Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Feb 2002
Editorial CommentModafinil for fatigue in multiple sclerosis.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Feb 2002
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyHealth related quality of life in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review of disease specific instruments.
To compare and contrast disease-specific quality of life instruments in Parkinson's disease and assess their clinimetric properties. ⋯ The selection of an instrument partially depends on the goal of the study. In many situations however, the PDQ-39 will probably be the most appropriate HRQoL instrument. The PDQL may be considered as an alternative, whereas the PLQ may be considered in studies involving German speaking patients with Parkinson's disease. Use of the PIMS should be considered only as a means of identifying areas of potential problems.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Feb 2002
ReviewPsychoanatomical substrates of Bálint's syndrome.
From a series of glimpses, we perceive a seamless and richly detailed visual world. Cerebral damage, however, can destroy this illusion. In the case of Bálint's syndrome, the visual world is perceived erratically, as a series of single objects. The goal of this review is to explore a range of psychological and anatomical explanations for this striking visual disorder and to propose new directions for interpreting the findings in Bálint's syndrome and related cerebral disorders of visual processing. ⋯ Studies of Bálint's syndrome have provided unique evidence on neural substrates for attention, perception, and visuomotor control. Future studies should address possible underlying psychoanatomical mechanisms at "bottom up" and "top down" levels, and should specifically consider visual working memory and attention (including object based attention) as well as systems for identification of object structure and depth from binocular stereopsis, kinetic depth, motion parallax, eye movement signals, and other cues.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Feb 2002
Which CT features help predict outcome after head injury?
Information collected at baseline can be useful in predicting patient outcome after head injury. The appearance of the CT brain scan may add useful baseline information. The aim of this study was to evaluate which features on the admission CT scan might add significantly to other baseline clinical information for predicting survival in patients with head injury. ⋯ Age, GCS, and pupil reaction were all previously shown to be significant predictors of patient survival after head injury. A further two, easy to identify, CT scan variables are independent prognostic variables, and might help to identify patients at high risk of death at the time of admission.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Feb 2002
Pallidal deep brain stimulation in patients with cervical dystonia and severe cervical dyskinesias with cervical myelopathy.
Surgical treatment of complex cervical dystonia and of cervical dyskinesias associated with cervical myelopathy is challenging. In this prospective study, the long term effect of chronic pallidal stimulation in cervical dystonia and on combining the technique with spinal surgery in patients with severe cervical dyskinesias and secondary cervical myelopathy is described. ⋯ Chronic pallidal stimulation is effective for complex cervical dystonia and it is a useful adjunct in patients with cervical dyskinesias and secondary cervical myelopathy who undergo spinal surgery.