Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Apr 2016
Review Meta AnalysisIntermittent head drops: the differential spectrum.
Intermittent Head Drops are episodic head flexion movements that can occur in a number of conditions. Typically, the term has mainly been related to epileptic episodes, but the spectrum of clinical conditions associated with this feature is wide-ranging even if never discussed in detail. By searching the electronic database, we may find that apart from the epileptic conditions, Intermittent Head Drops have been in fact reported in the setting of movement disorders, sleep disorders and even internal medicine disorders, such as Sandifer syndrome. We render an in-depth description of this characteristic phenomenon in different diseases, describing the clinical clues and neurophysiological patterns that may help the clinician to distinguish between the different settings of occurrence.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Apr 2016
Vestibular vertigo and comorbid cognitive and psychiatric impairment: the 2008 National Health Interview Survey.
Patients with vestibular disease have been observed to have concomitant cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction. We evaluated the association between vestibular vertigo, cognitive impairment and psychiatric conditions in a nationally representative sample of US adults. ⋯ Our findings indicate that vestibular impairment is associated with increased risk of cognitive and psychiatric comorbidity. The vestibular system is anatomically connected with widespread regions of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and amygdala. Loss of vestibular inputs may lead to impairment of these cognitive and affective circuits. Further longitudinal research is required to determine if these associations are causal.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Apr 2016
Seropositivity for NT5c1A antibody in sporadic inclusion body myositis predicts more severe motor, bulbar and respiratory involvement.
To explore phenotypic differences between individuals with sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) who are seropositive for the NT5c1A antibody compared with those who are seronegative. ⋯ Even though the small sample size limits definite conclusions, our cross-sectional study showed seropositivity to the NT5c1A antibody is associated with greater motor and functional disability in sIBM. The study also suggests more prominent bulbar, facial and respiratory involvement in individuals positive for NT5c1A antibodies.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Apr 2016
The N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide, and risk of dementia and cognitive decline: a 10-year follow-up study in the general population.
The N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has a well-documented prognostic value for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and higher levels are associated with cognitive-dysfunction in patients with CVD. However, how NT-proBNP relates to incident dementia and cognitive-decline in community-dwelling persons is unknown. ⋯ NT-proBNP reflecting subclinical CVD is associated with dementia, particularly vascular dementia. NT-proBNP can be a useful marker of imminent cognitive-decline and dementia in absence of clinical CVD.