Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2017
Comparative StudyExamining the language and behavioural profile in FTD and ALS-FTD.
A proportion of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It is currently unknown whether the behavioural and cognitive syndrome in bvFTD with ALS (ALS-FTD) is indistinguishable from that of bvFTD alone. ⋯ Our findings suggest differences between bvFTD and ALS-FTD. In particular, while changes in social behaviour are prominent in bvFTD alone, there may be a comparatively greater degree of language impairment in ALS-FTD. Prospective exploration of the pattern of differences between these groups will be essential. Identification of a distinct neuropsychological phenotype in ALS-FTD may have clinical implications for early diagnosis, disease management and care planning and theoretical implications for our understanding of the relationship between ALS and FTD.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2017
Survival and cause of death in multiple sclerosis: a 60-year longitudinal population study.
Survival and causes of death (COD) in multiple sclerosis (MS) provide ultimate endpoints. We aimed to investigate survival and COD in a 60-year population-based MS cohort compared with the general population. ⋯ We found a 7-year shorter life expectancy and almost threefold higher mortality in MS compared with the general population. A rise in survival in MS was observed during the entire observation period.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2017
ReviewClinical evoked potentials in neurology: a review of techniques and indications.
Evoked potentials (EPs) are a powerful and cost-effective tool for evaluating the integrity and function of the central nervous system. Although imaging techniques, such as MRI, have recently become increasingly important in the diagnosis of neurological diseases, over the past 30 years, many neurologists have continued to employ EPs in specific clinical applications. This review presents an overview of the recent evolution of 'classical' clinical applications of EPs in terms of early diagnosis and disease monitoring and is an extension of a previous review published in this journal in 2005 by Walsh and collaborators. ⋯ EPs based on multichannel electroencephalography recordings, known as high-density EPs, help to better differentiate between healthy subjects and patients and, moreover, they provide valuable spatial information regarding the site of the lesion. EPs are reliable disease-progression biomarkers of several neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating disorders. Overall, EPs are excellent neurophysiological tools that will expand standard clinical practice in modern neurology.