Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Case ReportsAcute headache as a presenting symptom of tacrolimus encephalopathy.
A 24 year old woman presented with a sudden excruciating headache mimicking an acute vascular event. She had undergone a lung transplantation because of cystic fibrosis and was receiving maintenance treatment with tacrolimus and prednisone. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated hyperintense lesions in the infratentorial and parieto-occipital regions consistent with posterior leucencephalopathy syndrome. Both her clinical condition improved and the lesions disappeared completely after withdrawal of tacrolimus, suggesting that her condition could be explained by a tacrolimus encephalopathy.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Antithrombotic drugs in secondary stroke prevention among a community dwelling older population.
Patients who suffer a cerebrovascular event are at high risk of a recurrence. Secondary prevention is crucial in reducing the burden of cerebrovascular disease. ⋯ Negative attitudes among physicians with respect to secondary stroke prevention are prevalent and reinforce the need for increased awareness of existing data on the risks and benefits for elderly individuals. Social problems and functional impairment may be issues concerning physicians when deciding whether or not the risks of treatment exceed the benefit.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Case ReportsPseudosubarachnoid haemorrhage in subdural haematoma.
Two patients with large bilateral subdural haematomas with patterns of non-enhanced brain computed tomography (CT) falsely suggesting coexistent subarachnoid haemorrhage are presented. The CT images showed marked effacement of the basal cisterns with hyperdense signal along the tentorium, sylvian fissure, and the perimesencephalic cisterns. In both cases, the suspicion of subarachnoid haemorrhage led to the performance of angiographic studies to rule out vascular lesions. Thus, recognition of this radiological feature is important to avoid unnecessary testing and treatment delay.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
Case ReportsProgressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy with unusual inflammatory response during antiretroviral treatment.
A case of biopsy verified progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML) in an HIV patient is presented. Imaging and histological examination confirmed remarkable inflammatory activity accompanied by an unusually benign clinical course despite no clear evidence of immune reconstitution after the start of antiretroviral treatment. This case not only raises several questions regarding the pathophysiology of PML, but gives also evidence that AIDS associated inflammatory PML must be considered another clinical entity in the expanding range of diseases now commonly referred to as the immune reconstitution syndrome.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2003
A novel quality of life instrument for deep brain stimulation in movement disorders.
To develop a short instrument to examine quality of life (QoL) which specifically addresses patients with movement disorders treated by deep brain stimulation (DBS). ⋯ QLS(M)-MD and QLS(M)-DBS can evaluate quality of life aspects of DBS in movement disorders. Psychometric evaluation showed the questionnaires to be reliable, valid, and well accepted by the patients.