Articles

Co-morbidities of vertiginous diseases

Co-morbidities of vertiginous diseases have so far not been investigated systematically. Thus, it is still unclear whether the different vertigo syndromes (e.g. benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Men...

Authors: Jan C Warninghoff, Otmar Bayer, Uta Ferrari and Andreas Straube

Clinical impact of B-cell depletion with the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab in chronic fatigue syndrome: a preliminary case series

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disease of unknown aetiology. A patient with CFS had unexpected, marked recovery of CFS symptoms lasting for five months during and after cytotoxic chemotherapy for Hodgkin'...

Authors: Øystein Fluge and Olav Mella

SPEM dysfunction and general schizotypy as measured by the SSQ: a controlled study

SPEM dysfunction is a well-known phenomenon in schizophrenia. The principal aim of the present study was to examine whether SPEM dysfunction is already observable in subjects scoring high on a specific measure...

Authors: Dirk van Kampen and Jan Berend Deijen

Role of the H1 haplotype of microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene in Greek patients with Parkinson's disease

The extended tau haplotype (H1) that covers the entire human microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene has been implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, controversial results, such as two studie...

Authors: Nikolaos Refenes, Juliane Bolbrinker, Georgios Tagaris, Antonio Orlacchio, Nikolaos Drakoulis and Reinhold Kreutz

Pontine infarction with pure motor hemiparesis or hemiplegia: A prospective study

The study aimed to prospectively observe the clinical and neuroimaging features of pontine infarction with pure motor hemiparesis (PMH) or hemiplegia at early stage.

Authors: Li Ling, Liangfu Zhu, Jinsheng Zeng, Songjie Liao, Suping Zhang, Jian Yu and Zhiyun Yang

Psychosocial Outcomes in StrokE: the POISE observational stroke study protocol

Each year, approximately 12,000 Australians of working age survive a stroke. As a group, younger stroke survivors have less physical impairment and lower mortality after stroke compared with older survivors; h...

Authors: Maree L Hackett, Nick Glozier, Stephen Jan and Richard Lindley

Characteristics of compounds that cross the blood-brain barrier

Substances cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by a variety of mechanisms. These include transmembrane diffusion, saturable transporters, adsorptive endocytosis, and the extracellular pathways. Here, we focus ...

Authors: William A Banks

The basics of preclinical drug development for neurodegenerative disease indications

Preclinical development encompasses the activities that link drug discovery in the laboratory to initiation of human clinical trials. Preclinical studies can be designed to identify a lead candidate from sever...

Authors: Karen L Steinmetz and Edward G Spack

ADDME – Avoiding Drug Development Mistakes Early: central nervous system drug discovery perspective

The advent of early absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) screening has increased the attrition rate of weak drug candidates early in the drug-discovery process, and decreased t...

Authors: Katya Tsaioun, Michel Bottlaender and Aloise Mabondzo

Meeting the unique challenges of drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases

Authors: Diana W Shineman and Howard M Fillit

Dopamine Agonists and their risk to induce psychotic episodes in Parkinson's disease: a case-control study

Psychosis is rare in untreated patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) but the prevalence rises to 40% during dopaminergic treatment. So far, no systematic comparison of the psychogenic potential of different d...

Authors: Daniel Ecker, Alexander Unrath, Jan Kassubek and Michael Sabolek

Correlates of degree of nerve involvement in early Bell's palsy

This study aimed to evaluate the still unknown factors correlating with the degree of nerve involvement in early Bell's palsy.

Authors: Ru-Lan Hsieh, Chia-Wei Wu, Ling-Yi Wang and Wen-Chung Lee

Markers of cerebral damage during delirium in elderly patients with hip fracture

S100B protein and Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE) can increase due to brain cell damage and/or increased permeability of the blood-brain-barrier. Elevation of these proteins has been shown after various neurolog...

Authors: Barbara C van Munster, Catharina M Korse, Sophia E de Rooij, Johannes M Bonfrer, Aeilko H Zwinderman and Johanna C Korevaar

Identification of potential neuromotor mechanisms of manual therapy in patients with musculoskeletal disablement: rationale and description of a clinical trial

Many health care practitioners use a variety of hands-on treatments to improve symptoms and disablement in patients with musculoskeletal pathology.

Authors: Beth E Fisher, Todd E Davenport, Kornelia Kulig and Allan D Wu

MRI characteristics are predictive for CDMS in monofocal, but not in multifocal patients with a clinically isolated syndrome

To diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS), evidence for dissemination in space and time is required. There is no clear definition on how symptoms and signs of a patient indicate clinical dissemination in space. To p...

Authors: Jessica M Nielsen, Christoph Pohl, Chris H Polman, Frederik Barkhof, Mark S Freedman, Gilles Edan, David H Miller, Lars Bauer, Rupert Sandbrink, Ludwig Kappos and Bernard MJ Uitdehaag

Admission C – reactive protein after acute ischemic stroke is associated with stroke severity and mortality: The 'Bergen stroke study'

There is growing evidence that inflammation plays an important role in atherogenesis. Previous studies show that C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker, is associated with stroke outcomes and future ...

Authors: Titto T Idicula, Jan Brogger, Halvor Naess, Ulrike Waje-Andreassen and Lars Thomassen

Awareness of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in central Israel

Despite its frequent occurrence and effective treatment options, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) still remains under-estimated in the community.

Authors: Lea Pollak

Estimating the probability of stroke in Korean hypertensive patients visiting tertiary hospitals using a risk profile from the framingham study

Hypertension is the most important single modifiable risk factor for stroke. We investigated the distribution of stroke risk factors and 10-year probability of stroke in Korean hypertensive patients.

Authors: Cheol Ung Choi and Chang Gyu Park

Moyamoya disease: A clinical spectrum, literature review and case series from a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Moyamoya is a rare cerebrovascular disease of unknown etiology. The data on moyamoya disease from Pakistan is sparse. We report a case series of 13 patients who presented with moyamoya disease to a tertiary ca...

Authors: Sana Shoukat, Ahmed Itrat, Ather M Taqui, Moazzam Zaidi and Ayeesha K Kamal

The FLASSH study: protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating falls prevention after stroke and two sub-studies

Falls are common in stroke survivors returning home after rehabilitation, however there is currently a lack of evidence about preventing falls in this population. This paper describes the study protocol for th...

Authors: Frances A Batchelor, Keith D Hill, Shylie F Mackintosh, Catherine M Said and Craig H Whitehead

Significant difference between three observers in the assessment of intraepidermal nerve fiber density in skin biopsy

The determination of Intraepidermal Nerve Fiber Density (IENFD) in skin biopsy is a useful method for the evaluation of different types of peripheral neuropathies. To allow a reliable use of the method it is n...

Authors: Sigrid Wöpking, Andrea Scherens, Ida S Haußleiter, Helmut Richter, Julia Schüning, Sabrina Klauenberg and Christoph Maier

The size of the treatment effect: do patients and proxies agree?

This study examined whether MS patients and proxy respondents agreed on change in disease impact, which was induced by treatment. This may be of interest in situations when patients suffer from limitations tha...

Authors: Femke AH van der Linden, Jolijn J Kragt, Jeremy C Hobart, Martin Klein, Alan J Thompson, Henk M van der Ploeg, Chris H Polman and Bernard MJ Uitdehaag

Understanding patients' perspective in the use of generic antiepileptic drugs: compelling lessons for physicians to improve physician/patient communication

Epilepsy is a condition in which consistency of treatment is paramount to successful management and for most patients, effective seizure control can be achieved. Given the severe consequences of even a single ...

Authors: Kore Liow

Study design and methods of the Ansan Geriatric Study (AGE study)

The overall objective of the Ansan Geriatric Study (AGE study) was to describe the prevalence, incidence, and related risk factors for geriatric diseases in elderly Koreans.

Authors: Changsu Han, Sangmee Ahn Jo, Nan Hee Kim, Inho Jo and Moon Ho Park

Cardiac rehabilitation adapted to transient ischaemic attack and stroke (CRAFTS): a randomised controlled trial

Coronary Heart Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease share many predisposing, modifiable risk factors (hypertension, abnormal blood lipids and lipoproteins, cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, obesity and di...

Authors: Olive Lennon and Catherine Blake

Improving community ambulation after stroke: the AMBULATE trial

It has been reported that following rehabilitation, only 7% of stroke survivors are able to walk at a level commensurate with community participation. Previous research indicates that treadmill and overground ...

Authors: Louise Ada, Catherine M Dean, Richard Lindley and Gemma Lloyd

Changes in cognitive domains during three years in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with donepezil

The objective was to identify separate cognitive domains in the standard assessment tools (MMSE, ADAS-Cog) and analyze the process of decline within domains during three years in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patie...

Authors: Cecilia M Persson, Åsa K Wallin, Sten Levander and Lennart Minthon

Meta-analysis of duloxetine vs. pregabalin and gabapentin in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain

Few direct head-to-head comparisons have been conducted between drugs for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP). Approved or recommended drugs in this indication include duloxetine (DLX)...

Authors: Sibilia Quilici, Jeremy Chancellor, Mickael Löthgren, Dominique Simon, Gérard Said, Trong Kim Le, Ana Garcia-Cebrian and Brigitta Monz

A clinical registry of dementia based on the principle of epidemiological surveillance

Traditional epidemiological studies do not allow elucidating the reality of referral and diagnosis patterns of dementia in routine clinical practice within a defined territory. This information is useful and n...

Authors: Josep Garre-Olmo, Margarita Flaqué, Jordi Gich, Teresa Osuna Pulido, Josefina Turbau, Natalia Vallmajo, Marta Viñas and Secundí López-Pousa

Exercise therapy for prevention of falls in people with Parkinson's disease: A protocol for a randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation

People with Parkinson's disease are twice as likely to be recurrent fallers compared to other older people. As these falls have devastating consequences, there is an urgent need to identify and test innovative...

Authors: Colleen G Canning, Cathie Sherrington, Stephen R Lord, Victor SC Fung, Jacqueline CT Close, Mark D Latt, Kirsten Howard, Natalie E Allen, Sandra D O'Rourke and Susan M Murray

Population studies of sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy and dementia: a systematic review

Deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) in vessel walls of the brain as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) could be a major factor in the pathogenesis of dementia. Here we investigate the relationship between dementia and...

Authors: Hannah AD Keage, Roxanna O Carare, Robert P Friedland, Paul G Ince, Seth Love, James A Nicoll, Stephen B Wharton, Roy O Weller and Carol Brayne

Masked-Volume-Wise PCA and "reference Logan" illustrate similar regional differences in kinetic behavior in human brain PET study using [11C]-PIB

Kinetic modeling using reference Logan is commonly used to analyze data obtained from dynamic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies on patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy volunteers (HVs) u...

Authors: Pasha Razifar, Anna Ringheim, Henry Engler, Håkan Hall and Bengt Långström

The Multiple Sclerosis Risk Sharing Scheme Monitoring Study – early results and lessons for the future

Risk sharing schemes represent an innovative and important approach to the problems of rationing and achieving cost-effectiveness in high cost or controversial health interventions. This study aimed to assess ...

Authors: Mark Pickin, Cindy L Cooper, Timothy Chater, Anthony O'Hagan, Keith R Abrams, Nicola J Cooper, Mike Boggild, Jackie Palace, George Ebers, James B Chilcott, Paul Tappenden and Jon Nicholl

RETRACTED ARTICLE: In-hospital cerebrovascular complications following orthotopic liver transplantation: A retrospective study

Cerebrovascular complications are severe events following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). This study aimed to observe the clinical and neuroimaging features and possible risk factors of in-hospital cer...

Authors: Li Ling, Xiaoshun He, Jinsheng Zeng and Zhijian Liang

Is Intracranial Atherosclerosis an Independent Risk Factor for Cerebral Atrophy? A Retrospective Evaluation

Our purpose was to study the association between the intracranial atherosclerosis as measured by cavernous carotid artery calcification (ICAC) observed on head CT and atrophic changes of supra-tentorial brain ...

Authors: S Erbay, R Han, M Aftab, Kelly H Zou, JF Polak and Rafeeque A Bhadelia

Identifying people at high risk for developing sleep apnea syndrome (SAS): a cross-sectional study in a Pakistani population

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is associated with many cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases. Day-time sleepiness is a common consequence of sleep apnea and correlates with road-traffic accidents (RTA). Pakis...

Authors: Fawad Taj, Zarmeneh Aly, Mahwash Kassi and Mansoor Ahmed

Impact of early applied upper limb stimulation: The EXPLICIT-stroke programme design

Main claims of the literature are that functional recovery of the paretic upper limb is mainly defined within the first month post stroke and that rehabilitation services should preferably be applied intensive...

Authors: Gert Kwakkel, Carel GM Meskers, Erwin E van Wegen, Guus J Lankhorst, Alexander CH Geurts, Annet A van Kuijk, Eline Lindeman, Anne Visser-Meily, Erwin de Vlugt and J Hans Arendzen

Role of MAPT mutations and haplotype in frontotemporal lobar degeneration in Northern Finland

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) consists of a clinically and neuropathologically heterogeneous group of syndromes affecting the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Mutations in microtubule-associ...

Authors: Anna-Lotta Kaivorinne, Johanna Krüger, Katja Kuivaniemi, Hannu Tuominen, Virpi Moilanen, Kari Majamaa and Anne M Remes

Significance of the parkin and PINK1gene in Jordanian families with incidences of young-onset and juvenile parkinsonism

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, where most cases are sporadic with a late onset. In rare incidences familial forms of early-onset parkinsonism occur, and when recessively inher...

Authors: Ronny Myhre, Stina Steinkjer, Alice Stormyr, Gina L Nilsen, Hiba Abu Zayyad, Khalid Horany, Mohamad K Nusier and Helge Klungland

A randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of an individual auditory cueing device on freezing and gait speed in people with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder resulting from a degeneration of dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra. Clinical symptoms typically affect gait pattern and motor performan...

Authors: Sean Ledger, Rose Galvin, Deirdre Lynch and Emma K Stokes

Plasma brain natriuretic peptide as a surrogate marker for cardioembolic stroke

Cardioembolic stroke generally results in more severe disability, since it typically has a larger ischemic area than the other types of ischemic stroke. However, it is difficult to differentiate cardioembolic ...

Authors: Kazushi Yukiiri, Naohisa Hosomi, Takayuki Naya, Tsutomu Takahashi, Hiroyuki Ohkita, Mao Mukai, Hisashi Masugata, Koji Murao, Masaki Ueno, Takehiro Nakamura, Hiroaki Dobashi, Takanori Miki, Yasuhiro Kuroda and Masakazu Kohno

Quantitative electroencephalography reveals different physiological profiles between benign and remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis patients

A possible method of finding physiological markers of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the application of EEG quantification (QEEG) of brain activity when the subject is stressed by the demands of a cognitive task. ...

Authors: Manuel Vazquez-Marrufo, Javier J Gonzalez-Rosa, Encarnacion Vaquero, Pablo Duque, Monica Borges, Carlos Gomez and Guillermo Izquierdo

Long-term effects of STN DBS on mood: psychosocial profiles remain stable in a 3-year follow-up

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus significantly improves motor function in patients with severe Parkinson's disease. However, the effects on nonmotor aspects remain uncertain. The present study...

Authors: Iris Kaiser, Ilse Kryspin-Exner, Thomas Brücke, Dieter Volc and François Alesch

The predictive value of transcranial duplex sonography for the clinical diagnosis in undiagnosed parkinsonian syndromes: comparison with SPECT scans

Transcranial duplex sonography (TCD) of the substantia nigra has emerged as a promising, non-invasive tool to diagnose idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). However, its diagnostic accuracy in patients with un...

Authors: Annemarie MM Vlaar, Tjerk de Nijs, Marinus JPG van Kroonenburgh, Werner H Mess, Ania Winogrodzka, Selma C Tromp and Wim EJ Weber

Skin-impedance in Fabry Disease: A prospective, controlled, non-randomized clinical study

We previously demonstrated improved sweating after enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in Fabry disease using the thermo-regularity sweat and quantitative sudomotor axon reflex tests. Skin-impedance, a measure sk...

Authors: Surya N Gupta, Markus Ries, Gary J Murray, Jane M Quirk, Roscoe O Brady, Jeffrey R Lidicker, Raphael Schiffmann and David F Moore

Protocol for German trial of Acyclovir and corticosteroids in Herpes-simplex-virus-encephalitis (GACHE): a multicenter, multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled German, Austrian and Dutch trial [ISRCTN45122933]

The treatment of Herpes-simplex-virus-encephalitis (HSVE) remains a major unsolved problem in Neurology. Current gold standard for therapy is acyclovir, a drug that inhibits viral replication. Despite antivira...

Authors: Francisco Martinez-Torres, Sanjay Menon, Maria Pritsch, Norbert Victor, Ekkehart Jenetzky, Katrin Jensen, Eva Schielke, Erich Schmutzhard, Jan de Gans, Chin-Hee Chung, Steffen Luntz, Werner Hacke and Uta Meyding-Lamadé

Risk factors for dementia in the epidemiological study of Munguialde County (Basque Country-Spain)

Prevalence of degenerative dementias and dementias associated with cerebrovascular disease is increasing. Dementia is one of the most significant public health problem. In recent years, the role of vascular ri...

Authors: Manuel Fernández Martínez, Jessica Castro Flores, Susana Pérez de las Heras, Aitziber Mandaluniz Lekumberri, María Gordejuela Menocal and Juan José Zarranz Imirizaldu

A novel needle for subcutaneous injection of interferon beta-1a: effect on pain in volunteers and satisfaction in patients with multiple sclerosis

To reduce injection pain and improve satisfaction, a thinner (29-gauge [29G]), sharper (5-bevel) needle than the 27G/3-bevel needle used previously to inject interferon (IFN) beta-1a, 44 or 22 mcg subcutaneous...

Authors: Amer Jaber, Gian B Bozzato, Lionel Vedrine, Wes A Prais, Julie Berube and Philippe E Laurent

The effect of coaching on the simulated malingering of memory impairment

Detecting malingering or exaggeration of impairments in brain function after traumatic brain injury is of increasing importance in neuropsychological assessment. Lawyers involved in brain injury litigation cas...

Authors: Jascha Rüsseler, Alexandra Brett, Ulrike Klaue, Michael Sailer and Thomas F Münte

Perceived needs and satisfaction with care in people with multiple sclerosis: A two-year prospective study

Considering the costs of multiple sclerosis (MS), it is crucial that the health-related services supplied are in accordance with needs as they are perceived by people with MS (PwMS). Satisfaction with care is ...

Authors: Charlotte Ytterberg, Sverker Johansson, Kristina Gottberg, Lotta Widén Holmqvist and Lena von Koch