Spontaneous intracranial hypotension: a case series and literature review.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a condition of negative intracranial pressure resulting from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage from the dural sac and is a well-known cause of orthostatic headache. Diagnosis and management can be difficult, often requiring coordination between multiple disciplines. Low CSF pressure and diffuse meningeal enhancement on brain MRI are the major instrumental features of the classic syndrome.

Association between Delirium and Cognitive Impairment: Is there a Link?

Background: Delirium and dementia are both disorders involving global cognitive impairment that can occur separately or at the same time in the elderly.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the frequency, correlation, and relative risk between delirium and cognitive impairment in a prospective population study starting at the basal line (onset of delirium) over a period of five years. The secondary aim was to determine any possible correlation between the kind of delirium and a specific type of dementia.

Wearing off: A complex phenomenon often poorly recognized in Parkinson's disease. A study with the WOQ-19 questionnaire.

Background: 'Wearing off' refers to the phenomenology of movement disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD) that appears early and is much commoner than generally believed. It may be present in the form of either motor symptoms or non-motor symptoms.

Aim: To investigate the utility of wearing-off questionnaire (WOQ-19, Italian version) in the outpatient clinical practice to assess the suitability of different combinations of treatment, in various stages of PD.

Clinical and Imaging Study of Isolated and Mixed Rest and Action Tremor-Essential Tremor versus Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Some patients present an unusual association of both action tremor (AT) and rest tremor (RT) making the differential diagnosis between essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) difficult.

Aim: To investigate this particular clinical picture trying to focus on possible peculiar clinical inferences.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-three patients with atypical tremor syndrome were selected for the study.

Mild Encephalitis with a Reversible Splenial Lesion: A Clinical Benign Condition, often Underrecognized - Clinical Case and Literature Review.

Mild encephalitis with reversible lesion in the splenium is a clinicoradiological syndrome characterized by a variegated symptomatology with a solitary mass in the central portion of the splenium of the corpus callosum. Complete spontaneous resolution is the hallmark of this syndrome, though its pathogenesis is still unknown. We describe the clinical picture of a 51-year-old woman who developed a partial sensitive seizure, with MRI evidence of a lesion localized in the posterior portion of the corpus callosum.

Parkinson's disease and cerebrovascular disease: is there a link? A neurosonological case-control study.

Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) frequently occur in the elderly; however, CVD is not frequent in the PD population. The possible relationship between PD and CVD was studied with controversial findings. More specifically, it is unclear whether PD can be protective against the development of vascular disease.

Corneomandibular reflex: Anatomical basis.

Corneomandibular reflex is a pathological phenomenon evident in cases of severe brainstem damage. It is considered to be a pathological exteroceptive reflex, associated with precentro bulbar tract lesions. The sign is useful in distinguishing central neurological injuries to metabolic disorders in acutely comatose patients, localizing lesions to the upper brainstem area, determining the depth of coma and its evolution, providing evidence of uncal or transtentorial herniation in acute cerebral hemisphere lesions, and it is a marker of supraspinal level impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.

Pain perception in major depressive disorder: a neurophysiological case-control study.

Background: Depression and pain may sometimes be related conditions. Occasionally, depression may be associated with physical symptoms, such as back pain and headache. Moreover, depression may impair the subjective response to pain and is likely to influence the pain feeling.

Cognitive profiles in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients associated with Parkinson's disease and cognitive disorders.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is rapidly becoming one of the most common clinical manifestations affecting the elderly and represents an heterogeneous clinical syndrome that can be ascribed to different etiologies; the construct of MCI in Parkinson's disease (PD) (MCI-PD) is more recent but the range of deficits is still variable. Early recognition and accurate classification of MCI-PD could offer opportunities for novel therapeutic interventions to improve the natural pathologic course.

Objective: To investigate the clinical phenotype of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and in patients with PD and MCI (MCI-PD).

Rasagiline and rapid symptomatic motor effect in Parkinson's disease: review of literature.

Rasagiline is a monoamine oxidase type-B inhibitor used as monotherapy or in addition to levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Once daily administration of rasagiline makes it easy to use, and allows good compliance by patients and adherence to therapy. Several multicenter studies have noted the effectiveness of rasagiline on both motor and non-motor symptoms, which require a complex pharmacologic approach, such as cognitive disorders.

Cerebrospinal fluid and lumbar puncture: the story of a necessary procedure in the history of medicine.

The aim of our work was to investigate the different historical stages that led gradually to the discovery of the anatomical structures that form and contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), until the Quincke idea, to collect the liquid directly at the lumbar level delivering to humanity a diagnostic tool present and absolutely irreplaceable in everyday clinical practice. This is done through consultation of all the historical medical literature, together with the critical examination of the original articles when available in the most rigorous chronological and speculative order, which enabled knowledge advancement.

Sleep disturbance and cognitive disorder: epidemiological analysis in a cohort of 263 patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate and describe frequency and characteristics of sleep disorders in a large cohort of community dwelling persons with several degrees and typologies of cognitive disorders. 236 patients (78 men and 158 women) were enrolled with different subtypes of dementia: Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), mixed dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), respectively. The sleep disturbances evaluated were: insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), REM behavior disorder (RBD), restless legs syndrome (RLS), and nightmares.

Neurological complications of tick borne encephalitis: the experience of 89 patients studied and literature review.

Tick borne encephalitis (TBE) is an acute febrile syndrome that can be complicated with neurological symptoms ranging from mild meningitis to severe encephalomyelitis. The causative agent is a virus belonging to the family of flaviviruses. We have collected a series of 89 patients and compared the clinical course with the main data of the literature of TBE.