Workshop to introduce functional neurosurgery

ADK Hospital has announced plans to conduct a workshop during the pre-conference of this year's Brain and Spine Conference. The workshop aims to introduce a new field of neurology in the Maldives.

The hospital said that the precursor event to the annual Brain and Spine Conference will host workshops specifically designed for doctors, nurses specializing in neurology, and other related services and affiliates.

ADK Hospital said it was targeting to introduce functional neurosurgery at this year's pre-conference workshop.

Functional neurosurgery is a specialty within neurosurgery that focuses on diseases and conditions resulting from neurochemical or electrophysiologic issues in the brain or spinal cord such as Parkinson's Disease. This specialty aims to change the chemical and electrical activity in the brain or spinal cord to improve symptoms using deep brain stimulation (DBS), responsive neurostimulation (RNS) or spinal cord stimulation.

The workshop aims to provide training and education to neurologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and nurses regarding brain stimulation and brain lesioning.

Training will be provided by expert doctors from Nepal, India and the United States.

Surgeons will be given practical training on how to conduct brain lesioning as well.

ADK Hospital's resident neurosurgeon Dr. Ali Niyaf said they will be conducting a new surgery on the sidelines of the Brain and Spine Conference similar to previous years.

The surgery will be a lateral lumbar interbody fusion, which involves making an incision at the side of the waist. During the procedure, the damaged disc will be removed, and the space between the bony vertebrae will be filled with a spacer bone graft.

A team of international doctors will be overseeing and instructing the surgery while prior relevant training will be provided, said Dr. Niyaf.

The surgery comes under this year's theme for the conference; "Functional neurosurgery and minimal invasive surgery".





Website: neurology.pencis.com


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Natural methods to increase dopamine levels

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, that forms part of the reward system the brain uses to motivate certain behaviors. It also supports motor control and executive function and helps people plan and prioritize.

When a person completes a beneficial or enjoyable behavior, neurons in the brain release dopamine. Neurons also release dopamine before an action to motivate individuals to begin.

This article discusses how to increase dopamine naturally, the signs of low dopamine levels, and when to speak with a doctor.

Eat protein

L-tyrosine, or tyrosine, is an amino acid that is a fundamental part of protein. According to a 2019 studyTrusted Source, tyrosine increases the availability of dopamine and may improve cognitive ability.

• Dietary sources high in tyrosine include:dairy products
• eggs
• beans
• whole grains
• beef
• lamb
• chicken
• fish
• nuts

The body can also convertTrusted Source the amino acid L-phenylalanine into L-tyrosine. Phenylalanine is present inTrusted Source certain animal and cereal sources.

Reduce saturated fat intake

A 2021 review suggests diets high in saturated fat may affect dopamine release and reuptake. Long-term diets high in saturated fat may dampen dopamine signaling.

This may link to inflammation affecting dopamine neurons and lessening the effects of the neurotransmitter.

• People can take the following steps to reduce their saturated fat intake by:eating fewer processed meat products
• trimming excess fat from meat
• opting for lean cuts of red meat
• substituting meat for alternatives, such as legumes, nuts, beans, and soy products
• choosing fish or skinless chicken
• replacing butter, lard, or coconut oil with liquid oils, such as olive or peanut oil

Website: neurology.pencis.com

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Practicing this one habit daily can increase GABA level by 27% in less than one hour

Why increasing GABA level is important?

Inside the brain, there are messengers called neurotransmitters. Two important ones for anxiety are GABA and serotonin. Low levels of these chemicals can lead to anxiety, causing restlessness, insomnia and worry. Medications can help, but there's also a natural practice that increases levels by 27%

To address the same, there're medications designed to target these neurotransmitters for anxiety relief. However, there's a natural and safe practice that can increase these levels.

Research and ancient practice show that meditation can reduce anxiety and boost GABA levels. Studies, like the one from the Boston University School of Medicine, found that even less than an hour of meditation can increase GABA levels by 27%.

This simple habit can make a big difference in balancing neurotransmitters and easing anxiety.Meditation isn't just good, it's also a boost for serotonin - another important brain chemical that helps with anxiety. Studies from the University of Montreal have proven that meditation can crank up serotonin level, making us stronger against anxiety.

Website: neurology.pencis.com

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Researchers synthesize fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymeric nanoparticles to detect neurotransmitters

The animal brain consists of tens of billions of neurons or nerve cells that perform complex tasks like processing emotions, learning, and making judgments by communicating with each other via neurotransmitters. These small signaling molecules diffuse – move from high to low concentration regions – between neurons, acting as chemical messengers. Scientists believe that this diffusive motion might be at the heart of the brain's superior function. Therefore, they have aimed to understand the role of specific neurotransmitters by detecting their release in the brain using amperometric and microdialysis methods. However, these methods provide insufficient information, necessitating better sensing techniques.

To this end, scientists developed an optical imaging method wherein protein probes change their fluorescence intensity upon detecting a specific neurotransmitter. Recently, a group of researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan led by Professor Yasuo Yoshimi has taken this idea forward. They have successfully synthesized fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymeric nanoparticles (fMIP-NPs) that serve as probes to detect specific neurotransmitters–serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine. Notably, developing such probes has been considered difficult so far. Their groundbreaking work, published in Volume 13, Issue 1 of the journal Nanomaterials on 3 January 2023 involves contributions from Mr. Yuto Katsumata, Mr. Naoya Osawa, Mr. Neo Ogishita, and Mr.Ryota Kadoya.

Prof. Yoshimi briefly explains the fundamentals of fMIP-NP synthesis. "It involves multiple steps. First, the target neurotransmitter to be detected is fixed on a glass beads surface. Next, monomers (building blocks of polymers) with different functions – detection, cross-linking, and fluorescence – polymerize around the beads, enveloping the neurotransmitter. The resulting polymer is then washed out to obtain a nanoparticle with the neurotransmitter structure imprinted as a cavity. It will fit only the target neurotransmitter, just like only a particular key can open a lock. Hence, fMIP-NPs can detect their corresponding neurotransmitters in the brain."

When the target neurotransmitters fit inside the cavity, the fMIP-NPs swell and get bigger. The researchers suggest that this increases the distance between the fluorescent monomers that, in turn, reduces their interactions, including self-quenching that suppresses fluorescence, with each other. As a result, the fluorescence intensity is enhanced, indicating the presence of the neurotransmitters. The researchers improved their selectivity of the detection by adjusting the neurotransmitter density on the surface of the glass beads during fMIP-NP synthesis.

Additionally, the choice of material for fixing the neurotransmitters was found to play a crucial role in the detection specificity. The researchers found that blended silane is better than pure silane for attaching the neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine, to the glass bead surface. The fMIP-NPs synthesized using blended silane specifically detected serotonin and dopamine. In contrast, those synthesized using pure silane resulted in non-specific fMIP-NPs that responded to non-target neurotransmitters, identifying them incorrectly as serotonin and dopamine. Likewise, poly([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride (METMAC)-co-methacrylamide) but not METMAC homopolymer was found to be an effective dummy template of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. While the former produced fMIP-NPs that selectively detected acetylcholine, the latter led to unresponsive nanoparticles.

These results demonstrate the feasibility of fMIP-NPs in the selective detection of neurotransmitters released in our brain. "Imaging the brain with this new technique could reveal the relationship between neurotransmitter diffusion and brain activity. This, in turn, can help us treat neurological diseases and even create advanced computers that mimics human brain functions," said Professor Yoshimi, who is enthusiastic about the innovative research.

Website: neurology.pencis.com

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What are neurotransmitters?

Neurotransmitters are often referred to as the body’s chemical messengers. They are the molecules used by the nervous system to transmit messages between neurons, or from neurons to muscles.

Communication between two neurons happens in the synaptic cleft (the small gap between the synapses of neurons). Here, electrical signals that have travelled along the axon are briefly converted into chemical ones through the release of neurotransmitters, causing a specific response in the receiving neuron.

A neurotransmitter influences a neuron in one of three ways: excitatory, inhibitory or modulatory.

An excitatory transmitter promotes the generation of an electrical signal called an action potential in the receiving neuron, while an inhibitory transmitter prevents it. Whether a neurotransmitter is excitatory or inhibitory depends on the receptor it binds to.

Neuromodulators are a bit different, as they are not restricted to the synaptic cleft between two neurons, and so can affect large numbers of neurons at once. Neuromodulators therefore regulate populations of neurons, while also operating over a slower time course than excitatory and inhibitory transmitters.

Most neurotransmitters are either small amine molecules, amino acids, or neuropeptides. There are about a dozen known small-molecule neurotransmitters and more than 100 different neuropeptides, and neuroscientists are still discovering more about these chemical messengers. These chemicals and their interactions are involved in countless functions of the nervous system as well as controlling bodily functions.

Key neurotransmitters

The first neurotransmitter to be discovered was a small molecule called acetylcholine. It plays a major role in the peripheral nervous system, where it is released by motor neurons and neurons of the autonomic nervous system. It also plays an important role in the central nervous system in maintaining cognitive function. Damage to the cholinergic neurons of the CNS is associated with Alzheimer disease.

Glutamate is the primary excitatory transmitter in the central nervous system. Conversely, a major inhibitory transmitter is its derivative γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), while another inhibitory neurotransmitter is the amino acid called glycine, which is mainly found in the spinal cord.

Many neuromodulators, such as dopamine, are monoamines. There are several dopamine pathways in the brain, and this neurotransmitter is involved in many functions, including motor control, reward and reinforcement, and motivation.

Noradrenaline (or norepinephrine) is another monoamine, and is the primary neurotransmitter in the sympathetic nervous system where it works on the activity of various organs in the body to control blood pressure, heart rate, liver function and many other functions.

Neurons that use serotonin (another monoamine) project to various parts of the nervous system. As a result, serotonin is involved in functions such as sleep, memory, appetite, mood and others. It is also produced in the gastrointestinal tract in response to food.

Histamine, the last of the major monoamines, plays a role in metabolism, temperature control, regulating various hormones, and controlling the sleep-wake cycle, amongst other functions.




Website: neurology.pencis.com


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