Neuroimaging studies of autism have shown abnormalities in the limbic system and cerebellar circuits and additional sites. These findings are not, however, specific or consistent enough to build up a coherent theory of the origin and nature of the brain abnormality in autistic patients. Twenty-three children with infantile autism and 26 non-autistic controls matched for IQ and age were examined...

OBJECTIVE The effect of acupuncture (ACP) on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) is unclear. Single-photon emission computed tomography studies on three patients with dystonia were performed before and after ACP treatment to test the contention that ACP affects rCBF. METHODS Pre-ACP and post-ACP CBF study were performed on the same day; 99mTc ethyl cysteinate dimer was injected for each study...

BACKGROUND Epilepsy concerns at least 0.5% of population and in most of the cases (approx. 70%) can be treated pharmacologically, which helps to prevent seizures. In all other patients, such a treatment does not produce the desired results. Their condition may require neurosurgical management. The aim of this work was to fuse anatomical MRI images and functional SPECT images in patients with dr...

BACKGROUND The pathophysiological nature of Sydenham chorea (SC) has been presumed to be an autoimmune-mediated inflammatory process. Positron emission tomography in SC has revealed a striatal hypermetabolism that might explain the transient neuronal dysfunction. However, any focal hyperperfusion in the striatum or its related structures has not been demonstrated in previous single photon emiss...

Several studies using single photon emission tomography (SPECT) have shown changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) with age, which were associated with partial volume effects by some authors. Some studies have also demonstrated gender-related differences in CBF. The present study aimed to examine age and gender effects on CBF SPECT images obtained using the 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer and a SPECT...

BACKGROUND Depressive symptoms of varying severity are prevalent in up to 63% of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and often result in greater cognitive decline and increased caregiver burden. The current study aimed to determine the neural correlates of depressive symptoms in a sample of AD patients. METHODS Using the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, we assessed 56 patients who met cr...

With the prospect of disease-modifying drugs that will target the physiopathological process of Alzheimer's disease, it is now crucial to increase the understanding of the atypical focal presentations of Alzheimer's disease, such as posterior cortical atrophy. This study aimed to (i) characterize the brain perfusion profile in posterior cortical atrophy using regions of interest and a voxel-bas...

A chemoenzymatic approach for the synthesis of ?-N-heterocyclic ethyl- and phenylacetamides, levetiracetam analogs, is described. Eight nitrile substrates were prepared through N-alkylation heterocycles (2-pyrrolidinone, 2-piperidinone, 2-oxopiperazine 1-methylpiperazine) directly from hydroxyl group ethyl phenyl ?-hydroxynitriles with yield 35?71% after 12 h. Twenty hydratases (NHases) screene...

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are one of the very important nano-carriers for drug delivery, due to their many advantageous features, such as the ease and low-cost of preparation, low cytotoxicity, good biocompatibility, protection for the intercalated drugs, and the capacity to facilitate the uptake of the loaded drug in the cells. In our previous studies, Mössbauer spectroscopy was applied...

The five-membed ring of the title compound, C(11)H(13)NO, that is fused with the aromatic ring is approximately planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.037 Å) despite the presence of the sp(3)-hybrid-ized ethyl-ene linkage. The hy-droxy group of the N-bound hy-droxy-ethyl chain serves as hydrogen-bond donor to the azomethine N atom of an adjacent mol-ecule, generating a hydrogen-bonded C(2)-symmetric dimer.