Rheumatoid meningitis in a patient with overlap syndrome: The usefulness of anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies determination in CSF.

Rheumatoid meningitis (RM) is a rare complication of rheumatoid arthritis that can manifest as stroke-like episodes. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman with a past history of overlap syndrome and clinical manifestations suggestive of amyopathic dermatomyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. She presented to the emergency department with sudden onset right-sided clumsiness and numbness, as well as a 2-week history of left hemicranial headache.

Spinal cord infarction: aetiology, imaging findings, and prognostic factors in a series of 41 patients.

Introduction: Spinal cord infarction is a rare disease with a high rate of morbidity. Its diagnosis can be challenging and controversy remains regarding the best treatment. Few case series have been published.

Spinal cord infarction: aetiology, imaging findings, and prognostic factors in a series of 41 patients.

Introduction: Spinal cord infarction is a rare disease with a high rate of morbidity. Its diagnosis can be challenging and controversy remains regarding the best treatment. Few case series have been published.

Non-severe immunosuppression might be associated with a lower risk of moderate-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in COVID-19: A pilot study.

The role of immunosuppression among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has not been elucidated and management may be challenging. This observational study included confirmed COVID-19 patients. The primary endpoint was the development of moderate-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

COVID-19 in Parkinson's disease: what holds the key?

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is more frequent in the elderly and increases the risk of respiratory infections. Previous data on PD and SARS-CoV-2 are scarce, suggesting a poor prognosis in advanced disease and second-line therapies.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study comparing patients with PD and COVID-19 and patients with PD without COVID-19 was conducted during the pandemic period in Spain (March 1st-July 31st 2020) in a tertiary university hospital.

Effectiveness and safety of perampanel monotherapy for focal and generalized tonic-clonic seizures: Experience from a national multicenter registry.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and tolerability of perampanel (PER) monotherapy in routine clinical practice for the treatment of focal onset and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS).

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observational study was conducted in patients aged ≥12 years treated with PER as primary monotherapy or converted to PER monotherapy by progressive reduction of background antiepileptic drugs. Outcomes included retention, responder, and seizure-free rate after 3, 6, and 12 months and tolerability throughout the follow-up.

Mnemonic discrimination in patients with unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy relates to similarity and number of events stored in memory.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is a neurological disorder associated with histopathological changes in different subfields of the hippocampus. These alterations have been associated with memory difficulties. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that these difficulties stem on mnemonic discrimination impairment due to a reduced ability to make similar representations more distinct, leading to an increased susceptibility to interference.

A novel ATTR L32V mutation causes familial amyloid polyneuropathy in a Bolivian family.

We report a new transthyretin (ATTR) gene c.272C>G mutation and variant protein, p.Leu32Val, in a kindred of Bolivian origin with a rapid progressive peripheral neuropathy and cardiomyopathy.

The syndrome of transient headache and neurological deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis mimicking an acute stroke.

Background And Purpose: The syndrome of transient headache and neurological deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis (HaNDL) can present as sudden onset of focal neurological deficits which are clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from an ischaemic stroke. Its diagnosis requires a lumbar puncture (LP), which contraindicates intravenous thrombolytic therapy (IV-tPA).

Methods: All patients referred to our stroke centre as a stroke code resulting in a final diagnosis of HaNDL syndrome from June 2005 to June 2015 were retrospectively analysed.

Substantia Nigra Echogenicity Predicts Response to Drug Withdrawal in Suspected Drug-Induced Parkinsonism.

Introduction: Response to drug withdrawal in patients with suspected drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) is of prognostic and therapeutic importance, but cannot be predicted solely on clinical information. The aim of this study was to validate SN hyperechogenicity (SN+) assessed by transcranial sonography as a predictor of response to drug withdrawal in this group of patients.

Methods: Patients were diagnosed according to previously published criteria and prospectively included in the study.

Sonography for diagnosis of Parkinson disease-from theory to practice: a study on 300 participants.

Objectives: Hyperechogenicity of the substantia nigra on transcranial sonography is used for diagnosing Parkinson disease (PD). Cutoff values for the substantia nigra echogenic area, defining substantia nigra hyperechogenicity, vary among ultrasound systems from different manufacturers. In this study we wanted to determine the cutoff criterion for a Toshiba (Tokyo, Japan) system and to assess its diagnostic value.

Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome and limbic encephalitis associated with GABAB receptor antibodies in CSF.

We report a case of a woman who had two consecutive autoimmune neurological disorders, including an opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) and limbic encephalitis (LE), with positive titers of GABAB receptor antibodies. The patient never developed seizures or had an underlying tumor after 4 years of follow-up.

Limbic encephalitis: a clinical-radiological comparison between herpetic and autoimmune etiologies.

Background: Herpetic (HE) and autoimmune (AE) encephalitis share clinical and radiological features. We compared both types of encephalitis with the aim of making a differential clinical-radiological pattern.

Materials And Methods: All cases with a clinical diagnosis of encephalitis who attended our hospital between 1999 and 2012 were reviewed.

Stroke mimics treated with thrombolysis: further evidence on safety and distinctive clinical features.

Background: Patients who present with symptoms mimicking ischaemic stroke (IS), but have a different diagnosis, are known as stroke mimics (SM). The necessity for rapid administration of intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute IS may lead to treatment of patients with conditions mimicking stroke. A variable proportion of patients with SM (1.

Neurology at the airport.

Objectives: Neurological problems are reported to be common in air travellers. The authors aimed to study neurological problems which might be associated with air traffic in a systematic way.

Methods: The authors analysed a prospective registry of all the patients referred from Madrid-Barajas International Airport to the emergency department of their tertiary university hospital (Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal), for whom a neurological consultation was required, during a period of 21 months.

Multiple sclerosis patients with anti-lipid oligoclonal IgM show early favourable response to immunomodulatory treatment.

Background And Purpose: Interferon beta and Glatiramer acetate are safe immunomodulatory treatments (IT) for multiple sclerosis (MS), but not always effective. New drugs are available, although they show more side-effects and unknown long-term safety profile. Anti-lipid oligoclonal IgM bands (OCMB) distinguish MS patients with early aggressive course.

[Massive cerebral infarction secondary to apoplexy due to pituitary adenoma].

Introduction: Pituitary apoplexy is a rare clinical entity. It is a rare cause of stroke, whose pathogenic mechanism has not been fully understood. Compression in intracavernous carotid artery and vasospastic mechanism have been described.

[Influence of the experience and of out-of-hospital stroke code in thrombolytic treatment of acute stroke].

Introduction: We present the experience for thrombolytic treatment using recombinant tisular plasminogen activator (rt-PA) at a university hospital. We analyze the influence of individual and collective acquired experience and of the activation of an out-of-hospital stroke code (OSC) on the delays to onset of treatment, number of patients treated and outcome.

Method: Prospective register of patients with ischemic stroke treated with rt-PA within the period 1/2004- 12/2006.

Influence of oligoclonal IgM specificity in multiple sclerosis disease course.

Oligoclonal IgM bands (OCMB) against myelin lipids predict an aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS) course. However, the clinical significance of OCMB without lipid specificity, present in other MS patients, remains unknown. We describe here a characterization of these antibodies and study their role in MS progression.

Accuracy of CSF and MRI criteria for dissemination in space in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Demonstration of lesion dissemination in space (DIS) and time (DIT) is necessary for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in clinically isolated syndromes (CIS). The McDonald criteria accepted two methods to demonstrate DIS. The fulfillment of at least three of four MRI Barkhof criteria (MRI-BC) or, alternatively, the finding of at least two MRI lesions on T2-weighted images (T2 lesions) plus the presence of oligoclonal IgG bands (OCGB) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

[Clinical variability and diagnostic controversies in CADASIL].

Cardiovascular risk factors are present in 85% of patients with stroke. However, up to 6%-15% of patients have a stroke secondary to unusual reasons such as systemic diseases, coagulation disorders, etc., and, in some cases, no reason can be identified even after performing an extensive study.