Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis following acute COVID-19 infection.

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new illness caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With the increasing number of confirmed cases and the accumulating clinical data, a broad spectrum of neurological complications has been reported in the literature, including encephalopathy, stroke, Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningo-encephalitis, acute necrotizing hemorrhagic encephalopathy, and inflammatory central nervous system syndromes. Here, we describe the case of a 38-year-old woman presenting with longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis, revealed by bilateral lower limb weakness, decreased sensation below the Th4 level and urinary retention, and occuring 15 days after she had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Mobius syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder: a case report.

Background: Mobius syndrome is characterized by a bilateral congenital paralysis of the facial and abducens nerves which leaves the subject with an expressionless "mask-like" face.

Subjects And Methods: Based on a literature review and a case discussion of an adult patient with Mobius syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, initially undiagnosed and confused with a psychotic disorder, we will discuss the influence of Mobius syndrome in psychiatric evaluations.

Results: The lack of facial expressiveness and non-verbal emotional interactions may influence psychiatric evaluations and result in misdiagnosis and the inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics.

Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Dyskinesia as the Presenting and Only Manifestation of Multiple Sclerosis after Eighteen Months of Follow-Up.

Other than tremor, movement disorders are uncommon in multiple sclerosis. Among these uncommon clinical manifestations, paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia is the most frequently reported. It is characterized by episodic attacks of involuntary movements that are induced by repetitive or sudden movements, startling noise or hyperventilation.

Neuroprognostication after adult cardiac arrest treated with targeted temperature management: task force for Belgian recommendations.

The prognosis of patients who are admitted to the hospital after cardiac arrest often relies on neurological examination, which could be significantly influenced by the use of sedative drugs or the implementation of targeted temperature management. The need for early and accurate prognostication is crucial as up to 15-20% of patients could be considered as having a poor outcome and may undergo withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies while a complete neurological recovery is still possible. As current practice in Belgium is still based on a very early assessment of neurological function in these patients, the Belgian Society of Intensive Care Medicine created a multidisciplinary Task Force to provide an optimal approach for monitoring and refine prognosis of CA survivors.

EpiNet as a way of involving more physicians and patients in epilepsy research: Validation study and accreditation process.

Objective: EpiNet was established to encourage epilepsy research. EpiNet is used for multicenter cohort studies and investigator-led trials. Physicians must be accredited to recruit patients into trials.

Contrast-associated transient cortical blindness: three cases with MRI and electrophysiology findings.

Transient cortical blindness (TCB) is a rare but striking complication following contrast agent injection. TCB might be secondary to a direct toxicity of the contrast agent, leading to an osmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), with a preferential involvement of the posterior circulation and occipital cortex. We report a series of three patients with contrast medium-associated TCB (intra-arterial injection of non-ionic contrast agent during diagnostic cerebral angiography for two of them and coronary angioplasty for the other one).

Effect of a single dose of retigabine in cortical excitability parameters: A cross-over, double-blind placebo-controlled TMS study.

Background: Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) decrease the occurrence of epileptic seizures and modulate cortical excitability through several mechanisms that likely interact. The modulation of brain excitability by AEDs is believed to reflect their antiepileptic action(s) and could be used as a surrogate marker of their efficacy. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is one of the best noninvasive methods to study cortical excitability in human subjects.

Transcranial doppler assessment of cerebral perfusion in critically ill septic patients: a pilot study.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of Transcranial Doppler (TCD) in assessing cerebral perfusion changes in septic patients.

Methods: Using TCD, we measured the mean velocity in the middle cerebral artery (VmMCA, cm/sec) and calculated the pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI) and cerebral blood flow index (CBFi = 10*MAP/1.47(PI)) on the first day of patients' admission or on the first day of sepsis development; measurements were repeated on the second day.

Postoperative analgesic effect of transcranial direct current stimulation in lumbar spine surgery: a randomized control trial.

Background: Ultimately, the experience of pain derives from changes in brain excitability. Therefore, modulating the excitability of cortical areas involved in pain processing may become an attractive option in the context of multimodal analgesia during the postoperative period. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can reduce morphine consumption during the postoperative period after gastric bypass surgery.

Brain controls the heart: a case of ictal asystole.

Ictal asystole is a rare complication of epileptic seizures and is frequently unrecognized by non-neurologists. We describe a case of ictal asystole as first clinical manifestation of unknown temporal lobe epilepsy and we discuss epidemiologic, pathophysiologic and therapeutic features.

Unexplained syncopes: what place is there for the liaison psychiatry? Analysis of the first year of the Interdisciplinary Centre of Unexplained Faintness and Syncopes.

Introduction: The diagnostic process of syncopes remains an important and complex issue. In spite of everything, it is estimated that 20 to 30% of syncopes remain unexplained. The diagnosis of psychogenic syncope is estimated at 5.

An international pilot study of an Internet-based platform to facilitate clinical research in epilepsy: the EpiNet project.

Purpose: We created an epilepsy patient database that can be accessed via the Internet by neurologists from anywhere in the world. The database was designed to enroll and follow large cohorts of patients with specific epilepsy syndromes, and to facilitate recruitment of patients for investigator-initiated clinical trials.

Methods: The EpiNet database records physician-derived information regarding seizure type and frequency, epilepsy syndrome, etiology, drug history, and investigations.

Recommendations for the treatment of epilepsy in adult patients in general practice in Belgium: an update.

In 2008, a group of Belgian epilepsy experts published recommendations for antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment of epilepsies in adults and children. Selection of compounds was based on the registration and reimbursement status in Belgium, the level of evidence for efficacy, common daily practice and the personal views and experiences of the authors. In November 2011 the validity of these recommendations was reviewed by the same group of Belgian epilepsy experts who contributed to the preparation of the original paper.

Development of an electronic decision tool to support appropriate treatment choice in adult patients with epilepsy--Epi-Scope(®).

Background: Given the continuous knowledge progression and the growing number of available antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), making appropriate treatment choices for patients with epilepsy is increasingly difficult. While published guidelines help for separate clinical aspects, patients with a combination of specific characteristics may escape proper guidance. This study aimed to determine the appropriateness of AEDs for particular clinical variables and to offer treatment recommendations for adult patients with epilepsy in a user-friendly format for practicing neurologists.

Short- and long-lasting tinnitus relief induced by transcranial direct current stimulation.

A significant proportion of the population suffers from tinnitus, a bothersome auditory phantom perception that can severely alter the quality of life. Numerous experimental studies suggests that a maladaptive plasticity of the auditory and limbic cortical areas may underlie tinnitus. Accordingly, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been repeatedly used with success to reduce tinnitus intensity.

Recurrence of cluster headache with pramipexole.

Cluster headache (CH) is among the most painful headache disorders. There is still no unifying pathophysiological hypothesis to explain the trigeminal distribution, the circadian periodicity and the autonomic symptoms of the syndrome. We report the case of a patient with worsening of CH following administration of pramipexole for a restless legs syndrome (RLS).

Effect of tDCS with an extracephalic reference electrode on cardio-respiratory and autonomic functions.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used in human physiological studies and for therapeutic trials in patients with abnormalities of cortical excitability. Its safety profile places tDCS in the pole-position for translating in real-world therapeutic application. However, an episode of transient respiratory depression in a subject receiving tDCS with an extracephalic electrode led to the suggestion that such an electrode montage could modulate the brainstem autonomic centres.

Recommendations for the treatment of epilepsies in general practice in Belgium.

The large choice of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in Belgium complicates the selection of the appropriate product for the individual patient. International guidelines on the treatment of epilepsy have been published, but are not tailored to the Belgian situation. This publication presents recommendations from a group of Belgian epilepsy experts for the practical management of epilepsy in general practice in Belgium.

Standards of care for non-convulsive status epilepticus: Belgian consensus recommendations.

Non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) makes up around one-third of all cases of SE, affecting approximately 1,000 to 4,000 individuals per year in Belgium. Compared with convulsive SE, NCSE has received considerably less attention, is underdiagnosed and undertreated. However, if recognised, NCSE can however be treated successfully.