Journal of neurology
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Journal of neurology · Nov 2001
Complex compulsive behaviour in the temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia.
As metabolic and structural changes in frontotemporal-subcortical pathways have been reported in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders, we investigated the correlation between complex compulsive behaviour (CCB) and the distribution of atrophy in a group of 90 patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). ⋯ Temporal lobe atrophy appears to mediate CCB in patients with FTD, especially if asymmetry of atrophy is present. Future studies with quantitative and volumetric measurements of the cortical and subcortical structures may further clarify the aetiology of CCB in FTD.
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Journal of neurology · Nov 2001
ReviewNeurological complications of sepsis: critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy.
Sepsis may cause not only failure of parenchymal organs but can also cause damage to peripheral nerves and skeletal muscles. It is now recognized that sepsis-mediated disorders of the peripheral nerves and the muscle, called critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) and critical illness myopathy, are responsible for weakness and muscle atrophy occurring de novo in intensively treated patients. CIP represents an acute axonal neuropathy that develops during treatment of severely ill patients and remits spontaneously, once the critical condition is under control. ⋯ Specific therapies have not been discovered. Stabilization of the underlying critical condition and elimination of sepsis appear to be of major importance. Steroids and muscle relaxants should be avoided or administered at the lowest dose possible.
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Journal of neurology · Nov 2001
Letter Case ReportsNeurophysiological studies in a patient with heat stroke.
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Journal of neurology · Nov 2001
Surveillance of nosocomial infections in a neurology intensive care unit.
To identify overall and site-specific nosocomial infection (NI) rates in patients receiving neurological intensive care therapy, a prospective study was started in 1997 in the ten-bed neurological intensive-care unit (NICU) of the University Hospital of Freiburg, Germany. Case records and microbiology reports were reviewed twice a week, and ward staff were consulted. NI were defined according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria and were categorised by specific infection site. ⋯ Additionally, 0.4 cases of meningitis, 0.8 ventriculitis, and 1.2 other infections (catheter-related local infection, diarrhea) were documented per 1,000 patient days. 15% of nosocomial pathogens were A. baumannii (due to a outbreak of an nosocomial pneumonia with A. baumannii), 13% S. aureus, 10% E. coli, 7% CNS,7% Bacteroides spp., 7% Enterobacter spp., 6,5% Klebsiella spp.,5.9% enterococci, 5.9% streptococci, and 4.7% Pseudomonas spp. In eight cases of NI no pathogen could be isolated. In future, data on NI in NICUs should be assessed in greater detail, both to improve the quality of care and serve as a basis for identification and implementation of the most effective measures by which to prevent these infections in patients receiving intensive neurological care.