Annals of neurology
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Respiratory insufficiency is a frequent and serious complication of the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). We aimed to develop a simple but accurate model to predict the chance of respiratory insufficiency in the acute stage of the disease based on clinical characteristics available at hospital admission. ⋯ This model accurately predicts development of respiratory insufficiency within 1 week in patients with GBS, using clinical characteristics available at admission. After further validation, the model may assist in clinical decision making, for example, on patient transfer to an intensive care unit.
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Annals of neurology · Jun 2010
FUS-immunoreactive inclusions are a common feature in sporadic and non-SOD1 familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder of motor neuron degeneration. Most cases of ALS are sporadic (SALS), but about 5 to 10% of ALS cases are familial (FALS). Recent studies have shown that mutations in FUS are causal in approximately 4 to 5% of FALS and some apparent SALS cases. The pathogenic mechanism of the mutant FUS-mediated ALS and potential roles of FUS in non-FUS ALS remain to be investigated. ⋯ Although mutations in FUS account for only a small fraction of FALS and SALS, our data suggest that FUS protein may be a common component of the cellular inclusions in non-SOD1 ALS and some other neurodegenerative conditions, implying a shared pathogenic pathway underlying SALS, non-SOD1 FALS, ALS/dementia, and related disorders. Our data also indicate that SOD1-linked ALS may have a pathogenic pathway distinct from SALS and other types of FALS.
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Herpes simplex virus type 1 is a common cause of severe sporadic encephalitis. Treatment with acyclovir is highly effective in this disease. ⋯ Herpes simplex encephalitis resolved after treatment with foscarnet. To our knowledge, this is the first report of acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus encephalitis in an immunocompetent, previously therapy-naive adult.
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Annals of neurology · May 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialCrossover trial of gabapentin and memantine as treatment for acquired nystagmus.
We conducted a masked, crossover, therapeutic trial of gabapentin (1,200mg/day) versus memantine (40 mg/day) for acquired nystagmus in 10 patients (aged 28-61 years; 7 female; 3 multiple sclerosis [MS]; 6 post-stroke; 1 post-traumatic). Nystagmus was pendular in 6 patients (4 oculopalatal tremor; 2 MS) and jerk upbeat, hemi-seesaw, torsional, or upbeat-diagonal in each of the others. ⋯ Side effects included unsteadiness with gabapentin and lethargy with memantine. Both drugs should be considered as treatment for acquired forms of nystagmus.