Rinshō shinkeigaku = Clinical neurology
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Review Case Reports
[A case of neurosarcoidosis with swelling and gadolinium enhancement of spinal nerve roots on magnetic resonance imaging].
An 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of developed sense of constriction in the trunk and gradually progressive numbness and muscle weakness in the upper and lower extremities. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed increased cell count and protein level. Gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of spine showed the enhancement and swelling of bilateral nerve root in the cervical and lumbar segments. ⋯ Biopsy specimen of scalene lymph node showed noncaseating granuloma. The patient was treated with oral predonisolone, which improved her symptoms and abnormalities on MRI. It is important to consider neurosarcoidosis in the differential diagnosis of polyradiculopathy with swelling and gadolinium enhancement of spinal nerve roots.
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We report the case of an 18-year-old boy who presented with disturbance of consciousness and generalized seizures following flu-like symptoms such as high fever and arthralgia. T2 and diffusion weighted brain magnetic resonance images showed a hyperintense ovoid lesion in the splenium of the corpus callosum and T, weighted images showed a hypointense lesion; the lesion completely disappeared on repeat imaging after 3 days. Antiglutamate epsilon2 receptor antibodies were detected in his cerebrospinal fluid. ⋯ As compared to previously reported cases, our case was characteristic because of the protracted recovery shown by the patient. Anti-glutamate epsilon2 receptor antibodies may be associated with prolonged generalized seizures in the case of our patient. Our results also suggest that anti-glutamate epsilon2 receptor antibodies may play a role in the pathogenesis of this condition.
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Case Reports
[Disseminated metastatic tumor at dorsal surface of medulla oblongata presenting intractable hiccups. A case report].
We report the case of disseminated metastatic tumor at dorsal surface of medulla oblongata presenting intractable hiccups. A 73-year-old man has a history of for metastatic lung tumor of the left tempral lobe. Although 3 surgeries and 4 radiotherapies were performed in the last 8 years, residual tumor grew slowly. ⋯ Some literatures reported the patients with intractable hiccups caused by dorsal medullary lesions. Therefore, we thought that the small disseminated tumor at dorsal surface of medulla oblongata caused the hiccups. Evaluation of dorsal medullay area by MR imaging is important to reveal the cause of intractable hiccups.
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Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is believed to be a phenomenon underlying migraine auras. The mutations of hemiplegic migraine genes are demonstrated to cause a reduction of CSD threshold. Consistently, tonabersat, which was developed for its ability to inhibit CSD, showed a preventive effect on attacks of migraine with aura. ⋯ CGRP has been recognized to be associated with migraine because of its potent effect for dilation of intracranial and extracranial blood vessels. Some newly developed CGRP receptor antagonists have revealed the efficaciousness for acute migraine attacks. The present review discusses the relevance of recent advance of basic migraine research to future migraine treatment.
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Human prion diseases are classified into 3 categories according to etiologies: idiopathic of unknown cause, acquired of infectious origin, and genetic by PRNP mutation. The surveillance committee have analyzed 2,494 cases and identified 1,402 as prion diseases. Most of them are idiopathic, namely sporadic CJD (77%) with less genetic and acquired prion diseases (17% and 5%, respectively). ⋯ We also have some incidents in which brain surgery was done before the diagnosis of prion disease and many other patients were operated using the same operating instruments before their sterilization against prion disease had been done. The explanation of possibility of prion disease infection to the patients and their follow-up was started by the incident committee. It is very important for all the nations to cooperate with each other in order to overcome this intractable disease.