Neurologists' knowledge of and attitudes toward physical exercise for people with epilepsy in Latin America.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the favorable effects of exercise in people with epilepsy (PWE), the lower participation in physical/sports activities may be partly due to inadequate knowledge and attitudes of health professional about their benefits. In this regard, in 2016, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) through its Task Force on Sports and Epilepsy published a consensus paper that provided general guidance concerning participation in exercise/sport activities for PWE. We investigated views and attitudes toward physical exercise practice among neurologists in Latin America. METHODS: A 22-item cross-sectional online questionnaire-based study among neurologists included the following: (1) profile of participating neurologists, (2) doctors' attitudes and perceptions about physical/sport activities for PWE, and (3) neurologist experience concerning patient's report about their involvement in physical/sport activities. RESULTS: In total, 215 of 519 neurologists from 16 different countries returned the questionnaire. Although about one-third of neurologists had no information about the effect of exercise on epilepsy, and 60% of them did not know the published recommendations of the ILAE Task Force on Sports and Epilepsy, the majority (92.5%) advised the practice of exercise, were aware of sport activities for their patients and agreed that exercise can reduce comorbidities associated with epilepsy (X2 = 249.34; p < 0.001). Most of the neurologists did not believe that exercise is a seizure-inducing factor, but more than half would restrict their patients with uncontrolled seizures for exercise practice (X2 = 250.77; p < 0.001). Most barriers considered by PWE in the past, currently are not viewed by neurologists and their patients (X2 = 249.34; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: While this study reveals that neurologists have some knowledge gaps in attitudes toward physical exercise for PWE, encouraging attitudes were observed by neurologists. Considering that physicians can impact on patient confidence and decision, a better communication between neurologists and their patients concerning the benefits of exercise can increase PWE participation in physical/sports activities. To improve this scenario, more efforts should be made to increase the neurologists' knowledge and perceptions on this issue.

Physical exercise during pregnancy minimizes PTZ-induced behavioral manifestations in prenatally stressed offspring.

Stress during gestation has been shown to affect susceptibility and intensity of seizures in offspring. Environmental stimuli, such as maternal physical exercise, have shown to be beneficial for brain development. Although studies have demonstrated the deleterious influence of stress during pregnancy on seizure manifestation in offspring, very little is known on how to minimize these effects. This study verified whether physical exercise during the pregnancy associated with prenatal stress minimizes seizure susceptibility in offspring at the beginning of postnatal development. Pregnant rats and male pups were divided into the following groups: control, stress, stress/forced exercise, and stress/voluntary exercise. Behavioral manifestations were analyzed after injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ; 45 and 60 mg/kg) at ages P15 and P25. Increased behavioral manifestations and seizure severity was observed in the stress group compared with the control group at both ages. At the dose of 45 mg/kg, offspring of stressed mothers who performed both physical exercise models showed an increase in latency for the first manifestation and decrease in the seizures severity at both ages compared with the mothers groups who were only stressed. Prenatal restraint stress potentiated PTZ-induced seizure behavior, and both forced and voluntary exercise during gestation attenuates the negative effects of PTZ-induced offspring.

Melanomacrophage functions in the liver of the caecilian Siphonops annulatus.

Melanomacrophages are phagocytes that synthesize melanin. They are found in the liver and spleen of ectothermic vertebrates, and in the kidney of fish. In agnathan and elasmobranch fish, melanomacrophages are seen as isolated cells, and forming clusters in all the other vertebrates. The natural phagocytic activity of melanomacrophages is poorly characterized, as most of the research works have focused on induced phagocytic activity only. Furthermore, little is known about amphibian melanomacrophages, mainly about those in caecilians - wormlike amphibians in the order of Gymnophiona, which is the least known group of terrestrial vertebrates. The present research work aimed at the structure and function of hepatic melanomacrophages of Siphonops annulatus, a species largely found in South America. We identified the role of these cells in the control of circulating basophils (pro-melanogenic cells), in the turnover of liver collagen stroma and in the hemocatheresis, interrelated physiological mechanisms.

Myelin, aging, and physical exercise.

Myelin sheath is a structure in neurons fabricated by oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells responsible for increasing the efficiency of neural synapsis, impulse transmission, and providing metabolic support to the axon. They present morpho-functional changes during health aging as deformities of the sheath and its fragmentation, causing an increased load on microglial phagocytosis, with Alzheimer's disease aggravating. Physical exercise has been studied as a possible protective agent for the nervous system, offering benefits to neuroplasticity. In this regard, studies in animal models for Alzheimer's and depression reported the efficiency of physical exercise in protecting against myelin degeneration. A reduction of myelin damage during aging has also been observed in healthy humans. Physical activity promotes oligodendrocyte proliferation and myelin preservation during old age, although some controversies remain. In this review, we will address how effective physical exercise can be as a protective agent of the myelin sheath against the effects of aging in physiological and pathological conditions.

The Potential Role of Previous Physical Exercise Program to Reduce Seizure Susceptibility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies.

Background: Clinical and pre-clinical studies indicate a reduction in seizure frequency as well as a decrease in susceptibility to subsequently evoked seizures after physical exercise programs. In contrast to the influence of exercise after epilepsy previously established, various studies have been conducted attempting to investigate whether physical activity reduces brain susceptibility to seizures or prevents epilepsy. We report a systematic review and meta-analysis of different animal models that addressed the impact of previous physical exercise programs to reduce seizure susceptibility. Methods: We included animal model (rats and mice) studies before brain insult that reported physical exercise programs compared with other interventions (sham, control, or naïve). We excluded studies that investigated animal models after brain insult, associated with supplement nutrition or drugs, that did not address epilepsy or seizure susceptibility, ex vivo studies, in vitro studies, studies in humans, or in silico studies. Electronic searches were performed in the MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, PsycINFO, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) databases, and gray literature, without restrictions to the year or language of publication. We used SYRCLE's risk of bias tool and CAMARADES checklist for study quality. We performed a synthesis of results for different types of exercise and susceptibility to seizures by random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Fifteen studies were included in the final analysis (543 animals), 13 of them used male animals, and Wistar rats were the most commonly studied species used in the studies (355 animals). The chemoconvulsants used in the selected studies were pentylenetetrazol, penicillin, kainic acid, pilocarpine, and homocysteine. We assessed the impact of study design characteristics and the reporting of mitigations to reduce the risk of bias. We calculated a standardized mean difference effect size for each comparison and performed a random-effects meta-analysis. The meta-analysis included behavioral analysis (latency to seizure onset, n = 6 and intensity of motor signals, n = 3) and electrophysiological analysis (spikes/min, n = 4, and amplitude, n = 6). The overall effect size observed in physical exercise compared to controls for latency to seizure onset was -130.98 [95% CI: -203.47, -58.49] (seconds) and the intensity of motor signals was -0.40 [95% CI: -1.19, 0.40] (on a scale from 0 to 5). The largest effects were observed in electrophysiological analysis for spikes/min with -26.96 [95% CI: -39.56, -14.36], and for spike amplitude (µV) with -282.64 [95% CI: -466.81, -98.47]. Discussion: Limitations of evidence. A higher number of animal models should be employed for analyzing the influence of exerciseon seizure susceptibility. The high heterogeneity in our meta-analysis is attributable to various factors, including the number of animals used in each study and the limited number of similar studies. Interpretation. Studies selected in this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that previous physical exercise programs can reduce some of the main features related to seizure susceptibility [latency seizure onset, spikes/min, and spike amplitude (µV)] induced by the administration of different chemoconvulsants. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier CRD42021251949; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=251949.

Rudimentary eyes of squamate fossorial reptiles (amphisbaenia and serpentes).

The rudimentary characteristic of the eyes of fossorial animals raises some questions regarding its evolution and functionality. Would these eyes result from atrophy or from stagnated development? How would its visual function work? Anatomical investigations of these organs are the fundamental preamble to answer those questions, which are still little explored by the literature. In this article we have studied anatomical aspects of the eyes of three species of fossorial reptiles, within the suborder Amphisbaena (Amphisbaena alba, Amphisbaena mertensi, Leposternon infraorbitale), as well as a species within the ophidian suborder (Typhlops brongersmianus). The minuscule eyes (1-2 mm diameter) were visualized through a scale, a translucent area which corresponds to the spectacle. This spectacle is a thinner and transparent scale, covering a conjunctival sac. The retrobulbar space was filled with the harderian gland. The eyes of Typhlops presented an oval shape, whereas Amphisbaena specimens presented cup-shaped eyes. In Amphisbaenian sclera is comprised of cartilage, while the thin sclera of Typhlops consists of connective tissue and striated muscle fibers. The retina presented all the typical layers found in vertebrates, regardless the species. The characteristics involved in the fossil adaptation of these species include: reduced size of the eyeball, rudimentary cornea, absence of the anterior chamber, presence of a complex iris-ciliary body, and lens with amorphous nucleate cells. The analysis of the eye morphology of these animals suggests that there might be a specific function concerning light perception.