Neurology
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Nortriptyline versus amitriptyline in postherpetic neuralgia: a randomized trial.
OBJECTIVE (BACKGROUND): Amitriptyline (AT) is a standard therapy for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Our hypothesis was that nortriptyline (NT), a noradrenergic metabolite of AT, may be more effective. ⋯ We concluded that this study provides a scientific basis for an analgesic action of NT in PHN because pain relief occurred without an antidepressant effect, and that although there were fewer side effects with NT, AT and NT appear to have a similar analgesic action for most individuals.
-
Unilateral neglect--the inability to pay attention to events occurring on one side of space--usually occurs for left-side events after focal right-hemisphere damage. We report a 73-year-old woman with probable AD and no evidence of focal brain lesions who showed signs of right-side neglect and extinction. ⋯ Neuroimaging techniques demonstrated an asymmetry of cortical involvement, with cortical atrophy and hypoperfusion predominant in the left posterior regions. Unilateral neglect should be assessed systematically in AD.
-
To demonstrate the effects of cerebral lateralization and temporal dynamics on somatosensory perception. ⋯ The findings demonstrate clearly that left/right perceptual thresholds for simple somatosensory stimuli are asymmetric in healthy right-handed subjects. Both central and peripheral asymmetries exist. The central asymmetry and gaze effects are consistent with right cerebral dominance for externally directed attention. Access of somatosensory stimuli to conscious awareness is delayed and particularly vulnerable to disruption at 50 to 100 msec after onset of the stimulus.
-
Comment Letter Case Reports
Pain and opioid analgesics in Guillain-Barré syndrome.