Use of non-invasive stimulation in movement disorders: a critical review.

Background: Noninvasive stimulation has been widely used in the past 30 years to study and treat a large number of neurological diseases, including movement disorders.

Objective: In this critical review, we illustrate the rationale for use of these techniques in movement disorders and summarize the best medical evidence based on the main clinical trials performed to date.

Methods: A nationally representative group of experts performed a comprehensive review of the literature in order to analyze the key clinical decision-making factors driving transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in movement disorders.

Safety of transcranial direct current stimulation in a patient with deep brain stimulation electrodes.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been investigated in movement disorders, making it a therapeutic alternative in clinical settings. However, there is still no consensus on the most appropriate treatment protocols in most cases, and the presence of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes has been regarded as a contraindication to the procedure. We recently studied the effects of cerebellar tDCS on a female patient already undergoing subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) for generalized dystonia.

Is transcranial sonography useful for diagnosing Parkinson's disease in clinical practice?

Objective: Transcranial sonography (TCS) is an emerging ancillary examination for diagnosing Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: To evaluate TCS features in patients with PD and its mimics, and establish their accuracy in predicting the final clinical diagnosis after follow-up.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 85 patients with an initial clinical suspicion of PD, atypical parkinsonism or essential tremor, all of whom underwent TCS.

Decisions about deep brain stimulation therapy in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease can be treated surgically in patients who present with motor complications such as fluctuations and dyskinesias, or medically-refractory disabling tremor. In this review, a group of specialists formulated suggestions for a preoperative evaluation protocol after reviewing the literature published up to October 2017. In this protocol, eligibility and ineligibility criteria for surgical treatment were suggested, as well as procedures that should be carried out before the multidisciplinary therapeutic decisions.

Therapeutic effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on neuropsychological symptoms of an elderly patient: A case report.

Although growing evidence points to the potential therapeutic effects of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), there is still no consensus on the most appropriate protocol to be used in specific neurological and neuropsychological symptoms. This case report evaluated the neuromodulatory therapeutic effects of two 15-day courses of tDCS on an elderly female patient, aged 78 years with mild neurocognitive disorder, chronic pain and depression-related symptoms. Results indicated an overall significant improvement of cognitive and executive functions, as well as reduction in both depression and chronic pain symptoms.

Brief considerations on the dispensation profile of the botulinum toxin type A by the Brazilian Unified Health System for treatment of dystonias: Datasus data.

Botulinum toxin injections are the most effective approach for the treatment of focal dystonia. Despite growing demand and clinical indications over the years, there are few reports or publications of its use and benefit to patients seen at the Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS (Unified Health System). Analyzing the Datasus data (Unified Health System Information Department of Brazilian Ministry of Health), it was noticed that in Brazil the percentage of dystonic patient benefited from this procedure is still low.

A randomized, double-blind trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder with three-month follow-up.

Recent findings indicate that the motor and premotor cortices are hyperexcitable in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The authors have performed the first randomized, double-blind clinical trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in OCD, with a 3-month follow-up. OCD patients (N=22) were assigned to either 2 weeks of active or sham rTMS to the supplementary motor area bilaterally.

Treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: II. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.

This article reports the recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Brazil, with special focus on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). It constitutes a revision and broadening of the 2005 guidelines based on a consensus involving researchers (physicians and non-physicians) in the field. The authors carried out a search of articles published since 2005 on the MEDLINE, LILACS and Cochrane Library databases.

Treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: I. Cognitive disorders.

This article reports the recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Brazil, with special focus on cognitive disorders. It constitutes a revision and broadening of the 2005 guidelines based on a consensus involving researchers (physicians and non-physicians) in the field. The authors carried out a search of articles published since 2005 on the MEDLINE, LILACS and Cochrane Library databases.

Stiff-person syndrome treated with rituximab.

Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare neurological condition consisting of progressive and fluctuating rigidity of the axial muscles combined with painful spasms. The pathophysiology of SPS is not fully understood, but there seems to be an autoimmune component. The use of rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting CD20 protein in the surface of mature B cells, for the treatment of SPS is a recent therapeutical approach showing promising results.

Relief of primary cervical dystonia symptoms by low frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation of the premotor cortex: case report.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the symptoms of a patient with primary segmental dystonia (PSD).

Method: 1200 TMS pulses at a frequency of 1Hz, over the premotor cortex, with an intensity of 90% of the motor threshold (MT), using an eight-shaped coil; a total of 5 sessions were carried out.

Results: A reduction of 50 percent in the neck subset of the Burke, Fahn and Marsden torsion dystonia scale (BFM) was observed in our patient.

Injections of botulinum toxin type a produce pain alleviation in intractable trigeminal neuralgia.

To report the effects of local injections of botulinum toxin type A regarding pain relief and long-term control in a patient with intractable trigeminal neuralgia. The patient was a 75-year-old man with trigeminal neuralgia in the left hemifacial region. His pain was unbearable and could not be controlled by carbamazepine, amitriptyline, or blocked by infiltration of a glycerol solution or phenol.

Lack of effect of botulinum toxin on cortical excitability in patients with cranial dystonia.

The aim of this study was to verify whether botulinum toxin (BTX)-induced clinical improvement of cranial dystonia is associated with changes in the cortical silent period (SP), a measure of cortical excitability. By transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), high-intensity stimuli were delivered with a round coil centered at the vertex during a maximal muscle contraction of the orbicularis oculi. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and SPs were obtained from surface electrodes placed over the orbicularis oculi muscle before and 2 to 3 weeks after BTX-A injection into the affected muscles in 10 patients with cranial dystonia and 8 age-matched control subjects.