Ferulic acid inhibits catamenial epilepsy through modulation of female hormones.

Approximately 40% of women with epilepsy experience perimenstrual seizure exacerbation, referred to as catamenial epilepsy. These seizures result from cyclic changes in circulating progesterone and estradiol levels and there is no effective treatment for this form of intractable epilepsy. We artificially increased progesterone levels and neurosteroid levels (pseudo-pregnancy) in adult Swiss albino female mice (19-23 g) by injecting them with pregnant mares' serum gonadotropin (5 IU s.c.), followed by human chorionic gonadotropin (5 IU s.c.) after 46 h. After this, ferulic acid (25, 50, 100 mg/kg i.p.) treatment was given for 10 days. During treatment, progesterone, estradiol, and corticosterone levels were estimated in blood on days 1, 5, and 10. Neurosteroid withdrawal was induced by finasteride (50 mg/kg, i.p.) on treatment day 9. Twenty-four hours after finasteride administration (day 10 of treatment), seizure susceptibility was evaluated with the sub-convulsant pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) dose (40 mg/kg i.p.). Four to six hours after PTZ, animals were assessed for depression like phenotypes using tail-suspension test (TST). Four to six hours following TST, animals were euthanized, and discrete brain parts (cortex and hippocampus) were separated for estimation of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine as well as glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) enzyme activity. PMSG and HCG treatment elevated progesterone and estradiol levels, assessed on days 1, 5, and 10 causing a state of pseudo-pregnancy. Treatment with finasteride increased seizure susceptibility and depression-like characteristics possibly due to decreased progesterone and elevated estrogen levels coupled with decreased monoamine and elevated corticosterone levels. Ferulic acid treatment, on the other hand, significantly decreased seizure susceptibility and depression like behavior, possibly because of increased progesterone, restored estradiol, corticosterone, monoamines, and GAD enzyme activity. We concluded anticonvulsant effect of ferulic acid in a mouse model of catamenial epilepsy, evidenced by favourable seizure attenuation and curative effect on the circulating progesterone, estradiol, and corticosterone levels along with restorative effect on GAD enzyme activity and monoamine levels.

The Raystation conversation: Multidisciplinary perceptions about training, leadership, and communication during implementation of new technology.

PURPOSE: There is very little information guiding cancer centres as they plan for costly and time consuming implementation programs for new technology. The purpose of this research was to explore the perspectives of multiple professional groups directly involved in the implementation of a next generation treatment planning system at a large academic cancer centre . METHODS: This research was a single centre, prospective study using a qualitative design and three-phased approach (interviews, questionnaire, and focus groups). The target population included radiation therapists, oncologists, and physicists that received Raystation training during initial clinical implementation. RESULTS: Training was received positively by most respondents, but the lengthy lead-up time between training and clinical use led to decreased confidence with the software across all professional groups. Multidisciplinary training was not considered useful when learning tool function, but would have been helpful when practicing on clinically relevant cases. Respondents appreciated the proactive communication, as well as the multidisciplinary leadership implementation strategy. Therapist 'Super Users' emerged as a pivotal leadership and communication role in the successful implementation of Raystation. CONCLUSIONS: This research provided valuable multidisciplinary insight into the implementation of Raystation. The multidisciplinary leadership team and proactive communication strategy were considered vital to the success of the implementation. Learner suggestions - such as increasing the number of Therapist 'Super Users', minimizing training-to-clinical lead time, and the creation of practice cases that are more relevant to daily clinical duties - should be incorporated into future training programs for similar new technology.