Yong-qin Kuang

Using behavioral, pharmacological, and molecular methods, lots of studies reveal that depression is closely related to the abnormal neural plasticity processes occurring in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system such as the hippocampus and amygdala. Meanwhile, functions of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the other neurotrophins in the pathogenesis of depression are well known. The maladaptive neuroplastic in depression may be related to alterations in the levels of neurotrophic factors, which play a central role in plasticity. Enhancement of neurotrophic factors signaling has great potential in therapy for depression. This review highlights the relevance of neurotrophic factors mediated neural plasticity and pathophysiology of depression. These studies reviewed here may suggest new possible targets for antidepressant drugs such as neurotrophins, their receptors, and relevant signaling pathways, and agents facilitating the activation of gene expression and increasing the transcription of neurotrophic factors in the brain.

BACKGROUND: Although some trials assessed the effectiveness of aerobic exercise for Parkinson's disease (PD), the role of aerobic exercise in the management of PD remained controversial. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence about whether aerobic exercise is effective for PD. METHODS: Seven electronic databases, up to December 2013, were searched to identify relevant studies. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed methodological quality based on PEDro scale. Standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of random-effects model were calculated. And heterogeneity was assessed based on the I2 statistic. RESULTS: 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 901 patients were eligible. The aggregated results suggested that aerobic exercise should show superior effects in improving motor actions (SMD, -0.57; 95% CI -0.94 to -0.19; p = 0.003), balance (SMD, 2.02; 95% CI 0.45 to 3.59; p = 0.01), and gait (SMD, 0.33; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.49; p<0.0001) in patients with PD, but not in quality of life (SMD, 0.11; 95% CI -0.23 to 0.46; p = 0.52). And there was no valid evidence on follow-up effects of aerobic exercise for PD. CONCLUSION: Aerobic exercise showed immediate beneficial effects in improving motor action, balance, and gait in patients with PD. However, given no evidence on follow-up effects, large-scale RCTs with long follow-up are warrant to confirm the current findings.

BACKGROUND: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a recurrent chronic nervous system disease. The conventional treatment is medicine. So far, anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) and selective amygdalohippocampectomy (SAH) are becoming the two main approaches. METHODS: To compare the therapeutic effects between SAH and ATL in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy, we conducted a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials. The review applied the search strategy developed by the Cochrane Epilepsy Group and the Rev. Man 5.0 software to analyze. We also drew the forest plots with Risk Ratio (RR) as effect size. Six studies were eligible, with a total of 626 patients (337 patients with SAH and 289 patients with ATL). RESULTS: There was no statistical significance of postoperative seizure control rate after 1 year, as well as the increase rate and decrease rate of verbal memory function between SAH and ATL. There is no statistical difference of therapeutic effects between SAH and ATL in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. CONCLUSION: It is advised that clinically, physicians should choose the appropriate approach according to operation indications to improve the results of postoperative recovery.