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Imperata cylindrica is a globally distributed plant known for its antiepileptic attributes, but there is a scarcity of robust evidence for its efficacy. The study investigated neuroprotective attributes of Imperata cylindrica root extract on neuropathological features of epilepsy in a Drosophila melanogaster mutant model of epilepsy. It was conducted on 10-day-old (at the initiation of study) male post-eclosion bang-senseless paralytic Drosophila (parabss1) involved acute (1-3 h) and chronic (6-18 days) experiments; n = 50 flies per group (convulsions tests); n = 100 flies per group (learning/memory tests and histological examination). Administrations were done in 1 g standard fly food, per os. The mutant flies of study (parabss1) showed marked age-dependent progressive brain neurodegeneration and axonal degeneration, significant (P < 0.05) bang sensitivity and convulsions, and cognitive deficits due to up-regulation of the paralytic gene in our mutants. The neuropathological findings were significantly (P < 0.05) alleviated in dose and duration-dependent fashions to near normal/normal after acute and chronic treatment with extract similar to sodium valproate. Therefore, para is expressed in neurons of brain tissues in our mutant flies to bring about epilepsy phenotypes and behaviors of the current juvenile and old-adult mutant D. melanogaster models of epilepsy. The herb exerts neuroprotection by anticonvulsant and antiepileptogenic mechanisms in mutant D. melanogaster due to plant flavonoids, polyphenols, and chromones (1 and 2) which exert antioxidative and receptor or voltage-gated sodium ion channels' inhibitory properties, and thus causing reduced inflammation and apoptosis, increased tissue repair, and improved cell biology in the brain of mutant flies. The methanol root extract provides anticonvulsant and antiepileptogenic medicinal values which protect epileptic D. melanogaster. Therefore, the herb should be advanced for more experimental and clinical studies to confirm its efficacy in treating epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study that examines the effectiveness of galvanic cutaneous stimulation provided during curves or intermittently during the whole circuit in mitigating simulator syndrome. Topics include the use of drivers in the study, comparison of scores of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) across different stimulation conditions, screening of drivers for motion sickness, and application of stimulation through electrodes placed on the sternocleidomastoid muscles of neck.

This study was designed to determine whether there is a lateralized pattern of cognitive dysfunction in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Fifty right-handed patients with SLE, but no history of cerebrovascular disease participated in the study. Thirty right-handed healthy subjects matched for age and education served as controls. SLE and healthy control subjects underwent a three-hour neuropsychological evaluation designed to measure attention, memory, visual spatial skills, verbal skills reasoning, psychomotor speed, and motor function. A cognitive disability index was created to identify cognitive impairment. Percentile tables based on the performance of all subjects were constructed for 20 component scores. Any subject with five or more component scores below the 25th percentile was designated impaired. Using this criterion, cognitive impairment was identified in 50% of patients with SLE and 20% of healthy controls. Patients with SLE were impaired on measures of psychomotor speed/fluency, verbal speed/fluency and verbal memory. This pattern of performance on neuropsycholgical testing was consistent with left hemisphere brain dysfunction. The observed deficits were not clearly attributable to vascular lesions and suggest immune-mediated effects on specific brain regions in a subgroup of patients with SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]