Diffusion tensor imaging and tract-based spatial statistics analysis in Friedreich's ataxia patients.

Introduction: Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is the most common hereditary ataxia and thinning of the cervical spinal cord is a consistent observation in Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), although neuropathological examination in FRDA reveals neuronal loss in gray matter (GM) nuclei and degeneration of white matter (WM) tracts in the spinal cord, brainstem and cerebellum. Using diffusion-tensor (DTI) imaging and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) we tested the hypothesis that WM damage in FRDA is more extensive than previously described and probably involves normal-appearing WM.

Methods: This transversal study included 21 genetically confirmed FRDA patients and seventeen healthy controls that underwent structural MRI of the brain on a 1.

Epileptic seizures and EEG features in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus.

Introduction: Juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus is more incident in female affecting different systems including the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to check the incidence of seizures and electroencephalographic features in these patients.

Method: It was analyzed all patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus referred to the Pequeno Príncipe Hospital in Curitiba, PR, Brazil, in the year of 2007.