Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2004
Non-convulsive status epilepticus: a profile of patients diagnosed within a tertiary referral centre.
Non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is an under-recognised but treatable condition with considerable associated morbidity. The files of adult admissions were reviewed over four years, during which time 50 episodes of NCSE were diagnosed in 45 patients. These findings suggest a broad age range with various states of mental acuity and an association with both learning disabilities and acute systemic infection. Approximately half of the patients had a previous diagnosis of epilepsy at the time of admission, and half had a history of generalised tonic-clonic seizures immediately before the onset of their illness.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2004
Retinal abnormalities in CADASIL: a retrospective study of 18 patients.
CADASIL is an inherited small vessel disease related to Notch3 gene mutations. ⋯ FE and FA revealed silent retinal abnormalities in CADASIL patients with nerve fibre loss in 22% and cotton wool spots in 17%. The presence of these abnormal retinal findings does not seem related to the severity of the disorder but may be considered as peripheral markers of this genetic disease.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2004
Platelet-leukocyte interaction and platelet activation in migraine: a link to ischemic stroke?
Migraine has been identified as an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke. Both neurogenic inflammation and platelet activation have been linked to the pathophysiology of migraine. Increased platelet activation results in up-regulation of specific binding to leukocytes which promotes pro-inflammatory leukocyte secretion and their tethering to endothelium, a mechanism that has been demonstrated in stroke and which could provide a link to migraine. We aimed to determine whether platelet-leukocyte aggregation is increased in migraine patients outside an acute attack. ⋯ In migraine pro-inflammatory platelet adhesion to leukocytes occurs during the headache free interval similar to that seen in acute coronary and cerebrovascular syndromes. This may suggest a link between migraine and stroke on a cellular level.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2004
Novelty seeking and harm avoidance in Parkinson's disease: effects of asymmetric dopamine deficiency.
Although changes in novelty seeking and harm avoidance have been reported among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), the findings regarding the neurochemical correlates of such changes are inconsistent. This study was designed to examine the hypothesis that different patterns of motor and neurochemical asymmetry in PD may have contributed to the conflicting results. ⋯ Approach and avoidance reflect different patterns of dopaminergic asymmetry. Whereas reduced novelty seeking reflects deficit in the mesolimbic branch of ascending dopamine transmission in the left hemisphere, increased harm avoidance is associated with greater dopamine loss in the right striatum.