Neurological comorbidity and severity of COVID-19

Journal of Neurology - Neurological symptoms of COVID-19 patients have been recently described. However, no comprehensive data have been reported on pre-existing neurological comorbidities and...     

Efficacy of safinamide as add-on therapy after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease

Neurological Sciences - Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an effective surgical treatment for advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, some patients still experience...     

Sexual dysfunction in male multiple sclerosis patients in relation to clinical findings

Seventy-seven consecutive male patients with clinically definite or laboratory supported definite multiple sclerosis were submitted to a questionnaire and a clinical interview in order to assess the frequency, the nature of sexual dysfunction and its relationship with clinical findings. Twenty-six patients (35%) complained of erectile dysfunction: the defect was partial and inconstant in 11 patients (14%), complete and fixed in 15 (21%). Six patients complained of premature ejaculation, in three of whom the symptom was already present before the onset of the disease. Taking the series as a whole, sexual life was poor or not satisfying at all in 34 patients. Erectile dysfunction was associated with the presence and severity of bladder dysfunction and with disability. The relationship with sensory impairment of legs was slight, no relationship was found with motor involvement of legs, type of course, age and disease duration.     

Freezing and hypokinesia of gait induced by stimulation of the subthalamic region

We report a case of a Parkinson's disease patient treated by bilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, who developed freezing and hypokinesia of gait induced by stimulation through a left-side misplaced electrode which was more antero-medial than the planned trajectory. Subsequently, correct repositioning of the left electrode afforded complete relief of gait disturbances. Freezing and hypokinesia of gait may be side effects of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic region due to current spreading antero-medially to the subthalamic nucleus. These side effects are not subject to habituation and restrict any increase in stimulation parameters. We hypothesize that pallidal projections to the pedunculopontine nucleus could be responsible for these gait disturbances in our patient.     

An algal-derived DL-galactan hybrid is an efficient preventing agent for in vitro dengue virus infection

The DL-galactan hybrid C2S-3, isolated from the red seaweed Cryptonemia crenulata (Halymeniaceae, Halymeniales), is a potent and selective inhibitor of the multiplication of diverse strains of DENV-2 in Vero cells with higher effectiveness than the reference polysaccharide heparin. The presence of the compound either only at virus adsorption or at virus internalization exerted a significant and dose-dependent inhibition in DENV-2 plaque number. The compound failed to inactivate DENV-2 directly by incubation of virus before cell infection as well as to induce a refractory state by cell pretreatment. Thus, the inhibitory effect was exclusively exerted through a blockade in virus multiplication during the infectious process. When the entry of DENV-2 particles into the cell is bypassed, as occurs in virus RNA transfection, the polysaccharide C2S-3 failed to block the completion of the multiplication cycle. Furthermore, the antiviral properties of C2S-3 are not correlated with anticoagulant activity.