Arch Neurol Chicago
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Sep 2007
Cognitive domain decline in healthy apolipoprotein E epsilon4 homozygotes before the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.
Memory declines more rapidly with age in apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 carriers than in APOE epsilon4 noncarriers, and APOE epsilon4 homozygotes' cognitive performances correlate with stressors. These changes could represent presymptomatic disease in some, despite their youth. ⋯ APOE epsilon4 homozygotes in their 60s have higher rates of cognitive domain decline than APOE epsilon4 heterozygotes or noncarriers before the diagnosis of MCI and AD, thus confirming and characterizing the existence of a pre-MCI state in this genetic subset.
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Sep 2007
Association of higher serum calcium levels with smaller infarct volumes in acute ischemic stroke.
Elevated serum calcium levels at admission in patients with stroke have been associated with less severe clinical deficits and with better outcomes; however, the relationship between serum calcium levels and volumetric measurement of cerebral infarct size on neuroimaging has not been studied, to our knowledge. ⋯ Higher serum calcium levels at admission are associated with smaller cerebral infarct volumes among patients with acute ischemic stroke. These results suggest that serum calcium level may serve as a clinical prognosticator following stroke and may be a potential therapeutic target for improving stroke outcome.
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Sep 2007
Detection of human immunodeficiency virus induced inflammation and oxidative stress in lenticular nuclei with magnetic resonance spectroscopy despite antiretroviral therapy.
Single-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements of N-acetyl aspartate, choline, and creatine (Cr) are affected in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and neurocognitive impairment. However, these metabolic markers are often normalized in affected central nervous system regions, such as the lenticular nuclei, after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). ⋯ As seen with 2-dimensional-chemical shift imaging magnetic resonance spectroscopy, HIV induces inflammation and oxidative stress in HIV-positive patients despite HAART. Lipid and Lac are more sensitive inflammatory biomarkers that may be used to differentiate HIV-positive subgroups. However, no significant difference in efficacy, as measured by metabolic ratios, exists for high- vs low-central nervous system-penetrating HAART.
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Sep 2007
Associations between cervical cord gray matter damage and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis.
To assess in vivo the volume and the magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detectable damage of the cervical cord gray matter in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and to evaluate whether such damage correlates with disability. ⋯ Cervical cord gray matter is not spared by MS pathology, and such damage is an additional factor contributing to the disability of these patients.