Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry articles from May 2003

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry archives from May 2003

Stem cells and neurological disease: the therapeutic implications and application of stem cells for the nervous system. (Editorial).
May 1, 2003... There has recently been a great deal of interest in stem cells and the nervous system, in terms of their potential for deciphering developmental issues as well as their therapeutic potential. In this editorial we will critically appraise the...

What is wrong in conversion disorder? A disorder with many names. (Conversion Disorder).
May 1, 2003... The article by Stone et al (this issue, p 591-596) (1) addresses the natural history of a disorder with many names, none satisfactory. Functional, hysterical, psychogenic, medically unexplained, dissociative, conversion--all the names for this...

The grasp and other primitive reflexes. (Review: Physical Signs).
May 1, 2003... Primitive reflexes are typically present in childhood, suppressed during normal development, and may reappear with diseases of the brain, particularly those affecting the frontal lobes. In this review we discuss some historical aspects...

Intraventricular monitoring for temporal lobe epilepsy: Report on technique and initial results in eight patients. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objective and importance: Resective surgery is an effective treatment for refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. In difficult cases, invasive monitoring may be needed to precisely lateralise and localise seizure foci of mesial temporal origin. The...

Web based neurology "textbooks": www.medlink.com and www.emedicine.com/neuro. (Neuronline).
May 1, 2003... Medlink (www.medlink.com) and eMedicine (www.emedicine.com/neuro) tout themselves as comprehensive web based neurology "textbooks". Medlink is a US based service devoted solely to neurology. It has the disadvantage of a hefty fee for access:...

Potentially misleading extratemporal lobe lesions in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... From a series of 217 consecutive temporal resections for intractable epilepsy between 1993 and 2000, we identified all patients with large non-neoplastic extratemporal lesions. Only patients with known postsurgical outcomes with follow up for...

Hermann Oppenheim (1858-1919). (Historical Note).
May 1, 2003... Oppenheim's name is perpetuated by his eponymous sign of pyramidal tract lesions, and by the disease bearing his name, Oppenheim's disease. Amyotonia congenita (1) is a congenital, sometimes familial, disorder, characterised by muscular...

Influence of clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic variables on quality of life in patients with epilepsy: findings from Georgian study. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objective: To identify the clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic factors that are associated with a poor quality of life in patients with epilepsy in Georgia. Methods: Clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic status data were collected...

Efficacy of methylprednisolone pulse therapy on neuroleptic malignant syndrome in Parkinson's disease. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Background: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a dangerous complication in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of methylprednisolone pulse therapy compared to placebo in PD patients with NMS. ...

Long term risks of stroke, myocardial infarction, and vascular death in "low risk" patients with a non-recent transient ischaemic attack. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Background: Previous studies of prognosis after a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) have recruited patients soon after the event, when the risk of stroke is very high. However, the majority of patients survive for many years after a TIA, and the...

A comparative study into the one year cumulative incidence of depression after stroke and myocardial infarction. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Background: The high incidence of post-stroke depression has been claimed to reflect a specific, stroke related pathogenesis in which lesion location plays an important role. To substantiate this claim, post-stroke depression should occur more...

Radiotherapy can maintain sight in optic nerve sheath meningioma. (Echo).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Patients who need treatment for primary optic nerve sheath meningioma (ONSM) may be spared the blindness that follows surgery with a treatment which has proved successful in the largest series of patients studied so far. The study of 15...

Vertebral artery origin angioplasty and primary stenting: safety and restenosis rates in a prospective series. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objectives: To report a single centre ongoing experience of endovascular treatment for atherosclerotic vertebral artery origin stenosis in a series of symptomatic patients, with follow up imaging to determine the incidence of restenosis. ...

Attenuated nuclear shrinkage in neurones with nuclear inclusions of SCA1 brains. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCAl) is one of the autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorders commonly linked to pathological expansion of the CAG repeat of the relevant gene. Nuclear inclusions and neurodegeneration are both...

Tourette's syndrome: a cross sectional study to examine the PANDAS hypothesis. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Background: The classical neurological disorder after group A [beta] haemolytic streptococcal infection is Sydenham's choreo. Recently a tic disorder occurring after group A streptococcal infection has been described and termed PANDAS...

Prevalence and patterns of neurological involvement in Behcet's disease: a prospective study from Iraq. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objectives: To determine the prevalence of neurological involvement in Behcet's disease in a prospective study, and to describe the clinical patterns of neurological presentation in this disease in patients attending a multidisciplinary clinic...

Neurogenic fever after traumatic brain injury: an epidemiological study. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objectives: To determine the incidence of neurogenic fever (NF) in a population of patients in the acute phase following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI); to identify factors associated with the development of NF following severe TBI in...

Effects of light fingertip touch on postural responses in subjects with diabetic neuropathy. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objectives: To investigate the potential benefits from lightly touching an external supporting device on automatic postural responses to support surface translations, in subjects with profound sensory neuropathy in the feet due to diabetes...

Peripheral and segmental spinal abnormalities of median and ulnar somatosensory evoked potentials in Hirayama's disease. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objectives: To investigate the origin of juvenile muscle atrophy of the upper limbs (Hiroyama's disease, a type of cervical myelopathy of unknown origin). Subjects: Eight male patients were studied; data from 10 normal men were used as...

Muscle fibrillin deficiency in Marfan's syndrome myopathy. (Paper).
May 1, 2003... Objective: To report a family with Marfan's syndrome in whom a myopathy was associated with respiratory failure; muscle biopsies from affected individuals were examined to determine whether there were abnormalities in fibrillin. Methods:...

Pseudoseizures and asthma. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Background: Sexual abuse and head injury are important risk factors of pseudoseizures, reported in about a third of patients. Clinical experience suggests that asthma is another possible risk factor. Objectives: To determine the relative...

Sequential constriction of upper airway and vocal cords in sleep apnoea of multiple system atrophy: low field magnetic resonance fluoroscopic study. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Low field magnetic resonance fluoroscopy was used to clarify temporal and spatial features of airway obstruction in sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) in multiple system atrophy (MSA), as well as in obstructive SAS (OSAS). 20 patients with OSAS with...

The relation between Ashworth scale scores and the excitability of the [alpha] motor neurones in patients with post-stroke muscle spasticity. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Background: The modified Ashworth scale (MAS) is the most widely used method for assessing muscle spasticity in clinical practice and research. However, the validity of this scale has been challenged. Objectives: To compare the MAS with...

Reappraisal of early CT signs to predict the arterial occlusion site in acute embolic stroke. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Objective: To elucidate the value of early computed tomographic (CT) signs of stroke in predicting the occlusion site in the cerebral arteries. Patients: 105 consecutive patients with acute embolic stroke affecting the anterior...

Egas Moniz (1874-1955). (Neurological Stamp).(Biography)
May 1, 2003... Moniz had a distinguished political career before beginning serious neurological investigation at what some would consider the advanced age of 51. He was named Antonio Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas Moniz. His godfather added Egas Moniz and Moniz...

Allgrove or 4 "A" syndrome: an autosomal recessive syndrome causing multisystem neurological disease. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Allgrove's or "4 A" syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition with alacrima, achalasia, autonomic disturbance, and ACTH insensitivity among other features. Recent studies have identified mutations in the AAAS, a candidate gene on...

Assessment of the impact of the removal of cerebrospinal fluid on cerebral tissue volumes by advanced volumetric 3D-MRI in posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus in a premature infant. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Current clinical practice in the premature infant with post-haemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) includes drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This case study used advanced volumetric three dimensional magnetic resonance imaging to...

Linear scleroderma "en coup de sabre" coexisting with plaque-morphea: neuroradiological manifestation and response to corticosteroids. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... A 24 year old woman in the 33rd week of pregnancy developed progressive neurological complications with right sided hemiparesis in association with the occurrence of linear scleroderma "en coup de sabre" (LSCS) and preexisting plaque-morphea,...

Role of the dopamine D5 receptor (DRD5) as a susceptibility gene for cervical dystonia. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Cervical dystonia (CD) is one of the most common forms of primary dystonia. The pathogenesis of the disease is still unknown, although evidence suggests a role for genetic factors. Recently, a polymorphism in the dopamine D5 receptor (DRD5)...

[GABA.sub.A] receptor active steroids are altered in epilepsy patients with tuberous sclerosis. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Background: The neuroactive steroid 3[alpha],5[alpha]-tetrahydroprogesterone is the most potent endogenous positive modulator of [gamma]-amino-butyric acid [(GABA).sub.A] receptors. There is evidence for a relation between neuroactive steroids...

Two clinicopathological cases of a dominantly inherited, adult onset orthochromatic leucodystrophy. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Leucadystrophies of orthochromatic type are a heterogeneous group that occur mainly in childhood and have no known enzyme deficiency. We report here the clinicopathological features of a new family of orthochromatic leucodystrophy with three...

Reversible acute axonal polyneuropathy associated with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: impaired physiological nerve conduction due to thiamine deficiency? (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Acute axonal polyneuropathy and Wernicke-Korsakoff encephalopathy developed simultaneously in three patients. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) detected markedly decreased compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) and sensory nerve action...

Supranuclear gaze palsy and opsoclonus after Diazinon poisoning. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... A 52 year old man developed a supranuclear gaze palsy and opsoclonus after Diazinon poisoning. The diagnosis was confirmed by low plasma and red blood cell cholinesterase activity and urine mass spectroscopy. Saccadic control may be mediated in...

New onset migraine with a brain stem cavernous angioma. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... A case of new onset migraine is described following a pontine bleed from a cavernous angioma. There is increasing evidence that migraine is primarily a brain disorder, probably involving subcortical sensory modulating areas with a...

Early or late appearance of "dropped head syndrome" in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. (Short Report).
May 1, 2003... Background: "Dropped head syndrome" caused by neck extensor weakness has been reported in a variety of neuromuscular disorders. Previously published reports include isolated cases with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this report, nine...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Botulinum toxin type B in blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm Botulinum neurotoxins (BTXs) inhibit thc presynaptic release of acetylcoline causing a chemical denervation that results in sustained muscle weakness and have been used in the...

Correspondence. (PostScript).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... The naming of parts Many deplore the journalistic trend to label well recognised conditions by acronyms, or by recently invented names--commonly to no useful purpose. Thus neurologists may not welcome yet another two names, recorded in...

Delirium in old age. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Edited b J Lindesay, K Rockwood, A Macdonald (Pp 238, [pounds sterling]55.00). Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 0-19-263275-2 Delirium is an extremely important condition for a number of reasons. It is very...

Neurophysiology in neurosurgery. A modern intraoperative approach. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Edited by Vedran Deletis and Jay L Shils (Pp 469, [pounds sterling]125.00). Published by Academic Press, California, 2002. ISBN 0-12-209036-5 This book comprises 17 chapters contributed by 24 authors. It has clearly benefited from most of...

Clinical neurophysiology of the vestibular system, 3rd edition. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Edited by R.W. Baloh and V. Honrubia (Pp 408, US$98.50). Published by Oxford University Press, New York, 2001. ISBN 0-19-513982-8. The first edition of Clinical neurophysiology of the vestibular system, published in 1979, had a significance...

Role of proteases in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Edited by Abel Lajtha and Maren L Banik (Pp 302, [pounds sterling] 59.50). Published by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2001. ISBN 0-306-46579-5 This volume would be an extremely useful addition to the bookshelf of anybody...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2003... The following abstract was not printed with the article by E L J Hoogervorst, M J Eikelenboom, B M J Uitdehaag, and C H Polman (One year changes in disability in multiple sclerosis: neurological examination compared with patient self report) in...