ISRN Neurology最新文献

Objective. To investigate the difference between the measurement of vibration sensation without and with socks. Material and Methods. Fifty healthy volunteers (H group) and 19 patients with diabetic polyneuropathy (PNP group) were included. The sites of measurement were the great toe (GT) and medial malleolus (MM). A standard 128 Hz tuning fork was used in the measurements. Results. Mean duration of vibration sensations without and with socks was as follows: in the H group, 19.4 ± 4.2 and 19.5 ± 4.2 s at GT and 15.1 ± 3.3 and 14.6 ± 3.3 s at MM; in the PNP group, 13.4 ± 3.8 and 12.7 ± 4.1 s at GT and 11.9 ± 3.8 and 11.7 ± 3.4 s at MM. No significant difference was found between the measurements without and with socks, except those found at the MM in group H (P = 0.02). This significant difference was further analyzed in terms of effect size which was concluded to be practically insignificant (Cohen's d < 0.2). Shorter mean vibration duration was measured at MM as compared to GT that could be explained by the damping effect. Conclusions. Wearing socks of moderate thickness does not have any important effect on the duration of vibration sensation. This might be considered as a reflection of the remarkable properties of vibration sensation.

Primate vision is served by rapid shifts of gaze called saccades. This review will survey current knowledge and particular problems concerning the neural control and guidance of gaze shifts.

This study was to investigate the feasibility of frequency doubling technology (FDT) visual field testing in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in order to identify early biomarkers of AD in patients already diagnosed with AD and compare the findings to participants not having Alzheimer's disease. This biomarker would be useful in a battery of tests for the early identification of those with AD. It was not the intent to correlate the visual system biomarker with severity of disease, but to determine if the biomarker was present in pass or fail screening criteria. The study showed with very strong significance that the FDT can identify biomarkers of those with AD compared to an age-matched population that does not have AD. FDT is a simple test to take and administer and has been used to screen for eye and retinal diseases such as glaucoma, retinal macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. The results obtained in the FDT readout are analyzed and compared to the age normative database within the system. The FDT ability to screen for AD biomarker in the visual system was significant in those with AD compared to the controls, and the deficits were not related to any ocular pathology.

Regenerative strategies in treatment of stroke have great potential. The goal of the current study was to investigate safety of intrathecal administration of autologous CD34 positive cells in treatment of patients with poststroke. A total of eight male patients with a history of stroke were enrolled. The patients were treated subcutaneously with 5  μ g/kg body weight rhG-CSF for 5 consecutive days, and then leukapheresis was performed to concentrate cells for CD34 positive immunoselection. All patients underwent intrathecal administration of CD34 positive cells via lumbar puncture. The primary outcome was safety evaluation for 12-month followup. In addition, behavioral function was evaluated with NIH stroke scale and Barthel index 1, 6, and 12 months after the last treatment, respectively. There were no major adverse events, and abnormal changes of blood tests during the whole treatment process included intrathecal administration and 12-month followup. The main message from the current study was that administration of G-CSF-mobilized autologous CD34 positive cells in patients with poststroke was safe. Future studies with larger population and control group are needed to confirm the safety and investigate the efficacy.

Microglia activation is the major component of inflammation that constitutes the characteristic of neurodegenerative disease. A large amount of researches have demonstrated that inflammation involved in the pathogenesis of PD process activated microglia acting on the neurons through the release of a variety of inflammatory factors. However, the molecular mechanism underlying how it does work on neurons is still unclear. Here, we show that intracerebral injections of LPS induced Parkinson's disease pathology in C57BL/6J mice. Furthermore, study on the dynamic changes in Synaptic vesicle-associated protein and axonal transport Protein in this process. The results indicated that after administration of LPS in the brain, the inflammatory levels of TNF- α and IL-1 β both are elevated, and have a time-dependent.

Body weight and height of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) or clinically isolated syndrome suggesting MS (CIS) in the age range 18 to 60 years (154 males and 315 females) were compared with those of subjects (146 males and 212 females) free of any major neurological disease. In drug-free patients, CSF levels of the metabolites of noradrenaline (MHPG), serotonin (5-HIAA), and dopamine (HVA), neurotransmitters involved in eating behavior, were estimated in searching for associations with body mass index (BMI). Statistical evaluations were done separately for males and females. Lower BMI was found in female MS patients compared to female controls, more pronounced in RRMS. BMI was not associated with duration of illness, smoking, present or previous drug treatment, or disability score. Body height showed a shift towards greater values in MS patients compared to controls. Patients in the lower BMI quartile (limits defined from control subjects) had lower 5-HIAA and HVA compared to patients in the upper quartile. The results provide evidence for weight reduction during disease process in MS, possibly related to deficits in serotoninergic and dopaminergic activities that develop during disease course, resulting in impairments in food reward capacity and in motivation to eat.

Purpose. Adjunctive zonisamide therapy was demonstrated to be beneficial for multiple-disabled patients with refractory childhood-onset epilepsy. Zonisamide is well tolerated, but urolithiasis and calcium sludge in the bladder were sometimes described in patients treated with antiepileptic drug polytherapy including zonisamide. In previous studies, alkaline urine and crystalluria were shown to be risk factors for urolithiasis. Therefore, the effects of zonisamide addition and withdrawal on the urinary pH and crystalluria were investigated in patients treated with antiepileptic drug polytherapy to clarify the cause of urolithiasis induced by zonisamide. Methods. The urinary pH and the degree of crystalluria were retrospectively studied in epilepsy patients one month after the addition or withdrawal of zonisamide as part of their antiepileptic drug treatment regimen over the previous three years. Results. A total of 27 zonisamide-on patients and 16 zonisamide-off patients were enrolled in the study. The urinary pH did not change after the addition or withdrawal of zonisamide. However, the degree of crystalluria significantly increased after the addition (P < 0.001) of zonisamide and decreased after its withdrawal (P < 0.01). Conclusions. Zonisamide induces crystalluria without alkalinization of the urine. Crystalluria should be carefully monitored in patients treated with zonisamide to prevent urolithiasis.

Background. Primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) is a frequent systemic autoimmune disease. In this study, we aimed to explore the cognitive impairment and the correlations with brain MRI. Methods. Twenty-five patients (mean age 55 ± 11.8 years, 21 females) with PSS were prospectively selected and tested with a French translation of the Brief Repeatable Battery for Neuropsychological Examination. The results were compared with the scores for 25 matched patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 25 controls. Brain lesions were assessed by brain MRI using the Wahlund classification. Results. Fifteen of the 25 PSS patients (60%) presented with cognitive disorders versus 19/25 MS patients (76%). Five patients had dementia in the PSS group. Speed of information processing, attention, immediate and long-term memory, and executive functions were frequently impaired. The mean duration of cognitive complaints was 5.6 ± 6.1 years, and the mean duration of PSS was 15.8 ± 14.0 years. A trend towards a correlation was found between the severity of cognitive impairment and the degree of white matter lesions (WML) (P = 0.03, rho = 0.43). Conclusion. Cognitive impairment-mild or dementia-exists in patients with PSS. Further MRI studies are needed to better understand the precise neural basis of cognitive impairment in PSS patients.

The standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke is thrombolytic therapy. There is limited data on prognostic factors of acute stroke with thrombolytic therapy particularly in Asian population. Acute ischemic stroke patients who were treated with thrombolytic therapy at Srinagarind Hospital between May 2008 and July 2010 were included. Factors associated with Barthel index more than 80 were studied by multiple logistic regression analysis. There were 75 patients included in the study. The mean NIHSS scores before treatment and at 3 months were 9.16 ± 4.82 and 3.83 ± 4.00, respectively, and median Barthel index at 3 months was 86. Only significant predictor for having Barthel index more than 80 points at 3 months was age (adjusted odds ratio 0.929, 95% confidence interval 0.874, 0.988). Four patients developed intracranial hemorrhage after the treatment (5%), and two died (2.6%). In conclusion, age predicts Barthel index in acute stroke patients with rt-PA treatment.

Subjects and Methods. We analysed 5000 cerebrovascular ultrasound records. A total of 0.4% of the patients had common carotid artery occlusion (CCAO). Results. The mean age was 59.8 ± 14.2 years, and the male/female ratio was 2.33. The most frequent risk factors were hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and smoking. Right-sided and left-sided CCAO occurred in 65% and 30% of the cases, respectively, and bilateral occlusion was detected in one case (5%). Patent bifurcation was observed in 10 cases of CCAO in which the anterograde flow in the ICA was maintained from the external carotid artery with reversed flow. In two of the cases, the occluded CCA was hypoplastic. The aetiology of CCAO in the majority of cases was the atherosclerosis (15 cases). The male/female ratio was higher in the patients with occluded distal vessels, and the short-term outcome was poorer. Only two cases from this series underwent revascularisation surgery. Spontaneous recanalisation was observed in one case. Conclusions. The most frequent cause of CCAO was atherosclerosis. The outcome is improved in the cases with patent distal vessels, and spontaneous recanalisation is possible. Treatment methods have not been standardised. Surgical revascularisation is possible in cases of patent distal vessels, but the indications are debatable.