Multidetector computed tomography angiography to detect the cause of multiple brain infarctions.

Background: Multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) is useful to inspect cardiovascular pathologic changes with minimal invasiveness. Here we evaluated the usefulness of MDCTA to determine the cause of acute multiple brain infarction (AMBI).

Methods: AMBI was defined as multiple recent infarcts demonstrated on diffusion-weighted imaging.

Prevalence of subclinical coronary artery disease in ischemic stroke patients.

Background: Recently, ischemic stroke has emerged as a new coronary artery disease (CAD) risk equivalent. Our purpose is to study the prevalence of CAD in ischemic stroke patients compared with that in non-stroke patients.

Methods And Results: We measured coronary calcium score (CCS) in 151 ischemic stroke patients without known CAD (stroke group) and compared it with 151 age- and sex-matched non-stroke patients (control group).

High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone for the prophylactic treatment of cluster headache.

Background: Triptans are effective for immediate relief of episodic cluster headache (CH) but do not reduce the frequency of attacks. Intravenous bolus injection of corticosteroids like methylprednisolone (MP) has been reported to decrease the frequency of CH attacks. We validated the prophylactic efficacy of MP pulse therapy by monitoring CH recurrence over several years following treatment of six consecutive male patients (mean age: 38.

Twenty-one-year course of adult-onset Rasmussen's encephalitis and bilateral uveitis: case report.

We report the longitudinal history of a 48-year-old, right-handed woman with Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) who presented with seizures and cerebral atrophy confined to the left hemisphere, as well as with bilateral uveitis, during her 21-year disease course. Neurological symptoms included recurrent partial seizures with secondary generalized convulsions, reduced visual acuity of the left eye with optic atrophy, right hemianopsia, right hemiplegia and aphasia. MRI T2-weighted images revealed progressive atrophy and high signal intensity lesions localized in the left cerebral hemisphere.

Reduced cardiac uptake and enhanced washout of 123I-MIBG in pure autonomic failure occurs conjointly with Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to investigate myocardial uptake of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) in patients with pure autonomic failure (PAF), which has pathologic features in common with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

Methods: Six patients with PAF, 130 with IPD, 21 with DLB, 9 with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), 11 with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and 11 with multiple-system atrophy (MSA) underwent myocardial 123I-MIBG scintigraphy, as did 16 control patients.

Results: Resulting heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratios were significantly lower in patients with PAF, IPD, or DLB than in patients with CBD, PSP, or MSA and in the controls.

Dropped head syndrome in Parkinson's disease.

We determined the frequency of dropped head syndrome in Parkinson's disease (PD) in Japan and evaluated its clinical correlates. A total of 252 consecutive patients with PD who visited our hospital were studied. Dropped head syndrome was found in 15 patients (6.

[Psychoses in patients with Parkinson's disease; their frequency, phenomenology, and clinical correlates].

The frequency, phenomenology, and risk factors of hallucinations and delusions were investigated in 64 consecutive inpatients with Parkinson's disease. Fifty patients were admitted to our hospital with symptoms related to Parkinson's disease: psychiatric problems 27 (psychosis 22; anxiety 2; depression 2; mania 1): motor symptoms, 20 (wearing-off 5; akinesia 4; freezing 4; postural instability 4; dyskinesia 2; tremor 2; dystonia 1), and sensory symptoms, 3. Fourteen patients were admitted with other medical problems (pneumonia 4; cerebral infarction 3; bone fracture 3; lumbago 2; seizure 1; cat bite 1).