Brain : a journal of neurology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effects of unilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex on chronic widespread pain in fibromyalgia.
Non-invasive unilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the motor cortex induces analgesic effects in focal chronic pain syndromes, probably by modifying central pain modulatory systems. Neuroimaging studies have shown bilateral activation of a large number of structures, including some of those involved in pain processing, suggesting that such stimulation may induce generalized analgesic effects. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of unilateral rTMS of the motor cortex on chronic widespread pain in patients with fibromyalgia. ⋯ The effects of rTMS were more long-lasting for affective than for sensory pain, suggesting differential effects on brain structures involved in pain perception. Only few minor and transient side effects were reported during the stimulation period. Our data indicate that unilateral rTMS of the motor cortex induces a long-lasting decrease in chronic widespread pain and may therefore constitute an effective alternative analgesic treatment for fibromyalgia.
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Multicenter Study
Do vegetative patients retain aspects of language comprehension? Evidence from fMRI.
A diagnosis of vegetative state is made if a patient demonstrates no evidence of awareness of self or environment, no evidence of sustained, reproducible, purposeful or voluntary behavioural response to sensory stimuli and critically no evidence of language comprehension. For those patients who retain peripheral motor function, rigorous behavioural assessment is usually able to determine retained function. However, some patients do not retain the ability to respond overtly to command and it is becoming increasingly accepted that assessment of these patients should include techniques, which do not rely on any 'motor action' on the part of the patient. ⋯ However, contrary to the diagnostic criteria defining the vegetative state, three patients (1 traumatic, 2 non-traumatic aetiology) demonstrated some evidence of preserved speech processing. The remaining four patients (1 traumatic, 3 non-traumatic aetiology) with a diagnosis of vegetative state showed no significant activation in response to sound compared with silence. These results provide further evidence that a subset of patients fulfilling the behavioural criteria for the vegetative state retain islands of preserved cognitive function.
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Multicenter Study
Death rate is increased for at least 7 years after head injury: a prospective study.
Although a high mortality rate among patients recently admitted to hospital with severe head injury is well recognized, less is known about their later mortality and very little about the ensuing lifestyle and less-severe injuries that lead to death. The aims of this study were to determine the rate of death in the first and six subsequent years after head injury, in a prospectively identified cohort admitted to hospital, and investigate the factors associated with death--comparing these with general death rates in Scottish populations. A structured sample of 767 patients aged 14 years and over was identified at the time of admission to hospital after a head injury and followed up 7 years later. ⋯ The primary causes of death after head injury were the same as those in the general population. Compared to the general population, the death rate after admission to hospital with head injury remains high for at least 7 years, and is particularly high for those aged under 55 years. Interventions aimed at change in lifestyle may reduce this continuing excess mortality.