Prefrontal oxygenation varies as a function of response inhibition performance in healthy participants but not in youth with non-suicidal self-injury

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), a highly prevalent symptom in adolescence, has been associated with impulsivity. Behavioral measures of response inhibition in combination with the recording of brain activity potentially improve the understanding of the etiology of the behavior. We therefore investigated prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation during a response inhibition task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in n = 152 adolescents with NSSI and n = 47 healthy controls. We compared groups regarding behavioral performance and PFC oxygenation and tested whether the association between task performance and PFC oxygenation differed between groups. PFC oxygenation was slightly higher in adolescents with NSSI than in controls. Further, there was evidence for a group by performance interaction: In healthy controls, higher oxygenated hemoglobin was associated with better task performance, which was not the case in the NSSI group. We did not find evidence of associations between PFC oxygenation and clinical measures. Our study provides preliminary evidence of altered brain functional correlates of response inhibition in adolescents with NSSI potentially reflecting deficient top-down regulation of limbic regions through prefrontal regions. Due to methodological limitations of the current study, findings must be interpreted with caution and future studies should optimize task designs for fNIRS processing.

Preliminary results with non-centrifuged autologous fat graft and percutaneous aponeurotomy for treating Dupuytren's disease

The aim of this study was to describe our experience with treating Dupuytren's disease using needle aponeurotomy and non-centrifuged autologous fat grafting. The study included 17 patients (18 hands). Patients were treated with needle aponeurotomy and non-centrifuged autologous fat graft under general anesthesia. The fat grafts were injected into the surgical area so as to stay in contact with the operated site. An extension splint was used for 1 week postoperatively and the patients received hand therapy for 3 weeks. Before the treatment, the contracture in the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints was a mean of 45.06 ± 13.44 degrees and 36.56 ± 13.09 degrees, respectively. It was 1.61 ± 1.65 and -0.56 ± 3.78 degrees at 3 months, respectively. The difference between these measurements was statistically significant. The mean follow-up period was 12 months. The results were satisfactory and no complications were observed during the follow-up period. Based on the results of the study, percutaneous aponeurotomy with non-centrifuged autologous fat grafting was found to have significantly beneficial effects in the treatment of Dupuytren's disease.