Neuroscience & neurology

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is an epileptic encephalopathy starting in early childhood consisting of the triad of cognitive impairment, multiple seizures types and slow spike-wave complexes in the electroencephalogram. Global developmental delay is usually evident before the onset in patients with symptomatic LGS whereas children with cryptogenic LGS might have a normal...

A patient with a history of severe head injury 10 years ago regained ability to walk after years of being bound to a wheelchair. During the last psychiatric hospitalization, quetiapine was increased to therapeutic dose using a normal titration. As a result the patient developed dystonia of multiple muscle groups...

In this study we used incorporation of the DNA synthesis marker 5-bromo-2’-deoxyuridine or BrdU to visualize cell proliferation in the visual system of the adult mouse as a response to monocular enucleation. We detected new BrdU-labeled cells in different subcortical retinal target regions and we established a specific time frame...

Bevacizumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody targeted to the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is the ligand for VEGF receptors (VEGFR), which are important for the development and maintenance of the angiogenic phenotype in high-grade solid tumors, including malignant gliomas. An overview of angiogenesis, VEGF, VEGFR, and the pharmacology...

The serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine is a second-generation antidepressant for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Its inhibitory potency for serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) reuptake has been demonstrated in animal and in vitro studies. Human studies of peripheral markers of neurotransmission show inhibition of 5-HT reuptake by duloxetine...

We report a case of 30-year-old man presenting chorea in his legs. A brain computed tomography (CT) scan showed bilateral symmetric calcifications in the basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum and subcortical white matter. Laboratory studies showed no abnormalities of serum calcium, phosphate, PTH, lactic acid, pyruvic acid and cerebrospinal fluid. Under...

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is characterized by acute and symmetric flaccid paraparesis and areflexia. Involvement of the central nervous system has been infrequently reported. In the current issue of Clinical Medicine: Case reports, an unusual case of GBS with asymmetric muscle weakness was reported. Corticomotoneuronal dysfunction was invoked as a possible...

Postoperative complications resulting from bariatric surgery can lead to severe vitamin-deficiency states. A patient who underwent bariatric bypass surgery and later developed Wernicke’s encephalopathy prompted us to present her interesting case history for discussion. Although bariatric surgery is known to be a risk factor for Wernicke’s encephalopathy, this diagnosis is...

Recent studies on the anatomical and functional organization of GABAergic networks in central auditory circuits of the zebra finch have highlighted the strong impact of inhibitory mechanisms on both the central encoding and processing of acoustic information in a vocal learning species. Most of this work has focused on the...

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an irresistible urge to move them to relieve discomfort. Evidence-based guidelines consider dopaminergic therapy to be the mainstay of treatment for RLS. Ropinirole is a modern, non-ergoline dopamine agonist which has been widely studied...

The dopamine agonist pramipexole (PRA) ((S)-2-Amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-(propylamino) benzothiazole dihydrochloride; molecular formula C10H17N3S⋅2(HCl), is a D3 selective compound, approved in 1997 for the treatment of Parkinson disease and in 2006 for that of idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS). Because of its tolerability, safety and half-life, PRA is favored over levodopa and on...

Guillain-Barrè syndrome (GBS) is usually associated with symmetrical weakness, and therefore asymmetrical weakness may confuse diagnosis. We report on a patient with GBS subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis who had asymmetrical weakness with CNS involvement. The patient tested positive for anti-ganglioside antibodies, including anti-GM1 IgM, anti-GD1b IgG, and anti-GT1a IgG....

Several clinical studies demonstrate a beneficial role of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in patients with myocardial infarction, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. This review focuses on the effects of ramipril, a weak inhibitor of ACE that is rapidly hydrolyzed to ramiprilat, an active metabolite. The Heart Outcome Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) study...

The cornerstone in treatment of psychosis is antipsychotic drugs. Treatment options have increased over the years; newer antipsychotic drugs with a proposed increased efficacy regarding negative and cognitive symptoms, but also a shift in side-effects from neurological side-effects to metabolic side-effects have arisen as the new challenge. The basis of...

Levetiracetam is a second-generation antiepileptic drug which first came to the United States market in 1999. It has a mechanism of action that is not well elucidated. However, it is a very favorable antiepileptic drug due to its reliable pharmacokinetics, minimal drug interactions, seizure efficacy and good tolerability. It is...

Zolmitriptan is one of seven triptans available to treat acute migraine attacks. The introduction of these selective serotonin receptor agonists almost 20 years ago has revolutionized acute migraine treatment. Triptans are now first line migraine drugs, and provide acute treatment that is well-tolerated, safe and effective. This commentary reviews the...

Tetsuya Goto1, Takahiro Miyahara1, Kazutaka Toyoda3, Jun Okamoto2, Yukinari Kakizawa1, Jun-ichi Koyama1, Masakatsu G. Fujie2 and Kazuhiro Hongo11Department of Neurosurgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan. 2Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. 3Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. AbstractObject: Robotic surgery can...

Lamotrigine is an oral well absorbed antiepileptic medication (AED) from the phenyltriazine class approved by the FDA in 1994 for the treatment of epilepsy and in 2003 for the treatment of bipolar disorder. For epilepsy it is used to treat partial seizures, primary and secondary tonic–clonic seizures, and seizures associated...

Baburhan GuldikenTrakya University Medical Faculty, Department of Neurology, Edirne,Turkey. AbstractMigraine is a neurovascular disease, which pathogenesis is still unclear. It causes a severe headache and a substantial financial loss due to absenteeism, therefore, its effective treatment is particularly valuable. Triptans, selective 5HT1B and D receptor agonists, are effective treatment choices...

Shilpa Chitnis and Cherian Abraham KarunapuzhaAssistant Professor of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, J3.134 E, Dallas, Texas 75390-9036, USA. Chief Resident, Adult Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.AbstractHuntington’s disease (HD) is a heredodegenerative neurological disorder with chorea and other hyperkinetic movement disorders being part...

This article will review newer therapies for the treatment of essential tremor as well as cover potential therapies still in development. Drug pharmacology, specific dosing for ET and adverse effects will be reviewed. Finally, a rationale approach to treatment of ET will be discussed.

This review considers treatments of proved efficacy in secondary stroke prevention, with an emphasis on antiplatelet therapy. Most strokes could be prevented, if readily available lifestyle and risk factor modifications could be applied to everyone. In secondary stroke prevention, the same lifestyle and risk factor modifications are also important, along...

Chaperone therapy is a newly developed molecular approach to lysosomal diseases, a group of human genetic diseases causing severe brain damage. We found two valienamine derivatives, N-octyl-4-epi-β-valienamine (NOEV) and N-octyl-β-valienamine (NOV), as promising therapeutic agents for human β-galactosidase deficiency disorders (mainly GM1-gangliosidosis) and β-glucosidase deficiency disorders (Gaucher disease), respectively. We...

R.S. Grant1,2, S.E. Coggan1 and G.A. Smythe21School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW, 2052. 2Australasian Research Institute, Sydney Adventist Hospital, 185 Fox Valley Rd., Wahroonga, NSW, 2076. AbstractPicolinic Acid is an endogenous metabolite of L-tryptophan (TRP) that has been reported to possess a...

Katherine G. Akers1 and Paul W. Frankland1-31Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. 2Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 3Institue of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.AbstractIn humans, hippocampal damage typically produces temporally graded retrograde amnesia, with relative sparing of remote memories compared to...

Kazuyoshi TsutsuiLaboratory of Integrative Brain Sciences, Department of Biology, Waseda University, and Center for Medical Life Science of Waseda University, 2-2 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan.AbstractIt is now clearly established that steroids can be synthesized de novo by the vertebrate brain. Such steroids are called neurosteroids. To understand neurosteroid action...