Oculomotor Dysfunction in Motor Neuron Disease.

Introduction: Though eye movements are relatively spared in motor neuron disease (MND), recent literature suggests patients may exhibit oculomotor dysfunction (OD). Frontal lobe involvement has been postulated based on oculomotor pathway anatomy and clinical overlap of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with frontotemporal dementia. We examined oculomotor characteristics in patients with MND presenting to an ALS Center, hypothesizing that patients with prominent upper motor neuron involvement or pseudobulbar affect (PBA) may demonstrate greater OD.

Do weather-related ambient atmospheric-pressure changes influence sleep disordered breathing?

Objective: High-altitude studies of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) show increases in apnea hypopnea indices with elevation gains. Hypoxic changes, rather than reductions in atmospheric pressure (AP), are thought to be the driving factor. Ambient pressure-related changes in SDB have not been extensively studied at low altitude.

Atmospheric pressure and seizure frequency in the epilepsy unit: preliminary observations.

Objective: To demonstrate that seizure frequency in patients undergoing video EEG telemetry does not correlate with atmospheric pressure (AP) changes.

Method: Historical automated AP data from weather stations in the Seattle Metropolitan area were correlated to seizure frequency and type in consecutive patients undergoing video EEG telemetry at our institution from April 2005-April 2006. Daily maximum, minimum and range of atmospheric pressures were correlated to daily number of events (seizures, pseudoseizures, unknown) per patient.