Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria
-
It is reported the case of a 57 years-old man from Maranhão State who presented Parkinson's syndrome. Images proper to calcified cysticerci were found in the basal ganglia at the CT-scan examination. Considerations are made as to: the low frequency of cysticercosis in the northern region of the country where the patient lives; the association of symptomatic Parkinson's syndrome and cysticercosis of the central nervous system, which is rare; the demonstration of calcified cysticerci in basal ganglia in this situation, which was not registered up to the present time.
-
Three cases of complete basilar obliteration are reported, ocurring at ages arteriosclerosis is unusual. The obliteration was verified angiographically in these three cases. The evolution was quite different in each one: "restitutio ad integrum", death, and definitive persistency of a locked-in syndrome.
-
Six patients are studied (five females and one male) in which disorders of consciousness varying from stupor to coma have occurred following variable periods of cerebral hypoxia caused either by cardiorespiratory standstill (five cases) or acute pulmonary injury. After a few hours they had generalized convulsive crisis of tonic-clonic type. As consciousness was regained they developed generalized myoclonic trembling of great intensity. ⋯ Electromyography was carried out in one patient, and cerebral computerized tomography in two others. The latter revealed an accentuated widening of sylvian cleft at the base in one them, specially on the right side, which explain his dementia-like picture. The biochemical analysis of the spinal fluid was normal in five cases.
-
A series of 100 patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia treated by percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the trigeminal ganglion is reported. The authors make some considerations about the basic principles of the thermocoagulation and comment a few important methods of treatment used prior to this new technique. The whole sequency of the surgical procedure is described and its results analysed. The final conclusion is that percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation has become the treatment of choice for trigeminal neuralgia when the clinical treatment is not anymore effective or the side-effects of the drugs contraindicate its use.
-
The therapeutics results with the use of different drugs (diazepam, nitrazepam, clonazepam, diphenylhydantoin, barbiturates--phenobarbital and primidone--, sodium dipropylacetate and ACTH) in twenty-nine patients with Lennox--Gastaut syndrome are carefully analysed. The effect of each drug on seizures (tonic, tonic-clonic, clonic, myoclonic or myoclonic-atonic, atonic and atypical absences) during the first month of each treatment is discussed. The "specific" use of each drug on the various forms of epileptic seizures is determined and the possibility of crisis control with reduction of the drugs dosage is verified.