What does epileptic nystagmus show us in cases presenting acute neurological symptoms?

Purpose: This study aims to determine the clinical significance of epileptic nystagmus in patients with acute neurological symptoms.

Method: The clinical findings of patients with documented epileptic nystagmus, their original video and EEG data, and cranial imaging and laboratory tests were analyzed retrospectively.

Results: 20 patients were included in the study and 21 epileptic nystagmus attacks were determined from patients' clinical and video-EEG recordings.

Vestibular impairment in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Objective: To find out if Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) patients, who have peripheral vestibular as well as peripheral somatosensory impairment, have worse postural balance than those who do not.

Methods: We studied 32 patients with various CMT phenotypes and genotypes. Vestibular function was measured with the video head impulse test (vHIT) which tests vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain from each of the six semicircular canals in response to rapid head rotations.

Vestibular impairment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a common, treatable, autoimmune peripheral neuropathy considered to produce imbalance by weakness and proprioceptive impairment rather than vestibular impairment. We measured semicircular canal vestibular function in 21 CIDP patients (15M/6F) by the video head impulse test and postural stability with a battery comprising the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance, the Berg Balance Scale, the Dynamic Gait Index, the Fall Efficiency Scale, and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale. Of the 21 patients, 16 had vestibular impairment, ranging from mild-affecting just a single semicircular canal, to severe-affecting all 6 canals.

The effects of the cerebral, cerebellar and vestibular systems on the head stabilization reflex.

The head stabilization reflex (HSR) is a brain stem reflex which appears in the neck muscles in response to sudden head position changes and brings the head to its previous position. The reflex mechanism has not been understood. The afferent fibers come from cervical muscle spindles, vestibular structures, and the accessory nerve, the efferents from the accessory nerve.

Telbivudine in liver transplant recipients: Renal protection does not overcome the risk of polyneuropathy and myopathy.

The recently reported benefit of telbivudine for renal function has not been systematically studied in long-term liver transplantation (LT) recipients who are at high risk for renal impairment. We aimed to examine whether switching lamivudine therapy to telbivudine could improve renal function in LT recipients who have impaired renal function. This single-center, prospective cohort study enrolled LT recipients who were on lamivudine for hepatitis B virus (HBV) prophylaxis and who had renal impairment for at least 1 year.

The relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia and erectile dysfunction: the role of autonomic hyperactivity.

Background/aim: To investigate whether autonomic nervous system (ANS) hyperactivity may be a potential cause for the relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and erectile dysfunction (ED).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four patients were recruited for this study. Complete physical examinations, urine analysis, uroflowmetry, and postvoid residual urine volume (PVRU) analysis were performed.

Molecular analysis in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy patients: identification of a novel mutation.

X linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive demyelination of the central nervous system, adrenocortical insufficiency and elevated levels of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). It is caused by mutations in ABCD1 gene located at Xq28. More than 1,300 mutations have been identified to date which is unique to each patient.

Effects of a Dynamic Warm-Up, Static Stretching or Static Stretching with Tendon Vibration on Vertical Jump Performance and EMG Responses.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term effects of static stretching, with vibration given directly over Achilles tendon, on electro-myographic (EMG) responses and vertical jump (VJ) performances. Fifteen male, college athletes voluntarily participated in this study (n=15; age: 22±4 years old; body height: 181±10 cm; body mass: 74±11 kg). All stages were completed within 90 minutes for each participant.

Myasthenia gravis and thymoma coexisting with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

We describe a 34-year old man presenting with subacute generalized myasthenic symptoms. His clinical features and laboratory investigations demonstrated both myasthenia gravis and myotonic dystrophy type 1. The computerized tomography of chest revealed anterior mediastinal mass.

Myoclonic status epilepticus in six patients without epilepsy.

Myoclonic status epilepticus (MSE) is defined as prolonged period of myoclonic jerks that are correlated with epileptiform discharges on EEG. We here describe clinical features and video-EEG records of six adult patients with MSE who did not have a prior diagnosis of epilepsy. In four out of six patients, MSE was precipitated by drugs.

Unilateral rhythmic testicular movements.

A male patient came to our clinic because of a continuous up and down movement of his right testis, which was present even during sleep. The nature and localization of the unilateral rhythmic cremasteric activity is investigated by electrophysiological methods. Investigations of the cremasteric muscles and genitofemoral nerve determined that the movement was similar to myokymia.

Sensory nerve conduction in branches of common interdigital nerves: a new technique for normal controls and patients with morton's neuroma.

In this article, a new electrodiagnostic approach is described for patients with Morton's neuroma. The new method is based on the anatomic fact that the two branches of the common plantar interdigital nerves innervate the lateral side of one toe and the medial side the next one. This study included 20 normal subjects (aged 28-58 years, 10 men and 10 women) and 4 patients with Morton's neuroma (aged 44-52 years, 4 women).

Withdrawal reflexes in adductor muscles elicited by electrical and magnetic stimulation of the obturator nerve.

The withdrawal reflex in the short head of the biceps femoris muscle after electrical stimulation of the sural nerve at the ankle has been investigated in numerous studies. These studies have described two distinct responses: early (R-II) and late (R-III). However, withdrawal reflex activity of the adductor muscles in the legs has not been studied systematically.

Morphology and innervation of the human cremaster muscle in relation to its function.

The electromyographic properties of the cremaster muscle (CM) are quite different from other skeletal muscles. It shows excessive spontaneous discharges, and the motor unit shape and firing frequency of the CM muscle differ from that of limb muscles. In this study, CM of six adult cadavers and six orchiectomy specimens were used to reveal the detailed histology of the muscle and provide an anatomophysiological explanation for these unusual electromyographic properties.

Sacrolumbar intersegmental reflex circuit in men and its relation to the ejaculatory process.

Objective: We aimed to investigate electrophysiologically the intersegmental reflex circuit from sacral to lumbar cord segments in normopotent adult men, in patients with spinal cord injury and in patients with premature ejaculation.

Methods: Reflex EMG activity of the cremasteric (CM) and bulbocavernosus (BC) muscles was recorded simultaneously by needle electrodes during electrical stimulation of the upper lumbar and sacral dermatomes, respectively. Thirty-three healthy male volunteers, 16 patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) at the thoracic or cervical levels, and 26 men with premature ejaculation (PME) were included in the study.

Anesthetic management of Guillain-Barré syndrome in pregnancy.

We report the case of a 23-year-old woman who was diagnosed with an axonal type of Guillain-Barré syndrome at 16 weeks' gestation. The patient had severe motor loss but she was treated effectively with intravenous immunoglobulin, and she underwent cesarean delivery with epidural anesthesia at full term.

Sensory conduction study of the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve.

Although neuropathies of the infrapatellar nerve (infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve, IPBSN) have been reported clinically, no electrophysiological method has been defined to evaluate IPBSN conduction. We therefore studied a total of 60 saphenous nerves and 60 IPBSNs from 36 volunteers. The IPBSN was stimulated medially with a surface electrode 2 cm below the patella.

Adductor T and H reflexes in humans.

In the belief that changes in the adductor reflex (AR) may be helpful in evaluating lumbar root and plexus lesions, expression of the AR was studied in 43 healthy human subjects. ARs elicited with an electronic reflex hammer were recorded from the inner side of the proximal thigh using needle and surface electrodes, and patellar reflexes (PRs) were recorded simultaneously. These reflexes were obtained by tapping the ipsilateral medial aspect of the knee, the contralateral patellar tendon, the ipsilateral and contralateral anterior superior iliac spines, and the Achilles tendon.

Electrophysiological evaluation of the genitofemoral nerve in patients with inguinal hernia.

Groin pain in the lower abdomen but including the ilioinguinal region is frequent after inguinal hernia operations, but the integrity of the nerves in this region, including the genitofemoral nerve (GFN), has not been investigated. We studied GFN motor conduction time to the cremasteric muscle (CM), the CM electromyogram (EMG), and the CM reflex in 30 patients with unilateral inguinal hernia who underwent herniorrhaphy and in 26 similar patients who had no surgical intervention. Among the 30 patients undergoing herniorrhaphy, 14 (47%) showed motor involvement of the GFN, whereas 6 of the 26 (23%) patients not treated surgically had involvement of the GFN.

Cutaneous silent periods of the vastus medialis evoked by the stimulation of lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.

Objective: Cutaneous silent period (CSP), which is a spinal reflex mediated by A-delta cutaneous afferents, is transient suppression of the electromyographic activity. In this study, our aim is to investigate CSPs of vastus medialis muscle (vm-CSP) evoked by the stimulation of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) in healthy controls and in patients with meralgia paresthetica (MP).

Methods: Twenty-one patients with MP (17 unilateral, 4 bilateral) and 27 healthy controls were included.