Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to place before you the April issue of this year, which contains four original articles and one case report. There is one article from USA and the rest are from Hyderabad, Nagpur, Varanasi and Lucknow. A greater contribution from scientists engaged in neuroscience research in other parts of the country would be welcome.

Neuropathic pain can affect up to 65% of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and its treatment is considered to be most challenging. Manipulation of the inflammatory cascade may be effective in its treatment as local inflammatory processes may be involved in its development and severity of pain. Rajpal et al., in their study using the rat model of thermal analgesia have shown that delayed administration of continuous subcutaneous rolipram significantly decreased the manifestation of thermal analgesia as measured by hind limb withdrawal latency time.

Topiramate (TPM) is a novel antiepileptic agent classified as a sulfamate substituted monosaccharide, approved by FDA in 1996. It has also been reported to be a promising medication for the treatment of both alcohol and nicotine dependence, presumably by its ability to modulate cortico-mesolimbic dopamine function profoundly. Since dopamine rich sites in the limbic area and basal ganglia are specially vulnerable to centrally acting drugs, this may be responsible for long lasting behavioral dysfunction in rats. Misra and Singh have shown that TPM treated rat offspring showed enhanced anxiety, increased fearfulness, reduction in spatial learning and memory on behavioural tests performed in Open Field, Elevated plus maze and Morris water maze. Their findings suggest that prenatal exposure to TPM during a critical period of brain development leaves a lasting imprint on the brain.

Many prooxidant and antioxidant enzymes are known to participated in oxidative stress induced signaling and injury in cerebral ischemia. Several studies have reported a beneficial effect of traditional herbs on free radical induced damage in cerebral ischemia. Plants of the genus Phyllanthus (Family: Euphorbiaceae) have commonly been used in the treatment of liver disease. The efficacy of Phyllanthus on oxidative stress related parameters has not been scientifically explored. Naga et al., have estimated the content of glutathione and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in bilateral carotid artery occluded rats after 10 days pretreatment with Phyllanthus fraternus extract and show that oral administration of Phyllanthus decreased the oxidative stress in rat brain by altering the levels of lipid peroxidation and glutathione.

Teleosts represent the most abundant of bony fishes. Diencephalon is considered to be the most complex region of the brain in teleosts and is the neuronal integration centre in the goldfish for gustatory information, reproduction and vision. Baile et al., have studied the nuclear identification of olfactory system, forebrain and pituitary gland in Notopterus notopterus (order-Ostioglossiformes) using Kluver and Barrera and Aldehyde fuschin staining techniques. As teleosts is a big group of fishes showing enormous diversity, it is important to uncover the underlying pattern of brain to determine the anatomical and functional correlation of its various parts.

The procoagulant state in a pregnant woman along with the various physiological changes predispose a patient to both ischemic (arterial and venous) and haemorrhagic strokes during pregnancy and immediate postpartum period. Paliwal et al., describe a patient with a prosthetic heart valve who developed an ischemic stroke despite a normal INR. They discuss the various causes of pregnancy associated stroke and its management.

Dr Rakesh Shukla