Neurology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Treatment of agitation in AD: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Treatment of agitation is a crucial problem in the care of patients with AD. Although antipsychotic and antidepressant medications and behavior management techniques (BMT) have each been used to treat agitation, clinical trials of these treatments have been characterized by small sample sizes and uncontrolled treatment designs. ⋯ Comparable modest reductions in agitation occurred in patients receiving haloperidol, trazodone, BMT, and placebo. More effective pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic, and combination treatments are needed.
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To determine whether onset seizures after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) carry independent prognostic information and to investigate the risk factors for late seizures after SAH. ⋯ In this single-institution cohort of patients with SAH, onset seizures were an independent risk factor for late seizures and a predictor of poor outcome.
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To identify automatic speech tasks that reliably demonstrate increased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in Broca's and Wernicke's areas of the cortex using PET. ⋯ Whereas automatic speech typically does not engage language cortex, repeating a memorized prose passage showed unambiguous activation in both Broca's and Wernicke's areas. These results caution against the use of common automatic speech tasks for mapping eloquent cortex and suggest an alternative task for those with poor language abilities or acquired dysphasia who cannot perform standardized language tests reliably.
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To explore seizure outcome after surgery for focal epilepsy due to malformation of cortical development (MCD), with focus on the role of MRI. ⋯ Surgery can offer seizure-free outcome for approximately one half of carefully selected patients with intractable focal epilepsy due to MCD. Complete resection of the MRI-apparent lesion may improve the likelihood for favorable outcome. MRI evidence of hemimegalencephaly or bilateral MCD suggests a low likelihood for postoperative freedom from seizures.