Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · May 2013
Clinical and cognitive correlates of visual hallucinations in dementia with Lewy bodies.
The presence of recurrent complex visual hallucinations (VHs) is a core feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The aim of this study was to investigate which clinical and neuropsychological characteristics are associated with VHs and their predictive value over a 1 year follow-up. ⋯ Impairment of visual-spatial and perceptual abilities in DLB represents a disease related cognitive signature, independent of the presence of VHs, for which it may represent a predisposing condition. Visual attention, instead, is the main cognitive determinant for the genesis of VHs.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · May 2013
Review Meta AnalysisAspirin for acute migraine headaches in adults.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · May 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyMemantine for axial signs in Parkinson's disease: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.
Given that memantine is thought to decrease N-methyl-D-aspartic-acid-related (NMDA) glutamatergic hyperactivity and improve locomotion in rats, we sought to assess the drug's impact on axial symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). ⋯ Memantine treatment was associated with lower axial motor symptom and dyskinesia scores but did not improve gait. These benefits must be confirmed in a broader population of patients.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · May 2013
Review Historical ArticleBickerstaff brainstem encephalitis and Fisher syndrome: anti-GQ1b antibody syndrome.
In the 1950s, Bickerstaff and Fisher independently described cases with a unique presentation of ophthalmoplegia and ataxia. The neurological features were typically preceded by an antecedent infection and the majority of patients made a spontaneous recovery. In the cases with Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis, there was associated altered consciousness and in some, hyperreflexia, in support of a central pathology whereas in Fisher syndrome, patients were areflexic in keeping with a peripheral aetiology. ⋯ These include acute ophthalmoparesis and acute ataxic neuropathy, which represent the less extensive spectrum of the disease whereas pharyngeal-cervical-brachial weakness and Fisher syndrome overlap with Guillain-Barré syndrome represent the more extensive end of the spectrum. The conditions can be referred to as the 'anti-GQ1b antibody syndrome'. In this review, we look back at the historical descriptions and describe how our understanding of Fisher syndrome and Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis has evolved from their initial descriptions more than half a century ago.