Neurology
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To study patients with ALS to determine how physical function, quality of life (QOL), and spirituality or religiousness change over time, and what relationship these changes have to one another. ⋯ QOL in patients with ALS appears to be independent of physical function, which agrees with a previous cross-sectional study. The ALS-specific health-related QOL score is primarily a measure of physical function. QOL instruments that assess spiritual, religious, and psychological factors produce different results than those obtained using measures of physical function alone.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Clinical trial of an air-circulating cooling blanket for fever control in critically ill neurologic patients.
To evaluate the efficacy of an air-circulating cooling blanket for reducing body temperature in febrile neuro-ICU patients treated with acetaminophen. ⋯ Treatment with an air-circulating cooling blanket did not effectively reduce body temperature in febrile neuro-ICU patients treated with acetaminophen. More effective interventions are needed to maintain normothermia in patients at risk for fever-related brain damage.
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To quantify, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the tissue damage in lesions and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) from a large cohort of patients with MS and to investigate the magnitude of the correlation between DTI-derived metrics and clinical disability. ⋯ The results of this study show that DTI is able to identify MS lesions with severe tissue damage and to detect changes in the NAWM. They also indicate that DTI-derived measures are correlated with clinical disability, especially in patients with secondary progressive MS, thus suggesting a role for DTI in monitoring advanced phases of the disease.