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Background and Purpose: Carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) could be considered for preventing stroke in patients with carotid artery stenosis. This study aimed to determine the incidence and the risk factors of the early and mid‐term complications associated with CAS. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from March 2011 to March 2019. Patients at high risk and standard risk for carotid endarterectomy were included. The primary composite outcome was defined as stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and death in the first 30 days after CAS. All‐cause mortality, vascular mortality, and stroke were investigated during mid‐term follow‐up. Results: A total of 579 patients (618 CAS) were recruited (mean age: 71.52 years). Overall, 394 (68.40%), 211 (36.63%), 179 (31.07%), and 96 (16.72%) patients had hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, or were cigarette smokers, respectively. Primary composite outcomes were observed in 2.59% of patients (1.55% stroke, 0.69% MI, and 1.72% death). Atrial fibrillation was a predictor of primary composite outcome in multivariate logistic regression (p =.048). The presence of total occlusion in the contralateral carotid artery was significantly associated with the risk of stroke in univariate logistic regression (p =.041). The patients were followed for a period ranging from 1 to 83 months. The overall survival rate for all‐cause mortality was 93.48% at 1 year, 77.24% at 5 years, and 52.92% at 8 years. All‐cause mortality was significantly higher among patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis (p =.014). Conclusion: CAS provides acceptable short‐term and mid‐term outcomes in a unique population of high‐ and standard‐surgical‐risk, symptomatic and asymptomatic, octogenarian, and nonoctogenarian patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The clinical differentiation of Parkinson's disease (PD) from other extrapyramidal syndromes has made a challenge in neurology. This study aimed to compare the specificity and sensitivity of brain MRI volumetry and dopamine transporter scans in differentiating PD from other extrapyramidal syndromes in the early stages of the disease.Methods: This study included 34 patients younger than 70 years old with less than 3 years of extrapyramidal symptoms. Demographic and clinical history of the patients, including age, sex, and disease duration, was gathered. Disease severity was assessed using Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III (UPDRS III). For all patients, 99m Tc-TRODAT single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and MRI volumetry were performed. Patients were followed up for 1 year and examined for final diagnosis.Results: According to the quantitative 99m Tc-TRODAT analysis, all of the specific binding ratio (SBR) parameters, including right, left, and bilateral SBRs, were significantly higher in the non-Parkinsonian patients. Also, the results indicated a high diagnostic accuracy for both quantitative 99m Tc-TRODAT analysis (about 88% for SBR parameters) and MRI volumetry (71% for bilateral olfactory bulbs volume) in diagnosing PD. Regarding the diagnosis of PD, there were no significant differences between quantitative scan results and olfactory bulb volumetry according to the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves.Conclusion: 99m Tc-TRODAT has a higher accuracy in differentiation of early PD from non-Parkinsonian conditions, particularly essential tremor. Olfactory bulbs volumetry by using MRI can also serve as a potential alternative method in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease characterized by brain cholinergic dysfunction. Evidence suggests the impairment of memory retrieval phase in AD. It has been shown that CaMKII‐α expressing neurons are selectively reduced in the hippocampus in AD brains. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of scopolamine on the memory retrieval phase and the hippocampal CaMKII‐α signaling. In addition, the effect of sub‐chronic administration of agmatine against scopolamine induced memory and possible hippocampal CaMKII‐α deregulation was investigated in mice. Method: Adult male NMRI mice were administered with agmatine at the doses of 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/kg/i.p. or saline for 11 days. Acquisition and retrieval tests of passive avoidance task were performed on days 10 and 11, respectively (30 Min following agmatine treatment). Scopolamine (1 mg/kg/i.p.) was administered once, 30 Min before retrieval test. Upon completion of the behavioral tasks, the hippocampi were isolated for western blot analysis to detect the phosphorylated and total levels of CaMKII‐α and beta actin proteins. Result: The results showed that scopolamine induced memory retrieval deficit and decreased the phosphorylated level of hippocampal CaMKII‐α. Sub‐chronic agmatine treatment at the dose of 40 mg/kg prevented scopolamine induced memory retrieval deficit and restored the level of hippocampal phosphorylated CaMKII‐α. Conclusion: This study suggests that hippocampal CaMKII‐α might play a role in scopolamine induced amnesia and sub‐chronic agmatine prevents the impairing effect of scopolamine on the retrieval phase of memory and the phosphorylation of hippocampal CaMKII‐α protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality Of Life (MG-QOL15) questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluation of myasthenia gravis (MG) associated disability. Our study aim was to assess its validity and reliability in the Iranian population.Methods: We enrolled 75 consecutive patients with established MG at 2 neuromuscular clinics in Tehran, Iran. All 75 patients completed the Persian MG-QOL15 and SF-36 questionnaire initially, and 30 filled out the MG-QOL15 questionnaire from 2 to 4 weeks after the initial visit. Concurrent and construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest repeatability of the questionnaire were evaluated.Results: The Persian MG-QOL15 showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.94) and test-retest reliability(r = 0.98; P < 0.001). It also demonstrated adequate concurrent and construct validity; moreover, the MG-QOL15 scores were higher in patients with more severe conditions.Conclusions: The Persian MG-QOL15 is a valid and reliable questionnaire for determination of quality of life in Iranian MG patients. Muscle Nerve 54: 65-70, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]