Interest of vestibular evaluation in sequentially implanted children: Preliminary results.

Introduction: An early acquired or congenital absence of sensory input of the vestibule will lead to severe delayed posturomotor milestones. Previous studies have proven modifications and even complete ipsilateral loss of vestibular function after unilateral cochlear implantation. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether sequential cochlear implantation has an impact on vestibular function.

Evaluation of a cochlear-implant processing strategy incorporating phantom stimulation and asymmetric pulses.

Objective: To evaluate a speech-processing strategy in which the lowest frequency channel is conveyed using an asymmetric pulse shape and "phantom stimulation", where current is injected into one intra-cochlear electrode and where the return current is shared between an intra-cochlear and an extra-cochlear electrode. This strategy is expected to provide more selective excitation of the cochlear apex, compared to a standard strategy where the lowest-frequency channel is conveyed by symmetric pulses in monopolar mode. In both strategies all other channels were conveyed by monopolar stimulation.

Lexical influences on auditory streaming.

Biologically salient sounds, including speech, are rarely heard in isolation. Our brains must therefore organize the input arising from multiple sources into separate "streams" and, in the case of speech, map the acoustic components of the target signal onto meaning. These auditory and linguistic processes have traditionally been considered to occur sequentially and are typically studied independently [1, 2].

Intradural chordoma without bone involvement. Case report and review of the literature.

Chordomas are most commonly of extradural origin and associated with bone destruction. The authors describe a rare case of an intradural chordoma. To the best of their knowledge, this is the first case in which multiple lesions were found intradurally without bone involvement; the lesions were disseminated through the thoracolumbosacral spinal cord and extended into the paraspinal muscles, and metastatic lesions in the cervical cord were also present.

[Postvaccinal encephalitis in adult. A case with anatomo-clinical report (author's transl)].

While post-vaccinal encephalitis in children is unfortunately well known, its occurrence in adults is rather exceptional. The calendar of a poly vaccination situated so close to each other, most probably account for such an evolution. The case reported concerns a man of 27 years who presented 10 days after a polyvaccination (7 vaccines in 2 months) altered consciousness, epileptic fits, right hemiplegia, vegetative dysfunctions and meningeal status.

Bismuth encephalopathy. A clinical and anatomo-pathological report of one case.

A fatal case of toxic encephalopathy due to ingestion of bismuth salts is reported in a twenty year old female patient. The clinical features were characterized by a confusional state, ataxia, myoclonic jerks, and epileptic seizures. Despite supportive therapy and administration of chelating agents, there was an irreversible evolution towards coma.

[Use of telethermography in patients with Holter's cerebrospinal fluid shunt].

The authors describe their experience with thermography in the study of the permeability of Holter's ventriculo-atrial shunt. Thermography has the advantage of permitting immediate visualisation and photographic documentation of the permeability. It appears that the thermographic findings show a good correlation with the functional state of the shunt in 88% of the cases examined.