Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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Several lines of evidence suggest that the cerebellum may play a role in higher-order olfactory processing. In this study, we administered the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), a standardised test of olfactory function, to patients with ataxias primarily due to cerebellar pathology (spinocerebellar ataxias and related disorders) and to patients with Friedreich ataxia, an ataxia associated mainly with loss of afferent cerebellar pathways. ⋯ UPSIT scores did not correlate with disease duration, although they correlated marginally with ambulatory status in the patients with cerebellar pathology. This study suggests that olfactory dysfunction may be a subtle clinical component of degenerative ataxias, in concordance with the hypothesis that the cerebellum or its afferents plays some role in central olfactory processing.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Case ReportsBrain lesions in the course of generalised tetanus.
A 47-year-old woman developed left hemiparesis primarily affecting the lower limbs during the course of severe generalised tetanus. MRI on the 82nd hospital day revealed cortical and subcortical lesions predominantly in the right frontal and parietal lobes in addition to marked brain atrophy. Three months later, the enhancing lesions were still present on follow up MRI. We postulate that structures above brainstem may be involved in severe generalised tetanus.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
A study of stereotypic behaviours in Alzheimer's disease and frontal and temporal variant frontotemporal dementia.
To document the prevalence and pattern of stereotypic behaviour in patients with Alzheimer's dementia and frontal and temporal variants of frontotemporal dementia. Secondly, to examine the relationship between stereotypic and other neuropsychiatric behaviours. ⋯ Complex stereotypic behaviours are a core feature of the dementing syndrome in FTD and may reflect early and specific deficits in orbitofrontal circuitry and basal ganglia involvement.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Comparative StudyAge and duration related changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity in Parkinson's disease.
To clarify the characteristics of sympathetic vasomotor function in Parkinson's disease by sympathetic neurographic analysis. ⋯ Sympathetic vasomotor function may be related to age and disease duration in Parkinson's disease.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2003
Incidence of endemic ataxic polyneuropathy and its relation to exposure to cyanide in a Nigerian community.
The occurrence of ataxic polyneuropathy in an endemic area in south west Nigeria has been attributed to exposure to cyanide from cassava foods. However, it has been shown that the prevalence of ataxic polyneuropathy is not high in several communities in the tropics where exposure to cyanide from cassava foods is high. ⋯ The incidence of ataxic polyneuropathy is high in Ososa, Nigeria, but the intake of cassava foods, exposure to cyanide, and levels of thiols, are not related to the occurrence. These findings do not suggest that cyanide is the cause of endemic ataxic polyneuropathy.