This paper deals with HRV analysis, creating segments for this analysis, calculating HRV parameters and their classification for automatic detection of ischemia. First part of the work is dedicated to theoretical describtion of heart anatomy, ECG reading, its processing and methods of HRV analysis. Next part of this work outline the principle of creating segments used for calculation of HRV parameters. Last part of the work indtroduces classification of said parameters with the help of multilayered neural networks and finding their best possible setup based on least classification error and computing time achieved. Calculation of HRV parameters and classification was realized using software Matlab.

This paper describes the manifestations of ischemia in the ECG signals and summarizes some methods allowing automatic detection of ischemia. Morphological features were then calculated from ECG signals available from UBMI and statistically evaluated to select features appropriate for further automatic classification. Multilayer feedforward neural network was used for classification of heart beats. The neural network was designed in Matlab. Classification performance up to 99.9% was obtained on available dataset.

Neurorehabilitation is a multidisciplinary rehabilitation process used in patients with neurological diseases. These patients have not only movement disorders but also cognitive and neurobehavioral problems as well as aphasias. Their rehabilitation is a long term process and the results are often unsatisfactory. Neuroplasticity - physiological basis for neurorehabilitation induces functional restitution or recovery after secondary brain damage. Various neuroprotective substances (e.g. erythropoietin - EPO) are tested to empower mechanisms of plasticity after brain injury. Preclinical studies testing efficacy of those substances in animal brain damage models are essential to prepare clinical trials. The aim of the study was to reveal the influence of EPO combined with rehabilitation on functional outcomes after global cerebral hypoxia. FIM (Functional independence measure) test was used for functional evaluation and Meilli test for visual memory of the patients who attended special program for rehabilitation in clinical part. Patients who came earlier had better prognosis than patients who came later. In experimental part three-months old male Wistar albino rats were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia for 60 minutes in an experimental chamber, simulating an altitude of 8000 m. Half of the animals received...

Polydendrocytes, or NG2 glia, are fourth type of glial cells in mammal central nervous system. In the adult brain, NG2 glia represent important cell type with respect to their role in gliogenesis and nervous tissue regeneration following injury. Ligands from the Wingless/Int (Wnt) family play key role in proliferation and differentiation of NG2 glia and they can also influence regeneration of nervous tissue after ischemia. The aim of this thesis was to elucidate the role of NG2 glia in neurogenesis and gliogenesis following ischemic brain injury and investigate the impact of Wnt signalling on the reaction of NG2 glia to this type of injury. To fulfil these aims, transgenic mouse strains with tamoxifen-inducible recombination, that enabled simultaneous expression of red fluorescent dye and either activation or inhibition of the Wnt signalling pathway in NG2 glia, were employed. To induce ischemic injury, middle cerebral artery occlusion model was used. Changes in differentiation and electrophysiological properties of NG2 glia were analysed using patch-clamp technique. Activation of the Wnt signalling pathway under physiological conditions and 7 days after ischemic injury led to increased differentiation of NG2 glia toward astrocytes, while 3 days after ischemic injury activation of this signalling...

Title: Neurological deficit after focal cerebral ischemia in rats - pharmacological intervention Objectives: The goal of the thesis was to determine the effect of 7-nitroindazole, a selective inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase, after focal ischemic stroke in rats. Methods: Twenty adult male Wistar rats were used in this experiment. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: ischemic stroke was given to half of them, the rest were sham operated. 10 animals were given 7-nitroindazole (25mg/kg) to protect neuronal ischemic brain damage. After a few weeks the rats were tested with a set of behavioral tests: Ladder rung walking test, Bar holding test, Rotarod test and Open field test. To evaluate the volume of brain damage the stereotactic method was used. The brain sections were cut and compared with atlas. This study was supported by Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences ČR in Prague. Results: The present results show that the 7-nitroindazole has no side effects on healthy rats. The long-term effect on rats after ischemic stroke was not proved. There were a few positive trends observed such as an increase of locomotor speed, increased explorative behaviour and better coordination outcome on RotaRod. On the other hand the brain tissue damage was bigger and the time of hanging in...

Neurorehabilitation is a multidisciplinary rehabilitation process used in patients with neurological diseases. These patients have not only movement disorders but also cognitive and neurobehavioral problems as well as aphasias. Their rehabilitation is a long term process and the results are often unsatisfactory. Neuroplasticity - physiological basis for neurorehabilitation induces functional restitution or recovery after secondary brain damage. Various neuroprotective substances (e.g. erythropoietin - EPO) are tested to empower mechanisms of plasticity after brain injury. Preclinical studies testing efficacy of those substances in animal brain damage models are essential to prepare clinical trials. The aim of the study was to reveal the influence of EPO combined with rehabilitation on functional outcomes after global cerebral hypoxia. FIM (Functional independence measure) test was used for functional evaluation and Meilli test for visual memory of the patients who attended special program for rehabilitation in clinical part. Patients who came earlier had better prognosis than patients who came later. In experimental part three-months old male Wistar albino rats were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia for 60 minutes in an experimental chamber, simulating an altitude of 8000 m. Half of the animals received...

Cardiovascular diseases represent the most important health risk factors because they are responsible for more than 50% of total mortality. Among them, the ischemic heart disease is leading cause of mortality. From the whole spectrum of different cardioprotective phenomena we have selected: 1) adaptation to chronic normobaric hypoxia (CNH) as the traditional experimental model in our laboratory area and 2) protective effect of exercise which in recent years represents promising and clinically relevant protective mechanism. The whole thesis is based on two studies. Aim of the first study was to characterize the expression of the main pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, in hearts of rats adapted to CNH. Chronic TNF-α inhibition by infliximab was used for discovering of certain role of TNF-α in CNH. We showed that increased myocardial level of TNF-α during adaptation to CNH was contributed via its receptor TNFR2 and nuclear factor κB-dependent activation of protective redox signalling with increased antioxidant defence. This adaptive pathway participates on the infarct size-limiting effect of CNH. Aim of the second study was find out whether exercise training and CNH could play synergy in cardiac protection in rats model. We reported that CNH and exercise reduced infarct size but their combination...

This master’s thesis deals with methods for detection of myocardial ischemia in the ECG signal. There is explained the principle of spreading of electrical activity through the heart muscle and its manifestations on the ECG. There are also mentioned the causes of myocardial ischemia and various methods of its detection in the ECG signal. In great detail there is explained the process of implementation of the two selected detection methods of myocardial ischemia in MATLAB. These methods are tested on the data from The PTB Diagnostic ECG Database. Finally, there is the presentation of detection results on used data and overall assessment of created algorithms.

Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain and its transmission is responsible for higher brain functions, such as learning, memory and cognition. Glutamate action is mediated by a variety of glutamate receptors, though their properties were until now studied predominantly in neurons. Glutamate receptors are expressed also in NG2-glia, however their role under physiological conditions as well as in pathological states of the central nervous system is not fully understood. The aim of this work is to elucidate the presence, composition and function of these receptors in NG2-glia under physiological conditions and following focal cerebral ischemia. For this purpose we used transgenic mice, in which NG2-glia are labeled by a fluorescent protein for their precise identification. To analyze the expression pattern of glutamate receptors in NG2-glia we employed single-cell RT-qPCR. Furthermore, we used calcium imaging to characterize their functional properties.

The dissertation is concerned to in vivo phosphorus MR spectroscopy (31 P MRS) and 1 H MR imaging (MRI) of muscle in combination with physical workload. The theoretical part of the thesis describes methodology of 31 P MRS measurement and its clinical use in research of metabolic changes in diabetes, heart failure and peripheral artery disease (PAD). The results of the thesis are divided into methodical and clinical parts. Methodical results deal with the construction of experimental equipment, software modification and development, and show of the reproducibility of the dynamic 31 P MRS. The MRI after exercise was used to the describe involvement of the individual calf muscles to muscle contraction during pedal movement in MR compatible ergometer. The first part of the clinical results of the thesis describes changes in muscle metabolism during diabetes and critical ischemia. In patients with critical ischemia the effect of treatment by angioplasty or transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells was evaluated. In the second part of the clinical results the metabolism of patients with heart failure complicated by sideropenia was studied. In these patients the effect of experimental treatment by iron carboxymaltose was described.