Subthalamic deep brain stimulation versus best medical treatment: a 12-year follow-up.

Purpose: Electrical stimulation of the sub-thalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is well established to alleviate motor fluctuations in advanced Parkinson's disease but little is known about its very long-term efficacy.

Methods: We followed over 12 years 15 parkinsonian patients having undergone STN-DBS and compared them to a matched group of 14 patients with best medical drug therapy. All had been considered as good candidates for surgery.

Dye-Sensitized Cu2 XSnS4 (X=Zn, Ni, Fe, Co, and Mn) Nanofibers for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activities of low-cost and noble-metal-free Cu2 XSnS4 (X=Zn, Ni, Fe, Co, and Mn) nanofiber catalysts have been investigated using triethanolamine as an electron donor and eosin Y as a photosensitizer under visible-light irradiation. The rates of hydrogen evolution by Cu2 XSnS4 (X=Zn, Ni, Fe, Co, and Mn) nanofibers have been compared with each other and with that of the noble metal Pt. The hydrogen evolution rates for the nanofibers change in the order Cu2 NiSnS4 >Cu2 FeSnS4 >Cu2 CoSnS4 >Cu2 ZnSnS4 >Cu2 MnSnS4 (2028, 1870, 1926, 1420, and 389 μmol g(-1) h(-1) , respectively).

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with cytochrome c oxidase deficiency caused by a novel mutation in the MTCO1 gene.

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency is one of the most common respiratory chain deficiencies. A woman was presented at the age of 18y with acute loss of consciousness, non-convulsive status epilepticus, slow neurological deterioration, transient cortical blindness, exercise intolerance, muscle weakness, hearing loss, cataract and cognitive decline. Muscle biopsy revealed ragged-red fibers, COX negative fibers and a significant decreased activity of complex IV in a homogenate.

Chorea associated with anti-phospholipid antibodies: case report.

A seventeen year-old boy developed left sided chorea in a few days, subsequently involving the four limbs. Although he presented a marfanoid phenotype, genetic analysis of the Fibrillin 1 was normal. The genes for familial chorea and Huntington's disease were also negative.

Epidemiology of major depression in Belgian parkinsonian patients.

Background: Epidemiological data concerning the prevalence of major depression in PD patients in Belgium is very scarce.

Methods: A total of 1086 patients with idiopathic Parkinsons disease were included in the analysis. The neurological evaluation of the patients was made by the Hoehn and Yahr Staging of Parkinsons disease, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living.