1/118. Dissociation of 'on-line' and 'off-line' visuomotor control of the arm by focal lesions in the cerebellum and brainstem.Visuomotor control of the arm was assessed in a single case study of a subject with focal lesions in the cerebellum and brainstem. A dissociation between 'on-line' and 'off-line' visuomotor control was revealed: impairments in 'on-line' visuomotor control included inaccuracy of tracking velocity, increase in spatial pointing variability and a delay in simple reaction time; whereas the patient was able to adapt to a gain change in 'off-line' visual feedback during a pointing task, and his adaptation was less affected than that of control subjects by trial-to-trial random fluctuations in 'off-line' visual feedback. We conclude that focal damage in the cerebellar peduncles may be principally responsible for this dissociation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/118. trigeminal neuralgia triggered by auditory stimuli in multiple sclerosis.OBJECTIVES: To describe a patient with a demyelinating brainstem lesion who developed right-sided trigeminal neuralgia triggered by auditory stimuli and to discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this unusual phenomenon. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Referral center. PATIENT: A 27-year-old man who presented with clinical signs of a brainstem lesion developed right-sided trigeminal neuralgia triggered by auditory stimuli to the right ear. magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological studies demonstrated a demyelinating lesion in the pons affecting the right lateral lemniscus and the right trigeminal pathway. This phenomenon completely subsided within 4 days. After a relapse, the diagnosis of clinically definite multiple sclerosis was made. CONCLUSION: Lateral spread of impulse activity within the demyelinating pontine lesion is the likely explanation for the unusual phenomenon of trigeminal neuralgia triggered by auditory stimuli.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/118. Botulinum toxin injection in the treatment of vocal fold paralysis associated with multiple sclerosis: a case report.Botulinum toxin has been demonstrated clinically to be an effective treatment for a variety of laryngeal problems, most notably spasmodic dysphonia. As in other movement disorders, the theory behind the injection of this substance in the larynx has been a weakening of the vocal fold musculature to relieve uncoordinated and spasmodic movement of the vocal folds, presumably rebalancing the forces within the intralaryngeal musculature. Recently, this concept was applied to help reposition the arytenoid cartilage in acute and longstanding anteromedial cricoarytenoid dislocations. This same concept may apply to the paralyzed vocal fold. In support of this idea, a number of investigators have shown that immobile, clinically paralyzed vocal folds may still have partial voluntary motor unit activity. This voluntary activation may not produce clinically evident movement but may be sufficient to produce tone within the fold. If the voluntary motor units in the abductor musculature of the paralyzed fold are weakened with botulinum toxin, the continued pull of the functioning adductor musculature may be sufficient to medialize the paralyzed fold. This idea has been supported by animal experiments, which have shown that botulinum toxin may affect the ability of the fold to rebalance itself. With this evidence in mind, a patient with fold immobility secondary to multiple sclerosis was treated in an attempt at laryngeal rebalancing, using botulinum toxin to medialize the fold. However, instead of simply having the fold return fixed to the midline, the patient regained normal laryngeal mobility and voice. While it is unclear whether the botulinum toxin alone was responsible, the coincidence of this occurrence certainly requires reporting. This paper is a report of the first successful treatment of vocal fold paralysis using botulinum toxin to treat vocal fold fixation in a patient with multiple sclerosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/118. Psychological factors in the etiology of ulcerative colitis: objectlessness and rage.In this second investigation of psychological factors in the etiology of ulcerative colitis, the author again utilizes unusual cases characterized by limited variables preceding illness. The first investigation involved several patients whose partial deafness antedated their illness. A significant point was that prior to developing their illness, all these patients had arrived at a state of objectlessness which was abetted by the deafness. This report presents four ulcerative colitis patients with pre-existing organic problems affecting their mental status. Two of the patients are severely mentally retarded. A third patient has rapidly advancing multiple sclerosis, and a fourth--actually an addition to the earlier study--has long-standing partial deafness. Aside from the objectlessness which was also prominent in the earlier group, all four patients demonstrate a consistent pattern of vicious self-directed rage. This paper takes into account the interaction between the rage and the state of objectlessness in the production of illness.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/118. multiple sclerosis presenting as catatonia.OBJECTIVE: Catatonic disorder due to general medical condition must be excluded in psychiatric patients presenting with this movement disorder. This report emphasizes the association of catatonia with multiple sclerosis. METHOD: A patient with catatonia, psychotic depression, and the subsequent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is described and the literature reviewed. RESULTS: mutism, immobility, cataplexy, waxy flexibility, and other aspects of catatonia occur in multiple sclerosis, usually as a consequence of a severe mood disorder and extensive cerebral demyelination. These symptoms may be the presenting manifestations of multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion for neurological disease is indicated in patients with new-onset catatonia. neuroimaging and other studies may reveal underlying demyelination requiring specific therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 16.095046528128keywords = mood (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/118. Long-term treatment with interferon-beta therapy for multiple sclerosis and occurrence of Graves' disease.Interferon (IFN)-beta has become a widespread therapy for multiple sclerosis. As already reported for IFN-alpha, thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunctions have been observed also in course of IFN-beta therapy. Nevertheless, very few cases of Graves' disease, occurred in such condition, have been reported in literature. We here describe the case of a 40-year-old female affected by multiple sclerosis, who received IFN-beta-1b, 8 million IU s.c. every other day for her condition. After 22 months of cytokine administration, she developed a severe Graves' disease with persistently positive TR-Ab which suggested the withdrawal of the treatment. Our patient had performed a complete thyroid evaluation with normal findings, before and during the first 6 months of therapy. This case suggests that patients undergoing long-term IFN-beta therapy should be monitored for thyroid hormones and antibodies throughout the treatment as thyroidal side effect can be a late event.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/118. optic neuritis in children.PURPOSE: To describe the clinical characteristics of optic neuritis in children, including final visual acuity and development of multiple sclerosis (MS). methods: charts were reviewed of all patients < 15 years of age who presented with optic neuritis to the Bascom Palmer eye Institute or the Miami Children's Hospital between 1986 and 1998. RESULTS: Fifteen patients were identified. There was a slight female predilection in the study group (60%), with a mean age of 9.8 years at presentation. A preceding febrile illness within 2 weeks of visual symptoms was reported in 66% of patients. Initial visual acuity ranged from 20/15 to no light perception. Involvement was bilateral in 66% of patients, and disc swelling was present in 64% of involved eyes. Of the patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging, 33% had focal demyelinating lesions in the brain, and 63% of affected nerves were enlarged or enhanced with gadolinium. Eleven patients were treated with intravenous steroids. Final visual acuity was > or = 20/40 in 58.3% of eyes. Thirty percent of the patients had vision of finger counting or worse. Four (26%) patients developed MS. The mean age of patients with MS was 12 years, compared with 9 years in children who did not develop MS. patients with unilateral involvement had an excellent visual prognosis (100% > 20/40), but a higher rate of development of MS (75%). Two patients had positive serology for lyme disease. CONCLUSIONS: optic neuritis presents differently in children than in adults. Children typically have bilateral involvement with papillitis following an antecedent viral illness. Although visual prognosis is poorer in children than adults, the development of MS is less common in children. Children who present with unilateral involvement have a better visual prognosis; however, they also develop MS at a greater frequency than children with bilateral involvement. patients who developed MS were, on average, older at presentation with optic neuritis than those who did not develop MS.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/118. A case of susac syndrome.susac syndrome is a readily recognized but often misdiagnosed disorder almost exclusively affecting women in the 20- to 40-year age range. Characterized by the clinical triad of encephalopathy, branch retinal artery occlusions, and sensorineural hearing loss, patients with susac syndrome are often misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Unlike MS, however, the disease process extends over a 1- to 2-year period and then goes into remission. This presentation describes the progression of symptoms of a patient eventually diagnosed with susac syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/118. multiple sclerosis with very late onset: a report of a case with onset at age 82 years and review of the literature.This is a report of a patient with late-onset multiple sclerosis at age 82 years. The lesion involved was located on the spinal cord. multiple sclerosis mainly affects young adults, making late onset of multiple sclerosis a rarity, particularly for cases after age 80 years. Common characteristics of late-onset multiple sclerosis reported in other publications are predominant involvement of the spinal cord and a progressively worsening course with a serious prognosis. In this case, magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large area of high signal intensity in the cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord on T2-weighted images. An increased immunoglobulin g level in cerebrospinal fluid also played a diagnostic role in ruling out cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Spontaneous improvement occurred 2 months after the onset. Unlike other patient described in the literature, the clinical course of this man was not as bleak.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/118. Recurrent myelinoclastic diffuse sclerosis: a case report of a child with Schilder's variant of multiple sclerosis.Myelinoclastic diffuse sclerosis (MDS, Schilder's disease) is a rare CNS demyelinating disorder affecting mainly children and usually presenting as an intracranial mass lesion. We report the first case of recurrent intracranial MDS where the third episode of demyelination involved the cervical spinal cord. This may represent a subset of the disease, which should be considered as Schilder's variant (childhood form) of multiple sclerosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = affect (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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