Quality care assessment of Parkinson's disease at a tertiary medical center.

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of care of Parkinson's disease patients based on the 10 American Academy of Neurology quality measures. We reviewed 1,367 charts and final analysis was completed on 123 subjects. A total of 1,461 outpatient neurology visits from 33 neurologists were reviewed and 544 were included in the final analysis.

Stem cell transplantation into the intraventricular space via an Ommaya reservoir in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Stem cells have been highlighted for a possible clinical trial in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and have been employed in SOD1 mice and ALS patients. Human trials for stem cell transplantations have used intrathecal route by lumbar puncture. However, stem cells introduced via lumbar injection would tend to sink downwards rather than ascending to the brain and cervical and thoracic spinal cord.

Pregabalin resolves refractory aparathyroid paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the potential efficacy of pregabalin as treatment for aparathyroid paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis.

Method: This was a case report.

Results: A 54-year-old white woman presented with a 20-year history of choreoathetoid and ballistic movements, which had developed as the result of parathyroidectomy.

Fantasies about stem cell therapy in chronic ischemic stroke patients.

Stem cell therapy (SCT) has been proposed for the treatment of neurological disorders. Although there is insufficient clinical evidence to support its efficacy, unproven SCTs are being performed worldwide. In this study, we investigated the perspectives and expectations of chronic ischemic stroke patients and physicians about SCTs.

Fatal varicella-zoster virus vasculopathy associated with adalimumab therapy.

Objective: To describe the case of a patient who had been receiving adalimumab for rheumatoid arthritis and died of varicella-zoster virus vasculopathy with multifocal cerebral hemorrhage.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Intermittent parathyroid hormone administration converts quiescent lining cells to active osteoblasts.

Intermittent administration of parathyroid hormone (PTH) increases bone mass, at least in part, by increasing the number of osteoblasts. One possible source of osteoblasts might be conversion of inactive lining cells to osteoblasts, and indirect evidence is consistent with this hypothesis. To better understand the possible effect of PTH on lining cell activation, a lineage tracing study was conducted using an inducible gene system.

Association between serum stromal cell-derived factor-1α and long-term outcome of acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) provides neurotrophic support to neurons. In this prospective study, we investigated the association between SDF-1α and long-term outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: This study included 104 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke, identified within 24 h of symptom onset.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the thymus: a two-case report.

A large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the thymus is a very rare malignant tumor that has a very poor prognosis. The detailed clinical features of LCNEC are still unknown, including the long term prognoses and the definitive modalities of the treatment for LCNEC of the thymus. We are reporting 2 cases of an enlarged LCNEC of the thymus, both of which were diagnosed and treated by surgical resection followed by postoperative adjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

Screening of the SOD1, FUS, TARDBP, ANG, and OPTN mutations in Korean patients with familial and sporadic ALS.

About 5% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases are known to be familial (fALS) and mutations in SOD1 and other genes are found in more than 20% of fALS patients and in 2%-4% of apparently sporadic ALS (sALS) cases. However, there are few reports on the proportion of fALS and the frequency of mutations in Korean patients with ALS. We screened mutations in the SOD1, FUS, TARDBP, ANG, and OPTN genes in 258 consecutively enrolled Korean patients with ALS from October 2006 to November 2010.

Identification of ambiguous cubeb fruit by DART-MS-based fingerprinting combined with principal component analysis.

The cubeb berry has been used as a spice and medicinal herb since medieval times. In China, Litsea cubeba (Lauraceae) has been designated as the cubeb tree; in other countries, Piper cubeba (Piperaceae) is considered as the cubeb. Since most cubeb berries in the Korean market are imported from China, there is a need to develop an efficient analytical method for the identification of the origin of cubeb fruit.

Pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery mimicking tumorous condition.

Diagnosing pseudoaneurysms of the popliteal artery is usually straightforward in physical examinations and imaging findings. However, when a pseudoaneurysm shows a soft tissue mass with adjacent osseous change, it can mimic a bone tumor or a soft tissue sarcoma. We present a case of a 65-year-old man who had a pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery showing soft tissue mass and insinuating into the intramedullary cavity of the tibia.

N-Acetyl-l-Cysteine Attenuates Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury-Induced Allodynia and N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Activation in Rats.

Background: Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) are believed to be involved in pathogenic mechanisms that underlie complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS-I), the role of ROS in the central mechanism of CRPS is not fully understood.

Objective: In this study we investigated whether ROS scavenger N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) was capable of attenuating mechanical allodynia and whether pain was decreased through modulating N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation in a chronic postischemia pain (CPIP) animal model that mimics the symptoms of CRPS-I.

Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to 5 different groups: (1) sham rats and CPIP rats treated with (2) vehicle; (3) NAC 30 mg/kg; (4) NAC 100 mg/kg; and (5) NAC 300 mg/kg intraperitoneally at 15 minutes before reperfusion.

Simulation of ionisation clusters formed in nanometric volumes of the deoxyribose-substitute tetrahydrofuran.

Purpose: To investigate the implications of using interaction cross sections of liquid water for the target volume when studying radiation action at the DNA level by particle track structure simulations.

Materials And Methods: Absolute interaction cross sections for low energy electrons between 20 eV and 1 keV were measured for tetrahydrofuran (THF), which is a substitute for deoxyribose. From these data a complete interaction cross section data set was derived and integrated in our PTB Track structure Monte Carlo code 'PTra'.

Effect of adhesive on the morphology and mechanical properties of electrospun fibrous mat of cellulose acetate.

Ultrafine fibers of cellulose acetate/poly(butyl acrylate) (CA/PBA) composite in which PBA acted as an adhesive and CA acted as a matrix, were successfully prepared as fibrous mat via electrospinning. The morphology observation from the electrospun CA/PBA composite fibers, after treatment with heat hardener, revealed that the fibers were cylindrical and had point-bonded structures. SEM, FT-IR spectra, Raman spectra, TGA analysis, and mechanical properties measurement were used to study the different properties of hybrid mats.

Cultured human chromaffin cells grafted in spinal subarachnoid space relieves allodynia in a pain rat model.

Background: Implantation of xenogenic chromaffin cells into the spinal subarachnoid space can produce analgesia in neuropathic pain models. However, transplantation of xenogeneic chromaffin cell has a potential risk of viral or bacterial infections from animals to humans including encephalopathy due to prion transmission. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of developing a homogeneic source of therapeutic chromaffin cells.

Brief review of the role of glycogen synthase kinase-3β in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is known to affect a diverse range of biological functions controlling gene expression, cellular architecture, and apoptosis. GSK-3β has recently been identified as one of the important pathogenic mechanisms in motor neuronal death related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Therefore, the development of methods to control GSK-3β could be helpful in postponing the symptom progression of ALS.

A novel codon4 mutation (A4F) in the SOD1gene in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

We identified a novel missense mutation in the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene in a 47-year-old woman with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The heterozygous mutation, in exon 1 of the SOD1 gene, is a GC to TT transversion in nucleotide positions 13 and 14 leading to an alanine 4 to phenylalanine (A4F) amino acid substitution. It was found in six family members.

In vivo expression of Osterix in mature granule cells of adult mouse olfactory bulb.

Osterix (Osx) has been identified as an osteoblast-specific transcription factor that is required for skeletogenesis. Here, we examined the expression of Osx in non-skeletal tissues. Together with a high expression in bones, Osx was expressed in the mouse brain, and its expression gradually increased during postnatal developmental periods.