Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry articles from December 2001

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry archives from December 2001

Getting our journal to developing countries.(Editorial)
December 1, 2001... For some years now it has been the British Medical Journal Publishing Group's policy to give gratis subscriptions to our Journal to applicants from countries in the developing world. However, in practice this has had its difficulties. Many...

Advances in neuropsychiatry.(Editorial)
December 1, 2001... Conditions characterised mainly by disturbances in behaviour have generally been considered to be poorly understood and of interest and relevance largely to behavioural scientists. However, problems such as cognitive decline, aggression, and...

Plasticity after acute ischaemic stroke studied by transcranial magnetic stimulation.(Editorial)
December 1, 2001... Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an established technique in which a painless pulse of fast rising magnetic field is used to induce an electric current intracranially, causing depolarisation of nerve membranes and the generation of...

Neuropsychiatric phenomena in Alzheimer's disease. (Editorial Commentary).
December 1, 2001... The three expressions of the clinical syndrome of dementia have been well documented: cognitive deficits--amnesia, aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia; neuropsychiatric features--a heterogeneous array of psychiatric symptoms and behavioural...

Chronic facial pain: a multidisciplinary problem. (Nosological Entities?).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Atypical facial pain is an unrecognised and unhelpful diagnosis but one which describes chronic pains that do not fit the present classification system. Due to the site of the pain, patients may seek and, indeed, receive treatment...

Neuropsychiatry of frontal lobe dysfunction in violent and criminal behaviour: a critical review. (Advances in Neuropsychiatry).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To establish the link between frontal lobe dysfunction and violent and criminal behaviour, based on a review of relevant literature. Methods--Articles relating evidence of frontal lobe dysfunction with violence or...

Neurocognitive models of aggression, the antisocial personality disorders, and psychopathy. (Advances in Neuropsychiatry).
December 1, 2001... Abstract This paper considers neurocognitive models of aggression and relates them to explanations of the antisocial personality disorders. Two forms of aggression are distinguished: reactive aggression elicited in response to...

Prevention of spinal cord injury with time-frequency analysis of evoked potentials: an experimental study.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To verify the applicability and validity of time-frequency analysis (TFA) of evoked potential (EP) signals in detecting the integrity of spinal cord function and preventing spinal cord injury. Methods--The spinal...

Relation between brain displacement and local cerebral blood flow in patients with chronic subdural haematoma.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To evaluate the relation between brain displacement, clinical signs and symptoms, and local cerebral blood flow (1CBF) in patients with chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH). Methods--Forty five patients (age range...

Hypothalamic involvement in chronic migraine.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Chronic migraine (CM), previously called transformed migraine, is a frequent headache disorder that affects 2%-3% of the general population. Analgesic overuse, insomnia, depression, and anxiety are disorders that are...

Magnetisation transfer ratio analysis of normal appearing white matter in patients with familial and sporadic multiple sclerosis.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To assess differences in magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) analysis of normal appearing white matter (NAWM) in patients with familial multiple sclerosis (MS) and those with sporadic MS. Methods--10 patients with...

Multiple sclerosis in sibling pairs: an analysis of 250 families.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To assess the potential contribution of genetic factors to clinical phenotype in multiple sclerosis. Methods--Using a cohort of 262 pairs of coaffected siblings from 250 families with multiple sclerosis,...

Phineas Gage and the science of brain localisation. (Neurological Stamp).(commemorative stamp of man who survived traumatic brain injury)
December 1, 2001... An injury with an improbable outcome that occurred to a to a railway foreman on 13 September 1848 had an influence on the science of localisation of brain function. Phineas Gage was the foreman of a railway construction crew working just...

Metabolic and electrophysiological validation of functional MRI.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Although functional MRI is widely used for preoperative planning and intraoperative neuronavigation, its accuracy to depict the site of neuronal activity is not exactly known. Experience with methods that may validate...

Reduced excitability of the motor cortex in untreated patients with de novo idiopathic "grand mal" seizures.
December 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to investigate motor cortex excitability, intracortical excitatory, and inhibitory pathways in 18 patients having experienced a first "grand mal" seizure within 48 hours...

Psychosis and aggression in Alzheimer's disease: the effect of dopamine receptor gene variation. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract This study investigated possible associations between selected polymorphisms in the dopamine receptor genes DRDl and DRD3 with the presence of psychotic phenomena or aggressive behaviour in a community based cohort of 134 patients...

A new neurological entity manifesting as involuntary movements and dysarthria with possible abnormal copper metabolism. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract A few patients with an affected CNS involving abnormalities in copper metabolism have been described that do not fit any known nosological entities such as Wilson's disease or Menkes' disease. Three sporadic patients (two men...

The subthalamic nucleus and Jules Bernard Luys (1828-97). (Historical Note).
December 1, 2001... The 1860s was an interesting time in the development of clinical and anatomical knowledge, particularly that relating to degenerative diseases. In 1863, Nikolaus Friedreich described progressive hereditary degenerative CNS disorder...

Carotid cavernous fistula due to a ruptured intracavernous aneurysm of the internal carotid artery: treatment with selective endovascular occlusion of the aneurysm. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Intracavernous carotid artery aneurysms causing a carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) are rare. These aneurysms usually cause neurological symptoms due to gradual expansion without rupture. If they do rupture they most often lead to a...

A large family with hereditary spastic paraparesis due to a frame shift mutation of the spastin (SPG4) gene: association with multiple sclerosis in two affected siblings and epilepsy in other affected family members. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder characterised by progressive lower limb spasticity and weakness. Some forms have been associated with white matter...

Usefulness of dorsal laser evoked potentials in patients with spinal cord damage: report of two cases. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Stimulation of the dorsal skin with brief laser impulses easily evokes brain potentials (laser evoked potentials, LEPs). Dorsal LEPs were first used to study the conduction velocity in the human spinothalamic tract. In this study...

Phenylketonuria presenting in adulthood as progressive spastic paraparesis with dementia. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract A 57 year old woman living independently in the community presented with four years of progressive spastic paraparesis and dementia. An extensive evaluation for the usual causes of these difficulties was unrevealing, but her serum...

Infundibulohypophysitis in a man presenting with diabetes insipidus and cavernous sinus involvement. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Infundibulohypophysitis is an unusual inflammatory condition that affects the infundibulum, the pituitary stalk, and the neurohypophysis and may be part of a range that includes lymphocytic hypophysitis. Lymphocytic hypophysitis...

"Fou rire prodromique" as the presentation of pontine ischaemia secondary to vertebrobasilar stenosis. (Short Report).(prodrome of crazy laughter)
December 1, 2001... Abstract "Fou rire prodromique" (prodrome of crazy laughter) is a rare form of pathological laughter of uncertain pathophysiology. A patient is presented with pathological laughter as the first manifestation of pontine ischaemia due to...

Basilar artery aneurysm with autonomic features: an interesting pathophysiological problem. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract Unruptured cerebral aneurysms often present with neuro-ophthalmological symptoms but ocular autonomic involvement from an aneurysm of the posterior circulation has not previously been reported. A patient is described with a...

Cortical excitability and sleep deprivation: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract The objective was to assess the changes in cortical excitability after sleep deprivation in normal subjects. Sleep deprivation activates EEG epileptiform activity in an unknown way. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can...

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON/11778) with myoclonus: report of two cases. (Short Report).
December 1, 2001... Abstract The previously unrecognised association of myoclonus in two patients with LHON with the 11778/ND4 pathogenic mutation is described. EEG failed to disclose epileptic figures, and a back averaging study suggested that myoclonus was...

Lack of association of neprilysin polymorphism with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-type neuropathological changes. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2001... Sporadic Alzheimer's disease is a polygenic disease and the relation between many generic risk factors and the development of Alzheimer's disease has been controversial. Accumulation of amyloid [beta]-protein (A[beta]) in the brain is the...

Human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-l) associated myelopathy acquired through a liver transplant. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2001... Subacute myelopathy (HAM/TSP) is the main neurological manifestation of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-1) infection. (1) This virus is endemic in central Africa, Caribbean countries, and Japan. It is transmitted through sexual...

Relation between the high production related allele of the interferon-[gamma] (IFN-[gamma]) gene and age at onset of idiopathic Parkinson's disease in Japan. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2001... Although the pathogenesis of progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease remains uncertain, cytokines are thought to contribute to the development of the disease. (1) Interferon (IFN)-[gamma] is one of...

Autonomic dysreflexia due to neurogenic bladder dysfunction; an unusual presentation of spinal cord sarcoidosis. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2001... Clinical involvement of the CNS in sarcoidosis is seen in about 5% of patients. (1) The most common affected sites are the basal leptomeninges and the region of the floor of the third ventricle. However, primary involvement of the spinal cord...

The late whiplash syndrome: a biopsychosocial approach. (Correspondence).
December 1, 2001... In their admirable review, Ferrari and Schrader (1) re-introduce (2) the biopsychosocial model which recognises that the late whiplash syndrome is not the result of a chronic injury. They note the influence of compensation incentives such as...

Correction.(to articles "Migrainous brain stem disturbance in Norrie disease: case report" in 2001;70:815-6 issue and "Norrie disease and MAO genes: nearest neighbours" in Human Medical Genetics 1995;4:1729-37 issue)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2001... Kalamangalam GP, Ellis SJ. Migrainous brain stem disturbance in Norrie disease: case report. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;70:815-6. Chen ZY, Denney RM, Breakefield XO. Norrie disease and MAO genes: nearest neighbours. Hum Med Genet...

Benzodiazepines. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Benzodiazepines. Edited by MICHAEL R TRIMBLE and IAN HINDMARCH (Pp154, [pounds sterling]33.50). Published by Wrightson Biomedical Publishing Ltd, Petersfield, 2000. ISBN 1871816 432. This book claims to examine objectively the basic...

Stem Cells and CNS Development. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Stem cells and CNS development. Edited by MAHENDRA S RAO (Pp 357, US$125.00) Published by The Humana Press, New Jersey, 2001. ISBN 0-89603-886-6 Stem cells, like the ancient Chinese ruyi sceptre, mean different things for different people....

Maudsley Neuropsychiatry Modules: A Teaching Package for Self-Paced Learning or Small Group Seminars. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Maudsley neuropsychiatry modules: a teaching package for self paced learning or small group seminars. By STEVE CHURCH (includes a workbook, videotapes, and a reference textbook) ([pounds sterling]250.00). Published by Maudsley Publications,...

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Post traumatic stress disorder diagnosis, management and treatment. Edited by DAVID NUTT, JONATHAN R T DAVIDSON, and JOSEPH ZOHAR (Pp 272, [pounds sterling]39.95). Published by Martin Dunitz Publishers, London, 2000. ISBN 1 85317 9264 ...

Upper Motor Neurone Syndrome and Spasticity: Clinical Management and Neurophysiology. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Upper motor neurone syndrome and spasticity. Clinical management and neurophysiology. Edited by MICHAEL P BARNES and GARTH R JOHNSON (Pp 317, [pounds sterling]34.95). Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001. ISBN 0521 79427 7....

Diagnosis and Management of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. By ROBERT GREEN (Pp224, US$21.95). Published by Professional Communications ne, New York, 2001. ISBN 1 884735 41 X. It was not so many years ago that a diagnostic approach...

Atlas of Peripheral Nerve Surgery. (Book Reviews).
December 1, 2001... Atlas of peripheral nerve surgery. By DAVID G KLINE, ALAN R HUDSON, and DANIEL H KIM (Pp235, [pounds sterling]150). Published by Harcourt Publishers Limited, Philadelphia, 2001. ISBN 0-7216-7988-9. David Kline and Alan Hudson wrote Nerve...

Neurology in practice: Multiple Sclerosis.(Bibliography)
December 1, 2001... Multiple sclerosis is a common disabling neurological disorder. The neurologist is involved in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and of necessity in considering its differential diagnosis. Jackie Palace considers how to make the diagnosis...

Making the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
December 1, 2001... Suspected cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) are usually young adults attending the neurology outpatient clinic. The onset of symptoms is rare before puberty or after the age of 60 years; however, being a relatively common neurological disease...

The differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
December 1, 2001... In most cases, the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) presents few difficulties. Clinical evidence of lesions disseminated in time and space, backed up by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or spinal fluid changes, commonly leave neither...

Surfing for multiple sclerosis.(multiple sclerosis web sites)
December 1, 2001... There are a very large number of sites relating to multiple sclerosis (MS) on the web. An unfiltered search generates thousands of these. Even a more selective search--for example, using the Google directory (at www.google.com)--identifies...

Natural history of multiple sclerosis.
December 1, 2001... The natural history of multiple sclerosis (MS) should be considered in the context of better understood disorders where the problems of definition, ascertainment, and outcomes can be more easily appreciated. DEFINITION OF NATURAL HISTORY...

Disease modifying treatment in multiple sclerosis.
December 1, 2001... Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of physical disability in young adults. The "Holy Grail" of MS research is to find a treatment that stops relapses, halts progression of the disease, and induces recovery from any disability. At...

Symptomatic management and rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis.
December 1, 2001... Although agents that have a partial benefit on relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS) are available, there is little to suggest that we are able to influence disease progression in any meaningful way--thus the need to manage the accumulating...