Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialGreater occipital nerve block modulates nociceptive signals within the trigeminocervical complex.
The pharmacological block of the greater occipital nerve has been proven effective in numerous headache and facial pain syndromes. This clinical effect supports the hypothesis of a strong functional interaction between the occipital and trigeminal nerves which has been proposed in neurophysiological in vivo experiments in rodents. Although it is likely that the interaction has to occur in the central nervous system, the exact site and the mechanisms of the interaction remain largely unknown. ⋯ These data suggest that the functional inhibition of the occipital nerve block on trigeminal nociceptive activity is likely to occur at the C2 level where the occipital nerve enters the trigeminocervical complex and converges on the same central nuclei before the signal crosses the midline at that level and is then transmitted to higher processing centres.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2021
Anxiety and depression symptoms after COVID-19 infection: results from the COVID Symptom Study app.
Mental health issues have been reported after SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, comparison to prevalence in uninfected individuals and contribution from common risk factors (eg, obesity and comorbidities) have not been examined. We identified how COVID-19 relates to mental health in the large community-based COVID Symptom Study. ⋯ A small association was identified between SARS-CoV-2 infection and anxiety and depression symptoms. The proportion meeting criteria for self-reported anxiety and depression disorders is only slightly higher than prepandemic.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2021
Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy with disease-modifying therapies: a cost-effectiveness analysis.
To assess cost-effectiveness of newborn screening (NBS) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and early treatment with nusinersen or onasemnogene abeparvovec (gene therapy), compared with nusinersen without SMA screening. ⋯ NBS coupled with gene therapy improves the quality and length of life for infants with SMA and would be considered value-for-money from an Australian clinical and policy context.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2021
GFAP as a biomarker in frontotemporal dementia and primary psychiatric disorders: diagnostic and prognostic performance.
Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and primary psychiatric disorders (PPD) are characterised by overlapping clinical features but different aetiologies. Here, we assessed for the first time the potential of blood glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP), marker of astrogliosis, as a discriminative and prognostic tool in FTLD and PPD. ⋯ sGFAP enabled differentiation of patients with FTLD and PPD and associated with shorter survival and more severe brain atrophy rate in patients with FTLD. These results suggest that blood-based GFAP represents a minimally invasive and useful biomarker in the differential diagnostics between patients with FTLD and PPD and in evaluating disease progression and astrogliosis in FTLD.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Dec 2021
Plasma NfL levels and longitudinal change rates in C9orf72 and GRN-associated diseases: from tailored references to clinical applications.
Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising biomarker in genetic frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We evaluated plasma neurofilament light chain (pNfL) levels in controls, and their longitudinal trajectories in C9orf72 and GRN cohorts from presymptomatic to clinical stages. ⋯ This study highlights the importance of gene-specific and age-specific references for clinical and therapeutic trials in genetic FTD/ALS. It supports the usefulness of repeating pNfL measurements and considering ARC as a prognostic marker of disease progression.