Electrophysiological Electroencephalogram Research Articles

Intranasal nerve growth factor administration improves neurological outcome after GBS meningitis.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin that promotes neural recovery and plasticity after experimental brain injury, supporting neuronal growth, differentiation, and survival of brain cells. Only a few studies reported NGF administration in pediatric patients with impaired brain functions after traumatic injuries, ischemic or infectious diseases, such as meningitis. We described the beneficial therapeutic effects of human-recombinant nerve growth factor (hr-NGF) treatment in an infant with persistent unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), due to late-onset group B Streptococcus meningitis. The infant received five monthly cycles of intranasal hr-NGF (0.1mg/kg, 3 times daily for 7 consecutive days) through a mucosal atomizer device (MAD). NGF administration improved functional [positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), single-photon emission/computed tomography (SPECT/CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)] assessments, electrophysiological [Electroencephalogram (EEG)] studies, as well as main cognitive processes and clinical and neurological functions. After hr-NGF treatment, significant improvements in facial mimicry, attention, motor reactions, oral motility, and feeding capacity were observed. She also recovered some hypothalamic functions and her cough reflex was restored. No side effects were reported during and after the treatment. For the first time ever, hr-NGF has been successfully utilized in an infant with UWS and severe neurologic outcome due to a bacterial meningitis. Although further studies are needed for better understanding the neuroprotective role of this neurotrophin, intranasal hr-NGF administration appears to be a promising and save rescuing strategy treatment in infants with severe neurological impairment after brain damage.

Electroencephalogram Source Connectivity in the Prediction of Electroconvulsive Therapy Outcome in Major Depressive Disorder.

Objectives. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common and potentially lethal disorder affecting up to 14% of all persons worldwide. However, one-third to thwo-thirds of patients are nonresponders to first-line therapy. Even the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as the option of choice in therapy-resistant MDD still shows a high proportion of nonresponders. In case of a predicted nonresponse to ECT, for example, by means of electrophysiological electroencephalogram (EEG) parameters, other therapies of MDD (eg, augmentation, polypharmacy etc) could be chosen. Methods. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed 2-minute resting state EEGs from patients with MDD who underwent ECT (6-12 sessions with 3 sessions per week) between 2006 and 2015 at the University Hospital of Zurich. Following several lines of evidence, we hypothesized altered linear EEG connectivity within the alpha band being predictive for treatment outcome. We used a network-based statistics (NBS) approach to compare connectivity measures between responders and nonresponders. Source estimates and connectivity measures were mapped using low-resolution brain tomography (LORETA). As the main outcome parameter served the retrospectively assessed efficacy index (CGI-E) from the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) rating scale. Results. Responders in comparison with non-responders showed a significant lower linear lagged connectivity in widespread cortical areas within the EEG alpha 2 band. Additionally, there were strong correlations between CGI ratings and connectivity strength mainly within frontal cortices. Conclusions. Pretreatment EEG-connectivity within the alpha 2 band has a predictive value for the efficacy of ECT treatment.