Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Case ReportsAcute headache as a presenting symptom of tacrolimus encephalopathy.
A 24 year old woman presented with a sudden excruciating headache mimicking an acute vascular event. She had undergone a lung transplantation because of cystic fibrosis and was receiving maintenance treatment with tacrolimus and prednisone. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated hyperintense lesions in the infratentorial and parieto-occipital regions consistent with posterior leucencephalopathy syndrome. Both her clinical condition improved and the lesions disappeared completely after withdrawal of tacrolimus, suggesting that her condition could be explained by a tacrolimus encephalopathy.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Motor system abnormalities in hereditary spastic paraparesis type 4 (SPG4) depend on the type of mutation in the spastin gene.
Hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) denotes a group of inherited neurological disorders with progressive lower limb spasticity as their clinical hallmark; a large proportion of autosomal dominant HSP belongs to HSP type 4, which has been linked to the SPG4 locus on chromosome 2. A variety of mutations have been identified within the SPG4 gene product, spastin. ⋯ For the first time in hereditary spastic paraparesis, a phenotypic correlate of a given genetic change in the spastin gene has been shown.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Case ReportsDeterioration of pre-existing hemiparesis brought about by subsequent ipsilateral lacunar infarction.
Mechanisms of post-stroke recovery are still poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that cortical reorganisation in the unaffected hemisphere plays an important role. ⋯ This suggests that partial recovery of the left hemiparesis had been brought about by cortical reorganisation of the left hemisphere and intensification of the uncrossed corticospinal tract. The subsequent small infarct may have damaged the uncrossed tract, thereby causing the pre-existing hemiparesis to deteriorate even further.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Increased visual cortical excitability in ecstasy users: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study.
To test the presence of abnormalities of visual cortical excitability in people using ecstasy as a recreational drug. ⋯ The use of ecstasy as a recreational drug is associated with an increased excitability of the visual cortex, possibly linked with massive serotonin release, followed by serotonin depletion, in this cortical area.