Neurología : publicación oficial de la Sociedad Española de Neurología
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Both single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) are helpful in the practice of neurology. Ictal SPECT is useful to determine the origin of focal seizures in the pre-surgical evaluation. ⋯ Given its higher resolution and some other factors, PET is more useful in the evaluation of brain tumors, dementia and the parkinsonian syndromes. It is also useful in the presurgical evaluation of epilepsy.
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Multiple sclerosis is the most important disabling neurological disease in young adulthood in our environment. However, its etiology remains unknown. It has been proposed that multiple sclerosis is caused by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In particular, Epstein-Barr virus infection could play a fundamental role in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. ⋯ Based on the published evidence, Epstein-Barr virus infection can be considered to have a causal role in the etiology of multiple sclerosis. Further research should be conducted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this association and to assess its potential for multiple sclerosis prevention and treatment.
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We report three patients with ischemic stroke as initial manifestation of left atrial myxomas. ⋯ The three patients had ischemic stroke at a young age. The initial manifestation of the myxoma was a transient ischemic attack in two of them. Diagnosis was delayed more than 3 years in two of the patients. The second episode of the third patient affected all the left internal carotid territory including the posterior cerebral artery arising from the internal carotid and branches of the central retinal artery. Comparing the magnetic resonance with the previous one, new hyperintense images on T2 with gadolinium enhancement were found in the left hemisphere consistent with subacute infarcts that had stabilized 5 months later.