Longitudinal Recovery and Reduced Costs After 120 Sessions of Locomotor Training for Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

Objective

To determine the impact of long-term, body weight–supported locomotor training after chronic, incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), and to estimate the health care costs related to lost recovery potential and preventable secondary complications that may have occurred because of visit limits imposed by insurers.

Regurgitations in a Lamb with Acute Coenurosis-A case Report

Coenurosis is a disease of the central nervous system in sheep, caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Multiceps multiceps, which inhabits the small intestine of Canidae. A case of regurgitations in a 2.5 month old lamb with acute coenurosis is being reported. The lamb was presented with a sudden onset of ataxia and regurgitations for 10 days. The post-mortem examination revealed 4 immature C. cerebralis cysts between 0.5 and 1.5 cm in diameter located in the brainstem and cerebellum, and histopathological examination revealed multifocal pyogranulomatous meningoencephalitis, so a diagnosis of acute coenurosis was established. Thus, acute coenurosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of regurgitations in lambs.     

估算的肾小球滤过率、血尿酸和纤维蛋白原与缺血性脑卒中溶栓后脑出血转化的关系及对结局的预测价值

目的探讨估算的肾小球滤过率(eGFR)、血尿酸(SUA)、纤维蛋白原(FIB)与缺血性脑卒中溶栓后脑出血转化及临床结局的关系。方法选取158例缺血性脑卒中用重组组织型纤溶酶原激活剂(rt-PA)静脉溶栓患者,包括无脑出血转化121例、脑出血转化37例。采用Logistic回归方程分析rt-PA静脉溶栓后脑出血转化影响因素;对比不同早期神经功能患者eGFR、SUA、FIB水平;评价eGFR、SUA、FIB对早期神经功能恶化(END)的预测价值;比较不同eGFR、SUA、FIB水平患者的累积生存率。结果rt-PA静脉溶栓2 h、24 h后,脑出血转化者eGFR、SUA、FIB水平较无脑出血转化者降低(P<0.05)。Logistic回归分析显示,年龄、基线NIHSS评分、基线舒张压、大面积脑梗死及溶栓后2 h和24 h的eGFR、SUA、FIB均为rt-PA静脉溶栓后脑出血转化的影响因素(P<0.05)。END患者溶栓后2 h和24 h的eGFR、SUA、FIB均低于非END患者(P<0.05)。ROC曲线分析显示,溶栓后24 h的eGFR、SUA、FIB联合预测END的曲线下面积为0.809,大于任一单一指标,其灵敏度、特异度分别为80.95%、74.14%。生存分析结果表明,溶栓后24 h的eGFR、SUA、FIB高水平组的累积生存率高于低水平组(P<0.05)。结论eGFR、SUA、FIB与缺血性脑卒中预后密切相关,监测上述指标有助于脑出血转化诊断及END预测。     

Neurological manifestations of hepatitis E virus infection: An overview

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important cause of repeated waterborne outbreaks of acute hepatitis. Recently, several extrahepatic manifestations (EHMs) have been described in patients with HEV infection. Of these, neurological disorders are the most common EHM associated with HEV. The involvement of both the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system can occur together or in isolation. Patients can present with normal liver function tests, which can often be misleading for physicians. There is a paucity of data on HEV-related neurological manifestations; and these data are mostly described as case reports and case series. In this review, we analyzed data of 163 reported cases of HEV-related neurological disorders. The mechanisms of pathogenesis, clinico-demographic profile, and outcomes of the HEV-related neurological disorders are described in this article. Nerve root and plexus disorder were found to be the most commonly reported disease, followed by meningoencephalitis.     

Cinética de la enolasa neuroespecífica: una herramienta adicional para el pronóstico neurológico después de una parada cardiaca

Introduction and objectivesTo analyze neuron-specific enolase (NSE) kinetics as a prognostic biomarker of neurological outcome in cardiac arrest survivors treated with targeted temperature management.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of patients resuscitated from in- or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest admitted from September 2006 to May 2018 in a single tertiary care center and cooled to 32 °C to 34 °C for 24 hours. Blood samples for measurement of NSE values were drawn at hospital admission and at 24, 48, and 72 hours after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Neurological outcome was evaluated by means of the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) score at 3 months and was characterized as good (CPC 1-2) or poor (CPC 3-5).ResultsOf 451 patients, 320 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analyzed (80.3% male, mean age 61 ± 14.1 years). Among these, 174 patients (54.4%) survived with good neurological status. Poor outcome patients had higher median NSE values at hospital admission and at 24, 48 and 72 hours after ROSC. At 48 and 72 hours after ROSC, NSE predicted poor neurological outcome with areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves of 0.85 (95%CI, 0.81-0.90) and 0.88 (95%CI, 0.83-0.93), respectively. In addition, delta NSE values between 72 hours after ROSC and hospital admission predicted poor neurological outcome with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.90 (95%CI, 0.85-0.95) and was an independent predictor of unfavorable outcome on multivariate analysis (P < .001).ConclusionsIn cardiac arrest survivors treated with targeted temperature management, delta NSE values between 72 hours after ROSC and hospital admission strongly predicted poor neurological outcome.     

血红素加氧酶系统及调控药物与神经系统疾病

血红素加氧酶(HO)是体内氧化降解血红素的限速酶,催化血红素生成一氧化碳、胆绿素及铁离子。HO不仅调节细胞内血红素和血红蛋白的水平,而且血红素的3种降解产物均具有生物活性,统称为血红素加氧酶系统(HO/CO系统)。HO/CO系统在衰老、脑血管疾病、神经变性疾病等生理和病理过程中发挥着重要作用,有效地调控其表达有可能成为预防和治疗相关疾病的新策略。     

Neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses: A narrative review for clinicians

IntroductionThe past two decades have been marked by three epidemics linked to emerging coronaviruses. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the existence of neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and raised the question of the neuropathogenicity of coronaviruses. The aim of this review was to summarize the current data about neurological manifestations and diseases linked to human coronaviruses.Material and methodsArticles have been identified by searches of PubMed and Google scholar up to September 25, 2020, using a combination of coronavirus and neurology search terms and adding relevant references in the articles.ResultsWe found five cohorts providing prevalence data of neurological symptoms among a total of 2533 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and articles focusing on COVID-19 patients with neurological manifestations including a total of 580 patients. Neurological symptoms involved up to 73% of COVID-19 hospitalized patients, and were mostly headache, myalgias and impaired consciousness. Central nervous system (CNS) manifestations reported in COVID-19 were mostly non-specific encephalopathies that represented between 13% and 40% of all neurological manifestations; post-infectious syndromes including acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis (ADEM, n = 13), acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE, n = 4), Bickerstaff's encephalitis (n = 5), generalized myoclonus (n = 3) and acute transverse myelitis (n = 7); other encephalitis including limbic encephalitis (n = 9) and miscellaneous encephalitis with variable radiologic findings (n = 26); acute cerebrovascular diseases including ischemic strokes (between 1.3% and 4.7% of COVID-19 patients), hemorrhagic strokes (n = 17), cerebral venous thrombosis (n = 8) and posterior reversible encephalopathy (n = 5). Peripheral nervous system (PNS) manifestations reported in COVID-19 were the following: Guillain–Barré syndrome (n = 31) and variants including Miller Fisher syndrome (n = 3), polyneuritis cranialis (n = 2) and facial diplegia (n = 2); isolated oculomotor neuropathy (n = 6); critical illness myopathy (n = 6). Neuropathological studies in COVID-19 patients demonstrated different patterns of CNS damage, mostly ischemic and hemorrhagic changes with few cases of inflammatory injuries. Only one case suggested SARS-CoV-2 infiltration in endothelial and neural cells. We found 10 case reports or case series describing 22 patients with neurological manifestations associated with other human coronaviruses. Among them we found four MERS patients with ADEM or Bickerstaff's encephalitis, two SARS patients with encephalitis who had a positive SARS-CoV PCR in cerebrospinal fluid, five patients with ischemic strokes associated with SARS, eight MERS patients with critical illness neuromyopathy and one MERS patient with Guillain–Barré Syndrome. An autopsy study on SARS-CoV patients demonstrated the presence of the virus in the brain of eight patients.ConclusionThe wide range of neurological manifestations and diseases associated with SARS-CoV-2 is consistent with multiple pathogenic pathways including post-infectious mechanisms, septic-associated encephalopathies, coagulopathy or endothelitis. There was no definite evidence to support direct neuropathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2.     

Age-related gait development in children with autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundA better understanding of gait development and asymmetries in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may improve the development of treatment programs and thus, patient outcomes.Research questionDoes age affect walking kinematics and symmetry in children with ASD?MethodTwenty-nine children (aged 6–14 years old) with mild ASD (level one) were recruited and assigned to one of the three groups based on their ages: 6–8 years (U8), 9–11 years (U11) and 12–14 years (U14). Walking kinematics were captured using an inertia measurement unit system placed bilaterally on participants’ foot, lower leg, upper leg, upper arm, pelvis, and thoracic spine. Joint angles were computed and compared among the age groups. Symmetry angles were used to assess the gait symmetry and were compared among the age groups.ResultsOlder children exhibited less ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion angles at heel-strike and greater plantarflexion angles at toe-off compared with younger children. In addition, a decreased pelvis and thorax axial rotation range of motion and increased shoulder flexion/extension range of motion were observed for older children. However, no age-related difference in gait symmetry was observed.SignificanceThese findings could suggest that older children with ASD may develop gait kinematics to a more energy-efficient walking pattern.