Effect of ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers on homocysteine levels in essential hypertension.

Recent studies have shown that antihypertensive drugs like diuretics increase plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels. However, the effect of other antihypertensive drugs on plasma Hcy levels has not been tested extensively. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of antihypertensive therapy (AHT) on Hcy levels in essential hypertensive subjects.

Oxcarbazepine in children with nocturnal frontal-lobe epilepsy.

Nocturnal frontal-lobe epilepsy is characterized by paroxysmal arousals, motor seizures with dystonic or hyperkinetic features, and episodic nocturnal wanderings. Carbamazepine is effective for seizure control in some of these patients, but seizures may be refractory to multiple antiepileptic drugs. We report on eight children between ages 4-16 years with nocturnal frontal-lobe epilepsy who had a dramatic response to oxcarbazepine at standard recommended doses, some of whom were refractory to previous antiepileptic medications.

MTHFR A1298C polymorphism is associated with cardiovascular risk in end stage renal disease in North Indians.

The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T gene polymorphism has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease and in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, the relationship between MTHFR polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients on hemodialysis has not been examined. The aim of this study was to assess the association of polymorphisms of MTHFR gene with homocysteine (Hcy) and intimal medial thickness (IMT) in patients on hemodialysis.

Focal cortical malformations can show asymmetrically higher uptake on interictal fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET).

Interictal fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is a component of the presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable epilepsy, including patients with malformations of cortical development. The authors describe 3 cases of focal cortical malformations that displayed asymmetrically higher uptake on FDG-PET performed in the interictal state in patients undergoing evaluation for possible focal resection for refractory localization-related epilepsy. The evaluation included routine and prolonged video electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), interictal FDG-PET with concurrent EEG, and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Does albendazole affect seizure remission and computed tomography response in children with neurocysticercosis? A Systematic review and meta-analysis.

A recent trial suggested that albendazole reduces seizures in adults with neurocysticercosis. There is still no consensus regarding optimal management of neurocysticercosis in children. The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of albendazole in children with neurocysticercosis, by searching the Cochrane Databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and LILACS.

A distinct asymmetrical pattern of cortical malformation: large unilateral malformation of cortical development with contralateral periventricular nodular heterotopia in three pediatric cases.

Purpose: To describe a distinct asymmetrical pattern of cortical malformation with large focal malformations of cortical development (MCDs) and contralateral periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH).

Methods: We identified three patients with epilepsy and focal EEG abnormalities. Each patient underwent 1.

Cardiovascular risk factors in economically disadvantaged women: a study of prevalence and awareness.

This study examined the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among low-income women and assessed the level of awareness and attitudes about these risk factors in the community. A survey instrument was developed and administered by a single researcher to a convenience sample of women in health clinics and nonclinical community settings. These settings included: an academic clinic, community clinics, women's shelters, free meal sites, community centers, public housing units, and private homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

CA3 neuronal degeneration follows chronic entorhinal cortex lesions.

Entorhinal cortex lesions are a common experimental paradigm to study memory function and neural plasticity after hippocampal deafferentation. The long term consequences of such lesions are of particular interest both in the context of these models and because pathological changes of Alzheimer's disease destroy entorhinal cortex projection neurons. We used stereological counting techniques to assess the structural integrity of the hippocampal formation 0.

Apolipoprotein E4 and beta amyloid in senile plaques and cerebral blood vessels of aged rhesus monkeys.

Recent studies of late onset familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) show a genetic disequilibrium between inheritance of the epsilon 4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene and development of AD. beta-Amyloid (A beta)-positive senile plaques and blood vessels in AD are immunoreactive for ApoE, suggesting that ApoE plays a role in amyloid deposition. We examined the brains of nine rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) to determine the immunohistochemical distribution of ApoE and to investigate the association of ApoE with A beta in this species.