Cognitive neurorehabilitation based on interactive video technology.

Cognitive impairment is the main cause of disability in developed societies. New interactive technologies help therapists in neurorehabilitation in order to increase patients' autonomy and quality of life. This work proposes Interactive Video (IV) as a technology to develop cognitive rehabilitation tasks based on Activities of Daily Living (ADL). ADL cognitive task has been developed and integrated with eye-tracking technology for task interaction and patients' performance monitoring.

[Consumption of medicinal herbs in patients attending a gastroenterology outpatient clinic]. / Consumo de hierbas medicinales en los pacientes de consultas externas de digestivo.

The consumption of medicinal herbs is one of the most important topics in alternative and complementary medicine. The widespread use of these substances among the general population gives rise to the possibility of therapeutic or toxic effects in patients seeking conventional medical assistance. To determine the frequency of medicinal herb use, the species consumed and the profile of medicinal herb consumers among patients with gastrointestinal disorders, patients attending the gastroenterology outpatient clinic of the Francesc de Borja district hospital (Gandía, Spain) over a 5-month period were interviewed and 539 valid questionnaires were obtained. A total of 34.7% of the interviewees had taken medicinal herbs at some time and 26.9% had used them in the last year. Self-prescription was reported by 67.1%. Medicinal herbs were mainly obtained in the pharmacy or herbalist's (74.7%). The results of medicinal herb therapy were considered good or excellent by 80.3% of the interviewees, average by 18.6% and poor by 1.1%. In the univariate analysis, medicinal herb consumption was positively associated with female sex (p < 0.001), a university education (p < 0.05), consumption of psychotropic drugs (p < 0.005), use of trencar l'enfit (TE, a common practice of magic medicine in Valencia) (p < 0.001), functional gastrointestinal disorders (p < 0.005) and a diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal disorder (p < 0.01). In the multivariate analysis, the variables that remained statistically significant were female sex (p < 0.005), university education (p < 0.01), use of TE and a diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal disorder. Fifty-seven botanical varieties were used. The most frequent varieties were Santolina chamaecyparissus (18.8%), Tilia platyphyllos (6.5%), Thymus vulgaris (6%), Equisetum ramosissimum (4.7%), Mentha pulegium (4.4%) and Valeriana officinalis (4.4%). The results show that consumption of medicinal herbs is frequent among patients attending the gastroenterology outpatient clinic of a district hospital. The probable profile of those showing maximum consumption is: female sex, university education, lower gastrointestinal disorder, functional gastrointestinal disorder, psychotropic drug consumption and use of TE.

Alpha-glucan binding of potato-tuber starch-branching enzyme I as determined by tryptophan fluorescence quenching, affinity electrophoresis and steady-state kinetics.

The affinity of potato tuber starch-branching enzyme-I (PSBE-I) for various linear malto-oligosaccharides, cyclodextrins, (CDs) and macromolecular alpha-glucans was investigated by alpha-glucan induced fluorescence quenching of intrinsic PSBE-I tryptophan residues and by affinity electrophoresis. alpha-Glucan binding was characterised by distinct shifts towards shorter wavelengths of the PSBE-I fluorescence emission spectrum and by concomitant reductions in fluorescence intensity. The magnitudes of both the maximum shift in emission spectrum and reduction in fluorescence intensity were dependent on the alpha-glucan ligands used. Maximum Kd for a range of linear malto-oligosaccharides analysed was 0.13 mM as found at a degree of polymerisation (DP) of 13. Large differences in dissociation constants were measured for CDs with DP 6 (alpha-CD, 6.0 mM), DP 7 (beta-CD, 0.25 mM) and DP 8 (gamma-CD, 0.67 microM). The high-molecular-mass alpha-glucans amylose and amylopectin, both substrates for PSBE-I, showed apparent affinities of 0.018 and 0.066 mg/ml, respectively. Small linear and cyclic oligosaccharides competed with amylopectin in the affinity electrophoresis system and they were also competitive inhibitors for PSBE-I activity. The affinities for oligosaccharides as measured by competition were, however, about 10-fold lower than as measured by fluorescence quenching suggesting the existence of a separate oligosaccharide binding site on PSBE-I. Affinity electrophoresis revealed multiform heterogeneity in the enzyme preparation with respect to alpha-glucan interaction.

Influence of thyroid hormone deficiency in DNA contents in different areas of adult rat brain.

We have studied DNA concentrations in various regions of the adult rat brain in prolonged hypothyroidism of different origin. In both normal and hypothyroid rats hypophysis, cerebellum and hypothalamus contained the highest concentrations of DNA. Hypothyroidism produced a slight decrease in DNA content but this effect varied according to the different regions. These variations were due to changes in their maturation period, a critical and specific target for thyroid hormone action after birth.

[L-thyroxine and triiodo-L-thyronine in the cerebrospinal fluid and hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis of hyper- or hypothyroid rats]. / L-tiroxina y triiodo-L-tironina en líquido cefalorraquídeo y eje hipotálamo hipofisario de ratas, hiper- e hipotiroideas.

L-thyroxine and triiodo-L-thyronine concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), hypothalamus and pituitary gland are measured in male albino-Wistar rats under several experimental thyroid disfunction : including hyperthyroidism induced by L-T3 and L-T4 treatments and surgical hypothyroidism. Radioimmunoassay is carried out by Nejad's method modified in this work. The pattern of thyroid hormone concentrations in CSF is similar to that in serum, but the values obtained are lower. Thyroid hormone concentrations in adenohypophysis as opposed to hypothalamus or cerebral cortex, show an inverse change to functional thyroid status.

Effect of thyroid hormones on the glycolytic enzyme activity in brain areas of the rat.

The glycolytic metabolism through the key enzymes, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, have been studied in the brain areas: anterior cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, septum and hippocampus in adult rats with pharmacologically induced hyperthyroidism. The oxidative metabolism of glucose is accelerated in most brain areas by treatment with high doses of T3, as is shown by the increase in HK activity, approaching normality on reducing the dose. This decrease can also by observed in the PFK activity through the effect of assayed doses of thyroxine. The anterior cortex is the only brain area that does not show significant variations of PK activity through the effects of treatment with thyroid hormones. On the other hand, a general inhibition of the glycolytic anaerobic pathway by treatment with T3 was observed.

[Effect of experimental changes in thyroid function on oxidative metabolism and glutamate dehydrogenase activity in the limbic system of the rat]. / Efecto de las alteraciones experimentales de la función tiroidea sobre el metabolismo oxidativo y actividad de la glutamato deshidrogenasa en el sistema límbico de la rata.

The oxidative metabolism and GDH activity has been studied in the following regions of the brain: frontal cortex, as tissue control, adenohypophysis, hypothalamus and limbic system in adult male rats subjected to alterations of the thyroid function due to excess (by hyperthyroidism with L-thyroxine and thyrotoxicosis with Tri-iodothyronine) or defect (chronic hypothyroidism by thyroidectomy, 131-I treatment and low iodine diet). A different influence of the H.T. was observed in these animals according to the areas studied and the experimental situation induced. All this seems to indicate an oxidative metabolic pattern peculiar to each area of the brain following H.T. administration. On the other hand, the decrease of the QO2 in chronic hypothyroidism in the majority of the areas studied is remarkable. In GDH results activity increased or decreased depending on the absence or presence of thyroid hormones.

[Effect of a new hypoglycemic drug on the blood sugar in rats]. / Acción de un nuevo hipoglucemiante natural sobre glucemia en ratas

A sesquiterpenic lactone has been isolated from an extract of Artemisia cannariensis Lee by Clark's method and column chromatography. The hypoglycemic effects of the drug have been assayed in rats, as compared to different doses of insulin and a known sulphonylures drug. The subatance, which has been identified as vulgarine by professor Gonzalez, has highly significant hypoglycemic effects when administered orally or intravenously in relation to glycemia curves of rats previously injected with saline.