Progressive myoclonic ataxia with intrathecal immune activation in six patients

In six patients with slowly progressive sporadic cerebellar ataxia and cortical multifocal action myoclonus, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IgG index was persistently very high (1.2–6.7) and numerous oligoclonal bands were detected. Progressive cognitive impairment and MRI cerebellar and cerebral atrophy were observed. No serum antibodies were found. Various degenerative, metabolic, inflammatory and systemic diseases were excluded. The cerebellum may be the main target of a degenerative or immune process and releases antigens that, enhancing a compartmentalised (auto)immune response, as suggested by the persistent intrathecal activation, could lead to further cerebellar damage. As the frequency of CSF oligoclonal banding in myoclonic ataxia is unknown, our patients’ disease might represent a hitherto unreported entity or a subset of progressive myoclonic ataxia.

---

Sommario Descriviamo sei pazienti con atassia cerebellare sporadica e mioclono corticale d’azione multifocale, nel cui liquor i valori dell’indice IgG si mantenevano persistentemente elevati ed erano presenti numerose bande oligoclonali. I pazienti manifestavano un progressivo declino cognitivo e la RM mostrava atrofia cerebellare e cerebrale. In assenza di anticorpi identificabili non era possibile formulare una diagnosi di malattia nota. Suggeriamo che il cervelletto possa essere il principale bersaglio di un processo degenerativo o immuno-mediato e che gli antigeni liberati inducano la produzione di anticorpi che ulteriormente provocano danno cerebrale. Poiché non è nota la frequenza delle bande oligoclonali nel liquor di pazienti con atassia mioclonica, non sappiamo se la malattia qui descritta sia una entità nuova o un sottogruppo delle atassie miocloniche.

     

Corpus callosotomy in refractory idiopathic generalized epilepsy

RATIONALE: A small percentage of patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) do not respond to medical therapy. Generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizures are especially debilitating and can be associated with severe injuries. The benefit, safety and effect of corpus callosotomy (CC) in patients with IGE have not been studied. METHODS: We reviewed patients with presumed IGE who underwent CC between 1991 and 2000. Criteria for selection included history, examination, brain imagining, interictal and ictal EEG. All patients had refractory and debilitating tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) and had failed four or more antiepileptic drugs. Seizure frequency was calculated per month over the last year and pre-operative baseline was compared to last follow-up using paired t-tests. IQ, executive function, language and verbal, non-verbal memory and quality of life (QOL) was compared before and after surgery. Serial EEGs after surgery were reviewed. RESULTS: There were nine patients (seven men), mean age 37.9 (range: 22-49), mean IQ 87.3 (range: 75-107). All had anterior CC. Mean follow-up time was 5.4 years (range: 0.6-10.3 years). One patient died from sudden death in epilepsy 9 months after surgery. There was a significant reduction of GTC seizures from 6.3 to 1.1 (p<0.005). Four patients had more than 80% and eight more than 50% reduction. Of five patients with absence seizures, two became seizure free and one had more than 80% reduction and two worsened slightly, and of three with myoclonic seizures one had more than 90% reduction. One patient had completion of the CC with improvement of myoclonus and absence seizures, but not of GTC seizures and suffered a disconnection syndrome. Another had right frontal focal resection without improvement after new seizures of focal onset. Cognitive testing showed a good outcome (improved or no change) in all cognitive domains. Post-surgical EEG showed new focal slowing and sharp waves. There was no change in QOL. CONCLUSION: CC can be effective in reducing GTC, absence and myoclonic seizures in patients with refractory IGE. These findings suggest that interhemispheric communication of the cerebral cortices plays an important role in the generation of seizures in IGE. Anterior CC appears safe while complete callosotomy has a risk of disconnection syndrome.     

雷米芬太尼对依托咪酯引发肌震颤的影响

目的研究预注雷米芬太尼对依托咪酯引发肌震颤的影响。方法选择ASAⅠ或Ⅱ级,体重指数在20～24 kg/m2,无神经肌肉传导功能障碍性疾病的择期手术患者90例,随机均分为三组:雷米芬太尼0.5μg/kg组(R0.5组)、雷米芬太尼1μg/kg组(R1.0组)和对照组(C组)。预注雷米芬太尼或生理盐水,2 min后静脉注射依托咪酯0.3 mg/kg;记录预注前即刻(T0)、预注雷米芬太尼或生理盐水结束后1 min(T1)、2 min(T2)的SBP、DBP、HR、SpO2、RR、潮气量(VT),观察肌震颤程度并进行评分。结果与C组相比,R0.5和R1.0组依托咪酯引发肌震颤程度降低(P<0.01),R0.5和R1.0组相比肌震颤程度差异无统计学意义;体重60 kg以上的患者与其他体重段的患者相比肌震颤相对易发生且程度严重(P<0.05);各组同一时点的SBP、DBP、HR、SpO2、RR、VT差异无统计学意义。结论预注雷米芬太尼0.5或1μg/kg均能够显著降低依托咪酯引发的肌震颤,对呼吸系统和循环系统没有明显影响。     

The “jerky dystonic unsteady hand”: A delayed motor syndrome in posterior thalamic infarctions

We report the cases of three patients with a thalamic infarct in the territory of the posterior choroidal artery involving the posterior thalamic nuclei. These patients developed delayed complex hyperkinetic motor syndromes, associating ataxia, tremor, dystonia, myoclonus and chorea, which we call the jerky dystonic unsteady hand. One patient had a severe myoclonic and ataxicdystonic choreoathetosis; another showed a so-called rubral tremor (myoclonic ataxia with resting, action, and wing-beating tremor) with dystonia; and the third one had a dystonic and ataxic hand with intermittent mild action myoclonus. All of them had sensory dysfunction; two had also presented with a painful Dejérine-Roussy syndrome. All had CT or MRI-proven infarcts in the territory of the posterior cerebral artery involving the posterior choroidal territory with an abnormal signal in the posterior area of the thalamus (pulvinar nucleus) but sparing the other thalamic, subthalamic and midbrain structures. These delayed myoclonic complex hyperkinetic syndromes have not been reported before, and we did not observe them in other topographic forms of thalamic infarcts. They may thus represent a new entity of movement disorders due to lesions in the posterior thalamic nuclei, with specificity for posterior choroidal artery infarcts.     

A retrospective study of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in Belgium

Using data from Belgian neuropathological archives, completed with the results of a comprehensive study of available medical records, we found 100 patients who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for probable or definite Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). Mean age at death was 63 years. The median disease duration was 9 months. Progressive mental deterioration was present in all cases, whereas signs of cerebellar dysfunction and myoclonus were found in approximately 80% of the patients. In 50% of the population, the EEG revealed characteristic abnormalities. Ninety-six patients suffered from the sporadic type of CJD, while 4 suffered from a hereditary form. In our series, we could find no evidence for the new variant, neither for an iatrogenic cause.     

预注布托啡诺对依托咪酯在全麻诱导时导致肌阵挛的影响

目的:探讨预注布托啡诺对预防依托咪酯导致肌阵挛的效果。方法:拟在全麻下择期手术患者180例,ASAⅠ或Ⅱ级,男85例,女95例,年龄20~65岁,体重42~59 kg,随机分为布托啡诺组(B组)、舒芬太尼组(S组)和对照组(N组),每组各60例。B组给予布托啡诺20μg/kg(总量不大于2 mg);S组给予舒芬太尼0.2μg/kg、N组给予同容积的生理盐水,1 min后三组患者均静注依托咪酯0.3 mg/kg,注射时间30 s,并持续观察2 min,观察痉挛发生情况和评估严重程度。结果:诱导期间三组患者的BP、HR差异无统计学意义,所有患者Sp O297%;与N组比较,B组、S组患者肌阵挛1、2、3级例数明显减少,肌阵挛发生率明显降低(P0.05)。结论:预注20μg/kg布托啡诺可有效减少依托咪酯诱导时导致的肌阵挛发生。     

依托咪酯配伍硫酸镁在临床麻醉中的应用研究进展

依托咪酯是非巴比妥类的静脉麻醉药,对呼吸和循环影响轻微,但是依托咪酯有注射痛、肌阵挛、术后恶心呕吐、抑制肾上腺皮质功能等不良反应,尤其肌阵挛的发生率较高.临床上有许多药物可用于抑制依托咪酯引起的肌阵挛,例如阿片类、苯二氮艹卓类,但易引起术后呼吸抑制和苏醒延迟.与以上药物相比,硫酸镁既不会引起呼吸抑制,也不会产生镇静作用,更不会引起苏醒延迟.硫酸镁是否能够降低依托咪酯引起肌阵挛的发生率以及合适剂量,值得临床进一步研究与探讨.本研究就依托咪酯和硫酸镁各自的药理作用特点和临床应用进行综述,探讨依托咪酯配伍硫酸镁在临床麻醉中应用的可能性.     

SGCE基因变异致儿童肌阵挛肌张力障碍综合征临床特点及基因分析

目的探讨SGCE基因变异导致儿童期起病的肌阵挛肌张力障碍综合征患儿的临床特点及基因分型.方法收集2018年5月至2019年10月首都医科大学附属北京儿童医院神经内科和北京大学第一医院儿科共同收集的9例经全外显子组测序方法以及多重链接依赖的探针扩增技术确诊的SGCE基因变异导致的肌阵挛肌张力障碍综合征患儿的临床资料,并对患儿进行随访,对临床特点及基因变异结果进行回顾性总结分析.结果9例患儿中男4例、女5例,起病年龄1岁~3岁2月龄.首发症状为肌阵挛者4例,肌张力障碍者5例.病程中,9例均有肌阵挛症状,8例有肌张力障碍症状.8例肌阵挛表现为双上肢不自主抖动.6例病程中曾有下肢突然抖动一下,导致步态不稳甚至跌倒.肌张力障碍症状表现为行走姿势异常,其中5例右下肢受累,3例左下肢受累.3例有阳性家族史.9例患儿智力发育均正常.发作期及发作间期视频脑电图未见明显异常,肌电图及头颅磁共振成像正常.基因结果示9例携带SGCE基因变异,其中3例为移码变异,2例为无义变异,2例为错义变异,1例为大片段缺失变异,1例为剪切位点变异;7例为遗传性变异,均为父源,2例为新生变异.治疗上,8例加用美多芭口服,6例肌阵挛较前有所减少,走路姿势不同程度改善.4例加用硝西泮,2例有效.结论SGCE基因变异可导致肌阵挛肌张力障碍综合征,多在幼儿期或学龄前期起病,肌阵挛和肌张力障碍均可为首发症状.非癫痫性肌阵挛是其突出症状,且有上肢优势特点.绝大多数病程中伴肌张力障碍,部分肌张力障碍可自行缓解.SGCE基因为母源印记基因,遗传性变异多为父源.     

依托咪酯所致肌阵挛机制与药物防治

背景 依托咪酯麻醉诱导引起肌阵挛日益引起关注,其相关机制尚不清楚. 目的 就依托咪酯诱导肌阵挛的预防策略进行综述,为临床上对该副作用预防策略的选用提供参考. 内容 综述依托咪酯诱导肌阵挛的发生机制、易发因素、预防药物及方法,综合对比各种方法的利弊. 趋向 依托咪酯是一种经典的静脉麻醉药,尤其适合老年人或存在心血管疾病血流动力学不稳定的患者,只有了解其诱导肌阵挛的发生机制和预防策略,才能有效避免或减少肌阵挛的发生,为临床提供更加安全有效的用药指南.