Bronchorrhea following Stroke.

Background: Stroke-induced excessive bronchial secretion is not rare, but seldom discussed. This study emphasizes its recognition, pathophysiology and treatment.

Methods: We prospectively collected data from 19 consecutive stroke patients with bronchorrhea who were admitted within 2 days of stroke onset.

[Re-evaluation of using acupuncture needle as sphenoidal electrode in temporal lobe epilepsy].

In 1965, Feng of the Peking Union Hospital published an article entitled "Innovation in electroencephalography: the use of acupuncture needles as sphenoidal electrodes". It was a preliminary report, but surprisingly EEG records in the figures did not show definite spikes or sharp waves in the sphenoidal leads. In 1983, Feng and his colleagues reported a summary of 2,000 cases studied with acupuncture needle sphenoidal electrodes.

Central hyperthermia in acute stroke.

Background: Central hyperthermia is an unresolved riddle; this study tries to define its characteristics.

Methods: Seventy-four previously healthy patients who developed hyperthermia (> or =39 degrees C) within 24 h after stroke onset were enrolled. The lesion sites, nature of stroke, and clinical features were studied.

Wilson's disease in Taiwan.

Wilson's disease (WD) has been studied in Taiwan since 1960s. The study can be divided into three periods: (1) The first period was 1960s, represented by the work of Dr. JB Tu who worked in the U.

[Eradication of opium smoking in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945)].

Eradication of opium smoking during the Japanese colonial period is one of the most proud medical accomplishments in Taiwan. The mission was accomplished mainly due to a governmental policy of gradual prohibition in 1897 and the establishment of the Government Center Hospital for Opium Addicts in 1930. Professor Tsungming Tu, medical director of the Government Center Hospital, was responsible for the unique medical treatment of opium addiction there.

[Centennial of the nobel prize for Golgi and Cajal--founding of modern neuroscience and irony of discovery].

In 1906, Golgi and Ramón y Cajal shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system". However, it was an unusual occasion in the history of Nobel Prize award because their views on the structure of the nervous system were not only different but even opposite, creating the "storm center of histological controversy". Furthermore, the new staining method Cajal had employed to study the nervous system was developed by Golgi, creating an irony of discovery.

Axonal polyneuropathy after acute dimethylamine borane intoxication.

Objective: To study a patient with axonal polyneuropathy due to acute dimethylamine borane (DMAB) intoxication.

Patient: Confusion and drowsiness in the acute stage, followed by cognitive impairments and polyneuropathy, are reported in a chemical factory worker after acute exposure to DMAB.

Results: Nerve conduction studies indicated axonal polyneuropathy, particularly in the motor nerves.

Congenital myotonic dystrophy: variability in muscle involvement and histopathological process.

In order to understand the involvement of specific muscles in congenital myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), we studied the clinical manifestations, and the genetic effects on various tissues in 2 siblings with congenital DM1. The distal leg muscles were more severely involved than the thigh muscles, as seen in the skeletal muscle magnetic resonance imaging. Molecular genetic analysis of the myotonic dystrophy type 1 protein kinase showed an elongation of the CTG triplet repeats between 850 and 1400 in the leukocytes, skin, fat, tendon, and muscles.

[Neurological diseases in late 19th century Taiwan--medical reports of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs].

Western medicine was introduced to Taiwan in 1865 when Dr. James L. Maxwell, a missionary doctor of the English Presbyterian Church, established a hospital in nowadays Tainan.

Central nervous system effects in acute thallium poisoning.

We report the central nervous system manifestations, neuropsychological studies and brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) findings of two patients with acute thallium intoxication. Neurologically the patients suffered from confusion, disorientation, and hallucination in the acute stage, followed by anxiety, depression, lack of attention, and memory impairment, in addition to peripheral neuropathy. Neuropsychological tests revealed an impairment of memory function, including reversed digital span, memory registration, memory recall, memory recognition, similarity, proverb reasoning, and verbal fluency.

Contribution of a snake venom toxin to myasthenia gravis: the discovery of alpha-bungarotoxin in Taiwan.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is now recognized as an autoimmune disorder in which antibodies to acetylcholine (ACh) receptor lead to impairment of neuromuscular transmission. The discovery of alpha-bungarotoxin by Chang and Lee in 1963 has played a crucial role in establishing the new concept of MG. However, isolation of bungarotoxins from the venom of Taiwan banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, was accomplished in the poorly funded and under equipped laboratory of the Department of Pharmacology, National Taiwan University, during the post-WWII period of economic depression and research isolation.

[Legendary Hwa Tuo's surgery under general anesthesia in the second century China].

In traditional Chinese medicine, Hwa Tuo (110 ? - 208 A.D.) is one of the most famous doctors.

Immunohistochemical study of skin nerve regeneration after toe-to-finger transplantation: correlations with clinical, quantitative sensory, and electrophysiological evaluations.

Cutaneous nerve regeneration following toe-to-finger transplantation was studied by immunohistochemical technique using antibody to protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) which is a specific neuronal marker.

Dopamine transporter binding study in differentiating carbon disulfide induced parkinsonism from idiopathic parkinsonism.

Long-term exposure to carbon disulfide (CS(2)) may induce parkinsonian features. There may be confusion in distinguishing between CS(2) parkinsonism and idiopathic parkinsonism, especially for workers who developed parkinsonian features in viscose rayon plants. We performed clinical examinations, and laboratory studies including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dopamine transporter (DAT) studies with (99m)Tc-TRODAT-1 brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in three workers who had long-term exposure to CS(2).

Dopamine transporter binding in chronic manganese intoxication.

Chronic exposure to manganese may induce parkinsonism similar to idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). However, clinical manifestations of manganism also have some features different from PD. The mechanisms of manganese-induced parkinsonism remain not fully understood.

Dopamine transporter binding in Wilson's disease.

Introduction: In Wilson's disease (WD), brain magnetic resonance images (MRI) show increased signal intensity in T2 weighted images in the lenticular nuclei, thalamus and brainstem, including the substantia nigra. A poor therapeutic response to levodopa in WD suggests the mechanism of a postsynaptic abnormality. However positron emission tomography studies show an involvement of the nigrostriatal presynaptic dopaminergic pathway.