BACKGROUND Plasma Citrulline concentration has been correlated to functional enterocyte mass. Dried blood spot (DBS) analysis using LC-MSMS reduces sample amount needed. We optimized DBS elution to increase precision and accuracy of DBS LC-MSMS analysis. METHOD DBS control samples were eluted in varying pH (2.2-7.0) and for varying times (15-75 min) and Cit, Arg and Orn were analyzed using LC...

Whereas hemispheric dominance is well-established for appendicular motor control in humans, the evidence for dominance in axial motor control is still scarce. In Parkinson's disease (PD), unilateral (UL) onset of appendicular motor symptoms corresponds with asymmetric neurodegeneration predominantly affecting contralateral nigrostriatal circuits. Disease progression yields bilateral and axial m...

OBJECTIVE Tourette's syndrome (TS) is defined by 1 year of persistent motor and vocal tics. Often, the tics are refractory to conventional pharmacologic and psychobehavioral interventions. In these patients, deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be an appropriate intervention. This paper reviews different DBS targets in TS, discusses existing evidence on the efficacy of DBS in TS, highlights adverse...

Increasing evidence suggests that deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is currently being used as a therapy for neurological diseases, may be effective in the treatment of psychiatric disorders as well. Here, we examined the influence of DBS of the nucleus accumbens shell on cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of drug seeking, an animal model of relapse. Rats were allowed to self-administer co...

Perceived outcomes from DBS for PD were sampled for 52 cases by surveying 46 DBS recipients and 45 carers. Post-DBS experience ranged from 10-129 months. There were significant variations in perceived outcomes over time. In some cases extreme variations were experienced as a consequence of hardware and other problems requiring additional surgery. Nevertheless most in this group went on to ultim...

Obesity is a chronic, progressive and prevalent disorder. Morbid obesity, in particular, is associated with numerous comorbidities and early mortality. In patients with morbid obesity, pharmacological and behavioral approaches often have limited results. Bariatric surgery is quite effective but is associated with operative failures and a non-negligible incidence of side effects. In the last dec...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), applying high-frequency electrical stimulation to deep brain structures, has now provided an effective therapeutic option for treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders. DBS targeting the internal segment of the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, and thalamus is used to treat symptoms of movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, dystonia,...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), applying high-frequency electrical stimulation to deep brain structures, has now provided an effective therapeutic option for treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders. DBS targeting the internal segment of the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, and thalamus is used to treat symptoms of movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia,...

Subthalamic nucleus (STN) or globus pallidus interna (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is considered a robust therapeutic tool in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, although it has been reported to potentially cause cognitive decline in some cases. We here provide an in-depth and critical review of the current literature regarding cognition after DBS in PD, summarizing the ava...

To verify the efficacy of a weak diffuse-brain-stimulation (DBS) method that was specially devised by this research team, a weak DBS was administered to seven male inpatients, who had vibration syndrome due to a prolonged use of a vibratory tool and who were simultaneously complaining of insomnia. Sleep data obtained from the polygraphic recordings on the DBS-treated night were compared with th...