Apps en neurorrehabilitación. Una revisión sistemática de aplicaciones móviles

Introduction

Mobile health or mHealth, defined as the provision of health information or healthcare by means of mobile devices or tablets, is emerging as a major game-changer for patients, care providers, and investors. An app is a program with special characteristics installed on a small mobile device, either a tablet or smartphone, with which the user interacts via a touch-based interface. The purpose of the app is to facilitate completion of a certain task or assist with daily activities.

Evaluación de la correlación entre degeneración histológica y parámetros radiológicos o clínicos en una serie de pacientes operados por hernia discal lumbar

Background and objective

The use of histological degeneration scores in surgically-treated herniated lumbar discs is not common in clinical practice and its use has been primarily restricted to research. The objective of this study is to evaluate if there is an association between a higher grade of histological degeneration when compared with clinical or radiological parameters.

Documento de revisión y actualización de la cefalea por uso excesivo de medicación (CUEM)

IntroductionMedication overuse headache is a secondary headache in which the regular or frequent use of analgesics can increase the frequency of the episodes, causing the transition from episodic to chronic headache. The prevalence of medication overuse headache is approximately 1-2%, with higher rates among women aged 30-50 years and with comorbid psychiatric disorders such as depression or anxiety, or other chronic pain disorders. It is important to be familiar with the management of this disease. To this end, the Spanish Society of Neurology's Headache Study Group has prepared a consensus document addressing this disorder.DevelopmentThese guidelines were prepared by a group of neurologists specialising in headache after a systematic literature review and provides consensus recommendations on the proper management and treatment of medication overuse headache. The treatment of medication overuse headache is often complex, and is based on 4 fundamental pillars: education and information about the condition, preventive treatment, discontinuation of the drug being overused, and treatment for withdrawal symptoms. Follow-up of patients at risk of recurrence is important.ConclusionsWe hope that this document will be useful in daily clinical practice and that it will update and improve understanding of medication overuse headache management.     

Estatus epiléptico focal: revisión del tratamiento farmacológico

IntroductionStatus epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality. One prognostic factor is the type of SE. The purpose of this review is to analyse the most recent recommendations of different scientific societies and expert groups on the treatment of SE, and the latest studies, to assess the literature on the management of focal SE.MethodsWe searched PubMed for studies published between 1 August 2008 and 1 August 2018 on the pharmacological treatment of focal SE and its different types in adults.ResultsWe identified 29 publications among reviews, treatment guidelines, meta-analyses, clinical trials, and case series on the treatment of SE. Only 3 of them accounted for whether SE was focal or generalised; 4 focused exclusively on focal SE, and 7 differentiated between convulsive and non-convulsive SE and also record the presence of focal seizures. Treatment recommendations for focal SE do not differ from those of generalised SE in stages I and II: initially intravenous lorazepam or diazepam, if the intravenous route is available, and otherwise intramuscular midazolam, followed by intravenous phenytoin, valproate, levetiracetam, or lacosamide if seizures persist. Use of anaesthetic drugs should be delayed for as long as possible in patients with refractory focal SE.ConclusionsThe available scientific evidence is insufficient to claim that pharmacological treatment of focal SE should be different from treatment for generalised SE. More studies with a greater number of patients are needed.     

Ganglioneuroma lipomatoso paravertebral con extensión intraespinal. Descripción de un caso y revisión de la literatura

Lipomatous ganglioneuromas are a rare variant of ganglioneuromas characterized by a mature adipocytic component admixed with a conventional ganglioneuroma component. We present the case of a 34 year old patient with a paravertebral right lesion L1-L4 with intraspinal extension and secondary neurological deficit, who underwent surgery in our hospital. The pathological anatomy showed a yellowish encapsulated neoplasm, which under microscopic evaluation showed areas of ganglioneuroma admixed with areas of mature fat.In the follow up, the patient was asymptomatic, had recovered paresis in the right lower extremity and in the last image control did not present data of lesion recurrence.Fewer than 10 cases of lipomatous ganglioneuromas have been reported in the literature, being this the first paravertebral case wih intraspinal extension and with neurological deficit, hence the interest of this work.     

Incidencia,pronóstico y predicción de la transformación hemorrágica tras el tratamiento revascularizador del ictus

IntroductionHaemorrhagic transformation is a major complication of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). We sought to determine the predictors and clinical impact of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) after revascularisation therapy.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective, single-centre study including 235 patients with AIS who underwent intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV-rtPA) therapy and/or endovascular treatment. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the variables associated with ICH, parenchymal haematomas (PH), modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores, and mortality.ResultsICH was detected in 57 (30 with PH) of 183 patients included. Mechanical thrombectomy, either alone (OR 3.3 [1.42-7.63], P=.005) or in combination with IV-rtPA (OR 3.39 [1,52-7.56], P=.003), was associated with higher risk of ICH, while higher Alberta Stroke Program Early CT scores (OR 0.71 [0.55-0.91], P=.007) were associated with lower risk. Patients with older age (OR 1.07 [1.02-1.13], P=.006) and occlusion of the terminal branch of the internal carotid artery (OR 4.03 [1.35-11.99], P = .012) had a higher risk of PH, while the use of IV-rtPA alone (OR 0.24 [0.08-0.68], P=.008) was associated with lower risk of PH. Only PH was associated with disability as measured by the mRS (OR 3.2 [1.17-8.76], P=.02) and higher mortality (OR 5.06 [1.65-15.5], P=.005).ConclusionsGreater understanding about the predictors of ICH, mRS scores, and mortality could enable better selection of patients and treatments.     

Medidas de protección radiológica: implicaciones en el diseño de quirófanos de neurocirugía

Objective

To describe pros and cons of some radiation protection measures and the implications on the design of a neurosurgery operating room.

Rehabilitación de la cognición social en el traumatismo craneoencefálico: una revisión sistemática

IntroductionMany studies have described the presence of difficulty processing and generating social behaviour in patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These difficulties in social cognition (SC) deteriorate personal relationships in the family, at work, or in the community. However, therapeutic programmes aiming to improve SC continue to be an outstanding issue in clinical practice. We performed a systematic review of the existing literature on the recovery of SC in patients with TBI, assessing the methodological quality of the included studies and the therapeutic effectiveness of the rehabilitation strategies used.DevelopmentWe performed a bibliographic search of papers published before June 2018 in the Medline/PubMed, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. Of the 198 potentially relevant articles, 10 met our eligibility criteria. Two of the authors independently and blindly assessed the methodological quality of these studies using the PEDro scale.ConclusionsThe articles included in this systematic review essentially studied the effect of different interventions aimed at the rehabilitation of SC in patients with chronic TBIs. The analysis showed adequate methodological quality and an acceptable level of evidence. Future research should analyse the effect of these interventions in patients with TBIs in the sub- and post-acute phases.     

Baló's encephalitis periaxialis concentrica

In 1928, Baló described a law student with an unusual fatal illness marked by aphasia and a right hemiplegia, with later optic neuritis and normal cerebrospinal fluid. At autopsy, he found a disease of the white matter characterised by foci varying in size from a lentil to that of a pigeon's egg and presenting gray softening and, in part, concentricity, where the medullary sheaths were destroyed and the axis cylinders were intact. He was uncertain whether this was a variant of acute multiple sclerosis or of Schilder's disease. The basis of concentric sclerosis is still unclear though current opinion favours a variant of acute multiple sclerosis.     

Enfermedades neuromusculares catastrófi cas

Neurologists should anticipate and recognize the onset of respiratory failure in patients with neuromuscular diseases. Symptoms vary according to the speed of onset of respiratory muscle weakness. Catastrophic situations usually occur in three clinical scenarios: 1) incorrect management of acute respiratory failure of neuromuscular origin, autonomic dysfunction or during general anaesthesia of patients with neuromuscular diseases ; 2) incorrect prognosis and treatment due to the lack of a correct diagnosis. This situation is more common in ventilated patients with associated muscular weakness, acute neuropathies or motor neuron disease, and 3) inappropriate medical intervention in patients with neuromuscular disease with a definitive diagnosis but longstanding disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, myotonic dystrophy and other muscular dystrophies).     

Evaluación del estado nutricional en la enfermedad de Alzheimer y su influencia en la progresión tras el diagnóstico

IntroductionNutritional deficiencies are frequent in Alzheimer disease (AD), even in early stages. Nutritional impairment (NI) may be associated with faster disease progression. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of NI and the associated risk factors at the time of diagnosis and to analyse its influence on subsequent progression.MethodsWe performed a prospective, multicentre, observational study of patients recently diagnosed with prodromal AD (pAD) or dementia due to AD (ADd). Two clinical assessments were conducted over a period of 18 months. The Mini Nutritional Assessment test (MNA; score range, 0-30; cut-off point for NI, < 24) was used to estimate nutritional status. Progression was defined as an increase of ≥ 3 points on the Clinical Dementia Rating-sum of boxes test.ResultsThe sample included 50 patients with pAD (mean [standard deviation] age, 76.1 [5.3] years; 68% women), and 127 with ADd (80 [5.9] years; 72.4% women). A total of 141 (79.7%) completed both evaluations. The prevalence of NI was 28.2% (24% for pAD, 29.9% for ADd; P = .43), with the majority (92%) at risk of malnutrition. NI was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR]: 4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-10.5; P < .001) and greater behavioural involvement (OR: 5.8; 95% CI: 2.6-12.7; P < .001). A larger proportion of patients with progression was observed among those with NI than among those with normal nutritional status (50% vs 28.7%, P < .05; ADd: 53.6% vs 31.8%, P < .05; pAD: 41.7% vs 22.9%, P = .21). Greater cognitive impairment (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.03-4.4; P < .05) and NI (OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.1-5.1; P < .05) were independent risk factors for disease progression.ConclusionsNI is highly prevalent in patients with AD. Assessing nutritional status at the time of diagnosis may enable identification of patients at greater risk of disease progression.     

Santiago Ramón y Cajal

We carry out a brief review of Santiago Ramón y Cajal's life. Cajal was born on 1 May 1852 in Petilla de Aragón (Spain) and died on 17 October 1934 in Madrid. He graduated in medicine at the University of Saragossa in 1873 and successively occupied the chair of Anatomy in Valencia (1884-1887), and Histology and Pathology in Barcelona (1888-1891) and Madrid (1892-1922). Starting from the modified Golgi staining method applied to embrions or young animals, Cajal published a monumental histology of the nervous system creating the revolutionary concept of the neuron doctrine and dynamic polarization of the neuron. He also introduced new staining methods including reduced silver nitrate, formol-urano and sublimate gold. He then procceded to study the process of degeneration and regeneration of the nervous system and the fine texture of the neuron and neuroglia. Together with Golgi, Cajal was awarded the Nobel prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1906. Don Santiago was also an excellent teacher, painter, photographer and writer. He is the greatest of all Spanish scientists, the most cited classical scientist and the chief architect of the neuron theory.