Journal of the neurological sciences
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Comparative Study
Comorbid conditions associated with Parkinson's disease: A longitudinal and comparative study with Alzheimer disease and control subjects.
To study what comorbid conditions were present at baseline and 3years later in a cohort of Spanish Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, to compare comorbidity with both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and control groups and to analyze the role of comorbidity as predictor of mortality. ⋯ Comorbidity is frequent in PD patients, increases significantly over time and predicts mortality.
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We investigated the combination of robot-assisted rehabilitation (RT) using a single-joint hybrid assistive limb (HAL-SJ) and botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) as therapy for paretic arm with spasticity in post-stroke patients. Participants were seven patients (4 females, 3 males; mean (±SD) age: 60.6±8.4years) who had spastic hemiplegia following chronic stroke. On the day following BTX-A injection, we started RT, which was performed for 20 sessions of 60min each over a two-week period. ⋯ FMA, MAL, and DAS scores significantly improved at two weeks and four months (p<0.05), except DAS scores at four months (p=0.068). The fNIRS study showed that cortical activation increased in the ipsilesional primary sensorimotor area at two weeks and at the four months follow-up. Our pilot study showed that the combination of RT and BTX-A therapy was an effective approach for treating spastic hemiplegia due to stroke, and functional imaging study showed neuroplasticity induced by the treatment.
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Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) is a frequent manifestation of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). However, it can also occur in other immune-mediated diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Positive aquoporin-4 antibodies (AQP4-ab) predict higher relapse rate after LETM. ⋯ LETM at onset is a heterogeneous syndrome with similar clinical and neuroimaging features between both groups. N-LETM displayed a lower relapse rate of myelitis and ON.
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Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a potentially-devastating complication of rapid osmolar shifts, classically attributed to overlyaggressive correction of chronic hyponatremia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allowed earlier diagnosis of CPM, but most importantly, it has revealed that the odds of good functional recovery are surprisingly high. ⋯ Due to the rarity of CPM, very little has been published on the evolution of these MRI findings. We present a case of CPM in an alcoholic young man, and describe the temporal evolution of both the trident and piglet signs on MRI in CPM.
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Letter Historical Article
"Puttin' on the Ritz": Young Frankenstein and neurology.