Carbamazepine-induced toxic effects and HLA-B*1502 screening in Taiwan.

Background: Carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant and a mood-stabilizing drug, is the main cause of the Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and its related disease, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), in Southeast Asian countries. Carbamazepine-induced SJS-TEN is strongly associated with the HLA-B*1502 allele. We sought to prevent carbamazepine-induced SJS-TEN by using HLA-B*1502 screening to prospectively identify subjects at genetic risk for the condition.

Chromosome 9p21 genetic variants are associated with myocardial infarction but not with ischemic stroke in a Taiwanese population.

Background: Genetic variants on chromosome 9p21 confer a robust risk for coronary artery disease but inconsistent risk for stroke. This study investigated whether such genetic variants exert differential risks on myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke in a Taiwanese population.

Methods: The study recruited 425 MI patients, 687 patients with ischemic stroke, and 1377 healthy controls.

Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with ischemic stroke subtypes in Taiwan.

The aim of this study was to clarify whether the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) is related to ischemic stroke subtypes in Taiwan's Chinese population. Using the classification of Cerebrovascular Diseases III, 143 patients with lacunar infarction, 114 patients with atherothrombotic infarction, and 112 healthy controls were enrolled. APOE genotype was determined using polymerase chain reaction.

Cut-off values of blessed dementia rating scale and its clinical application in elderly Taiwanese.

Although the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale (BDRS), a clinical screening instrument, has been applied extensively, no suitable cut-off values and clinical application have been proposed, particularly in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the precursor of dementia. The BDRS, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) were administrated in people aged 65 years and above, who were enrolled from southern Taiwan with multistep stratified random sampling and followed-up for 2 years. All subjects (total number = 3,027), with new onset of MCI (defined as CDR = 0.

Relationship between event-related potentials and frontal-subcortical dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.

Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been determined to be due to the interruption of frontal-subcortical neural circuits. To evaluate which kind of frontal-subcortical dysfunction may be present and the relationship of this dysfunction with P300 in PD patients, non-demented PD patients and controls were rendered for comprehensive Frontal Test Battery and P300 assessments. PD patients manifested significantly with frontal dysfunction and revealed a good correlation between P300 and executive dysfunction.

Simple and sensitive liquid chromatographic method with fluorimetric detection for the analysis of gabapentin in human plasma.

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatographic method is described for the quantitative analysis of gabapentin in human plasma. Gabapentin (GBP) is an anticonvulsant and widely used in the treatment of epilepsy. No peculiar chromophore is available on gabapentin moiety for direct analysis by absorption spectrophotometry.

Cognitive dysfunction after acute lacunar infarct.

Vascular dementia and vascular cognitive impairment have attracted more attention recently due to their association with increased risk of death and institutionalization. The purpose of the present study was to detect and identify the characteristics of cognitive impairments during the early stage of lacunar stroke. The subjects consisted of 23 consecutive first-ever acute lacunar infarction patients who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Taiwan, from November 2001 to October 2002.

Tuberculous meningitis with initial manifestation of isolated oculomotor nerve palsy.

Tuberculous meningitis (TB meningitis) is a subacute meningitis known for its various form of initial manifestations, which often make early diagnosis difficult. The present case report demonstrates a patient with TB meningitis, who had initial manifestation of isolated right oculomotor nerve palsy. High vigilance is needed in diagnosing TB meningitis.

Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in ischemic cerebrovascular diseases and vascular dementia patients in Taiwan.

This study aims to clarify the association between apolipoprotein E gene (ApoE) polymorphism, ischemic cerebrovascular diseases (ICVD) and vascular dementia (VaD) in Taiwan Chinese. 277 patients with ICVD, 49 patients with probable VaD and 112 controls were recruited for this study. Distributions of ApoE epsilon4 carriers and allele frequencies were 28.