Study Design. Experimental animal study of treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Objective. To investigate the therapeutic effects of administering microRNA-210 (miR-210) to promote angiogenesis in a mouse SCI model. Summary of Background Data. Despite many previous studies regarding SCI, there is no established treatment in clinical practice. miRNAs have attracted immense attention because of their crucial role in human disease, and they have been proposed as potential new therapeutic targets for SCI. Methods. At specific times after administration, mice were analyzed by several methods to examine the distribution of miR-210, histological angiogenesis and neurogenesis, functional recovery from SCI, and the expression levels of target genes of miR-210. Results. After injection of miR-210 into the lesion of the injured spinal cord, expression of endogenous miR-210 increased until 6 days after injection. The administration of miR-210 promoted angiogenesis and astrogliosis, and improved functional recovery after SCI compared with the noninjected controls. Furthermore, the area made up of axons and myelin in the spinal cord tissues caudal to the injury site was larger in mice injected with miR-210 than those of the controls. Apoptotic cell death was lower in mice administered miR-210. After administration of miR-210, the expressions of protein-tyrosine phosphate 1B and ephrin-A3, both gene targets of miR-210, were downregulated at the protein level and protein-tyrosine phosphate 1B expression was also downregulated at the transcriptional level. Conclusion. MiR-210 might contribute to spinal cord repair by promoting angiogenesis via the inhibition of protein-tyrosine phosphate 1B and ephrin-A3. Level of Evidence: N/A

BACKGROUND:Sleep dysfunctions impose a large burden on quality of life for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Several studies on PD reported potential therapeutic effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on motor and non-motor...

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have examined the therapeutic effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) using unilateral anodal stimulation applied either on the left or right brain hemisphere. However, PD involves the dysfunctions of both brain hemispheres. OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the therapeutic effects of bilateral anodal tDCS stimulation on balance and fear of fall outcomes in patient with PD. METHODS: Eighteen patients with idiopathic PD completed the study. Ten sessions of bilateral anodal tDCS stimulation were applied over the FC1 and FC2 targeting both pre-frontal and motor areas for each patient, 5 sessions per week for 2 weeks. Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and 10 meters walk test (10mwt) were applied before and after the stimulation therapy. RESULTS: Paired t-test showed a significant increase in the BBS scores and decrease in the FES-I scores after the bilateral tDCS compared with those scores before tDCS therapy ( P < 0.05), as well improvement in the 10mwt scores. CONCLUSION: Our data showed that bilateral anodal tDCS serves as an effective, safe and feasible approach for rehabilitation of patients with PD with the issues related to balance and fear of fall.