International Journal of Neurorehabilitation

Conventional medical terms, vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), for representing consciousness level of chronic disorders of consciousness (DOC) have two problems to use at bedside. One is a nosological issue, and the other is an issue related to scientific usability for clinical assessment. A three-by-two-graded classification, the chronic DOC scale (CDOCS), without any nosologically unfavorable and equivocal words, was established. The consciousness level of 143 patients with severe chronic DOC both at the time of admission and 24 months after the admission were determined using the VS/MCS classification and CDOCS, and the differences of the results of evaluation for improvement between these were assessed. Forty-seven (33%) and 63 (44%) patients were determined as having improved 24 months after admission on the VS/MCS classification and CDOCS, respectively. There was a significant difference in the percentages between these grading systems (p<0.0001). The advantages of CDOCS are that it makes it possible to avoid using uncomfortable and ambiguous terms and that it is superior for evaluating nuanced consciousness level. We recommend the use of CDOCS for bedside assessment of consciousness level in patients with severe chronic DOC as a supplement for the conventional descriptions.

Addiction is a complex brain condition characterized by physical and psychological consequences. The role of stress in initiation and maintenance of addiction disorder though reviewed constantly, an adequate treatment modality is yet to be considered. The aim of our study was to find the Effectiveness of Neurofeedback Training (NFT) on perceived stress in Alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS).The objectives of the study were to compare pre - post changes in perceived stress in patients with alcohol dependence with (Treatment Group; TG) and without (Treatment As Usual Group; TAU) Neurofeedback Training.The sample consisted of 40 patients, 20 patients in the Treatment Group and 20 patients in the Treatment as usual group. Both the groups were diagnosed with ADS (ICD-10) recruited from the Centre for Addiction Medicine Unit, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS. After screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria, both the groups underwent a pre – post assessment Perceived stress scale. The result showed a significant reduction of stress in Treatment Group compared to Treatment as usual group. The present study highlights the significance of NFT as an effective treatment modality to reduce stress and thereby facilitate abstinence in patients with ADS.

Lymphoma is a blood tumor, with an incidence of 11 cases per 100,000 inhabitants being 25% Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and 75% non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Peripheral neurological involvement is very uncommon (1-5% of lymphomas) and the most are due to NHL. The mechanisms described in peripheral neurological involvement are extrinsic tumor compression, direct infiltration, chemoradiotherapy, infection or paraneoplastic autoimmunity. We report the case of a patient of 69 years with a history of NHL in complete remission with progressive symptoms of pain, weakness, paresthesia and hypoesthesia in right lower limb. After complementary tests, infiltrative lumbosacral plexopathy as the initial manifestation of relapse NHL was diagnosed. For this reason the patient underwent hematological and rehabilitation treatment, without clinical improvement from the functional point of view. We highlight the case because of the uncommon of their presentation and the importance of diagnosis as to the prognosis for recovery.

Evidence suggests that people with autism perform simple reaction time (RT) tasks differently than typically developing (TD) individuals. The current study examines this possibility by investigating the simple total reaction time (TRT) performance and examined effects of practice on a virtual reality motor task (VRMT) in participants with autism. Twenty-seven participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and twenty-seven TD participants completed a TRT test alternated with a VRMT. Significant increases in TRT measures were found postpractice with the VRMT only in the female autistic group. These findings suggest that the VRMT is a promising tool for improving visual RT functioning in autistic individuals.

The clinical applicability of wide spectrum chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin is limited due to induction of severe cardiomyopathy resulting from DNA damage. The present study was aimed to evaluate the protective effect of bael (Aegle marmelos) extract (AME) on the doxorubicin-induced molecular DNA damage in V79 cells. V79 (Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts) cells were treated with 0 or 25 μg/ml AME before exposure to 0, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25 or 50 μg/ml doxorubicin DOX. The DNA damage was studied at different post-doxorubicin treatment times using single cell gel electrophoresis. Doxorubicin caused a maximum DNA damage at 1 h post-DOX treatment indicated by a highest Olive Tail Movement (OTM) and tail DNA, whereas treatment of V79 cells with 25 μg/ml AME enhanced DNA repair at all assessment times with a maximum repair up to 6 h which did not alter thereafter. In another experiment DOX caused a concentration dependent increase in the DNA damage and treatment of V79 cells with 25 μg/ml AME significantly inhibited DOX-induced DNA damage at all post-DOX treatment times. The rate of DNA repair was higher in AME pre-treated cells than DOX-treatment alone. Assessment of cell survival showed a concentration dependent decline in the clonogenicity after DOX-treatment, whereas AME pre-treatment arrested the DOX-induced reduction in the cell survival. The DNA damage and clonogenicity of cells showed a close but inverse relationship, i.e., with increasing DNA damage there was a corresponding reduction in the cell survival. This relationship between cell survival and DNA damage was linear quadratic. Our study demonstrates that AME pretreatment reduced the DOX-induced DNA damage and hastened the DNA repair in V79 cells, thus demonstrating the chemoprotective potential of AME.