Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jan 1987
Tuberculous meningitis: role of CT in management and prognosis.
Serial computed tomographic scans were performed during the course of tuberculous meningitis in 25 patients aged 1-70 years. Hydrocephalus rarely occurred without other abnormalities. Marked ventricular enlargement was associated with extensive basal enhancement. ⋯ Infarcts were much more common in children than in adults and were sometimes asymptomatic. Radiological abnormalities sometimes developed during treatment and often did not resolve completely. Many patients had severe residual neurological problems.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 1986
Case ReportsRestless red legs: an association of the restless legs syndrome with arborizing telangiectasia of the lower limbs.
Two patients are reported with Ekbom's syndrome of "restless legs" occurring in association with arborizing telangiectasia of the lower limbs. Sensory complaints have previously been reported in this skin condition but not described in detail. The co-existence of the two conditions is discussed in the context of previous explanations of the restless legs syndrome.
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One of the putative causes of headache is osteoarthritis of the C2-3 zygapophysial joint. A technique for blocking the third occipital nerve which innervates this joint was devised and used as a screening procedure for headache mediated by this nerve. Seven out of ten consecutive patients presenting with suspected cervical headache were found to suffer pain mediated by the third occipital nerve and stemming from a C2-3 zygapophysial joint. Because third occipital headache may be indistinguishable clinically from tension or other forms of headache, third occipital nerve blocks are advocated as means of establishing this largely unrecognised diagnosis.
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A case study investigates the writing, spelling and praxic skills of one patient who was found to have a selective impairment in his ability to write letters and words in the absence of difficulty in copying these same letters and words. He appeared to have difficulty accessing the correct motor programmes or sequences for writing which we term "ideational agraphia" analagous to the syndrome of ideational apraxia. These findings are related to Margolin's information-processing model of writing.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 1985
Brain stem auditory evoked responses in chronic alcoholics.
Brain stem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) were performed on 25 alcoholic patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, 56 alcoholic patients without Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, 24 of whom had cerebellar ataxia, and 37 control subjects. Abnormal BAERs were found in 48% of patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, in 25% of alcoholic patients without Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome but with cerebellar ataxia, and in 13% of alcoholic patients without Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or ataxia. The mean value of the I-V interval was prolonged in all patient groups. ⋯ The I-III interval was prolonged in 32% of those with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome but in only 6% of alcoholics without the syndrome. These abnormalities improved following thiamine treatment and abstinence from alcohol. The presence of prolonged I-III interval in an alcoholic should raise the possibility of Wernicke's encephalopathy.