Neurology
-
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a lethal, progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of motor neurons.(1) Patients with ALS lose function in the limbs, speech, swallowing, and breathing muscles. The cause of the disease is still not known for most patients. ⋯ Cognitive dysfunction is seen in 20% to 50% of patients.(2) The disease burden for patients and caregivers is enormous. The average cost of care has been estimated at $50,000 per patient per year.(3.)
-
To examine the underlying pathophysiology of mild traumatic brain injury through changes in gray matter diffusion and atrophy during the semiacute stage. ⋯ Increased cortical FA is largely consistent with an emerging animal literature of gray matter abnormalities after neuronal injury. Potential mechanistic explanations for increased FA include cytotoxic edema or reactive gliosis. In contrast, there was no evidence of cortical or subcortical atrophy in the current study, suggesting that frank neuronal or neuropil loss does not occur early in the chronic disease course for patients with typical mild traumatic brain injury.
-
Our objective was to determine the association of early brain maturation with neurodevelopmental outcome in premature neonates. ⋯ In the preterm neonate, abnormal brain maturation evolves through the period of neonatal intensive care and is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
-
To characterize the nature and extent of basal ganglia involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) genotypes in vivo. ⋯ ALS is associated with widespread basal ganglia involvement. Caudate nucleus, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens atrophy are key features of ALS. Dysfunction of frontostriatal networks is likely to contribute to the unique neuropsychological profile of ALS, dominated by executive dysfunction, apathy, and deficits in social cognition. Our quantitative imaging findings are consistent with postmortem studies and indicate that subcortical gray matter structures should be included in future biomarker studies of ALS.
-
Review Meta Analysis
B-type natriuretic peptides and mortality after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To measure the association of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal fragment of BNP (NT-proBNP) with all-cause mortality after stroke, and to evaluate the additional predictive value of BNP/NT-proBNP over clinical information. ⋯ BNPs are associated with poststroke mortality independent of NIH Stroke Scale score, age, and sex. However, their translation to clinical practice seems difficult because BNP/NT-proBNP add only minor predictive value to clinical information.