Journal of the neurological sciences
-
Ultrasound of the peripheral nerves (PNUS) can be used to visualize nerve pathologies in polyneuropathies (PNP). The aim of this study was to investigate, whether PNUS provides additional information in patients with proven systemic vasculitic neuropathies (VN). ⋯ Focal CSA enlargement in one or more nerves in electrophysiologically axonal neuropathies can be a hint for VN and thus facilitate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
-
Letter Case Reports
A case of shunt responsive tremor due to normal pressure hydrocephalus.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Can botulinum toxin type A injection technique influence the clinical outcome of patients with post-stroke upper limb spasticity? A randomized controlled trial comparing manual needle placement and ultrasound-guided injection techniques.
Botulinum toxin type A is a first-line treatment for post-stroke focal spasticity, and the accuracy in delivering the toxin to the target muscles may influence the treatment outcome. Our aim was to compare the reduction of spasticity and the related finger position at rest improvement in post-stroke patients treated with botulinum toxin type A in upper limb muscles using ultrasound guidance and manual needle placement. ⋯ Ultrasound guidance for botulinum toxin type A injections could improve clinical outcome measures better than manual needle placement in post-stroke patients with spasticity.
-
Fibromyalgia (FM) is one of the most common chronic pain syndromes. Various pathogenetic mechanisms have been implicated but none is proven. Our scope was to determine if Intraepidermal Nerve Fiber Density (IENFD) is reduced in the skin of FM patients, as observed in patients with painful small fiber sensory neuropathy (SFSN). ⋯ This is one of the largest series of FM patients demonstrating a significant reduction of IENFD in their skin biopsies. The findings indicate that in a subset of FM patients, the pain syndrome is, at least partially, of neuropathic origin. Skin biopsy may prove a useful tool and a potential biomarker in future studies of FM patients.
-
Ischemic lesions dynamically evolve during the acute phase of stroke. Although the ischemic lesion volume has been considered as a predictor of clinical outcome, it is still controversial whether early changes in ischemic lesion have prognostic information in addition to clinical variables. We hypothesized that early infarct growth on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) might be independently associated with long-term outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients. ⋯ Our present study findings show that infarct growth within a week of onset independently predicts 3-month clinical outcomes. This suggests that short-term changes in infarct volume may serve as a surrogate marker of long-term clinical outcomes after ischemic stroke.