Neurology
-
To investigate if systemic d-dimer activation occurs after acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and to study its influence on clinical outcome. ⋯ Increased plasma d-dimer level following acute intracerebral hemorrhage is associated with early neurologic deterioration and poor outcome.
-
Comparative Study
Hyperekplexia in Kurdish families: a possible GLRA1 founder mutation.
Autosomal recessive hyperekplexia is due to loss-of-function mutations in the GLRA1 gene. The authors describe six patients from two consanguineous families with a homozygous deletion of the first seven GLRA1 exons and provide evidence of a founder effect in Kurds from Turkey. Hyperekplexia may be misdiagnosed as epilepsy.
-
Comparative Study
Grading cervical cord damage in neuromyelitis optica and MS by diffusion tensor MRI.
The authors assessed the ability of diffusion tensor MRI to grade cervical cord damage in 10 patients with neuromyelitis optica, 10 patients with multiple sclerosis, and 10 healthy controls. The three groups differed in terms of average mean diffusivity (p = 0.008) and average fractional anisotropy (p = 0.04). There was a correlation between the Expanded Standard Disability Status Scale score and cord average mean diffusivity (r = 0.52, p = 0.02).
-
Controlled Clinical Trial
Detection of intracranial venous reflux in patients of transient global amnesia.
The mechanism of transient global amnesia (TGA) is not clear. Attempting to support the hypothesis that retrograde venous hypertension causing cerebral venous ischemia plays a role in the pathogenesis of TGA, the authors used cranial three-dimensional time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) to detect a possible intracranial retrograde venous flow in TGA patients. ⋯ Retrograde intracranial venous flow caused by left brachiocephalic vein occlusion was found only in patients with transient global amnesia (TGA). This result suggests that TGA patients may have an underlying impairment of cerebral venous outflow that increases their vulnerability to TGA attack.