Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry articles from November 2001

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry archives from November 2001

Evidence based medicine: concerns of a clinical neurologist.
November 1, 2001... The latest medical buzz phrase is evidence based. This term has become a shibboleth, a sacrosanct icon almost like motherhood. Who could possibly be against basing decisions on evidence? It is difficult to think of a polite term for decisions...

Getting to the heart of dementia.
November 1, 2001... The two commonest causes of dementia are probably dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and although their pathology is relatively well characterised (albeit controversial in terms of diagnostic features) the...

Videodynamic and sphincter motor unit potential analyses in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.
November 1, 2001... In the paper by Sakakibara et al (this volune, pp 600-606), [1] the differences in findings of investigations of bladder function between patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy are reported. The authors' new findings...

Sphincter EMG in possible multiple system atrophy: to do or not to do?(electromyography)
November 1, 2001... In multiple system atrophy (MSA) the motor neurons of sphincter muscles (Onuf's nucleus) degenerate earlier than those of limb muscles (Sung et al [1]). Such lower motor neuron loss is, in principle, accompanied by muscle pathology, which may...

The Tolosa-Hunt syndrome.
November 1, 2001... Defining the syndrome The syndrome of painful ophthalmoplegia consists of periorbital or hemicranial pain, combined with ipsilateral ocular motor nerve palsies, oculosympathetic paralysis, and sensory loss in the distribution of the...

A clinical role for [[I.sup.123]]MIBG myocardial scintigraphy in the distinction between dementia of the Alzheimer's-type and dementia with Lewy bodies.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--Scintigraphy with [[I.sup.123]]metaiodobenzyl guanidine [[I.sup.123]]MIBG) enables the quantification of postganglionic sympathetic cardiac innervation. Recently, myocardial [[I.sup.123]]MIBG scitigraphy has been found...

Effects of a flexible galantamine dose in Alzheimer's disease: a randomised, controlled trial.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To assess the efficacy and safety of galantamine in Alzheimer's disease at 3 months using flexible dose escalation. Methods--A rendomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial in 43 centres in the United States,...

Quantitative anal sphincter EMG in multisystem atrophy and 100 controls.(electromyography)
November 1, 2001... Objective--To evaluate data of quantitative anal sphincter EMG in normal controls and to compare them with patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA). Abstract Methods--Quantitative anal sphincter EMG were performed on 100 normal...

Videourodynamic and sphincter motor unit potential analyses in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Urinary dysfunction is a prominent autonomic feature in Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA), which is not only troublesome but also a cause of morbidity in these disorders. Recent advances in...

Proprioception in Parkinson's disease is acutely depressed by dopaminergic medications.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Impaired proprioception has been previously reported in patients with Parkinson's disease. It was hypothesised that dopaminergic medications transiently depress proprioception, with amplification of adventitious...

Bilateral pallidotomy for treatment of Parkinson's disease induced corticobulbar syndrome and psychic akinesia avoidable by globus pallidus lesion combined with contralateral stimulation.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--Posteroventral pallidotomy (PVP) has proved to be an effective method for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, data on bilateral procedures are still limited. To assess the effects of bilateral globus pallidus...

Primary lateral sclerosis: clinical, neurophysiological, and magnetic resonance findings.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To describe the clinical, neurophysiological, and MRI findings in 10 patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS). Results--The course of the disease was very slowly progressive. Spasticity due to upper motor...

HISTORICAL NOTE.
November 1, 2001... Emil Heinrich Du Bois-Reymond (1818-96) This distinguished physiologist is remembered for two dissimilar contributions: he was a founder of electrophysiology of nerve and muscle; and he described his own migraine. Du Bois-Reymond first...

Blood pressure and heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity before and after brain death.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To evaluate spontaneous blood pressure and heart rate variability and spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity before and after brain death. Methods-Spontaneous variability of arterial blood pressure and heart...

The dynamics of drug treatment in epilepsy: an observational study in an unselected population based cohort with newly diagnosed epilepsy followed up prospectively over 11-14 years.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To study prospectively long term dynamics and patterns of treatment in a population based cohort of patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Methods--564 patients with definite epilepsy entered the UK National...

A magnetic resonance study of complicated early childhood convulsion.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--The relation between complicated early childhood convulsion (ECC) and adult epilepsy is unclear, although a history of complicated ECC is obtainable in half of adults with epilepsy associated with hippocampal...

The neurobehavioural rating scale-revised: sensitivity and validity in closed head injury assessment.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the neurobehavioural rating scale-revised (NRS-R) and to determine its usefulness in clinical trials. Methods--A consecutive series of patients...

Asymmetries of visual attention after circumscribed subcortical vascular lesions.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To investigate the role of the basal ganglia and the thalamus for basic processes of visuospatial attention Methods--Fifteen patients with acute circumscribed vascular lesions (10 with haemorrhage and five with...

Extensive metabolic and neuropsychological abnormalities associated with discrete infarction of the genu of the internal capsule.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--The clinical presentation of capsular genu infarct varies. Prominent faciolingual weakness and subeortical dementia are the rule, but symptoms depend on the precise location and extension of the lesion beyond the genu....

Type II (adult onset) citrullinaemia: clinical pictures and the therapeutic effect of liver transplantation.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--Adult onset type II citrullinemia is an inherited disorder of amino acid metabolism caused by a deficiency of liver specific argininosuccinate synthetase activity. Most of the patients with this disease were reported in...

NEUROLOGICAL STAMP.
November 1, 2001... Robert Debre (1882-1 978) Debre studied philosophy and, later, medicine. He subsequently became a professor of bacteriology and paediatrics. In 1935 Debre (with Semelaigne) described a clinical syndrome resembling myotonia congenita...

Intraoperative values of S-100 protein, myelin basic protein, lactate, and albumin in the CSF and serum of neurosurgical patients.(cerebrospinal fluid)
November 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To assess the concentrations of S-100 protein, myelin basic protein (MBP), and lactate, and the (CSF)/serum albumin ratio (Qalb) during intracranial neurosurgical procedures. Methods-Samples of CSF from 91 patients...

Impaired RNA splicing of 5'-regulatory sequences of the astroglial glutamate transporter EAAT2 in human astrocytoma.
November 1, 2001... P Ince [*] T Meyer [*] Abstract A loss of the glutamate transporter EAAT2 has been reported in the neoplastic transformation of astrocytic cells and astrocytoma. The RNA expression of EAAT2 and five 5'-regulatory splice variants...

The range of multiple sclerosis associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Multiple sclerosis associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a very rare event. Seven patients with multiple sclerosis and NF1 are described in the literature, and all were reported to have the primary progressive form of...

Long term safety and efficacy of unilateral deep brain stimulation of the thalamus for parkinsonian tremor.
November 1, 2001... Abstract The objective was to investigate the long term safety and efficacy of unilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the VIM nucleus of the thalamus in Parkinson's disease. Twelve patients with Parkinson's disease underwent...

Mitochondrial DNA rearrangements in young onset parkinsonism: two case reports.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Parkinson's disease is a nosological entity of unknown origin for which, in some cases, a possible pathogenetic role for mitochondrial dysfunction has been postulated. Two young onset parkinsonian patients with mitochondrial DNA...

Modality specific neural correlates of auditory and somatic hallucinations.
November 1, 2001... Abstract Somatic hallucinations occur in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, although auditory hallucinations are more common. Although the neural correlates of auditory hallucinations have been described in several neuroimaging...

Regression of ventral striatum hypometabolism after calcium/calcitriol therapy in paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis due to idiopathic primary hypoparathyroidism.
November 1, 2001... Abstract A [[F.sup.18]]-FDG PET study was performed in a 44 year old man with proximal kinesigenic choreoathetosis (PKC) secondary to idiopathic primary hypoparathyroidism (IPH) before and 1 year after calcium/calcitriol therapy. The...

A 59 year old man with progressive spinal cord and peripheral nerve dysfunction culminating in encephalopathy: Edinburgh advanced clinical neurology course, 1999.
November 1, 2001... Case presentation A 59 year old, retired metal worker presented with a 3 month history of difficulty walking. He had initially developed left leg weakness, followed 1 month later by numbness of both legs, a burning sensation in his anal...

An unexpected consequence of a roller coaster ride.(left vertebral artery dissection as a cause of stroke in an 11-year-old boy)
November 1, 2001... Cervicocephalic arterial dissections are an important cause of stroke in young people with potential treatment implications. They are implicated in the aetiology of about 5% of ischaemic strokes in the paediatric age group. [1-2] Recognition is...

Smiling odontoid.(vertebral fracture)
November 1, 2001... A 16 year old woman was a restrained rear seat passenger in a single vehicle high speed motor vehicle collision. She had a transient loss of consciousness, but when paramedics arrived, her Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score was 14. After...

LETTER.(mtDNA mutations in Chilean patients with optic neuropathy)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2001... mtDNA mutations in Chilean patients with optic neuropathy The aetiology of acute unilateral (AUON) and bilateral optic neuropathies (BSON) is unknown in most patients in Chile, after compressive lesions, collagen vascular diseases, and...

CORRESPONDENCE.(Dementia as a complication of schizophrenia)(The calcified intracorporeal vacuole: an aid to the pathological diagnosis of solitary cerebral cysticercus granulomas)(Change in oxcarbazepine (Trileptal (R)) formulation is associated with more side effects and higher blood concentrations)(Friedreich's ataxia presenting as an isolated spastic paraparesis)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2001... Dementia as a complication of schizophrenia De Vries et al [1] suggested that dementia in schizophrenia seems to be a real entity with neuropsychological signature similar to that of frontotemporal dementia. This was based on clinical data...

How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence Based Medicine.(Review)
November 1, 2001... How to read a paper. The basics of evidence based medicine. By TRISHA GREENHALGH. (Pp 222, [pound]16.95). Published by BMJ Books, London, 2001. ISBN 0 7279 1578 9 The title of this slim paperback is somewhat misleading, as it covers...

Drug Effects on Psychomotor Performance.(Review)
November 1, 2001... Drug effects on psychomotor performance. By RANDALL C BASELT (Pp 475, US$109.00). Published by Biomedical Publications, Foster City, 2001. ISBN 0-9626523-4-2. This book is essentially a compendium of the literature on the effects of...

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Multiple Sclerosis.(Review)
November 1, 2001... Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in multiple sclerosis. Edited by M FILIPPI, D L ARNOLD, and G COMI (Pp 160, US$68.00). Published by Springer-Verlag, Milano, 2001. ISBN 88 470 0123 4. The impetus for this book has arisen from an annual...