Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2003
Clinical TrialA sensitive radioimmunoprecipitation assay for assessing the clinical relevance of antibodies to IFN beta.
Some multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with interferon beta (IFN beta) develop antibodies to the drug. Neutralising antibody (NAB) assays for IFN beta are expensive and the clinical relevance of the results has been debated. ⋯ The RIPA assay is sensitive and easy to perform. It should be of value in assessing the clinical impact of IFN beta antibodies, and its use could help target expensive INF beta treatments to those who will respond best.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2003
Comparative StudyPerformance on the dementia rating scale in Parkinson's disease with dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies: comparison with progressive supranuclear palsy and Alzheimer's disease.
The relation between dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) is unknown. ⋯ The cognitive profiles of patients with DLB and PDD were similar, but they differed from those of patients with Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. The cognitive pattern in DLB and PDD probably reflects the superimposition of subcortical deficits upon deficits typically associated with Alzheimer's disease.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2003
Diffusion tensor imaging detects corticospinal tract involvement at multiple levels in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Histopathological studies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are of end stage disease. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides the opportunity to investigate indirectly corticospinal tract pathology of ALS in vivo. ⋯ These findings provide insights into the pathological processes of ALS. Differences in diffusion characteristics at different anatomical levels may relate to underlying tract architecture or the distribution of pathological damage in ALS. Further development may permit monitoring of progression and treatment of disease.
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Gluten ataxia is an immune mediated disease, part of the spectrum of gluten sensitivity, and accounts for up to 40% of cases of idiopathic sporadic ataxia. No systematic study of the effect of gluten-free diet on gluten ataxia has ever been undertaken. ⋯ Gluten ataxia responds to a strict gluten-free diet even in the absence of an enteropathy. The diagnosis of gluten ataxia is vital as it is one of the very few treatable causes of sporadic ataxia.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2003
Case ReportsMyalgia as the revealing symptom of multicore disease and fibre type disproportion myopathy.
Multicore disease and congenital fibre type disproportion myopathy are diseases assigned to the heterogeneous group of congenital myopathies. Although hypotonia and muscle weakness appearing in early life are the commonest manifestations of these diseases, distinct phenotypes and late onset cases have been described. ⋯ Muscle pain was the main clinical manifestation in our patients. Recognition of the broader clinical expression of these myopathies is important for prognostic reasons and for genetic counselling of the family members.