Rinshō shinkeigaku = Clinical neurology
-
During the last decade, it has become clear that deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy provides a dramatic improvement in the symptoms of movement disorders. We have experienced DBS in 110 patients with various types of involuntary movements, and confirmed the benefits of stimulation of the thalamic nucleus ventralis intermedius (Vim), internal globus pallidus (GPi) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) in these patients. DBS therapy affords the best effect on tremor when the Vim is selected as the stimulation site. ⋯ Ablative procedures for control of involuntary movement disorders, such as thalamotomy and pallidotomy, always carry a risk associated with creating additional lesions in an already damaged brain. In contrast, there is not such a risk in DBS therapy. This modality of therapy is an important option in treating involuntary movements.
-
Status epilepticus (SE) is a condition requiring emergency care. There are convulsive SE, non-convulsive SE including complex partial status and absence status, non-convulsive electric SE and pseudostatus epilepticus, although convulsive SE is the most common. Diagnosis of status epilepticus of complex partial seizures (CPS) and absence seizures was significantly delayed because delays in seeking medical attention were common. ⋯ Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) led to a prolonged latency for seizure induction after an intraperitoneal injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and effectively prevented the development of status epilepticus of PTZ-induced convulsions in the rats. Our data suggest that rTMS has suppressive effects on the neuronal excitability in rats. These effects are anticonvulsive and suggest the possibility of therapeutic use of rTMS in the patients with refractory seizures.