Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry articles from October 2001

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry archives from October 2001

Long and short of nerve conduction measures: reproducibility for sequential assessments.
October 1, 2001... With steady improvement and standardisation of methods,[1] nerve conduction studies have become a reliable means of testing peripheral nerve function. They supplement clinical observation by precisely localising the lesion and characterising...

Mental health after head injury.
October 1, 2001... Suicide is associated with traumatic brain injury according to the study described by Teasdale and Engberg in this volume (pp 436-440). [1] Using the opportunity for record linkage in Denmark, the authors compared suicide rates after...

The entorhinal cortex in Alzheimer's disease.
October 1, 2001... In the paper by Du et al (this issue, pp 441-447) [l] an evaluation of the entorhinal cortex (ERC), hippocampus (HP), and total brain tissue volumes was conducted in controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease, and non-demented subjects with a...

Bickerstaff's encephalitis and the Miller Fisher syndrome.
October 1, 2001... In 1951 Bickerstaff and Cloake described three cases of ophthalmoplegia under the title of "mesencephalitis and rhomboencephalitis" and suggested that the clinical features were due to a midbrain disturbance. [1] In this original report the...

Suicide after traumatic brain injury: a population study.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives-To determine the rates of suicide among patients who have had a traumatic brain injury. Methods--From a Danish population register of admissions to hospital covering the years 1979-93 patients were selected who had...

Magnetic resonance imaging of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To explore volume changes of the entorhinal cortex (ERG) and hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared with normal cognition (NC); to determine the powers of the ERG and the...

Brain temperature, body core temperature, and intracranial pressure in acute cerebral damage.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To assess the frequency of hyperthermia in a population of acute neurosurgical patients; to assess the relation between brain temperature (ICT) and core temperature (Tc); to investigate the effect of changes in brain...

Increase of interstitial glycerol reflects the degree of ischaemic brain damage: a PET and microdialysis study in a middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion primate model.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To evaluate interstitial glycerol as a marker of ischaemia by studying the changes in glycerol in direct relation to changes in regional cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen ([CMRO.sub.2]), the lactate! pyruvate ratio (LP...

Conflict of intentions due to callosal disconnection.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Three patients with callosal syndrome manifested a peculiar symptom in that they were unable to perform intended whole body actions because another intention emerged in competition with the original one. Attempts were...

Conflict and integration of spatial attention between disconnected hemispheres.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To clarify how the disconnected hemispheres perceive a line and bisect it with successful or unsuccessful integration of spatial attention. Methods--Eye movements were recorded when a patient with an extensive...

Normal complement of motor units in asymptomatic familial (SOD1 mutation) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis carriers.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To understand the mechanisms causing neuronal death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an electrophysiological technique of motor unit number estimation (MUNE) was used to examine the pattern of motor neuron loss...

The effect of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) on cognitive function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): a prospective study.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--Neuropsychological investigations have shown a degree of cognitive dysfunction in a proportion of non-demented patients with ALS. Respiratory muscle weakness in ALS can lead to nocturnal hypoventilation, resulting in...

Spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging demonstrates sensory neuronal involvement and clinical severity in neuronopathy associated with Sjogren's syndrome.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To determine spinal cord MRI findings in neuronopathy associated with Sjogren's syndrome and their correlation with severity of sensory impairment. Methods--Clinical and electrophysiological features, pathological...

Intensive voice treatment (LSVT[R]) for patients with Parkinson's disease: a 2 year follow up.(Lee Silverman voice treatment method)
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To assess long term (24 months) effects of the Lee Silverman voice treatment (LSVT(R)), a method designed to improve vocal function in patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods--Thirty three patients with...

Social phobia in spasmodic torticollis.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To study the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity assessed by the use of a structured clinical interview in a large, representative sample of patients with spasmodic torticollis (ST) and to test the hypothesis that...

Perimetric visual field and functional MRI correlation: implications for image-guided surgery in occipital brain tumours.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To compare the results of visual functional MRI with those of perimetric evaluation in patients with visual field defects and retrochiasmastic tumours and in normal subjects without visual field defect. The potential...

A disorder of colour perception associated with abnormal colour after-images: a defect of the primary visual cortex.
October 1, 2001... Abstract A 64 year old woman with posterior cortical atrophy secondary to probable Alzheimer's disease is described. Her presenting symptom was of seeing objects as abnormally coloured after prior exposure to a coloured stimulus. Formal...

Preferential recruitment of ataxin-3 independent of expanded polyglutamine: an immunohistochemical study on Marinesco bodies.
October 1, 2001... Abstract In an immunohistochemical study of Marinesco bodies--a neuronal intranuclear inclusion often seen in neurons of the substantia nigra of patients with hepatic encephalopathy--it was shown that one of the polyglutamine proteins,...

The structural basis of moderate disability after traumatic brain damage.
October 1, 2001... Abstract The objective was to discover the nature of brain damage in survivors of head injury who are left with moderate disability. Macroscopic and microscopic examination was carried out on the brains of 20 persons who had died long...

Jean Martin Charcot (1825-93) and Jean Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936).
October 1, 2001... Jean Martin Charcot spent more than 30 years of his career at the Salpetriere and established the great school of neurology there. Charcot's interest in neurology was slow to evolve. He was inspired largely by his contemporary, Duchenne....

Splitting and penetration of the optic nerve by an aneurysm arising from the anterior wall of internal carotid artery: case report.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Aneurysms arising from the anterior wall of the internal carotid artery (ICA) are uncommon. There have not been any reports demonstrating the anatomical relation of such aneurysms to the optic nerve. An aneurysm arising from the...

Intramedullary enterogenous cyst presenting with spastic paraparesis during two consecutive pregnancies: a case report.
October 1, 2001... Abstract A 35 year old woman presented with two episodes of spastic paraparesis, occurring in the third trimester of two consecutive pregnancies. The neurological symptoms seemed to be caused by an intramedullary cyst in the thoracic...

Three parkin gene mutations in a sibship with autosomal recessive early onset parkinsonism.
October 1, 2001... Abstract The objective was to describe a family with autosomal recessive, early onset parkinsonism, with affected siblings carrying three different exon rearrangements in the parkin gene. The living affected siblings were personally...

Pathogenesis and recovery of tetraplegia after electrical injury.
October 1, 2001... Abstract The site of neurological damage causing paralysis after electrical trauma remains to be clarified. A patient is described who developed a flaccid tetraplegia after a high voltage electrical injury. The findings on initial...

Relapsing intracranial Rosai-Dorfman disease.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Two patients presenting with recurrent visual impairment due to relapsing intracranial Rosai-Dorfman disease are described. In both patients a preoperative diagnosis of meningioma was made. Histological examination disclosed the...

Precipitating factors in pituitary apoplexy.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Pituitary apoplexy is a rare but life threatening condition caused by sudden haemorrhage or infarction of the pituitary gland. Potential precipitating factors in the occurrence of acute pituitary apoplexy in 30 consecutive...

Prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as add on treatment in depression.
October 1, 2001... Abstract A growing number of studies report antidepressant effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in patients with major depression. The hypothesis that high frequency (20 Hz) rTMS (HF-rTMS) may speed up and...

Human "memories" can be evoked by stimulation of the lateral temporal cortex after ipsilateral medial temporal lobe resection.
October 1, 2001... Abstract A patient with medically intractable seizures and mesial temporal sclerosis underwent a left anterior temporal lobectomy and amygdalohippocampectomy. After 4 months, his seizures recurred and a left temporal, subdural grid of...

Late presentation of Nipah virus encephalitis and kinetics of the humoral immune response.
October 1, 2001... Abstract Nipah virus is a newly discovered paramyxovirus transmitted directly from pigs to humans. During a large encephalitis outbreak in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998-9, most patients presented acutely. A 12 year old child is described...

Air embolism due to a patent foramen ovale visualised by harmonic contrast echocardiography.
October 1, 2001... A 73 year old woman presented with impaired consciousness after 3 days of uneventful recovery from surgery for rectal cancer. The patient became comatose, and her blood pressure dropped to 70 mm Hg. The total parenteral nutrition infusion line...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.(Very early onset Alzheimer's disease with spastic paraparesis associated with a novel presenilin 1 mutation (Phe237Ile))(Evaluation of CSF biomarkers for axonal and neuronal degeneration, gliosis, and [beta]-amyloid metabolism in Alzheimer's disease)(Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is not associated with individual abilities to metabolise organophosphates)(Motor evoked potentials from the external anal sphincter in patients with autosomal dominant pure spastic paraplegia linked to chromosome 2p)(Call for guidelines for monitoring renal function and haematological variables during intravenous infusion of immunoglobulin in neurological patients)(Neuropsychological effects of pallidotomy in patients with Parkinson's disease)(Response to botulinum toxin in a case of rigid spine syndrome)("Hot cross bun" sign in a patient with parkinsonism secondary to presumed vasculitis)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2001... Very early onset Alzheimer's disease with spastic paraparesis associated with a novel presenilin 1 mutation (Phe237Ile) Mutations in the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene (PS1) are responsible for 30%-40% of early onset familial Alzheimer's disease...

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease: A Practical Guide.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. A practical guide. Compiled by CMT INTERNATIONAL UK (Pp 113, [pound]10.00). Published by CMT International UK, Penarth, 2000. ISBN 0 9533883 0 1. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. A practical guide, is a book...

Conduct Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence. Edited by JONATHAN HILL and BARBARA MAUGHAN (Pp 569, [pound]39.95). Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 0 521 78639 8. This is an extremely interesting and...

Half a Brain is Enough: The Story of Nico.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Half a brain is enough: the story of Nico. Edited by ANTONIO M BATTRO (Pp 118, [pound]12.95). Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 0 521 78307 0. This short book describes the fascinating recovery and remarkable...

Neurobehavioural Disability and Social Handicap Following Traumatic Brain Injury.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Neurobehavioural disability and social handicap following traumatic brain injury. Edited by RODGER LL WOOD and TOM M MCMILLAN (Pp 315, [pound]39.95). Published by Psychology Press, Hove, 200. ISBN 0 863 77889 5. This book is one of a...

Benign Childhood Partial Seizures and Related Epileptic Syndromes.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Benign childhood partial seizures and related epileptic syndromes. By C P PANAYIOTOPOULOS (Pp 406, [pound]60.00). Published by John Libbey, London, 1999. ISBN 086196 577 9. This book is the result of the author's long standing interest in...

Quality of Life in Epilepsy: Beyond Seizure Counts in Assessment and Treatment.(Review)
October 1, 2001... Quality of life in epilepsy: beyond seizure counts in assessment and treatment. Edited by GUS A BAKER and ANN JACOBY. (Pp 316, [pound]38.00). Published by Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, 2000. ISBN 90 5823 121 6. The issue of...

CORRECTION.(to article "The clinical impact of epilepsy genetics" J Neural Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;70:428-30.)(Correction Notice)
October 1, 2001... Johnson MR, Sander JWAS. The clinical impact of epilepsy genetics. J Neural Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;70:428-30. In paragraph 2, left column, p 428, the word "idiopathic was misplaced during the editorial process. The paragraph should read:...

NEUROLOGY IN PRACTICE: SLEEP AND COMA.
October 1, 2001... Patients with sleepiness may be referred to neurology outpatients for assessment, yet most neurologists have limited training in this area. There are an increasing number of interventions to help these patients. Neil Douglas, professor of...

Locked-in syndrome.(magnetic resonance image diagnosis)
October 1, 2001... Axial T2 weighted magnetic resonance image scans through the pons (A) and ponto-mesencephalic junction (B) of a patient with a locked-in syndrome demonstrate an infarct, seen as hyperintensity, involving the left superior cerebellum, right pons...

THE SLEEPY PATIENT.
October 1, 2001... Neurologists see sleepy patients but often have limited facilities to investigate them. This article provides an update on the conditions causing sleepiness and describes how to investigate and manage sleepy patients. OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP...

ASSESSING CONFUSED PATIENTS.
October 1, 2001... The approach to a patient who is confused demands the same principles of assessment that would be applied to other situations in neurology or medicine. The doctor requires knowledge, skill, and most of all experience, but can improve the...

NEUROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF COMA.
October 1, 2001... The neurologist is often required to evaluate the unconscious patient from both the diagnostic and prognostic perspective. Knowledge of the anatomical basis of coma is essential for competent evaluation but must be combined with an...

STATES RELATED TO OR CONFUSED WITH COMA.
October 1, 2001... Neurologists are increasingly asked to see patients with acute neurological problems, many of whom have disorders of consciousness and awareness. The intensive care unit is a common source of referral of such patients where common questions...

THE PROGNOSIS OF MEDICAL COMA.
October 1, 2001... The assessment of patients in coma is a medical emergency. The cause should be identified and, where possible, corrected and the brain provided with appropriate protection to reduce further damage. It then becomes important to identify those...

AN AID TO PREDICTING PROGNOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH NON-TRAUMATIC COMA AT ONE DAY.
October 1, 2001... Neurologists are often asked to give a prognosis of a patient in coma. Table 1 is designed to help provide guidance. The data are extracted from a series of 500 patients with coma from causes other than trauma and overdose. [1] Patients with a...

PERMANENT VEGETATIVE STATE AND THE LAW.
October 1, 2001... In both Scotland and England, the law in respect of the patient in permanent vegetative state was clarified by two recent cases. In England and Wales, the decision of the House of Lords in Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1] produced the first real...