Neurology
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The authors calculated the progression rate (DeltaFS) using the total revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) and symptom duration at diagnosis in 82 Japanese patients with ALS. Survival (death or tracheostomy) differed significantly with the DeltaFS and postdiagnostic period according to log-rank testing, but Cox proportional hazards modeling revealed no strong association between total ALSFRS-R and mortality, suggesting that the DeltaFS provides an additional predictive index beyond ALSFRS-R alone.
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Survivors of intracerebral hemorrhage are at risk for recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage and ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. ⋯ Antiplatelet agent use is relatively common following intracerebral hemorrhage but did not appear to be associated with a large increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage recurrence in this observational study.
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Damage to white matter tracts, resulting in "cerebral disconnection," may underlie age-related cognitive decline. ⋯ The results are consistent with white matter damage due to axonal loss, causing age- related cognitive decline. Working memory may be particularly dependent on complex networks dependent on white matter connections.
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To examine the prevalence, impact, and related medication use or overuse of primary chronic daily headache (CDH) among adolescents in a field sample. ⋯ Chronic daily headache (CDH) was common in a large nonreferred adolescent sample. Based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition, criteria, chronic tension-type headache was the most common subtype; however, a majority of adolescents with CDH had headaches with features of migraine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Pentoxifylline in ALS: a double-blind, randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial.
To assess the efficacy and safety of pentoxifylline, a US Food and Drug Administration-approved drug, in patients with ALS treated with riluzole. ⋯ Pentoxifylline is not beneficial in ALS and should be avoided in patients treated with riluzole. The discrepancy between survival and measures of functional changes urges caution in equating these end points in phase III trials, and suggests that both survival and function should be used in phase III trials.