Serotonin Receptors in the Medulla Oblongata of the Human Fetus and Infant: The Analytic Approach of the International Safe Passage Study.

The Safe Passage Study is an international, prospective study of approximately 12 000 pregnancies to determine the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) upon stillbirth and the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A key objective of the study is to elucidate adverse effects of PAE upon binding to serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptors in brainstem homeostatic networks postulated to be abnormal in unexplained stillbirth and/or SIDS. We undertook a feasibility assessment of 5-HT1A receptor binding using autoradiography in the medulla oblongata (6 nuclei in 27 cases).

Clinicoradiologic response of neurologic tuberculous mass lesions in children treated with thalidomide.

Neurologic tuberculous pseudoabscesses that clinically progress despite conventional antituberculosis therapy may be responsive to adjuvant thalidomide, a potent tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor. In this study, the addition of thalidomide provided substantial clinical benefit in the majority of patients, and magnetic resonance imaging evolution of lesions from early-stage "T2 bright" with edema to "T2 black" represented a marker of cure.

Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder: brain perfusion and psychopathology--before and after anti-psychotic treatment.

Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder (AIPD) also known as alcohol hallucinosis is a rare complication of alcohol abuse. The pathogenesis and treatment of AIPD are still unclear. Few prospective treatment studies are available but case reports generally suggest that anti-psychotic treatment is effective.

Pineal parenchymal tumor of intermediate differentiation: imaging spectrum of an unusual tumor in 11 cases.

Introduction: Pineal parenchymal tumor of intermediate differentiation (PPTID) was recognized in the 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) classification as a new pineal parenchymal neoplasm, intermediate in malignancy (WHO grade II or III) between pineocytoma (grade I) and pineoblastoma (grade IV). The imaging spectrum of this new tumor has not been previously delineated. We describe the imaging spectrum in 11 pathologically proven PPTIDs and identify findings that may suggest the preoperative diagnosis of this newly recognized entity.

Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder: a comparative study on the clinical characteristics of patients with alcohol dependence and schizophrenia.

Objective: Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder (AIPD) is a rare complication of excessive alcohol use for which limited comparative studies are available. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate demographic and psychopathological characteristics in patients with AIPD, schizophrenia, and uncomplicated alcohol dependence. We postulated that AIPD is a discrete clinical entity that can be differentiated from schizophrenia and uncomplicated alcohol dependence by means of standardized clinical assessments.

Tuberculous cerebrovascular disease: a review.

Cerebrovascular complications of tuberculous meningitis are common, and may represent its most serious legacy. They present in clinically diverse ways, and continue to develop during the initial stages of treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging is the imaging modality of choice in detecting brain infarcts, typically revealing multiple or bilateral lesions in the territories of the middle cerebral artery perforating vessels.

A study of meningiomas in South Africa: investigating a correlation between clinical presentation, histopathology and genetic markers.

Objective: To determine whether there are certain genetic markers which correlate with particular clinical characteristics of meningiomas including multiplicity, recurrence and calvarial erosion.

Methods: Thirty-eight South African-born patients with meningiomas were recruited for this study. At surgery, blood and tumour specimens were obtained for histopathological, cytogenetic and molecular analysis.

Fatal human infection with rabies-related Duvenhage virus, South Africa.

Duvenhage virus was isolated from a patient who died of a rabies-like disease after being scratched by a bat early in 2006. This occurred approximately 80 km from the site where the only other known human infection with the virus had occurred 36 years earlier.

Tuberculous encephalopathy: a reappraisal.

Forty years ago Dastur and Udani described a form of diffuse cerebral damage in tuberculosis, which they called tuberculous encephalopathy. Their pathological and clinical observations led them to propose an immune pathogenesis. Although there have been no convincing independently reported series, the entity is now established in the tuberculosis literature.

MRI findings in acute idiopathic transverse myelopathy in children.

Objective: To describe the clinical and MRI findings in three children with acute idiopathic myelopathy (AIM).

Materials And Methods: Retrospective review of the clinical presentation, MRI findings and outcome of three patients diagnosed with acute idiopathic transverse myelitis.

Results: Of note was the swift onset of symptoms in all patients, without any preceding illness or history of vaccination in two of the patients, and the rapid resolution of symptoms on steroid therapy in all the patients.

October 2001: 40-year-old Xhosa male with back pain and leg weakness.

A 40-year-old Xhosa male presented with progressive upper lumbar back pain and weakness At examination he was emaciated and had enlarged lymph nodes in the groin and axilla. Both lower limbs were severely atrophic and weak. Sensation to touch and pain was decreased below L3 bilaterally.