Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
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In the current study we investigated the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at different frequencies on chemical kindling in rats. Chemical kindling was induced by injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ; 45 mg/kg) at the intervals of 48 h between the injections. In the first experiment, effect of 0.25, 1 and 5 Hz rTMS (four trains of 4 s at motor threshold intensity) on kindling acquisition was investigated. ⋯ During the follow-up study, the seizure severity increased in animals treated with 0.25 Hz rTMS (and somehow in animals treated with 1 Hz rTMS), but did not change in animals treated with 5 Hz rTMS compared to the 12th PTZ injection. Our results showed that rTMS application may have an anticonvulsant effect during chemical kindling acquisition at very low frequency (0.25 Hz) and can increase the seizure severity at high frequency (5 Hz). However, during follow-up, the anticonvulsant effects of rTMS may be converted to proconvulsive effects.
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Serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) has been reported to have high diagnosis accuracy for differentiating intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) from ischemic stroke (IS) in patients within acute phase of stroke symptom onset. Our purpose was to perform a systematic review and diagnostic meta-analysis to evaluate the valuation of serum GFAP in the early identification of ICH and IS. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and other electronic databases for diagnostic accuracy studies that compared serum GFAP with standard clinical diagnosis of ICH and IS in patients with symptoms of acute stroke. ⋯ The summarized estimates of serum GFAP for the differentiation of ICH and IS within 24 h of symptom onset were as follows: SEN, 81.1% (95% CI, 72.6-87.5%); SPE, 95.2% (95% CI 82.1-98.9%); PLR, 16.945 (95% CI 4.173-68.803); NLR, 0.198 (95% CI 0.133-0.296), significant heterogeneity was present. The four summary estimates of serum GFAP for patients within 1-6 h of symptom onset were 81.1% (95% CI 72.5-88.0%), 97.0% (95% CI 94.3-98.4%), 26.786 (95% CI 13.979-51.324), 0.191 (95% CI 0.126-0.291), respectively, with no obvious heterogeneity. Serum GFAP is a sensitive and specific test for differentiating ICH and IS in patients within 1-6 h of acute stroke symptom onset.
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This paper aims at evaluating the neurological repercussions arising from injuries sustained due to cluster munitions in children up to 18 years in South Lebanon following the 2006 conflict. Data on neurological and pain symptoms suffered during and after treatment because of sub-munitions in South Lebanon from August 2006 till late 2011 were prospectively recorded. Patients were divided into subcategories; children aged 12 and under and adolescents aged between 13 and 18. ⋯ Four patients (3.6%) suffered from traumatic brain injuries, both penetrating and closed. Pain syndromes were found in all patients who had amputation. The injury related comorbidities together with many post-concussion syndrome cases, and fewer traumatic brain injuries lead into a high level of physical, psychosocial and economic burdens on the community.
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Letter Case Reports
Serial MRI findings in brain anoxia leading to Lance-Adams syndrome: a case report.
Although in literature almost 150 patients with Lance-Adams Syndrome (LAS) have been reported, neuroradiological evaluations were often performed in late stages and there is no serial study evaluating LAS from early stages. We herein report a serial neuroimaging study demonstrating early and transient involvement of cerebellum and thalami in a LAS patient. We may hypothesize that a transient cerebral hypoxia provoked a permanent synaptic rearrangements of the neuronal networks involved in the pathogenesis of post-hypoxic myoclonus in our patient.
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Letter Case Reports
Theta burst stimulation improves visuo-spatial attention in a patient with traumatic brain injury.
Recent studies showed that non-invasive brain stimulation methods, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve the symptoms of neglect in stroke patients. Here, we adopted this approach to improve visuo-spatial deficit in a patient with traumatic brain injury (TBI) that showed important symptoms of visuo-spatial neglect. We found that continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) applied over the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC) induced a clinical improvement of cognitive disorder associated to a functional changes of fronto-parietal network as assessed by means of TMS and resting state fMRI.