[Levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: myths and realties].

In recent years we have witnessed a growing tendency to opt for the use of dopamine agonists (DA) as treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), with the aim of delaying as far as possible the development of fluctuations and dyskinesias. Yet, levodopa continues to be the most effective antiparkinson drug and is probably the one that improves the greatest number of symptoms of the disease. This article reports on the results of a comprehensive review of the literature dealing with the benefits and risks of levodopa treatment in patients with PD which was conducted by a group of expert neurologists and members of the Spanish Neurology Society's Movement Disorder Group.

[Evolution of severe pain associated to spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma].

Introduction: Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is an infrequent disease, whose clinical presentation is very characteristic, with severe pain in region corresponding to the metameres affected, which orients its diagnosis and early treatment.

Clinical Cases: Three clinical cases that occurred during 2003 and 2004 are presented. All three were middle- aged men, with spondyloarthrosis signs, posterolateral cervical location of hematoma, which debuted with severe cervical and cervicobrachial pain.

[Vascular hemichorea: clinical-radiological correlation].

Introduction: Hemichorea is uncommon in acute cerebrovascular accidents. Its appearance is in relation to the contralateral involvement of the basal ganglia, particularly the striate ganglion. With current neuroimaging techniques it is possible to identify the lesions responsible for these abnormal movements.