The peripheral nerve: A neglected topic in Charcot's neurological work.

Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) did not show much interest in the peripheral nervous system and its associated pathologies. He found it difficult to place the peripheral nerve within his classification of disorders; it appeared to be an exception to his theories. Even the pathology that he described in 1886 with Pierre Marie (1853-1940), at the same time as Henry Tooth (1856-1925), and which is now known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy, was considered by Charcot to be a potential myelopathy.

Charcot and Léon Daudet and Charcot: A missed love story?

Biographies, articles, and meetings devoted to the founder of modern neurology, Jean-Martin Charcot, are typically dithyrambic, if not hagiographic. It seems that the striking professional and familial qualities of Charcot have erased any other characteristic of the person, and scratches on the Master image commonly have not been well accepted. With this in mind, it is interesting to present and evaluate the rather negative opinions on Charcot by the famous French writer Léon Daudet, who initially was very close to the Charcots through his father, Alphonse Daudet, and who wrote rather extensively on Charcot in his diary and memoirs.

Charcot's international visitors and pupils from Europe, the United States, and Russia.

The foundation by (1825-1893) of the Salpêtrière School in Paris had an influential role in the development of neurology during the late-nineteenth century. The international aura of Charcot attracted neurologists from all parts of the world. We here present the most representative European, American, and Russian young physicians who learned from Charcot during their tutoring or visit in Paris or Charcot's travels outside France.

Effectiveness, Safety and Patients' Satisfaction of Nabiximols (Sativex) on Multiple Sclerosis Spasticity and Related Symptoms in a Swiss Multicenter Study.

Cannabinoid oro-mucosal spray nabiximols is approved for patients with moderate to severe multiple sclerosis spasticity (MSS) resistant to other antispastic medications. Few real-world data are available on the effectiveness, safety and patients' satisfaction in MS patients treated with nabiximols as monotherapy. To investigate the effectiveness, tolerability and satisfaction of nabiximols in a real-life multicentric Swiss cohort as monotherapy or with stable doses of other antispastic medications, and explore clinical features which may predict treatment response.

Beasts and Gods: Hippocampal quarrels before memory.

The first description and naming of the hippocampus is usually credited to Arantius (c. 1530 - 1589), whose comparison of the swelling inside the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle to a seahorse (hippocampus) or silkworm (bombyx) was published in the 1587 edition of the Anatomicarum Observationum Liber. However, in the 17 century, the term hippocampus was rarely used and its precise anatomy remained a mystery.

Treatments in Neurology: The Winding Road from 1897 to 2022.

Background: For many years, neurology was seen as a purely observational discipline, focused on pathology and with little interest in treatments.

Summary: From the creation in 1897 of Monatsschrift für Psychiatrie und Neurologie, the forebear of European Neurology, to nowadays, there have been great changes in the paradigms and concepts of treatments in neurology. We present an overview of the evolution of neurological treatments from 1897 to 2022.

J.L. Prévost, Eye Deviation, and Early Steps in Space Lateralization: "Looking At or Away".

Conjugate deviation of the eyes toward side of lesion was recognized over a century ago as a manifestation accompanying hemiplegia, usually of apoplectic origin. While working on the services of Alfred Vulpian and Jean-Martin Charcot, Jean-Louis Prévost sparked international interest in the neurologic sign later named after him. His 1868 thesis represents the first systematic case series of patients with this ocular sign, observed in conjunction with head rotation toward the nonparalyzed side, which he called conjugate deviation (CD) of the eyes.

Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Desmoteplase.

Desmoteplase is a bat (Desmodus rotundus) saliva-derived fibrinolytic enzyme resembling a urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator. It is highly dependent on fibrin and has some neuroprotective attributes. Intravenous administration of desmoteplase is safe and well tolerated in healthy subjects.

Cerebral Hyperperfusion Syndrome and Related Conditions.

Cerebral vasoconstriction is a normal physiological response under determined conditions to preserve a normal cerebral blood flow. However, there are several syndromes, with impaired cerebral autoregulation and cerebral vasoconstriction, not related with infection or inflammation, which share the same radiological and clinical presentation. We review here the cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome and related conditions such as hypertensive encephalopathy, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome.

The Merging Tracks of Anosognosia and Neglect.

Anosognosia and hemineglect are among the most startling neurological phenomena identified during the 20th century. Though both are associated with right hemisphere cerebral dysfunction, notably stroke, each disorder had its own distinct literature. Anosognosia, as coined by Babinski in 1914, describes patients who seem to have no idea of their paralysis, despite general cognitive preservation.

Charcot, Janet, and French Models of Psychopathology.

Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893), thanks to his insight as a clinician can be said to be one of the precursors of scientific psychology. Charcot's 30 years of activity at La Salpêtrière hospital display an intellectual trajectory that decisively changed the idea of human psychology by favouring the emergence of two concepts: the subconscious and the unconscious. It was his collaboration with Pierre Janet (1859-1947), a philosopher turned physician, that led to this evolution, relying on the search for hysteria's aetiology, using hypnosis as a method of exploration.

The mysteries of hysteria: a historical perspective.

Jean-Martin Charcot started his main work on hysteria around 1870, until his death in 1893. Désiré Bourneville had triggered Charcot's interest in hysteria during his stay as an in his department, while Charles Richet's 1875 article on somnambulism was the trigger for Charcot to develop hypnotism. Charcot's collaborators Paul Richer, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, Paul Sollier, Joseph Babinski, Sigmund Freud and Pierre Janet subsequently became most famous in hysteria.

Neurology versus Psychiatry? Hallucinations, Delusions, and Confabulations.

Hallucinations, delusions, and confabulations are common symptoms between neurology and psychiatry. The neurological diseases manifesting with such symptoms (dementia, epilepsy, Korsakoff's disease, brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, migraine, right hemisphere stroke and others) would be the key to understand their biological mechanisms, while the cognitive sciences, neuropharmacology and functional neuroimaging would be the tools of such researches. It is possible to understand the perceptive rules of the mind and the mechanisms of the human consciousness based on these symptoms.

Hemineglect and Attentional Dysfunction.

Tracing the history of neglect is intriguing, as diverse terminologies have been used to characterize a multi-factorial disorder with rather startling manifestations. In part, heterogeneous terms may have hinted at distinct subtypes. Thus, different variants of hemi-inattention and neglect relate conceptually, but may be functionally dissociable.

Abstract Expressionists and Brain Disease.

Visual art is one of the means of non-verbal communication that bypasses cultural, societal, language and, more importantly, time differences. It allows for establishing a multilevel connection between the artist and art receiver. Production of visual art is a form of expression of emotions.

Arthur Rimbaud: "The Man with Wind Soles" - Riders' Osteosarcoma with Postamputation Stump Pain.

The famous poet Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) stopped writing poetry at 21 years and subsequently had a rather adventurous life mainly in the Arabic peninsula and Ethiopia. He died at 37 years, only a few months after the amputation of his right lower limb due to a developing tumor in the knee, which probably was an osteosarcoma in the lower third of the femur. His letters to his sister Isabelle suggest that he suffered from severe stump pain rather than phantom limb, but since he lived only shortly after surgery (he developed extensive carcinomatosis), one does not know whether a full phantom would have developed and how this would have affected his subsequent life.

Louis-Ferdinand Céline: From First World War Neurological Wound to Mythomania.

The writer Louis Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961) developed a personal style which changed twentieth century French literature. As an enlisted soldier in 1912, he was involved in the Great War and his right arm was severely wounded. After the war, he became a medical doctor and a writer who published his first novel, Voyage au bout de la nuit (Journey to the End of the Night), in 1932.

Dementia and Change of Style: Willem de Kooning - Obliteration of Disease Patterns?

The studies on the relation between artistic production, especially visual art, and brain function gave a basis to the development of neuroesthetics. Most of the information on brain artistic creativity comes from studies on brain disease in well-established visual artists. Brain disease may cause change, dissolution, or emergence of artistic creativity.

Joan Miró and Cyclic Depression.

Psychopathology has been closely related with artists. A link between creativity and a tendency to affective disorders has become widely accepted. Several studies have shown that artists suffer disproportionately high rates of mood disorders, particularly manic depression and major depression.