Increased risk of essential tremor in first-degree relatives of patients with Parkinson's disease.

We conducted a historical cohort study of 981 first-degree relatives of 162 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and of 838 first-degree relatives of 147 controls representative of the population of Olmsted County, Minnesota. In addition, we studied 2,684 first-degree relatives of 411 patients with PD referred to the Mayo Clinic. Relatives were interviewed and screened for tremor either directly or through a proxy, and those who screened positive were examined or copies of their medical records were obtained to confirm the diagnosis of essential tremor (ET). We also obtained ET information from a medical records-linkage system (family study method). In the population-based sample, the risk of ET was significantly increased for relatives of patients with onset of PD相似文献   

Treatment of pediatric epilepsy: European expert opinion, 2007.

BACKGROUND: Childhood epilepsies are a heterogeneous group of conditions that differ in diagnostic criteria and management and have dramatically different outcomes. Despite increasing data on treatment of epilepsy, research findings on childhood epilepsy are more limited and many clinical questions remain unanswered, so that clinicians must often rely on clinical judgment. In such clinical situations, expert opinion can be especially helpful. METHODS: A survey on pediatric epilepsy and seizures (33 questions and approximately 650 treatment options) was sent to 57 European physicians specializing in pediatric epilepsy, 42 (74%) of whom completed it. In some questions, the experts were asked to recommend overall treatment approaches for specific syndromes (the order in which they would use certain strategies). Most of the questions asked the experts to rate options using a modified version of the RAND 9-point scale for medical appropriateness. Consensus was defined as a non-random distribution of scores by chi-square test, with ratings used to assign a categorical rank (first line/usually appropriate, second line/equivocal, and third line/usually not appropriate) to each option. RESULTS: Valproate was treatment of choice for symptomatic myoclonic and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. For initial monotherapy for complex partial seizures, carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine were treatments of choice, with valproate also first line. As initial therapy for infantile spasms caused by tuberous sclerosis, viagabatrin was treatment of choice. As initial therapy for infantile spasms that are symptomatic in etiology, vigabatrin was also treatment of choice, with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and prednisone other first-line options. As initial therapy for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, valproate was treatment of choice. For acute treatment of a prolonged febrile seizure or cluster of seizures, rectal diazepam was treatment of choice. Valproate was treatment of choice as preventive therapy for febrile seizures. For benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes, valproate was treatment of choice. For childhood and juvenile absence epilepsy, valproate was treatment of choice, with lamotrigine another first-line option (ethosuximide was another first-line option for childhood absence epilepsy). For juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in adolescent males, valproate was treatment of choice, with lamotrigine another first-line option; for juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in adolescent females, lamotrigine was treatment of choice, with valproate another firstline option. As initial therapy for neonatal status epilepticus, intravenous (IV) phenobarbital was treatment of choice. As initial therapy for all types of pediatric status epilepticus, IV diazepam was treatment of choice. For generalized tonic-clonic status epilepticus, rectal diazepam and IV lorazepam were also treatments of choice; for complex partial status epilepticus, IV lorazepam was another first-line option. CONCLUSION: The expert panel reached consensus on many treatment options. Within the limits of expert opinion and with the understanding that new research data may take precedence, the experts' recommendations provide helpful guidance in situations where the medical literature is scant or lacking. The information in this report should be evaluated in conjunction with evidence-based findings.     

Induction chemotherapy does not increase the operative risk of pneumonectomy!

BACKGROUND: There is an ongoing debate whether induction therapy increases post-operative mortality and morbidity, especially when performing pneumonectomy. We therefore reviewed a consecutive series of patients having undergone pneumonectomy in a single center. METHODS: The charts of 298 patients operated on between January 1999 and July 2005 were reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1 included those who received induction chemotherapy (60 patients, 20.1%), and group 2 included those who underwent surgery alone (238 patients, 79.9%). Endpoints were operative mortality at 30 and at 90 days, and major complications such as empyema, bronchial fistula and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 11.0 software. RESULTS: Demographic data were similar for both groups when considering side of operation, comorbidity and weaning from tobacco; patients were older in group 2 (61.83+/-9.58 years vs 57.75+/-8.94 years; p=0.003) and there were more female patients in group 2 (17.2% vs 5.0%; p=0.010). Post-operative mortality at 30 days was 6.7% in group 1 and 5.5% in group 2 (p=0.458), and 11.7% for group 1 and 10.9% in group 2 at 90 days (p=0.512). Incidence of empyema was 1.7% in group 1 and 2.1% in group 2 (p=0.652); incidence of bronchopleural fistulas was 1.7% in group 1 and 5.5% in group 2 (p=0.188); incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome was 3.3% in group 1 and 3.4% in group 2 (p=0.675). CONCLUSION: In opposition to previous reports, induction chemotherapy did not significantly jeopardize post-operative outcome following pneumonectomy in our experience.     

Isolated paroxysmal arousals as focal epilepsy.

Paroxysmal motor phenomena and arousals during sleep are frequent. The differential diagnoses between benign hypnic transient events, epileptic and non-epileptic seizures represent a common clinical problem. Video-EEG monitoring during sleep, recording several episodes in the same patient, is essential in order to characterize these phenomena. It offers the possibility to compare electro-clinical data, to demonstrate the eventual stereotyped pattern of motor phenomena and their progression in time, and to study EEG-polygraphic correlates. The recently described double split-screen synchronized display (DSSSD) technique represents a useful tool for comparing particular clinical patterns of epileptic seizures when dealing with complex, hypermotor phenomena observed in frontal lobe epilepsy. We reviewed the data of 24 patients admitted during a two-year period (2002-2003) to our epilepsy sleep unit for isolated paroxysmal sleep motor events. Four patients presented with very brief paroxysmal arousals without daytime fits. Three of our patients presented isolated paroxysmal arousals, whereas in one, the events were associated with hypermotor seizures. We present a simplified variant of the DSSSD method (modified DSSSD) that can be used to study episodes of paroxysmal arousals in order to confirm their stereotyped motor pattern. The clinical aspects and the EEG-polygraphy patterns were informative, with the absence of asymmetrical tonic or dystonic posturing of the limbs. Scalp EEG alone does not usually provide much information in patients with isolated paroxysmal arousals. Coupled to the modified DSSSD technique, it may allow confirmation of the diagnosis of frontal epilepsy, as was the case in our four patients. [Published with video sequences].     

Efficacy and Safety of Brodalumab in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis and Skin of Color: Results from the Pooled AMAGINE-2/-3 Randomized Trials

American Journal of Clinical Dermatology - Data on treatment outcomes in patients with psoriasis who have skin of color are limited. Brodalumab has shown efficacy in patients with...