ABSTRACT
Breakthroughs with rapid changes are the themes of the development in Neurorestoratology this year. Given the very difficult circumstances of the persistent COVID-19 pandemic, most of the colleagues in Neurorestoratology have conducted meaningful research and obtained encouraging results, as described in the 2020 Yearbook of Neurorestoratology. Neurorestorative progress during 2021 depicts recent findings on the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, neurorestorative mechanisms and clinical therapeutic achievements. The pathogenesis and risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease were parts of the most prominent hot research topics. Yet, it remains controversial whether β-amyloid accumulation and tau protein deposition are the results of, or the reasons for the neurodegenerative processes. Neurogenesis is an important neurorestorative mechanism, however, it is questionable whether neural stem cells are present in the adult humans brain. Thus, neurogenesis may not derive from endogenous neural stem cells in the adult humans. Neurorestorative treatments were important areas of the 2021 research efforts and these therapies are improving the quality of life in patients with neurological diseases. There was major exploration of cell-based therapies for neurological disease and injury. However, unfortunately several multi-center, double-blind or observing-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trials of mesenchymal stromal cells or products of mesenchymal stem cells failed to show positive results in ischemic stroke when employed in the sub-acute or recovery phases as there were no appreciable differences in the quality of life as compared with controls. Excitingly, increased numbers of clinical investigations of brain–computer interface (BCI) were reported that showed benefits for patients with neurological deficits. In pharmaceutical neurorestorative therapies, Aducanumab (Aduhelm) and Sodium Oligomannate are approved respectively by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to treat patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Although, the decisions to approve these drugs are highly contentious in the medical and scientific community because of the contradictory findings or other problems associated with the drug usage. We believe that repeating low-level evidence studies that showed negative results or scanty evidences in randomized control trials is of little significance. However, we strongly recommend conducting multi-center, double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trials for promising innovative therapeutic methods to facilitate their possible clinical translation.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has been an emerging and rapidly evolving risk to people of the world in 2020. Facing this dangerous situation, many colleagues in Neurorestoratology did their best to avoid infection if themselves and their patients, and continued their work in the research areas described in the 2020 Yearbook of Neurorestoratology. Neurorestorative achievements and progress during 2020 includes recent findings on the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, neurorestorative mechanisms and clinical therapeutic achievements. Therapeutic progress during this year included advances in cell therapies, neurostimulation/neuromodulation, brain-computer interface (BCI), and pharmaceutical neurorestorative therapies, which improved neurological functions and quality of life for patients. Four clinical guidelines or standards of Neurorestoratology were published in 2020. Milestone examples include: 1) a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of olfactory ensheathing cell treatment of chronic stroke showed functional improvements; 2) patients after transhumeral amputation experienced increased sensory acuity and had improved effectiveness in work and other activities of daily life using a prosthesis; 3) a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis used a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI to achieve accurate and speedy computer input; 4) a patient with complete chronic spinal cord injury recovered both motor function and touch sensation with a BCI and restored ability to detect objects by touch and several sensorimotor functions. We hope these achievements motivate and encourage other scientists and physicians to increase neurorestorative research and its therapeutic applications.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the way healthcare systems operate around the world. The major hurdles faced have been availability of personal protective equipment, intensive care unit beds, ventilators, treatments and medical personnel. Detroit, Michigan has been an epidemic 'hotspot' in the USA with Wayne County among the hardest hit counties in the nation. The Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital, in the heart of Detroit, has responded effectively to the pandemic by altering many aspects of its operations. The rapid engagement of the department and enhanced utilisation of teleneurology were two of the pivotal elements in the successful response to the pandemic. In this review, we describe the transformation our department has undergone, as it relates to its infrastructure redesigning, coverage restructuring, redeployment strategies, medical education adaptations and novel research initiatives.