other Related Fields Related Fields کنگره Congress <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Introduction: </span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Early-stage Parkinson&#39;s disease is associated with the loss of dopaminergic neurons and impaired hippocampal neurogenesis, leading to cognitive deficits. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a novel intervention, exhibits anti-inflammatory and stimulatory effects on neural cells. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (<i>BDNF</i>) plays a pivotal role in hippocampal neurogenesis. This study investigated the efficacy of CAP in stimulating hippocampal neurogenesis in patients with early-stage Parkinson&#39;s disease, examining the mediating roles of BDNF gene expression and cognitive performance.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Materials and Methods: </span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">A quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design was conducted in neurology clinics in Tehran. The sample consisted of 60 patients with early-stage Parkinson&rsquo;s disease (30 in the intervention group and 30 in the control group), all at Hoehn-Yahr stages 1&ndash;2. The intervention group received 12 sessions of 20-minute each of CAP (dose: 10 kV/cm) applied to the scalp, especially the temporal region. The assessment tools included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination for cognitive evaluation, quantitative polymerase chain reaction for measuring peripheral blood <i>BDNF</i> gene expression, and hippocampal MRI to measure the volume of the dentate gyrus (DG). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Results and Discussion: </span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Post-intervention, neurogenesis (based on DG volume) increased by 28% (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <i>BDNF</i> gene expression mediated 35% (&beta; = 0.35) and cognitive performance (with MoCA score improving from 22.4 to 26.7) mediated 42% (&beta; = 0.42), both of which were statistically significant. SEM confirmed the indirect pathway: CAP &rarr; BDNF &rarr; neurogenesis (GFI = 0.95; RMSEA=0.06). No adverse events were reported during the study.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Conclusion: </span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">CAP is a safe and effective approach for stimulating hippocampal neurogenesis in early-stage Parkinson&rsquo;s disease, acting through BDNF. It is recommended that CAP be integrated into clinical treatment protocols.</span></span></span></span></span></div> <br> &nbsp; <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td></td> <td><img alt="" height="84" src="./files/site1/images/Picture1.jpg" width="507" ></td> <td></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> BDNF, Cognitive performance, Cold plasma, Hippocampal neurogenesis, Parkinson’s disease 54 54 http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-916&slc_lang=other&sid=1 Mohammad Hossein Roudbari Yes