Journal of the neurological sciences
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Dengue is a common arboviral infection in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and caused by infection with one of the 4 serotypes of dengue virus. Neurologic manifestations are increasingly recognised but the exact incidence is unknown. Dengue infection has a wide spectrum of neurological complications such as encephalitis, myositis, myelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and mononeuropathies. ⋯ Even for other neurological syndromes like myelitis, myositis, GBS etc., dengue infection should be kept in differential diagnosis and should be ruled out especially so in endemic countries during dengue outbreaks and in cases where the aetiology is uncertain. A high degree of suspicion in endemic areas can help in picking up more cases thereby helping in understanding the true extent of neurological complications in dengue fever. Also knowledge regarding the various neurological complications helps in looking for the warning signs and early diagnosis thereby improving patient outcome.
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Our aim was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activation changes due to botulinum toxin A (BoNT) application between two chronic stroke patient groups with different degree of weakness treated for upper limb spasticity. ⋯ Study of two age-matched groups with mild and severe weakness demonstrated different effects of BoNT-lowered spasticity on sensorimotor networks. Group A performing movement imagery manifested BoNT-induced reduction of activation in structures associated with visual imagery. Group B performing movement manifested reduced activation extent and reduced activation of structures outside classical motor system, suggestive of motor network normalization.
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Intracranial pressure (ICP) is frequently elevated following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). In this prospective study, the factors associated with increased ICP and the relationship between ICP and the aSAH grade were evaluated. ⋯ ICP following aSAH positively correlates with the patient's consciousness, but no relationship was detected between ICP and the subarachnoid hemorrhage volume.
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Case Reports
Central retinal artery occlusion with concomitant ipsilateral cerebral infarction after cosmetic facial injections.
We report 2 cases of central retinal artery occlusion with concomitant ipsilateral cerebral infarction after cosmetic facial injections and a literature review. The 2 patients were two healthy women, in which cosmetic facial injections with autologous fat and filler were performed, respectively. ⋯ Neuroimaging showed multifocal small infarctions in the ipsilateral frontal lobe with occlusion of the ophthalmic artery in case 1 and multiple infarctions in the ipsilateral anterior and middle cerebral artery territories with subsequent hemorrhagic transformation in case 2. Poor visual prognosis and neurological complications can occur in healthy adults undergoing cosmetic facial injection, and all patients should be informed of this risk before the procedure.
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Blood-brain-barrier dysfunction is well known to accompany hypertensive posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and is considered as the culprit of vasogenic edema and cerebral hemorrhage observed as part of this syndrome. An 84-year-old female was admitted with a diagnosis of PRES in the setting of malignant hypertension. The clinical course was further complicated by ischemic stroke and seizures. ⋯ These findings suggestive of increased permeability were not only confined to the blood-brain-barrier, but also involved the blood-retina-barrier interface. Our observations suggest that pathologic conditions that disrupt the integrity of blood-brain-barrier might concomitantly affect retinal microcirculation, which highly resembles cerebral microcirculation both anatomically and functionally. Imaging modalities sensitive for detection of blood-brain-barrier dysfunction, such as contrast enhanced FLAIR, might be helpful in identifying these abnormalities.