Tumor necrosis factor alpha serum levels and inflammatory response in acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: To assess the implication of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukine-6 (IL-6) in acute ischemic stroke and to correlate this with lesion size, vascular risk factors, and neurological impairment.

Methods: We included 70 patients consecutively admitted to the Department of 1st Neurology, Haydarpasa Numune Educational and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, between September 2001 and April 2002, with first-ever ischemic cerebral infarction within the first 24 hours from onset. The TNF-alpha, IL-6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and leukocytes were determined in plasma on admission.

Ischemic stroke in the vertebrobasilar system. Risk factors, etiology, and localization.

Objective: To investigate and determine the clinical findings, lesions, risk factors, and variety of etiology in Turkish patients suffering from vertebrobasilar ischemia.

Methods: The clinical, radiological, and prognostic features of patients with ischemic stroke in the vertebrobasilar system (VBS) are not homogeneous. The mechanism, localization, and severity of the vascular lesions and the presence of coexisting vascular risk factors influence the prognosis.

Cobalamine deficiency associated with neuropathy and oral mucosal melanosis in untreated gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

A 32-year-old woman was admitted with complaints of difficulty in walking and hypoaesthesia and tingling in her legs. She had short stature and brown-black hyperpigmentation, cheliosis, dental irregularities and scars in the axillary regions. Neurological examination revealed mild, symmetric, predominantly distal weakness of the legs; deep tendon reflexes were depressed.