Acta neurologica Belgica
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Mar 2001
Clinical TrialType A botulinum toxin in the treatment of chronic facial pain associated with temporo-mandibular dysfunction.
In an open-label study 41 patients suffering from the muscular form of temporo-mandibular dysfunction were treated with botulinum toxin type A injections into masticatory muscles (average of 200 U on each side) and followed for an average of 6.7 months. Eighty percent of patients improved by a mean reduction of 45% on a visual analogue pain scale. ⋯ Reversible speech and swallowing difficulties occurred in only 1 patient. These encouraging results need to be confirmed by a randomized controlled trial.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Dec 2000
ReviewThe usefulness of EEG, exogenous evoked potentials, and cognitive evoked potentials in the acute stage of post-anoxic and post-traumatic coma.
Three-modality evoked potentials (TMEPs) have been used for several years in association with the EEG as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in acute anoxic or traumatic coma. Cognitive EPs have been recently introduced. EEG and cognitive EPs provide functional assessment of the cerebral cortex. ⋯ Thus, cognitive EPs can usefully complement exogenous EPs as a prognostic tool in coma. Indeed, even if the absence of cognitive EPs in comatose patients does not have any prognostic value, their presence implies a very high (more than 90%) probability of consciousness recovery. The major technical challenge for the future will be the development of reliable tools for continuous EEG and TMEP monitoring.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Dec 2000
Review Comparative StudyTherapeutic coma or neuroprotection by anaesthetics.
Some surgical patients are at an increased risk for developing cerebral ischaemia. A subset of these patients is believed to benefit from putative cerebroprotective effects of anaesthetic agents. ⋯ However, both animal and especially human data are very disappointing. Only the barbiturates and isoflurane have an experimental record warranting further research to delineate proper indications for their use as neuroprotective agents in surgical patients.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Sep 2000
The expanding clinical and genetic spectrum of the myotonic dystrophies.
Core features of the dominantly inherited myotonic dystrophies are myotonia, muscle weakness and cataract. Classic myotonic dystrophy (Steinert's disease) has been defined as a genetic entity by the underlying CTG repeat expansion on chromosome 19q13.3 (= DM1 locus). Later on, another disorder similar to but different from myotonic dystrophy was described as proximal myotonic myopathy (PROMM). ⋯ In the majority of patients, the disorder seems to be more benign compared to Steinert's disease. However, life threatening cardiac involvement is possible; rarely, muscle weakness may progress until the patient is bedridden.--Some families with a PROMM-like phenotype do not link to the locus on 3q. The group of the myotonic dystrophies will get new members in the future.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Sep 1999
Case ReportsSequestrum-like appearance of a multiple sclerosis brain lesion on serial magnetic resonance images.
Using serial magnetic resonance imaging, we monitored an unique lesion of the brain in a 15-year-old girl with clinically definite and laboratory-supported remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis. During initial phases of the disease course, cystic necrosis around the plaque was observed. Later, remyelination of the central core of the lesion was speculated, as similarities in signal intensity between the core and the normal appearing white matter were partially recovered both on the T1- and the T2-weighted images.