Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
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Recent studies showed that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and that platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) can be used as inflammatory markers in Bell's palsy. In this study, the aim is to investigate a novel inflammatory index, the Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII), defined as SII = platelets × neutrophils/lymphocytes, in Bell's palsy patients. ⋯ Bell's palsy has an inflammatory component. The SII value can indicate an inflammatory condition in these patients. It may be used as a marker and prognostic indicator in Bell's palsy.
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Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an established therapy for chronic neuropathic pain and most frequently utilised for Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). BurstDR™ also known as DeRidder Burst-SCS, a novel waveform, has demonstrated superiority to conventional tonic stimulation of the thoracic spine in FBSS. There are case reports of an improvement in multidimensional pain outcomes using DeRidder Burst-SCS in the cervical spine for chronic neck and cervical radicular pain. The safety and efficacy of cervical DeRidder Burst-SCS stimulation still however remain undetermined. ⋯ The results of this feasibility study will validate the efficacy and safety of DeRidder Burst-SCS stimulation in the cervical spine. The results obtained in this study will potentially be used to generate a level 1 evidence-based study with formal statistical hypotheses testing.
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The prompt recognition of an acute neurovascular syndrome by the patient or a bystander witnessing the event can directly influence outcome. We aimed to study the predictive value of the medical history and clinical features recognized by the patients' bystanders to preclassify acute stroke syndromes in prehospital settings. ⋯ CPRs constructed with the witnesses' narrative had only adequate NPVs in the prehospital classification of acute neurovascular syndromes, before neuroimaging confirmation.