Carbamazepine-induced toxic effects and HLA-B*1502 screening in Taiwan.

Background: Carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant and a mood-stabilizing drug, is the main cause of the Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and its related disease, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), in Southeast Asian countries. Carbamazepine-induced SJS-TEN is strongly associated with the HLA-B*1502 allele. We sought to prevent carbamazepine-induced SJS-TEN by using HLA-B*1502 screening to prospectively identify subjects at genetic risk for the condition.

Isolated sleep paralysis linked to impaired nocturnal sleep quality and health-related quality of life in Chinese-Taiwanese patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: Isolated sleep paralysis (ISP) is a rapid eye movement (REM) sleep parasomnia and has a special meaning in Chinese population. Worsening of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs especially during REM sleep. The relationship between ISP and OSA is unclear.

Subclinical white matter integrity in subjects with cumulative lead exposure.

Purpose: To evaluate microstructural changes in the white matter of patients who were exposed to lead and to compare differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) between these patients and control subjects.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval and subject informed consent were obtained for this HIPAA-compliant study. Nineteen factory workers who had been exposed to lead and 18 healthy volunteers who had not were enrolled.

Electroencephalography burst suppression in a patient with dengue encephalopathy: A case report.

Objective: To report a rare case of dengue fever presenting with reversible encephalopathy and burst suppression in the EEG.

Methods: We describe an 85-year-old man with dengue encephalopathy and EEG burst suppression and review the related literature.

Results: The patient presented with an acute comatose state and absent brainstem reflexes.

Dengue fever with ischemic stroke: a case report.

Background: Dengue fever, especially dengue hemorrhagic fever, often presents with thrombocytopenia and hemorrhagic phenomenon. Neurologic manifestations are uncommon.

Review Summary: We report a case of dengue fever with thrombocytopenia and ischemic stroke.

Giant cell arteritis with multiple cranial nerve palsy and reversible proptosis: a case report.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) often presents with symptoms of headache, jaw claudication, polymyalgia rheumatica, and blurred vision. GCA is relatively rare and may have atypical manifestations in Asians, including multiple cranial nerve palsy and reversible proptosis. A high suspicion of GCA is suggested when any older Asian suffers from headache that is new-onset or different from the previous pattern, even without other typical manifestations of GCA.

Cognitive dysfunction after acute lacunar infarct.

Vascular dementia and vascular cognitive impairment have attracted more attention recently due to their association with increased risk of death and institutionalization. The purpose of the present study was to detect and identify the characteristics of cognitive impairments during the early stage of lacunar stroke. The subjects consisted of 23 consecutive first-ever acute lacunar infarction patients who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Taiwan, from November 2001 to October 2002.