Efficacy of long-term continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion in advanced Parkinson's disease with motor fluctuations: a multicenter study.

Continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion (CSAI) is, at present, an alternative option for advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) with motor fluctuations. We studied the evolution of patients with PD and severe motor fluctuations long-term treated with CSAI. We reviewed data from 82 patients with PD (mean age, 67 +/- 11.

[Hemifacial spasm: over 10 years of treatment with botulinum toxin].

Introduction: The short-term beneficial and adverse effects of treatment with botulinum toxin (BT) in hemifacial spasm (HS) are well documented, but this is not the case with its long-term derivatives. AIMS. To describe the characteristics, the dose development, the side effects and the reason for giving up therapy in patients who have been on BT treatment for more than 10 years.

[Early-onset Parkinsonism. A report on a Spanish series].

Introduction: Early-onset Parkinsonism is a condition that has received little attention from researchers due to its low incidence and prevalence. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional, multi-centre study in order to obtain a representative sample of the Spanish population.

Patients And Methods: The study involved 92 Spanish patients who had been diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson's disease that began before the age of 40 years and these patients were divided into two groups: group 1, which consisted of 86 patients, with an age at onset of between 21 and 40 years (early-onset Parkinsonism), and group 2, with an age at onset of below 21 years, which included a total of 6 patients (juvenile Parkinsonism).

[Painful tic convulsif and Botulinum toxin].

Introduction: Painful tic convulsif is a rare disorder that associates trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and ipsilateral hemifacial spasm (HFS). These two disorders are the most common examples of hyperactive cranial rhizopathy and are frequently caused by vascular compression of these cranial nerves at the nerve root entry and exit zone in the brain stem, which leads to paroxysmal ephaptic transmission.

Case Reports: We report the cases of four patients with combined TN and HFS out of a total of 247 patients with HFS who were treated with botulinum toxin.

[Bilateral hemifacial spasm: eight personal case reports].

Introduction: Hemifacial spasms consist in tonic clonic, involuntary, asymmetrical and asynchronous contractions in the territory innerved by the facial nerve. Several different causes may give rise to this disorder, the most frequent of which are vascular abnormalities in the cerebellopontine angle. Its clinical features and electrophysiological studies are commonly used in diagnosis and its etiological diagnosis is most frequently performed by means of magnetic resonance imaging.

[Check-ups with brain SPECT in electroconvulsive therapy in patients with severe drug-resistant depressive episodes and Parkinson's disease].

We have studied three women (66,72 and 72 years) with Parkinson's disease of 11, 6 and 21 years of evolution and drug-resistant severe depressive episodes treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). We have performed a brain SPECT (99mTc-HMPAO) before and after the ECT. The clinical improvement of the severe depressive episodes were measured using the Hamilton score.

[Urinary alterations in multiple sclerosis].

Introduction: The neurourological disorders of the lower urinary tract occur during the course of multiple sclerosis. Their expression as irritative, obstructive or mixed symptoms, in accordance with the standardized terminology of the International Continence Society, varies in each patient and also during the course of the illness of each patient. These vesicourinary disorders reduce the quality of life and their complications worsen the prognosis for survival if they are not suitably treated.

[Urinary and sexual alterations in multiple sclerosis].

Urinary and sexual symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are frequent, although this question has scarcely been addressed in our country. The aim of this study is to prospectively evaluate the presence of such symptoms in 77 MS patients. We have valued the neurological involvement and the degree of functional disability through the Minimum Dossier of Disability for Multiple Sclerosis.

[Neurologic changes in patients with multiple sclerosis].

Objective: To evaluate the presence of urinary symptoms in 77 patients with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: The neurological compromise and the degree of functional disability were evaluated through the Minimum Dossier of Disability for Multiple Sclerosis. The pertinent data for the urinary symptoms were collected through a directed survey.

[Huntington disease: clinical and genetic study in a Spanish population].

Clinical and genetic data of 18 unrelated patients diagnosed of Huntington's disease were studied. We examined age of onset, form of presentation, years of evolution and scores on the Shoulson-Fahn function scale, the Myers disability scale and the mini-mental state examination. The 3 clinical parameters show a linear correlation with years of disease duration.