Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry articles from April 2003

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry archives from April 2003

Stroke care: the way forward; "nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome" (Samuel Johnson). (Editorial).
April 1, 2003... The development of coronary care units, cardiac rehabilitation programmes, and thrombolysis revolutionised the management of acute myocardial infarction. Similarly, the development of stroke wards and stroke teams, thrombolysis, and aggressive...

Visible infarction on CT after stroke--what does it tell? (Editorial Commentaries).(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... There are many predictors of functional outcome after stroke, among which consciousness level on admission, concentration of blood glucose, and radiological extent of the infarct or haematoma spring into mind. Not all infarcts are visible on...

Current research on diagnosing dementia: quis custodiet ipsos Custodes. (Editorial Commentaries).
April 1, 2003... Quis custodiet ipsos Custodes (who is to guard the guards themselves?). (1) What is the link between this rather pithy observation by a first century AD Roman poet and current research on diagnosing dementia? Read on! The paper by Tian et...

False localising signs. (Physical Signs).
April 1, 2003... Neurological signs have been described as "false localising" if they reflect dysfunction distant or remote from the expected anatomical locus of pathology, hence challenging the traditional clinicoanatomical correlation paradigm on which...

Intracranial hypertension secondary to giant arachnoid granulations. (Neurological Picture).
April 1, 2003... We present a case of intracranial hypertension in a non-obese male in whom the only finding resulting from additional tests was the presence of giant arachnoid granulations in lateral sinuses. A 51 year old man presented episodes of...

Occipital hypoperfusion in Parkinson's disease without dementia: correlation to impaired cortical visual processing. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyse changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in Parkinson's disease (PD) without dementia. Methods: Twenty eight non-demented patients with PD and 17 age matched normal subjects...

Onset age and severity of motor impairment are associated with reduction of myocardial [I.sup.123]-MIBG uptake in Parkinson's disease. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: To elucidate the factors associated with severity of cardiac sympathetic nerve involvement in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: [I.sup.123]-metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake was examined in 88 patients with PD. The...

Limb length and dementia in an older Korean population. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: There has been little research into risk factors for dementia outside Western settings, in particular the importance of early life nutrition as estimated by adult body size. This study investigated the associations of arm and leg...

A note on Hoover's sign. (Historical Note).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Hoover's sign (1) is a manoeuvre aimed to separate organic from non-organic paresis of the leg. The sign relies on the principle of synergistic contraction. Involuntary extension of the "paralysed" leg occurs when flexing the contralateral leg...

Neuropsychological prediction of conversion to dementia from questionable dementia: statistically significant but not yet clinically useful. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Background: Verbal memory impairment, one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD), may help identify people with cognitive impairment, insufficient for a diagnosis of dementia (questionable dementia: QD), at risk of developing AD....

One year changes in disability in multiple sclerosis: neurological examination compared with patient self report. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... The most common neurological outcome measure for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Originally, Kurtzke developed this disability status scale, later revised to a more refined classification system,...

Symptoms can predict the need for computed tomography in minor head injury. (Echo).
April 1, 2003... A method that uses common odds ratios to predict risk of abnormality from symptoms could help doctors to provide more appropriate care for minor head injury. Pooled odds ratios from published case-control studies of patients with minor...

Cognitive impairment in probable multiple sclerosis. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: To evaluate and characterise cognitive impairment in the very early stage of multiple sclerosis (MS), in which patients are still diagnosed as suffering from probable MS. Methods: The Brief Repeatable Battery-Neuropsychological...

Reliability of the variables in a new set of models that predict outcome after stroke. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: To provide valid predictions of outcome, the variables included in a prognostic model must be capable of reliable collection. The authors have recently reported a set of simple but rigorously developed models that predict outcome...

Visible infarction on computed tomography is an independent predictor of poor functional outcome after stroke, and not of haemorrhagic transformation. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... The International Stroke Trials Collaborative Group Objectives: To examine a very large dataset to provide a robust answer to the question of whether visible infarction on computed tomography was (a) an independent predictor of functional...

Recanalisation of cerebral venous thrombosis. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objective: To investigate recanalisation in the first 12 months after cerebral venous thrombosis. Methods: 33 consecutive patients presenting with cerebral venous thrombosis were enrolled in the study. Diagnosis was made by magnetic...

Specific phobia is a frequent non-motor feature in stiff man syndrome. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objective: To investigate systematically the rate and type of phobia in stiff man syndrome and its variants, and to compare patients with stiff man syndrome with and without phobia for sociodemographic and neurological characteristics. ...

Clinical application of neuroimaging in epilepsy. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objective: To evaluate the use of neuroimaging in clinical practice and to assess the prevalence of detected structural abnormalities in epilepsy patients in a clinical set up. Methods: 919 outpatients were identified and the scan results...

Preoperative motor system brain mapping using positron emission tomography and statistical parametric mapping: hints on cortical reorganisation. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: This study investigated the applicability of statistical parametric mopping (SPM) for analysing individual preoperative brain mapping studies in patients with cerebral mass lesions for neuro-surgical planning. The study further...

Is a combination of Tc-SPECT or perfusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging with spinal tap test helpful in the diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus? (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the combination of spinal tap test (STT) with cerebral perfusion measurement assessed either by Tc-bicisate-SPECT (Tc-SPECT) or perfusion weighted MRI (pwMRI), or both, for a better preoperative...

Neuronline.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Amoebaweb: www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/amoebaweb Classics in the History of Psychology: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca A good web directory is a valuable site that can lead you to places even "Google" may not take you. Amoebaweb...

Treatment of IgM antibody associated polyneuropathies using rituximab. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: Polyneuropathies with associated serum IgM antibodies are often difficult to treat. Rituximob is a monoclonal antibody directed against the B cell surface membrane marker CD2O. Rituximab eliminates B cells from the circulation, and,...

Neuromuscular and sensory disturbances in patients with well treated coeliac disease. (Paper).
April 1, 2003... Objectives: A body of evidence shows that coeliac disease is associated with protean manifestations outside the intestine, and neurological disorders are well recognised. However, it remains obscure whether there are signs of clinical or...

[beta] endorphin concentrations in PBMC of patients with different clinical phenotypes of multiple sclerosis. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... The possible link between the opioid peptide [BETA] endorphin and the heterogeneity of the clinical course of multiple sclerosis (MS) was investigated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) concentrations of [BETA] endorphin were measured...

Motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor in patients with multiple sclerosis. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... The use of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to study the integrity of pelvic floor motor innervation is poorly described in the literature. This study evaluated the clinical use of pelvic floor MEPs in 16 women with multiple sclerosis. Lower...

A diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging study of brain tissue from patients with migraine. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Objective: To measure in viva, using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) the extent of pathological damage of normal appearing brain tissue (NABT) from patients with migraine. Methods: Dual echo and DT-MRI scans of the...

Thyrotoxic autoimmune encephalopathy: a repeat positron emission tomography study. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Thyroid related autoantibodies have been related to the development of encephalopathy, known as Hashimoto's encephalopathy. However, their relation with the encephalopathy occurring in patients with Graves' disease has not been well...

Paraneoplastic ophthalmoplegia and subacute motor axonal neuropathy associated with anti-GQ1b antibodies in a patient with malignant melanoma. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... A 68 year old woman developed oculomotor paresis shortly after metastatic progression of her melanoma was discovered. She was then immunised with the tumour antigen MAGE-3 in combination with an immunological adjuvant. During immunisation her...

Middle cerebral artery territory infarction sparing the precentral gyrus: report of three cases. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... ********** We report three patients with large middle cerebral artery infarctions in the non-dominant hemisphere, with striking recovery of motor function. In each case this excellent functional outcome correlated with selective sparing of...

Effects of decompressive craniectomy on brain tissue oxygen in patients with intracranial hypertension. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... This report examined the intraoperative course of partial pressure of brain tissue oxygen ([P.sub.ti][O.sub.2]) and intracranial pressure (ICP) during surgical decompressive craniectomy for medically intractable intracranial hypertension due to...

Neurological stamp: Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930).
April 1, 2003... Little is written in textbooks of medical history about Nansen, who is better known as the Norwegian who founded modern polar exploration. His contributions were in many spheres. Nansen was an invertebrate zoologist who in 1882 was appointed...

American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease): an unrecognised cause of stroke. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Background: American trypanosomiasis, known as Chagas' disease (CD) is a major cause of cardiomyopathy in South America. Irreversible damage to the heart can appear 10 to 20 years after chagasic infection. The frequency of cerebrovascular...

Surgery for Parkinson's disease: lack of reliable clinical trial evidence. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... There has been a striking resurgence of interest in surgery for Parkinson's disease (PD) with new targets identified and new procedures developed. This systematic review identified over 500 studies of surgery for PD published since 1990,...

High concentrations of procollagen propeptides in chronic subdural haematoma and effusion. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Procollagen propeptides increase in the CSF after subarachnoid haemorrhage, reflecting increased collagen synthesis in the arachnoid. We studied the induction of dural collagen synthesis after cerebral trauma by measuring the carboxyterminal...

Ictal magnetoencephalographic discharges from elementary visual hallucinations of status epilepticus. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Purpose: To report the rare opportunity to study ictal magnetoencephalography (MEG) in a 26 year old man with simple partial status epilepticus that presented as elementary visual hallucinations (EVHs) in the right upper visual field. ...

Adult onset Niemann-Pick disease type C presenting with psychosis. (Shot Report).
April 1, 2003... Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is an autosomal recessive neurometabolic disorder that rarely presents in adulthood, and is associated with cognitive decline, various movement disorders (ataxia, chorea, dystonia, and myoclonus), a vertical...

Interlocking finger test: a bedside screen for parietal lobe dysfunction. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... This study sought to determine the utility of an interlocking finger task in screening for parietal lobe dysfunction. The ability of 69 patients to imitate a standardised set of four interlocking finger figures was compared with concurrent...

Measurement of pulse pressure profiles in patients with trigeminal neuralgia. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Applanation tonometry is a non-invasive method of assessing the arterial blood pressure profiles in bath the peripheral and systemic circulation. In this study the authors examined whether there were differences in these profiles in patients...

Brain cysts associated with mutation in the Aristaless related homeobox gene, ARX. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... The novel Aristaless related homeobox gene, ARX, is widely expressed in the brain and is thought to play a key role in the regulation of brain development. Neurological phenotypes caused by ARX mutations have recently started to unfold. We...

Sudden bilateral simultaneous deafness with vertigo as a sole manifestation of vertebrobasilar insufficiency. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... A 68 year old woman presented with bilateral sudden simultaneous hearing loss and transient spontaneous vertigo as a sole manifestation of vertebrobasilar insufficiency. Extensive investigation to exclude other causes was unremarkable. Magnetic...

The natural course of Sneddon syndrome: clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings in a prospective six year observation study. (Short Report).
April 1, 2003... Sneddon syndrome (SS) is increasingly recognised as a cause of ischaemic stroke in young adults. As the natural course of SS is not well defined, the authors performed a prospective six year clinical and neuroradiological follow up study....

Letters.
April 1, 2003... Effect of deprivation on time to hospital in acute stroke Acute stroke is the leading neurological cause of death and disability. After years of therapeutic nihilism there is now some optimism that effective treatments might become more...

PostScript.(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... CORRESPONDENCE Benefit of folic acid supplementation in parkinsonian patients treated with levodopa We read with interest the recent excellent review by Reynolds on the role of folic acid and the risks and benefits of its...

Autonomic failure. A textbook of clinical disorders of the autonomic nervous system, 4th edition. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Edited by Christopher J Mathias and Sir Roger Bannister (Pp 562, [pounds sterling]70.00). Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 0 19 262850 X The concept of autonomic disorders or dysfunction is an uncomfortable one for...

Functional rehabilitation in neurosurgery and neurotraumatology. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Edited by K R H von Wild (Pp 147, [euro]76). Published by Springer-Verlag Wien, New York, 2002. ISBN 3 211 83739 6 This volume is Acta Neurochirurgica (Suppl 79), archiving the proceedings of the First International Conference of...

Radiosurgery, volume 4. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Edited by D Kondziolka, M McDermott, J Rgis, R Smee, and K Takakura (Pp 294, EUR 196.50). Published by Karger, Basel, 2002. ISBN 3-8055-7365-0 Radiosurgery is a periodical for papers from the biannual meetings of the International...

Textbook of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 4th edition. (Book Review).(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Edited by Stuart Yudofsky and Robert Hales (Pp 1375 $219.00) Published by the American Psychiatric Publishing, Washington DC, 2002. ISBN 1 58562 004 1 "Clinical neurosciences" has been added to the title of this well known textbook of...

Acquired damage to the developing brain--timing and causation. (Book Review).(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Edited by Wanley Squier (Pp 227, [pounds sterling]95.00 hb). Published by Arnold, London, 2002. ISBN 0 340 75930 5 Brain damage is a major burden to the affected individuals, their families, and to society. When it occurs around the time of...