European neurology
-
Review Historical Article
Historical review: suspension therapy for the treatment of tabes dorsalis.
Suspension therapy was developed by a Russian doctor, A. Motschutkovsky and at the end of the 19th century it was a popular treatment for tabes dorsalis. It was endorsed by Jean-Martin Charcot in France and Weir Mitchell in the United States; but after 10 years, it was abandoned because it proved to be useless and some patients developed paralysis. ⋯ The effect of suspension upon a spinal cord affected by tabes dorsalis and a healthy spinal cord has been analyzed in the light of current knowledge. The benefits of suspension were thought to be due to an improvement in the blood supply to the spinal cord and due to the suggestibility or the placebo effect. Key Message: Analysis of the contemporary literature in the light of current research shows that suspension therapy was a powerful weapon that could cause impairment to the conductivity of the spinal cord and this has important implications for current therapy such as the use of Harrington rods.
-
Repeated CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia.
To investigate the long-term outcomes of repeated percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (PRT) for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia (TN) patients. ⋯ Repeated PRT provides long-term pain relief benefits to patients with recurrent TN and should be considered as an alternative treatment for recurrent TN.
-
In patients presenting with acute vertigo or dizziness, identifying the posterior fossa stroke as the underlying cause can be a major challenge. We therefore evaluated the serum biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of nonvascular vertigo and posterior circulation stroke. ⋯ Serum levels of S100β were significantly higher in stroke patients than in nonvascular vertigo patients. Serum concentrations of MMP-9 tended to be higher in stroke patients, whereas no significant differences among groups were found for sVCAM-1 and GFAP. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis revealed a sensitivity of 94.4% and a specificity of 31.8% for detecting stroke in patients presenting with vertigo for S100β. S100β may serve as a biomarker for distinguishing between vertigo of vascular causes and nonvascular, acute vertigo.
-
Multicenter Study Observational Study
Long-term effectiveness and safety of nabiximols (tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol oromucosal spray) in clinical practice.
Nabiximols (Sativex®), in a cannabinoid-based oromucosal spray, is an add-on therapy option for patients with moderate to severe multiple sclerosis spasticity (MSS) resistant to other medications. The study objective was to provide long-term data on clinical outcomes, tolerability, quality of life and treatment satisfaction for MSS patients receiving nabiximols in routine care. ⋯ Real-life data confirm the long-term effectiveness and tolerability of nabiximols for the treatment of resistant MSS in everyday clinical practice.
-
Pharmacological treatment of dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP) is often ineffective. Data about outcome of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in these patients remains scarce. ⋯ Data show that our CP-patients did not benefit from GPi-DBS when tested formally for dystonia, gait, speech and swallowing. In stark contrast, these patients reported significant subjective improvement. Taken together, and in light of current unsatisfactory medical treatment options, our data suggest that further assessment of the effects of GPi-DBS in dyskinetic CP is warranted.