BMJ Neurology Open最新文献

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in reducing the fear of falling (FOF) and promoting physical activity in individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods and analysis: This is a prospective, multicentre, rater-blinded and randomised controlled trial. Patients with PD and a history of falls will be randomly assigned to either an 8-week ACT intervention group or a control group receiving standard care. The primary outcomes measured will include FOF assessment using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International and physical activity levels measured via wearable sensor devices. Secondary outcomes will encompass the assessment of motor function, balance and fall frequency using the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Berg Balance Scale and Timed Up and Go test. Objective measures of balance and physical activity will be obtained through static posturography and wearable sensors over a 3-day period, both before and after the intervention. Data will be analysed using mixed-effects models to evaluate the impact of ACT on FOF and physical activity.

Ethics and dissemination: We hypothesised that ACT would lead to a significant reduction in FOF and an increase in physical activity levels compared with standard care. Additionally, this study will also examine the relationship between reduced FOF and improvements in balance and motor function. Our results will provide valuable evidence to support the effectiveness of ACT in reducing FOF and promoting physical activity among patients with PD, and if validated, ACT could be recommended as a beneficial intervention to enhance the quality of life and reduce fall-related morbidity in patients with PD.

Introduction: Epilepsy surgery is the only curative treatment for patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) is the gold standard to delineate the seizure-onset zone (SOZ). However, up to 40% of patients are subsequently not operated as no focal non-eloquent SOZ can be identified. The 5-SENSE Score is a 5-point score to predict whether a focal SOZ is likely to be identified by SEEG. This study aims to validate the 5-SENSE Score, improve score performance by incorporating auxiliary diagnostic methods and evaluate its concordance with expert decisions.

Methods and analysis: Non-interventional, observational, multicentre, prospective study including 200 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy aged ≥15 years undergoing SEEG for identification of a focal SOZ and 200 controls at 22 epilepsy surgery centres worldwide. The primary objective is to assess the diagnostic accuracy and generalisability of the 5-SENSE in predicting focality in SEEG in a prospective cohort. Secondary objectives are to optimise score performance by incorporating auxiliary diagnostic methods and to analyse concordance of the 5-SENSE Score with the expert decisions made in the multidisciplinary team discussion.

Ethics and dissemination: Prospective multicentre validation of the 5-SENSE score may lead to its implementation into clinical practice to assist clinicians in the difficult decision of whether to proceed with implantation. This study will be conducted in accordance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (2014). We plan to publish the study results in a peer-reviewed full-length original article and present its findings at scientific conferences.

Trial registration number: NCT06138808.

Abstract:

Objective: Identify the proportion of patients referred with putative functional seizures (FS) that were subsequently re-diagnosed as epileptic seizures (ES), or an alternative diagnosis, following video telemetry EEG (VTEEG). In addition, describe the characteristics of those seizures.

Methods: The VTEEG reports from patients admitted to the Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy between 2019 and 2022 were reviewed. Pre-VTEEG and post-VTEEG diagnoses were compared to identify whether a diagnostic revision was made from suspected FS to ES or another diagnosis. Diagnostic revision cases were then grouped into cohorts with associated features and reviewed to characterise and describe FS mimics.

Results: 444 VTEEG reports where patients had habitual events were identified. 4.7% of patients were referred with FS and were subsequently diagnosed with ES or another diagnosis. In this group, several cohorts could be identified including frontal lobe epileptic seizures, ES with functional overlay, insular or temporal lobe epileptic seizures associated with autonomic or marked experiential peri-ictal symptoms, and individuals who had both ES and FS but whose ES were revealed on medication withdrawal.

Conclusion: In patients referred to a tertiary epilepsy unit, a small minority of cases had seizures diagnosed as functional and reclassified as epileptic or an alternative diagnosis. It is clinically important to be aware of these FS mimics.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) and stroke share common risk factors, and symptoms of ED often precede the development of clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about how ED is associated with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in patients who had a stroke and if concomitant ED is a marker of more severe CVD.

Aims: We aimed to identify the prevalence of ED and CV risk factors in patients admitted with a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Further, we wanted to test if self-reported ED associated with presence of CV risk factors, and if patients with ED had increased stroke severity compared with patients without ED.

Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of data retrieved in a cross-sectional survey from two non-comprehensive stroke units in Denmark. Multiple logistic regression adjusted for covariates was performed to investigate the association between CV risk factors and self-reported ED.

Results: We included 287 male patients of which 116 (40.4%) had self-reported ED. Advanced age was significantly associated with self-reported ED (reference ≤60 years: OR 3.93, 95% CI 1.84 to 8.37 for men 71-80 years and OR 4.61, 95% CI 1.92 to 11.08 for men >80 years). Self-reported ED was not significantly associated with CV risk factors or stroke severity.

Discussion: Four in 10 men with acute stroke or TIA reported to have ED prior to their stroke, and this was associated with age rather than CV risk factors. Hence, self-reported ED was not restricted to the CVD load, nor was ED a risk marker for increased stroke severity. However, our population was of high age with well-established CVD, and the presence of ED may be a stroke risk marker in younger patients who had a stroke. Based on the prevalence, potential treatment of ED should be addressed in stroke recovery.

Background and objectives: Cardioembolic stroke (CES) appears to be a rare cause of stroke (4%-9%) in people living with HIV (PLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, due to limited access to diagnostic resources, this may be an underestimate. It is also unclear which cardiac pathologies are the major contributors to CES in this region. We sought to determine the prevalence and aetiology of CES in PLWH and to determine whether there are any differences compared with HIV negative stroke patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited PLWH with new-onset stroke at a quaternary-level hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2014 to 2017, and compared them to age-matched and sex-matched HIV negative stroke patients. Comprehensive investigations were performed to determine the underlying stroke aetiology, including electrocardiography, echocardiography, CT angiography and cerebrospinal fluid examination.

Results: 85 PLWH with ischaemic stroke were recruited and compared with 109 HIV negative controls. CES was identified in 17/85 (20.0%) of PLWH. These patients had more severe strokes than PLWH with non-CES (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 14.9±6.7 vs 11.7±5.4, p=0.04). Cardiomyopathy was the predominant cardiac pathology in PLWH (76.4% vs 45.5% in HIV negative, p=0.04) while valvulopathy was more common in HIV negative patients (42.4% vs 11.8% in PLWH, p=0.03). Arrhythmia (n=1) and ischaemic heart disease (n=1) were uncommon in PLWH.

Conclusion: CES is underdiagnosed in SSA and is more severe than non-CES. The identification of cardiomyopathy as the predominant underlying cardiac pathology may assist to target resources towards its detection using accessible cost-effective biomarkers.