In contrast to some previous reports, ginkgo biloba extract treatment had no effect on mean defect or contrast sensitivity in this group of normal tension glaucoma patients. (http://www.chictr.org number, ChiCTR-TRC-08000724).

This study was performed to determine the changes in electromyographic activities in the shoulder and forearm muscles when using the bare hands, well-fitting gloves, and gloves that are one size smaller or one size larger for simulated assembly operations. Sixteen asymptomatic seated workers with normal hands and no obvious deformities, skin diseases, or allergies were recruited. The subjects were asked to simulate assembly operations using their bare hands, well-fitting gloves, and one size smaller or one size larger. This study showed that wearing the wrong glove size led to a decrease in forceful activation of the forearm muscle and a compensatory increase in shoulder movement. In contrast, use of the bare hands or wearing well-fitting gloves led to effective forearm muscle activation, which decreased inefficient shoulder movement. These data indicate that wearing the wrong glove size will lead to continuous inefficient use of the forearm and shoulder muscles, and result in overuse of the shoulder.

The synergic effect of regular exercise and resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound with potent antioxidant activity, was investigated against kainate-induced seizures and oxidative stress in mice. After 6 weeks of swimming training, the total body weight decreased and the blood concentration of lactate stabilized statistically in comparison with the sedentary mice, indicate that the training program increased the aerobic resistance of mice. Kainate (30 mg/kg) evoked seizure activity 5 min after injection, and seizure activity was measured seizure rating scores every 5 min up to 2 h. As previously well known experiments, regular exercise and resveratrol (40 mg/kg, daily supplementation for 6 weeks) have an inhibitory effect on kainate-induced seizure activity and oxidative stress. In particularly, a synergistic cooperation of regular exercise and resveratrol was observed in seizure activity, mortality and oxidative stress especially in SOD activity. These results suggest that regular exercise along with an anti-convulsant agent such as resveratrol could be a more efficient method for the prevention of seizure development than exercise alone.

Objective Effective prevention and management strategies of intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) remain elusive due to our limited knowledge regarding its etiology and contributing factors. This hypothesis-generating study aimed to investigate associations between cardiovascular risk factors and IPH for improved understanding of the pathogenesis of IPH. Approach and Results Asymptomatic subjects with 16–79% stenosis on ultrasound underwent carotid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a large-coverage, three-dimensional MRI protocol. Individual plaques (maximum thickness>1.5 mm) in bilateral carotid arteries were identified and presence of IPH was determined. From 80 subjects, 176 de novo plaques were measured, of which 38 (21.6%) contained IPH. Blood pressure (BP), primarily low diastolic BP, was associated with IPH in multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, and plaque size (odds ratio [OR with 95% confidence interval] per 10 mmHg ↑: 0.51 [0.30–0.88]), which was little changed after adjusting for antihypertensive use and systemic atherosclerosis. Antiplatelet use was associated with IPH in age and sex-adjusted models (p=0.018), for which a trend remained after considering plaque size and past medical history (OR for aspirin alone vs. none: 3.1 [0.66–14.8]; OR for clopidogrel or dual therapy vs. none: 5.3 [0.80–35.0]; p=0.083). Conclusions Low diastolic BP was independently associated with IPH, which was unlikely due to treatment difference or BP changes from systemic atherosclerosis. Hemodynamic changes from lowering diastolic BP may be the pathophysiological link. Prospective serial studies are needed to assess whether BP and antiplatelet use are associated with the development of new or repeated IPH.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a common retinal disease in preterm babies. To prolong the lives of preterm babies, high oxygen is provided to mimic the oxygen level in the intrauterine environment for postnatal organ development. However, hyperoxia-hypoxia induced pathological events occur when babies return to room air, leading to ROP with neuronal degeneration and vascular abnormality that affects retinal functions. With advances in neonatal intensive care, it is no longer uncommon for increased survival of very-low-birth-weight preterm infants, which, therefore, increased the incidence of ROP. ROP is now a major cause of preventable childhood blindness worldwide. Current proven treatment for ROP is limited to invasive retinal ablation, inherently destructive to the retina. The lack of pharmacological treatment for ROP creates a great need for effective and safe therapies in these developing infants. Therefore, it is essential to identify potential therapeutic agents that may have positive ROP outcomes, especially in preserving retinal functions. This review gives an overview of various agents in their efficacy in reducing retinal damages in cell culture tests, animal experiments and clinical studies. New perspectives along the neuroprotective pathways in the developing retina are also reviewed.