Neurology
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Phenobarbital and propranolol in essential tremor: a double-blind controlled clinical trial.
In a double-blind study with Latin square design, phenobarbital (about 1.3 mg per kilogram), propranolol (about 1.7 mg per kilogram), and placebo were given orally for 1 month to 12 patients with essential tremor. By clinical evaluation, only propranolol appeared to be significantly more effective than placebo. ⋯ Patients' subjective evaluation and tremor amplitude measurement (by accelerometer) showed a significantly better effect of both propranolol and phenobarbital than placebo. These data suggest that phenobarbital may be a valuable alternative to propranolol in essential tremor.
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We studied the course of CSF xanthochromia after subarachnoid hemorrhage by serial spectrophotometric analysis of lumbar CSF in 15 patients without clinical or CT evidence of rebleeding. The xanthochromic index rose in some patients up to the seventeenth day, and the proportion of oxyhemoglobin or the absolute concentration of hemoglobin often fluctuated. Therefore, rebleeding can be demonstrated in lumbar CSF only by increased xanthochromia, if previous samples had shown a decrease. These criteria could be applied in only 6 of 17 consecutive patients with rebleeding as demonstrated by CT, and they were met in 5.
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Comparative Study
Intravenous glycerol and mannitol therapy in children with intracranial hypertension.
Acute intracranial hypertension may respond to intravenous mannitol, but frequent administration can cause cerebral edema or renal problems. We evaluated the use of 20% glycerol administered intravenously as an alternative to mannitol. Intravenous glycerol and mannitol were equally effective in lowering acute elevations of intracranial pressure. ⋯ Side effects of intravenous glycerol were related to concentration, rate, and frequency of administration. In severe encephalopathies, such as Reye syndrome, we recommend infusions of 20% glycerol or 20% mannitol at a dose of 0.5-1.0 gm per kilogram. Glycerol should be administered in 0.45% or 0.9% saline, no faster than 1.5 ml (3.3 mOsm) per minute.
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We studied a young woman with an eating disorder. To induce vomiting, she took syrup of ipecac daily for 2 years, and then developed insidious, progressive muscle weakness. ⋯ Upon cessation of ipecac abuse, strength returned. We believe that this patient had ipecac-induced muscle weakness.
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Four patients with an acute overdose of carbamazepine were examined with serial blood level determinations. The clinical spectrum consisted of coma, respiratory depression, seizures, myoclonus, nystagmus, hyperreflexia, hyporeflexia, delayed gastric emptying with cyclic coma, ataxia, sinus tachycardia, and atrioventricular conduction delay. Carbamazepine elimination half-lives varied from 10 to 29 hours, and in one case carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide was measured and had a half-life of 24 hours.