Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Enterovirus related metabolic myopathy: a postviral fatigue syndrome.
To detect and characterise enterovirus RNA in skeletal muscle from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and to compare efficiency of muscle energy metabolism in enterovirus positive and negative CFS patients. ⋯ There is an association between abnormal lactate response to exercise, reflecting impaired muscle energy metabolism, and the presence of enterovirus sequences in muscle in a proportion of CFS patients.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Review Case ReportsChronic deep brain stimulation for the treatment of tremor in multiple sclerosis: review and case reports.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) offers a non-ablative alternative to thalamotomy for the surgical treatment of medically refractory tremor in multiple sclerosis. However, relatively few outcomes have been reported. ⋯ Few of the studies reviewed used highly standardised quantitative outcome measures, and follow up periods were generally one year or less. Nonetheless, the data suggest that chronic DBS often produces improved tremor control in multiple sclerosis. Complete cessation of tremor is not necessarily achieved, there are cases in which tremor control decreases over time, and frequent reprogramming appears to be necessary.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Case ReportsEarly cognitive decline in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease associated with human growth hormone treatment.
Most cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in recipients of human cadaveric growth hormone present with a cerebellar syndrome. Dementia is thought to occur late and as a minor feature of the illness. However, neuropsychology data published on these cases are largely qualitative and anecdotal. The first published case does include a neuropsychological assessment seven months after the onset of a cerebellar syndrome, showing evidence of intellectual decline. Subsequent reports hint that cognitive problems may be present in the initial stages of the illness. ⋯ These findings suggest that, although not the presenting feature, mild cognitive decline may be evident in the early stages of CJD associated with human cadaveric growth hormone treatment.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Clinical TrialPlacing nasogastric tubes in stroke patients with dysphagia: efficiency and tolerability of the reflex placement.
Temporary dysphagia affects up to 50% of stroke patients in the acute stage of their illness and often necessitates tube feeding. In these patients, the placing of nasogastric tubes is often difficult or impossible. ⋯ A comparison of the cardiovascular responses to both methods in another 12 patients revealed significantly smaller increases in heart rate and systolic blood pressure during application of the new method. We therefore suggest the use of reflex placement in patients who have suffered a stroke and need tube feeding due to dysphagia.