Browsing by Author "Bodkin, Cynthia L."

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    GABA and Glutamate Levels in Occlusal Splint-Wearing Males with Possible Bruxism
    (Elsevier B.V., 2015-07) Dharmadhikari, Shalmali; Romito, Laura M.; Dzemidzic, Mario; Dydak, Ulrike; Xu, Jun; Bodkin, Cynthia L.; Manchanda, Shalini; Byrd, Kenneth E.; Department of Oral Biology, IU School of Dentistry
    Objective The inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of anxiety behavioural disorders such as panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder and is also implicated in the manifestation of tooth-grinding and clenching behaviours generally known as bruxism. In order to test whether the stress-related behaviours of tooth-grinding and clenching share similar underlying mechanisms involving GABA and other metabolites as do anxiety-related behavioural disorders, we performed a Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) study for accurate, in vivo metabolite quantification in anxiety-related brain regions. Design MRS was performed in the right hippocampus and right thalamus involved in the hypothalamic−pituitary−adrenal axis system, together with a motor planning region (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/pre-supplementary motor area) and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Eight occlusal splint-wearing men (OCS) with possible tooth-grinding and clenching behaviours and nine male controls (CON) with no such behaviour were studied. Results Repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant Group × Region interaction for GABA+ (p = 0.001) and glutamate (Glu) (p = 0.031). Between-group post hoc ANOVA showed significantly lower levels of GABA+ (p = 0.003) and higher levels of Glu (p = 0.002) in DLPFC of OCS subjects. These GABA+ and Glu group differences remained significant (GABA+, p = 0.049; Glu, p = 0.039) after the inclusion of anxiety as a covariate. Additionally, GABA and Glu levels in the DLPFC of all subjects were negatively related (Pearson's r = −0.75, p = 0.003). Conclusions These findings indicate that the oral behaviours of tooth-grinding and clenching, generally known as bruxism, may be associated with disturbances in brain GABAergic and glutamatergic systems.
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    Myasthenia Gravis and Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome: New Developments in Diagnosis and Treatment
    (Dove Press, 2022-12-22) Pascuzzi, Robert M.; Bodkin, Cynthia L.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    “Myasthenia Gravis is, like it or not, the neurologist’s disease!” (Thomas Richards Johns II, MD Seminars in Neurology 1982). The most common disorders in clinical practice involving defective neuromuscular transmission are myasthenia gravis (MG) and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). The hallmark of weakness related to malfunction of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is variability in severity of symptoms from minute to minute and hour to hour. Fatigable weakness and fluctuation in symptoms are common in patients whether the etiology is autoimmune, paraneoplastic, genetic, or toxic. Autoimmune MG is the most common disorder of neuromuscular transmission affecting adults with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 10,000. While LEMS is comparatively rare, the unique clinical presentation, the association with cancer, and evolving treatment strategies require the neurologist to be familiar with its presentation, diagnosis, and management. In this paper we provide a summary of the meaningful recent clinical developments in the diagnosis and treatment of both MG and LEMS.