Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialStroke motor recovery: active neuromuscular stimulation and repetitive practice schedules.
To investigate progress toward motor recovery in patients with chronic hemiparesis (mean time since stroke 3.2 years), comparing different types of practice schedules. ⋯ Upper extremity rehabilitation intervention of active stimulation and blocked practice performed as well as stimulation/random practice. Moreover, these purposeful voluntary movement findings support and extend sensorimotor integration theory to both practice schedules.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Psychopathology in people with epilepsy and intellectual disability; an investigation of potential explanatory variables.
There are few studies on epilepsy and psychopathology in people with intellectual disability (mental retardation) despite epilepsy prevalence rates that are thirty times higher than in the general population. The aims of this study, therefore, were to identify reliable, epilepsy-specific predictors of psychiatric and behavioural disorder in these patients, and to investigate reliable predictors of carer stress. ⋯ Although epilepsy in itself may be a risk factor for psychopathology in a minority of people with intellectual disability, some epilepsy-specific factors may predict psychiatric disorder. Behavioural problems need to be considered separately from psychiatric disorder because general factors, more closely associated with disability, are stronger predictors of their occurrence.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Medical and environmental risk factors for sporadic frontotemporal dementia: a retrospective case-control study.
A retrospective case-control study was carried out on 80 patients with sporadic frontotemporal dementia and 124 age, sex, and surrogate informant matched controls with respect to various medical and environmental risk factors. Head trauma was associated with an odds ratio of 3.3 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3 to 8.1). ⋯ Thyroid disease was associated with a 2.5 times increased risk of frontotemporal dementia (95% CI, 0.9 to 7.9), which was not statistically significant (p = 0.09) owing to limited power. As altered thyroid hormone status has been observed before in frontotemporal dementia, future studies will be important to confirm this observation.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Clinical TrialSpinal cord MRI in clinically isolated optic neuritis.
One hundred and fifteen patients with clinically isolated optic neuritis underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spinal cord within 3 months of the onset of symptoms. ⋯ Using existing criteria, spinal cord imaging rarely contributes to the diagnosis in patients with clinically isolated optic neuritis.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Case ReportsLymphocytic hypophysitis successfully treated with azathioprine: first case report.
An aggressive case of lymphocytic hypophysitis is described which was successfully treated with azathioprine after failure of corticosteroids. The patient, aged 53, had frontal headache, diplopia, and diabetes insipidus. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an intrasellar and suprasellar contrast enhancing mass with involvement of the left cavernous sinus and an enlarged pituitary stalk. ⋯ Four weeks later MRI shown no evidence of residual lesion and no pituitary stalk enlargement. After follow up of 18 months without azathioprine there was no clinical or radiological evidence of the disease. This is the first evidence of the efficacy of azathioprine treatment in a patient with lymphocytic hypophysitis.