Impact of discontinuing tremor suppressing medications following thalamic deep brain stimulation

BackgroundMany essential tremor patients continue to require tremor suppressing medications following deep brain stimulation. The true incidence of medication usage in the years following surgery remains unclear, and the use of medications has not been included in the post-operative analyses of tremor severity and also quality of life.MethodsAmong 28 essential tremor patients treated with deep brain stimulation at a single center between January 2002 and April 2010, we analyzed the prevalence and dosage of pre-operative tremor suppressing medications versus post-operative medications at 12 and 36 months following surgery. We also assessed the influence of medication continuation on clinical outcome measures, such as the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale, and the 36 item short-form health quality of life survey.ResultsBoth unilateral and bilateral deep brain stimulation resulted in a decrease in primidone use (p = 0.0082, 0.046, respectively), and bilateral deep brain stimulation patients used less tremor suppressing medications 36 months following surgery (p = 0.02). The decision to discontinue primidone after surgery resulted in a non-significant long-term improvement in tremor motor score (23 points versus 15 points, p = 0.19), and did not significantly influence the physical and mental composite quality of life scores (p = 0.81, 0.23, respectively).ConclusionsBilateral deep brain stimulation effectively eliminated the need for tremor suppressing medications, while unilateral stimulation was not as effective in reducing medication usage. Clinicians and patients should be aware that discontinuation of primidone after surgery may worsen tremor in unilateral deep brain stimulation cases, but discontinuation will not likely impact quality of life.     

HIV clades B and C are associated with reduced brain volumetrics

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has multiple genetic clades with varying prevalence throughout the world. Both HIV clade C (HIV-C) and HIV clade B (HIV-B) can cause cognitive impairment, but it is unclear if these clades are characterized by similar patterns of brain dysfunction. We examined brain volumetrics and neuropsychological performance among highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-naïve HIV-B and HIV-C participants. Thirty-four HAART-naïve HIV-infected (HIV+) participants [17 HIV-B (USA); 17 HIV-C (South Africa)] and 34 age- and education-matched HIV-uninfected (HIV?) participants were evaluated. All participants underwent similar laboratory, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging studies. Brain volume measures were assessed within the caudate, putamen, amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, corpus callosum, and cortical (gray and white matter) structures. A linear model that included HIV status, region, and their interaction assessed the effects of the virus on brain volumetrics. HIV? and HIV+ individuals were similar in age. On laboratory examination, HIV-C participants had lower CD4 cell counts and higher plasma HIV viral loads than HIV-B individuals. In general, HIV+ participants performed significantly worse on neuropsychological measures of processing speed and memory and had significantly smaller relative volumetrics within the thalamus, hippocampus, corpus callosum, and cortical gray and white matter compared to the respective HIV? controls. Both HIV-B and HIV-C are associated with similar volumetric declines when compared to matched HIV? controls. HIV-B and HIV-C were associated with significant reductions in brain volumetrics and poorer neuropsychological performance; however, no specific effect of HIV clade subtype was evident. These findings suggest that HIV-B and HIV-C both detrimentally affect brain integrity.     

Acute-Onset Cerebellar Symptoms in Lhermitte–Duclos Disease: Case Report

Adult-onset Lhermitte–Duclos disease (LD), or dysplastic cerebellar gangliocytoma, is a hamartoma considered pathognomonic for Cowden disease. Classically, LD has a progressive and insidious onset of symptoms. In this case report, we present a patient having rapid neurological deterioration from acute-onset LD. There are only three reported cases of acute LD presentation. A 22-year-old female presented to the emergency department with diplopia, dysarthria, dysphagia, and gait instability which developed within 6 h. A non-contrast CT scan revealed diffuse attenuation in the left cerebellum and mild ventricular dilatation. LP revealed no organisms. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed salient “tiger stripe” appearance of the left cerebellar cortex and effacement of the fourth ventricle. The patient subsequently underwent suboccipital craniotomy and gross total resection of the lesion. The tumor histology showed distortion of normal cerebellar architecture with dysplastic ganglion cells, loss of Purkinje cells, atrophy of the white matter, and expansion of cerebellar folia. Findings were consistent with adult-onset Lhermitte–Duclos disease.     

覆膜支架在颈内动脉海绵窦段病变治疗中的应用

目的 评价应用覆膜支架治疗颈内动脉海绵窦段病变的价值.方法 采用覆膜支架治疗11例颈内动脉海绵窦段病变,其中颈内动脉海绵窦瘘5例,颈内动脉海绵窦段动脉瘤6例,术后1年行全脑血管造影随访和临床随访.结果 11例患者中,成功应用覆膜支架治疗9例,成功置入覆膜支架的9例患者,术后即刻血管造影显示病变完全消失,临床症状逐渐好转,无手术相关并发症,术后1年行全脑血管造影复查8例,结果显示病变消失,责任动脉均保持通畅.结论 覆膜支架在处理颈内动脉海绵窦段动脉瘤或颈内动脉海绵窦瘘方面,有治疗成功率高,疗效好,并发症少,复发率低等特点,值得推广.     

脑脊液CFP-10和Ag85检测对结核性脑膜炎的诊断价值

研究背景结核性脑膜炎的早期诊断目前仍是临床难点,寻找结核性脑膜炎早期特异性诊断指标是目前研究热点。本文主要探讨脑脊液培养分泌蛋白10(CFP10)和Ag85蛋白复合物表达水平对结核性脑膜炎的临床诊断价值。方法采用酶联免疫吸附试验分别检测结核性脑膜炎(30例)、非结核性颅内感染(27例)和对照(29例)受试者脑脊液CFP10和Ag85蛋白复合物表达水平。结果结核性脑膜炎组患者脑脊液CFP10和Ag85中位表达水平分别为0.74和1.10pg/ml,均高于非结核性颅内感染组[(0.02±0.01)、(0.54±0.10)pg/ml]和对照组[(0.02±0.01)、(0.52±0.11)pg/ml],组间差异有统计学意义(H=60.958,P=0.000;H=57.972,P=0.000)。非结核性颅内感染组与对照组之间差异无统计学意义(t=1.128,P=0.253;t=0.980,P=0.329)。结论结核性脑膜炎患者脑脊液CFP10和Ag85蛋白复合物表达水平高于非结核性颅内感染患者和对照者,检测这两项实验室指标的变化可协助结核性脑膜炎的早期诊断。     

Anomalous expression of chloride transporters in the sclerosed hippocampus of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy patients

The Na+-K+-Cl-cotransporter 1 and K+-Cl-cotransporter 2 regulate the levels of intracellular chloride in hippocampal cells.Impaired chloride transport by these proteins is thought to be involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.Imbalance in the relative expression of these two proteins can lead to a collapse of Cl-homeostasis,resulting in a loss of gamma-aminobutyric acid-ergic inhibition and even epileptiform discharges.In this study,we investigated the expression of Na+-K+-Cl-cotransporter 1 and K+-Cl-cotransporter 2 in the sclerosed hippocampus of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy,using western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry.Compared with the histologically normal hippocampus,the sclerosed hippocampus showed increased Na+-K+-Cl-cotransporter 1 expression and decreased K+-Cl-cotransporter 2 expression,especially in CA2 and the dentate gyrus.The change was more prominent for the Na+-K+-Cl-cotransporter 1 than for the K+-Cl-cotransporter 2.These experimental findings indicate that the balance between intracellular and extracellular chloride may be disturbed in hippocampal sclerosis,contributing to the hyperexcitability underlying epileptic seizures.Changes in Na+-K+-Cl-cotransporter 1 expression seems to be the main contributor.Our study may shed new light on possible therapies for patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis.     

Inhibition of Mycobacterial Growth In Vitro following Primary but Not Secondary Vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis BCG

Despite the widespread use of the Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine, there are more than 9 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) every year, and there is an urgent need for better TB vaccines. TB vaccine candidates are selected for evaluation based in part on the detection of an antigen-specific gamma interferon (IFN-γ) response. The measurement of mycobacterial growth in blood specimens obtained from subjects immunized with investigational TB vaccines may be a better in vitro correlate of in vivo vaccine efficacy. We performed a clinical study with 30 United Kingdom adults who were followed for 6 months to evaluate the abilities of both a whole-blood- and a novel peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-based mycobacterial growth inhibition assay to measure a response to primary vaccination and revaccination with BCG. Using cryopreserved PBMCs, we observed a significant improvement in mycobacterial growth inhibition following primary vaccination but no improvement in growth inhibition following revaccination with BCG (P < 0.05). Mycobacterial growth inhibition following primary BCG vaccination was not correlated with purified protein derivative (PPD) antigen-specific IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) responses. We demonstrate that a mycobacterial growth inhibition assay can detect improved capacity to control growth following primary immunization, but not revaccination, with BCG. This is the first study to demonstrate that an in vitro growth inhibition assay can identify a difference in vaccine responses by comparing both primary and secondary BCG vaccinations, suggesting that in vitro growth inhibition assays may serve as better surrogates of clinical efficacy than the assays currently used for the assessment of candidate TB vaccines.