Acta neurologica Belgica
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Dec 2015
Tapia's syndrome in the intensive care unit: a rare cause of combined cranial nerve palsy following intubation.
Tapia's syndrome is characterized by unilateral paralysis of the tongue and vocal cord, and is caused by a concurrent lesion of both the recurrent laryngeal and hypoglossal nerves. The proposed mechanism in most patients is compression or stretching of these nerves on their extracranial course due to airway manipulation under general anaesthesia. As Tapia's syndrome is a rare and possibly devastating condition, recognition of the presence of concurrent paralyses is an important step in diagnosis and treatment. We report two cases of Tapia's syndrome as a complication of intubation in the intensive care unit.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Sep 2015
Clinical TrialCapsaicin 8 % as a cutaneous patch (Qutenza™): analgesic effect on patients with peripheral neuropathic pain.
Evaluation of the analgesic effect after a single application of the capsaicin 8 % cutaneous patch (Qutenza™) in 37 patients suffering from painful, distal symmetric polyneuropathy (PNP) for an average of 5 years. Patients ranged from 40 to 78 years of age and 22 subjects were HIV-positive. Patients were observed 4 weeks prior to 12 weeks post administration. ⋯ Symptoms of painful PNP decreased over the period of investigation and 8 patients reported a reduction of systemic pain medication. In patients with an HIV infection, a significant extension of sleep was achieved for 2, 4 and 8 weeks after application. Thus, the application of the capsaicin 8 % patch resulted in a significant relief of neuropathic pain, a prolongation of sleep, a reduction of oral pain medication and a resumption of social activities.
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Migraine is a neurovascular disorder characterized by autonomic nervous system dysfunction and severe headache attacks. Studies have shown that changes in the intracranial vessels during migraine have an important role in the pathophysiology. Many studies have been conducted on the increased risk of stroke in patients with migraine, but insufficient data are available on the mechanism underlying the increase. ⋯ According to our results, the vasodilator response of cerebral arterioles to hypercapnia was lower in patients with chronic migraine. These findings showed the existence of impairments in the harmonic cerebral hemodynamic mechanisms in patients with chronic migraine. This finding also supports the existing idea of an increased risk of stroke in patients with chronic migraine due to impaired vasomotor reactivity.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Jun 2015
The relationships between migraine, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances.
To assess the relationships between migraine, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep problems. Psychiatric conditions and sleep disturbances are common in migraineurs. Depression, anxiety, stress, migraine, and sleep problems frequently coexist as comorbidities. ⋯ While PSQI scores were found significantly different between migraineurs and control subjects (5.5 ± 2.9 vs 4.5 ± 2.5; p = 0.04), the correlation of all the DASS subscale scores between the groups was not statistically significant. Our findings showed that episodic migraine was a risk factor on its own for sleep disturbances without comorbid depression, anxiety, and stress. Moreover, migraine-related disability and pain intensity in migraine attacks were related to poor sleep quality.