miRNA expression profile is altered differentially in the rat brain compared to blood after experimental exposure to 50 Hz and 1 mT electromagnetic field.

Common complex diseases are a result of host and environment interactions. One such putative environmental factor is the electromagnetic field exposure, especially the occupational extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field, 50 Hz, 1 mT, whose neurobiological relevance remains elusive. We evaluated the effects of long-term (60 days) ELF-MF exposure on miRNAs previously related to brain and human diseases (miR-26b-5p, miR-9-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-106b-5p, miR-107, miR-125a-3p). A total of 64 young (3 weeks-old) and mature (10 weeks-old) male/female Wistar-Albino rats were divided into sham and ELF-MF exposed groups. After sacrifice of the animals, blood samples from rat's tail vein and brain tissues were collected. The expression levels of miRNAs were investigated with Real-Time PCR technique and TaqMan probe Technology. All miRNA expression levels of the young female rats show a significant decrease in blood according to brain samples (p < 0.05), but fewer miRNAs displayed a similar significant decrease in the blood. In conclusion, these new observations might inform future clinical biological psychiatry studies of long-term electromagnetic field exposure, and the ways in which host-environment interactions contribute to brain diseases.

Management of patients with status epilepticus treated at a pediatric intensive care unit in Turkey.

We investigated the etiology, treatment, and prognosis of patients treated for status epilepticus at a pediatric intensive care unit. Medical records of 89 patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit with status epilepticus were reviewed retrospectively. Patients ranged in age from 2 months to 18 years (mean age ± S.D., 4.7 ± 3.8 years). Seizure etiologies comprised remote symptomatic in 47 (52.7%), febrile in 15 (16.9%), acute symptomatic in 12 (13.5%), and unknown in 15 (16.9%). Seizure durations ranged from 30-60 minutes in 58 patients, whereas 31 manifested refractory seizures longer than 60 minutes. Seizure control was achieved within 30 minutes in 55 patients, from 30-60 minutes in 19, and after 60 minutes in 15. Rectal diazepam was administered to 38 (42.7%) patients before admission to the hospital. Length of intensive care unit stay increased with increasing seizure duration (P < 0.05). The total mortality rate was 3.4%. This lower mortality rate may be considered evidence of the effectiveness and reliability of the status epilepticus treatment protocol in our pediatric intensive care unit. Prehospital rectal diazepam administration and the treatment of brain edema in the intensive care unit may be useful in the management of patients with status epilepticus.