brains of vertebrates. The studies are informed by the creation and analyses of miRNA “OMES” – complete RNA-seq studies that have uncovered both up and down regulation of key microRNAs. These studies, coupled with quantitation of miRNA biogenesis factors, illustrated an overall reduction in the majority of these processing proteins – showing a potential suppression of miRNA maturation . Bioinformatic target enrichment of the up-and-downregulated miRNAs of each extreme brain predicted their involvement in the potential activation of various neuroprotective processes such as synaptic signaling, intracellular signal transduction, and anoxia/ischemia injury protection. The predominantly downregulated microRNA fingerprints identified in Nature, suggests a microRNA-mediated cytoprotective mechanism responsible for maintaining neuronal functions and facilitating successful whole brain metabolic rate depression [ MRD].
Biography:
Ken Storey, PhD, FRSC, is a Professor of Biochemistry at Carleton University in Ottawa and holds the Canada Research Chair in Molecular Physiology. He graduated from University of Calgary (BSc 1971) and University of British Columbia (PhD 1974). Ken’s field of interest is biochemical adaptation; in particular, mammalian hibernation and freeze tolerance are core topics in his over 1000 refereed publications. Ken won the 2010 Flavelle medal from the Royal Society of Canada , “CryoFellow” of the CryoBiology Society in 2012 and the 2011 Fry medal from the Canadian Society of Zoologists.
Title : Neurological manifestations of COVID-19 in Indonesia
Name : Andi Weri Sompa
University : Muhammadiyah University of Makassar
Country : Indonesia
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can manifest in multiple organs. While the primary manifestations of COVID-19 occur in the respiratory system, other organ systems are also involved, including nervous systems that cause neurological symptoms. This study aimed to determine the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 patients and to assess the role of age and sex on neurological manifestation incidence. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Pelamonia Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia, among inpatient COVID-19 cases, using a purposive sampling method. Demographic data and neurological manifestations of the COVID-19 patients were collected. The associations between age and sex with the incidence of neurological symptoms were analyzed using the Chi-squared test. Out of 424 inpatients with COVID-19 cases, 62.3% were females, with the highest age group being 20–40 years (42.7%). The neurological symptoms were reported in 232 patients, accounting for approximately 54.7%. The most frequently reported neurological symptom was headache (n=104, 44.8%), followed by anosmia (n=44, 18.9%), ageusia (n=48, 20.6%), myopathy (n=14, 6%), stroke (n=10, 4.3%), seizure (n=5, 2.1%), and altered consciousness (n=7, 3%). An association was found between sex and the incidence of headache (p-value 0,013), myopathy (p-value 0,001), stroke (p-value 0,032), and altered consciousness (p-value 0,014). There was also an association between age and the incidence of headaches (p-value 0,004) and stroke (p-value 0,006). The study highlights that COVID-19 patients commonly exhibit neurological implications affecting the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. Therefore, the early detection of neurological symptoms in COVID-19 cases must have better management.
Biograpgy:
Dr. Andi Weri Sompa is a Neurology Specialist. She completed her medical studies and Neurology Specialist at the Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University. In addition to her academic achievements, she is registered as a member of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) and the Association of Indonesian Neurologists (PERDOSNI). Currently, Dr. Sompa holds the position as lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar. Furthermore, she currently serves as the Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs at the same faculty. Her professional practice extends to several medical institutions including PKU Muhammadiyah Unismuh Makassar Hospital, Pelamonia Hospital Makassar, and Mitra Husada Hospital Makassar.
Title : Elevation of NAD+ by Nicotinamide Riboside Spares Spinal Cord Tissue from Injury and Promotes locomotor Recovery
Name : Brett Langley
University : University of Waikato
Country : New Zealand
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Spinal cord injury induces tissue damage that spreads to neighboring spared cells in the hours, days and weeks following injury. Among the biochemical changes occurring in the cells surrounding the injury is the rapid diminution of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), an essential coenzyme for energy metabolism and an essential cofactor for non-redox NAD+-dependent enzymes with critical functions in sensing and repairing damaged tissue. Augmenting NAD+ by exogenous application of NAD+, its synthesizing enzymes or its cellular precursors can mitigate tissue damage. Among the NAD+ precursors, nicotinamide riboside (NR) appears to be particularly well-suited for clinical translation. As such, we tested whether administration of NR could enhance NAD+ in the injured spinal cord and if augmenting spinal cord NAD+ could protect spinal cord tissue from injury and lead to improvements in locomotor recovery. The results show that intraperitoneal administration of NR (500 mg/kg) doubles spinal cord NAD+, and when administered four days prior to a mid-thoracic contusion-SCI in Long-Evans rats, it preserves spinal cord tissue after injury, including neurons and axons, and enhances motor function.
Biography:
Dr Brett Langley is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at the University of Waikato. He gained his PhD in Molecular Medicine in 2002 from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He then completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School before becoming and Assistant Professor, and later an Associate Professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. In 2016, Dr Langley returned to New Zealand to take up a role at the University of Waikato. His work focusses on understanding the molecular events that determine a neuron’s fate following injury or during disease, and ultimately, whether they can be modulated therapeutically to promote better outcomes in patients. Given this interest he has studied small molecule inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes and NAD-augmenting agents as therapeutic tools in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).
Title : Incidence of Nerve Injury following Acupuncture Treatments in Taiwan
Name : Chia-Lin Lin
University : Taipei city hospital
Country : Taiwan
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Objective: Acupuncture, a widely employed traditional therapeutic modality known for its efficacy in pain alleviation and diverse condition management, may inadvertently result in mechanical nerve injury due to its invasive nature. This research aimed to ascertain the incidence of nerve injuries post-acupuncture, identify associated risk factors, and map the distribution of nerve injury sites. Methods: A case-control study nested in the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) 2000-2018 two million cohort was conducted. Patients previously diagnosed with nerve injury, surgery, or degeneration before acupuncture were excluded. Cases were defined as patients receiving acupuncture and seeking medical attention for nerve injury (ICD9-CM code 950-957) within 14 days post-procedure, while control groups comprised patients undergoing acupuncture without subsequent adverse events. Invasive treatments prior to adverse events and adverse events occurring more than 14 days post-acupuncture were excluded. To ensure case-control comparability, factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, and medical facility environment were controlled using propensity score matching. Results: The study encompassed 14,507,847 acupuncture treatments administered to 886,753 patients, with 8361 instances of post-acupuncture nerve injury identified, representing an incidence rate of approximately 5.76 per 10,000 procedures. Age emerged as a significant risk factor, with the adjusted odds ratios escalating with age. Several comorbidities including diabetes, hypothyroidism, liver cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, herpes zoster, hepatitis virus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, dementia, and cerebrovascular accidents were associated with an elevated risk of nerve injury post-acupuncture. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of meticulous patient profiling and cautious therapeutic approach in acupuncture, considering the evident influence of various demographic, systemic, and treatment-related factors on the incidence of nerve injuries.
Biography:
Chia-Lin Lin is a traditional Chinese physician who currently practices at the Renai Branch of the Taipei city hospital, where she completed her medical training after earning her degree at the Post-baccalaureate School of Chinese Medicine, Tzu-Chi university. Dr. Lin specializes in all forms acupuncture, management of osteoarthritis and tendinopathy and management of patients with metabolic syndrome. Dr. Lin is particularly adept at facial acupuncture, for which she received intensive training and is certified by the Taiwan facial acupuncture society. Facial acupuncture can be applied to patients with various neurological facial disorders including Bell’s palsy, post stroke facial asymmetry, trigeminal neuropathy and other similar diseases for symptom relief. Dr. Lin often collaborates with numerous neurologists, whom regularly refer patients following resolution of acute neurological episodes for long term symptom relief. Dr. Lin has also cooperated with neurologists to treat numerous patients seeking her advice due to nerve injury following acupuncture at various clinics. Dr. Lin’s numerous encounters with such patients prompted her to investigate and identify the most vulnerable patients, which resulted in this study.
Title : Cannabidiol (Cbd)-Infused Absorbable Implant Delivery System For Neurotrauma: Implications For Cbd:Thc Ratio
Name : Linda K Friedman
University : New York Medical College
Country : USA
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Rationale: Traumatic brain (TBI) injuries result in profound local hypoperfusion, ischemia, chronic inflammation, and metabolic dysregulation which restrict drug delivery to the site of impact so that peripheral treatment alone would have limited access to the site of injury during the most critical phases of neurotrauma. Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychotropic cannabinoid, has anti-convulsant, anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, antioxidant, and immuno-suppressive properties. We hypothesized that continuous local delivery of CBD extracts containing an optimal dose of tetrahydrocannabidol (THC) (CBD:THC) directly to the contusion site overlying the dura of brain would attenuate the risk of excitotoxic Ca2+ hyperexcitability that causes progressive cell death leading to long-term behavioral and neuropathological sequelae, such as paralysis, locomotor impairment, memory and attention deficits, depression, drug abuse, as well as onset to intractable seizures, post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). Previously we observed that our dual dispensary system of CBD extract reduced lesion volume and restored vestibulomotor and cognitive clinical functions. To determine whether CBD containing an optimal concentration ratio of THC has superior behavioral and neuroprotective effects than CBD lacking THC, four CBD:THC extracts at varied ratio concentrations were compared with CBD derived from hemp (CBDh) lacking THC in our pre-clinical TBI pre-clinical model. Methods: A controlled weight drop stereotactic apparatus was implemented to induce cortical contusion injury (CCI). The beam balance, alternating T-maze, and object recognition tests were used for vestibulomotor and cognitive functions. The forced swim test and elevated plus maze (EPM) were used to measure coping strategy. Brains were evaluated histologically with hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemically with NeuN, GFAP, and parvalbumin (PV). Results: Performance on all tests was restored to a greater degree with any of the CBD:THC extracts compared to CBDh, one being more efficacious than the other. Only the TBI untreated group exhibited significant reduction in spontaneous alternation; the highest alternation rates were observed with CBD:THC extract treatments. Time spent with novel objects was also greater with CBD:THC, exhibiting a similar index ratio as sham controls. Although CBDh treated rats spent more time with objects than the TBI group, the amount of time spent with novel and familiar objects was equal thereby lacking recognition discrimination. In the EPM, sham animals spent most of the time in open arms, TBI and CBDh groups spent most of the time in the closed arms, and the CBD:THC groups spent similar time in closed and open arms. In the FST, reduced floating was observed with CBD:THC at 300-10:1 ratio than TBI alone. Lesion volume and gliosis were reduced, and hippocampal sparing was also greatest with the CBD:THC extracts. Concomitant reduction in parvalbumin interneuron labeling was observed not only within the hippocampus on the side of contusion but also within the contralateral hippocampus. With CBDh and CBD:THC extracts, PV cell counts were similar to control counts on the contralateral side and partly restored ipsilaterally suggesting that CBD was responsible for their rescue. Increasing THC and reducing CBD concentrations (1:20-100) resulted in early onset to spontaneous seizures post-TBI.
Biography
Dr. Linda K Friedman, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, New York Medical College, grew up in Massachusetts and received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville in 1980. She obtained her MA and PhD degrees from the City University of New York, Mount Sinai in 1988. She was a postdoc at Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn and at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1988-1994 and was appointed Instructor Professor in 1994-1996. She was appointed to Assistant and Associate Professor at NJ Neuroscience Institute Seton Hall University 1997-2012, then transferred to New York Medical College in 2012 to present. She has focused on pre-clinical models to study neurotoxicity, delayed neurodegeneration, novel drug therapy, that may lead to neuroprotective and cognitive benefits. She has many awards and honors: 1992, 1997, Annual American Epilepsy Society, Seattle, Junior Investigator Awardee; Red Ribbon Best Poster Award in Basic Research at the 114th Annual Osteopathic Association Convention. 2012, Platform Presentation Selection: Annual American Epilepsy Society Convention. Chosen in Top 10%; 2021: Platform Presentation Selection: “Chronic postnatal subconvulsive activity alters mood, cognition, seizure severity, NeuN antigenicity and polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis within limbic structures of juvenile rats”. Friedman LK, Tenth International Meeting on Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors. Taormina Sicily-Italy.
Title : Neuroleadership: Affective Experiences in the Workplace and their Influence on Employees Evaluative Judgements
Name : Horacio de la Nuez Leon
University : I.E.S. Saint Sebastian
Country : Spain
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Neuroscience-based approaches have had little presence in studies in the field of hotel firms. The literature indicates that neuroleadership behaviors can change the employees’ perceptions of their work environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze how affective events in the workplace influence employees’ evaluative judgements of certain organizational factors. The paper presents the results of a six-month study involving 150 lower-level employees and 25 middle managers of a hotel tourism chain. The study was carried out by a staff member of the company in question, a characteristic that is beyond the scope of most research. The results show that the affective events significantly improve employees’ evaluative judgements of different organizational variables, highlighting the importance of neuroleadership skills in managing emotions and improving employee well-being.react. An innovative and creative scientific approach, basically focused on the employee with a secondary impact on the company, analysing the effect of the application of certain neuroemotional tools. In addition, we have the knowledge of how certain adjuvant elements such as music, forgiveness, specific dynamics, etc. affect the brain and cognitive response
Biography:
Dr. Horacio de la Nuez Leon, Successful career in hotel management in several countries thanks to his knowledge in Neuroleadership, first Director of Neurosciences in a hotel chain worldwide, creator of the Be SEM discipline based on Social and Business Protocol, Synergology and Neuroemotions, professor at the University Las Palmas de G. and other institutions, lecturer. He applies a Neuroemotional Learning System in the classroom and develops neuroemotional talent management functions in the business and sports sector. He also gives numerous workshops in schools at all levels, applying neuroscience and neuroemotions to entrepreneurship.
Title : Esterase’s Properties in Commonly used Indian spices for Alzheimer’s Disease Model and Effect of Lithium on Acetylcholinesterase in Old Aged Rats Brain and Liver
Name : Prabha Muddobalaiah
University : Ramaiah Institute of Technology
Country : India
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Esterase family of Hydrolases such as Acetylcholinesterase (AchE), Butyrylcholinesterase (BchE) and Carboxyl esterase (CE) have been estimated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model, normal brain of striatum, frontal cortex, hippocampus and in liver. In AD a loss of
acetylcholine activity directly correlates with memory dysfunction due to the activation of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes. Therefore, the effective treatment methods include restoration of cholinergic function and elevation of ACh level through inhibiting AChE and BChE. Hence to inhibit these enzymes four commonly used Indian kitchen spices viz., Cuminum cyminum, Elettaria cardamomum, Cinnamomum verum, Syzygium aromaticum were selected because the extracts of these spices contain cholinesterase inhibitory activity in vitro. These spices were extracted with cold and hot aqueous solution and the anti- cholinesterase potential was measured in vitro. Elettaria cardamomum cold extract showed significant inhibition for AchE in all regions of brain for control and AD. Whereas Cinnamomum verum hot extract showed elevated activity for carboxyl esterase which is a neuroprotective factor. These findings suggest that dietary supplementation of cardamom and cinnamon in moderate amounts may aid in prevention delay in onset of AD. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) acts on acetylcholine (ACh) to terminate its actions on the synaptic cleft by cleaving Ach to choline and acetate. This directly correlates with memory dysfunction and loss of cognitive functions in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients which was a continuous decline of the cholinergic neurotransmission in cortical and other regions of human brain. Specific activity and expression for AChEwere determined in LiCl2 treated young and old male wistar rat’s brain and liver (each n=5) with respective controls. Histogram showed lower AChE activity 6.16 ± 0.25 and 5.46 ± 0.066, respectively for 10 and 20 days LiCl2 treated old rats than their control 7.05 ± 0.15 μmoles/min/mg of protein. In contrast young brain lithium-treated showed higher AChE specific` activity 4.02 ± 0.158 and 6.15 ± 0.22, respectively than control 3.58 ± 0.03 μmoles/min/mg of protein. While 10 and 20 days lithium-treated old rat’s liver showed lower AChE specific activity 0.50 ± 0.080 and 0.40 ± 0.025, respectively than control 1.56 ± 0.11 μmoles/min/mg and young liver also showed lower AChE activity 0.38 ± 0.022 and 0.36 ± 0.015, respectively than their control 3.60 ± 0.08 μmoles/min/mg for the same period of lithium-treated young rats. Native gel AChEshowed lower AChE expression for 10 and 20 days LiCl2-treated old aged rat brain than control results similar to spectrophotometric assays. Therefore, lithium has negative effect on AChE which releases ACh to stimulate neuronal transmission for regulation of cellular signaling in brain and liver cell function.
Biography:
She has published 15 research articles and 8 conference proceedings publications. She was Post doctoral Fellow for CSIR RA fellowship 2008 at IISc. She has received the Distinguished woman in health and medical sciences-Biochemistry — From Venus International foundation, Chennai. 2019. She has been awarded as Bharat Shiksha Gaurava Puraskar – 2022 and Excellence for Best Educationist Award-2022 by KTK foundation, New Delhi. She got certificate for NPTEL Domain star–Biotechnology—Biosciences 2022. She has received the certificate for winner for Women Researcher Award– In the International Scientist Awards on Engineering, Science and Medicine, held on 04-Nov-2022, Organized by VDGOOD® Professional Association. She is an invited editor for Journal of Clinical Science & Translational Medicine, Journal of Biomedicine and Biosensor and Biochemical Engineering & Bioprocess Technology. She is invited as reviewer constantly for. Clinical and Translational oncology Springer publications, Cancer Biomarker and for Indian journal of Neurosciences. She is guiding PhD and many MTech /BE project students.
Title : Redox Modulation of Stress Resilience Mechanisms in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders by Nutritional Mushrooms: From Bench to Clinics
Name : Naomi Osakabe
University : Department of Bioscience
Country : Japan
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Human life develops and expands not only in time and space, but also in the retrograde permanent recollection and interweaving of memories. Therefore, individual human identity depends fully on a proper access to the autobiographical memory. Such access is hindered or lost under pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including recently associated oxidant pathologies, such as neural degeneration occurring in Parkinson’s disease (PD) or neurosensorial degeneration occurring in Menière’s disease. In our recent study we evaluated the effects of Hericium erinaceus, a nutritional mushroom with important antioxidant effects, in a rat model of AD. Hericium erinaceus administration reduced behavioral changes and hippocampal neuronal degeneration. Additionally, it reduced phosphorylated-Tau levels and aberrant APP overexpression and β-amyloid accumulation. Moreover, Hericium erinaceus decreased the prooxidative and pro-inflammatory hippocampal alterations induced by AD. In particular, it reduced the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome components, usually activated by increased oxidative stress during the AD. Collectively, our results showed that Hericium erinaceus has protective effects on the behavioral alteration and histological modification associated with the AD acting by the modulation of the oxidative and inflammatory pathways, as well as regulating brain cellular stress. Herein, we discuss cellular mechanisms underlying AD neuroinflammatory pathogenesis that are contributory to Alzheimer’s disease. We describe endogenous cellular defence mechanism modulation and neurohormesis as a potentially innovative approach to therapeutics for AD and other neurodegenerative conditions that are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation, including Meniere disease patients as a measurable model of neurodegenerative neuro-cochleosensory system. Particularly, Vitagenes are emerging for their neuroprotective potential as well as the capability of Coriolus and Hericium nutritional mushrooms to burst redox stress responsive mechanisms leading to neuroprotection.
Title : Elucidation of the Regulatory Effects of the α2-adrenergic Blockers Mesedin and Beditin Under Noise Stress Condition
Name : Ashkhen L Manukyan
University : Mkhitar Heratsi Yerevan State Medical University
Country : Armenia
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Noise is considered one of the environmental hazards that negatively affect health. It can cause damage to the auditory, neurological, hormonal, and cardiovascular systems, in addition to impairing psychological and cognitive functions. In this study, we have examined the level of α-Tocopherol (α-T) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma and the erythrocytes’ membrane (EM), as well as the behavioral characteristics of a noise-induced stress model in rats. In addition, the modulating effect of α2-adrenoblockers, beditin and mesedin, on the aforementioned parameters has been investigated. The “Open field” and “Y-maze” tests were used in order to evaluate the behavioral states of the rats.
Investigations were carried out on albino rats divided into 4 groups. The 1st group of rats served as a control. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th groups were exposed to 91 dBA of noise; the duration of exposure was 8 h per day for 60 days. The 3rd group was injected with beditin and the 4th group with mesedin, both intraperitoneally and repeatedly. Increased MDA and decreased α-T levels in plasma and EM were observed upon chronic high-level noise exposure.
The “Open field” and “Y-maze” tests revealed that chronic noise exposure caused disturbances in behavioral activity, a noise duration-dependent delay in movement and orientation, increased anxiety, and a deficit in the animals’ spatial memory. The administration of α2-adrenoblockers to the noise-exposed animals had a regulatory effect of varying intensities, depending on the medication used and the studied parameters under the conditions of chronic acoustic stress.
Title : msQSM: Morphology-based Self-Supervised Deep Learning for Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping and the Applications on AD and PD
Name : Junjie He
University : Guizhou University
Country : China
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Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has been applied to the measurement of iron deposition and the auxiliary diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease. There still exists a dipole inversion problem in QSM reconstruction. Recently, deep learning approaches have been proposed to resolve this problem. However, most of these approaches are supervised methods that need pairs of the input phase and ground-truth. It remains a challenge to train a model for all resolutions without using the ground truth and only using one resolution of data. To address this, we proposed a self-supervised QSM deep learning method based on morphology. It consists of a morphological QSM builder to decouple the dependency of the QSM on acquisition resolution, and a morphological loss to reduce artifacts effectively and save training time efficiently. The proposed method can reconstruct arbitrary resolution QSM on both human data and animal data, regardless of whether the resolution is higher or lower than that of the training set. Our method outperforms the previous best-unsupervised method with a 3.6% higher peak signal-to-noise ratio, 16.2% lower normalized root mean square error, and 22.1% lower high-frequency error norm. The morphological loss reduces by 22.1% training time with respect to the cycle gradient loss used in the previous unsupervised methods. Experimental results show that the proposed method accurately measures QSM with arbitrary resolutions, and achieves state-of-the-art results among unsupervised deep learning methods. Research on applications in neurodegenerative diseases found that our method is robust enough to measure a significant increase in striatal magnetic susceptibility in patients during Alzheimer’s disease progression, including subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and AD. A significant increase in susceptibility is detected in substantia nigra susceptibility in Parkinson’s disease patients. Our method can be used as an auxiliary differential diagnosis tool for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Biography:
Junjie He Ph.D. student at Guizhou University, engaged in the application of computer vision in medical imaging, especially the MR reconstruction of QSM images and its application on neurodegenerative disorders. Publishing multiple papers in journals such as NeuroImage, Frontiers in Neuroscience, and Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. Outstanding graduate of Nanjing University. Outstanding Individual Award and the Feature Star Award at Huawei Technologies. Angle Investment Recipient at Ericsson.
Title : Neuronal Ganglioside and Glycosphingolipid GSL Metabolism and Disease : Cascades of Secondary Metabolic Errors Can Generate Complex Pathologies in LSDs
Name : Konrad Sandhoff
University : University of Bonn
Country : Germany
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Title : Economic Inequality: The Principal Social Determinant of Health Responsible for Disparity in Life-Expectancy
Name : Kenneth Olden
University :
Country : USA
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Title : Targeted Spinal Cord Neuromodulation – Exploring multisystem therapeutic effects.
Name : Claudia Angeli
University : University of Louisville
Country : USA
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Emerging clinical data indicate that neuromodulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord restores motor and autonomic functions in those with chronic spinal cord injury. These discoveries provide evidence for the realistic potential of epidural stimulation to significantly improve function, health, and quality of life of those with chronic clinically incomplete and even complete spinal cord injury. To date, a major challenge related to the selection of stimulation parameters for promoting motor and autonomic function recovery in spinal cord injury individuals is that these parameters are task- and individual-specific. In addition, the combination of stimulation parameters potentially available is vast, as exemplified by the over 43 million different electrode configurations available when using a 16-electrode array. Our team relies on three components to guide tonic-interleaved functionally focused spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES). First, a neuroanatomical 3D spinal cord reconstruction model and intra-operative evoked potentials inform electrode lead placement. Second, spatial-temporal electrophysiological mapping informs motor and autonomic mapping. Lastly, task specific motor mapping and autonomic mapping will aid in identifying the tonic-interleaved functionally focused scES parameters. Immediate integrated movement and physiological responses to scES indicate the sophistication of the human lumbosacral spinal circuitry with the critical role for ongoing regulation of motor and autonomic function. We will present methods and tools for selection of task and individual configurations targeted for voluntary movement, standing, stepping, blood pressure stabilization and facilitation of bladder storage and emptying using tonic-interleaved excitation of the lumbosacral spinal cord. We will also present strategies used for selection of stimulation parameters for various motor and autonomic functions. Tonic-interleaved functionally focused neuromodulation targets a myriad of consequences from spinal cord injury with surgical implantation of the epidural electrode at a single location. This approach demonstrates the sophistication of the human spinal cord circuitry and important role in regulation of motor and autonomic functions in humans.
Biography
Dr. Claudia Angeli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and Director of the Epidural Stimulation Program at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center at the University of Louisville. She also holds an adjunct appointment at Frazier Rehab Institute, University of Louisville Health. Her research background and interests are focused in understanding mechanisms of control of human locomotion following neurologic injury. She has examined the impact of activity-based retraining of the nervous system following spinal cord injury. Currently, Dr. Angeli has been studying the use of spinal cord epidural stimulation combined with intense activity-based therapies for the restoration of function following motor complete spinal cord injury. Epidural stimulation uniquely targets recovery of movement patterns and augments functional gains through increase excitability of the spinal networks. The results of these studies contribute to the knowledge about the fundamental mechanisms of control of human locomotion and provide strategies for the rehabilitation of patients after neurologic injury.
Title :
Name : Gert Holstege
University : University Medical Center Groningen
Country : Netherlands
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