Neurology Alert articles from February 2005

Neurology Alert archives from February 2005

Is vitamin E useful for the prevention or treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)?(Abstracts & Commentary)
February 1, 2005... Synopsis: Vitamin E had no significant effects in slowing disease progression, and no significant side effects in the patient population were encountered. Patients who regularly take vitamin E have a 60% reduced risk of getting ALS. THERE...

Acute stroke therapy beyond IV tPA: clot removal--bust it up or pull it out.(Abstracts & Commentary)
February 1, 2005... Synopsis: This phase 1 study shows that cerebral embolectomy with the Merci Retriever was safe and that successful recanalization could benefit a significant number of patients, even when performed in an extended 8-hour time window. THE...

Back to basics: the EEG in CJD.(Abstract & Commentary)(sporadic creutzfeldt jakob disease)(electroencephalogram)
February 1, 2005... Synopsis: These data prove the high diagnostic value of our objective EEG criteria in CJD. SPORADIC CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (SCJD) IS THE most frequent human prion disease, and always has a fatal course. The diagnosis is proved only by...

Challenges in Parkinson's disease dementia treatment.(Abstract & Commentary)
February 1, 2005... Synopsis: In this placebo-controlled study, rivastigmine was associated with moderate improvements in dementia associated with Parkinson's disease but also with higher rates of nausea, vomiting, and tremor. THIS STUDY IS A 24-WEEK...

Diabetic autonomic neuropathy.(Abstract & Commentary)
February 1, 2005... Synopsis: These findings indicate that autonomic symptoms and deficits are common in diabetes, but mild in severity, and that the correlation between symptom scores and deficits is overall weak in mild diabetic neuropathy, emphasizing the need...

Amyloid neuropathy.(Abstract & Commentary)
February 1, 2005... Synopsis: If routine staining is negative for amyloid, Congo red and thioflavine S staining need be performed, with ultrastructural examination of Epon-embedded nerve. Anti-light-chain and transthyretin immunostaining of frozen nerve completes...

CME questions.
February 1, 2005... 4. All of the following are potential therapies for acute ischemic stroke EXCEPT: a. Transcranial Doppler augmentation for IV tPA b. MERCI mechanical embolectomy device (clot retriever) c. IV tPA d. IV Streptokinase 5....

Statins and the incidence of rhabdomyolysis.
February 1, 2005... The most commonly prescribed statins have a low incidence of rhabdomyolysis, according to the results a new study of more than 250,000 patients. Atorvastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin were found have very low and virtually indistinguishable...

Antioxidant supplements for prevention of gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
February 1, 2005... CLINICIANS AND PATIENTS HAVE HOPED that antioxidants might prevent cancer. Since oxidant stress may be one of the culprits in gene mutation that leads to carcinogenesis, it was logical to entertain the therapeutic potential of antioxidant...

Imiquimod 5% cream for the treatment of actinic keratosis.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... RECENT CHANGES IN DERMATOLOGIC nomenclature classify actinic keratosis (AK) as keratinocytic intraepidermal neoplasia, or carcinoma in situ. A variety of treatments provide destruction and resolution of AK. Most of the time, biopsy is not...

Two 8-month regimens of chemotherapy for treatment of newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC PRESENCE OF tuberculosis has grown greater to some degree because of the sustained and evolving population of HIV-infected individuals worldwide. Standard therapy (as per the World Health Organization) for newly diagnosed...

Self-measured home blood pressure in predicting ambulatory hypertension.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONitoring (ABPM) provides the best metric of overall blood pressure burden. Several factors have compromised use of ABPM as a primary metric in managing hypertension (HTN): its cost, inconvenience, relative lesser...

Thyroid status, disability and cognitive function, and survival in old age.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... THERE IS LITTLE DISAGREEMENT about the merit of treating frank hypothyroidism. Because of conflicting data, much less consensus exists about whether subclinical bypothyroidism (ie, elevated TSH levels with normal T4) should be treated. Since...

Inflammatory markers and the risk of coronary heart disease in men and women.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... INFLAMMATORY MARKERS HAVE BEEN consistently associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), the most thoroughly studied of which has been C-reactive protein (CRP). Since interleukin-6 (IL6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) are cytokines...