The Role of EEG in the Diagnosis and Management of Patients with Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders affect an individual’s ability to sleep well on a regular and natural basis. Inadequate sleep can have adverse outcomes for health and safety. Electroencephalogram (EEG) has been presented as an authentic indicator to monitor brain activities. In this review paper, different procedures of EEG tests for recording and monitoring brain activity during sleep such as the EEG electrodes system and the Dreem headband (DH) have been introduced. Also, the processes of recording and analyzing the data have been discussed and compared with each other. The results of various stages of sleep from EEG tests help sleep specialists diagnose or evaluate sleep disorders accurately and choose appropriate strategies. Sleep disorder management is integral to provide patients with a safe sleeping environment.

Chronic Supplementation with L-Isoleucine Alone or in Combination with Exercise Reduces Hepatic Cholesterol Levels with No Effect on Serum Glucose, Insulin, or Lipids in Rats Fed a High Fructose Diet

The thought of using branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in the prevention and treatment of certain disorders is becoming increasingly popular. Individual BCAA use has been associated with improving glucose tolerance and liver disease. Previous studies have cited improvements in glucose metabolism with a single dose of L-isoleucine (ILE). However, it is still unclear whether chronic consumption of ILE has any direct benefit. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of chronic ILE supplementation alone or in combination with exercise on fasting serum glucose, insulin, lipids, and lipoprotein cholesterol levels;glucose tolerance;and hepatic lipids in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 40) were divided into Control (low fructose diet);High Fructose diet (HF);HF plus 1.5% ILE (HF + ILE);HF plus exercise (HF + EX);and HF plus 1.5% ILE and exercise (HF + ILE + EX). The HF diets consisted of 70% kcalories from fructose. After 6 weeks of treatment, no significant differences were observed between groups for changes in fasting serum glucose, insulin, lipids, or lipoprotein cholesterol levels. However, hepatic total cholesterol was significantly lower in the HF + ILE + EX compared to the Control and HF, while, the HF + ILE had significantly lower hepatic free cholesterol compared to the HF. We also found no differences between groups for serum glucose response following an oral glucose tolerance test. In conclusion, our study shows that ILE supplementation in rats does not influence serum glucose and lipid biomarkers but may have an influence on lipid metabolic pathways within the liver.

Oxygen generating scaffolds regenerate critical size bone defects

Recent innovations in bone tissue engineering have introduced biomaterials that generate oxygen to substitute vasculature.This strategy provides the immediate oxygen required for tissue viability and graft maturation.Here we demonstrate a novel oxygen-generating tissue scaffold with predictable oxygen release kinetics and modular material properties.These hydrogel scaffolds were reinforced with microparticles comprised of emulsified calcium peroxide(CaO_(2))within polycaprolactone(PCL).The alterations of the assembled materials produced constructs within 5±0.81 kPa to 34±0.9 kPa in mechanical strength.The mass swelling ratios varied between 11%and 25%.Our in vitro and in vivo results revealed consistent tissue viability,metabolic activity,and osteogenic differentiation over two weeks.The optimized in vitro cell culture system remained stable at pH 8-9.The in vivo rodent models demonstrated that these scaffolds support a 70 mm^(3) bone volume that was comparable to the native bone and yielded over 90%regeneration in critical size cranial defects.Furthermore,the in vivo bone remodeling and vascularization results were validated by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase(TRAP)and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)staining.The promising results of this work are translatable to a repertoire of regenerative medicine applications including advancement and expansion of bone substitutes and disease models.