| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Fatemi et al. demonstrate that magnetization transfer (MT) imaging of spinal cord is a sensitive and early measure of disease in AMN. Signal changes in specific tracts correlated with clinical measures of the disease.
see page 1739
The accompanying editorial by Barkhof and McKinstry notes that cerebral MT imaging is useful in multiple sclerosis, but spinal cord imaging is complicated by the small cord size, interference from surrounding structures, and contamination by CSF pulsation artifacts. Thus, the potential of MT imaging for evaluation of demyelinating cord lesions has remained unrealized. Still less is known about the degree of spinal cord involvement in adrenoleukodystrophy and AMN. The optimized MT technique used by Fatemi et al. employs a wider range of additional frequency pulses than commonly used in the brain, and improves image contrast in the cord. Images are normalized to the signal from CSF and are then added together. If their method is validated as a reproducible metric suitable for multicenter studies, clinical trials could use spinal cord lesion burden to assess treatment efficacy.
see page 1677
Elevation of blood pressure in response to stress and cognition
|
Waldstein et al. studied the relationship between blood pressure (BP) responses to mental stress and cognitive functioning in 94 healthy older adults. They found that greater systolic and diastolic BP responses were associated with diminished performance on tests of immediate and delayed verbal memory, and executive function.
see page 1746
Safety of diazepam rectal gel
Pellock and Shinnar reviewed respiratory events and deaths associated with use of diazepam rectal gel for seizures. With more than 2 million doses prescribed, they identified nine respiratory events and three deaths, all with prolonged seizures. They conclude that diazepam rectal gel is safe when used as recommended.
see page 1768
Repetitive TMS improves motor function in stroke
|
In a sham stimulation controlled trial, Mansur et al. demonstrated that slow repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the motor cortex of the undamaged hemisphere significantly improved motor function in patients within 12 months after a stroke.
see page 1802
Pravastatin and cerebral infarcts and white matter lesions
Ten Dam et al. examined the effect of pravastatin treatment in 265 patients vs placebo in 270 patients for a period of 33 months. They found that pravastatin treatment did not prevent new cerebral infarcts or the progression of white matter lesions.
see page 1807
Stress and seizure exacerbation after the 9/11 attack
Klein and van Passel found that 8 of 66 (12%) patients with epilepsy present in Washington, DC, during the 9/11/2001 attack experienced seizure exacerbation after the attack. This figure was higher (29%) among patients who felt stressed by the attack and higher still (50%) among patients directly affected by the attack.
see page 1815
Related Articles
Neurology 2005 64: 1677-1678.
Neurology 2005 64: 1739-1745.
Neurology 2005 64: 1746-1749.
Neurology 2005 64: 1768-1770.
Neurology 2005 64: 1802-1804.
Neurology 2005 64: 1807-1809.
Neurology 2005 64: 1815-1816.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
