A regional consensus recommendation on brain atrophy as an outcome measure in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes leading to irreversible neurological impairment. Brain atrophy occurs early in the course of the disease at a rate greater than the general population. Brain volume loss (BVL) is associated with disability progression and cognitive impairment in patients with MS; hence its value as a potential target in monitoring and treating MS is discussed.

Neurological manifestation of recreational fatal and near-fatal diethylene glycol poisonings: case series and review of literature.

Diethylene glycol is a common industrial solvent which is responsible for accidental and epidemic poisoning as early as the 1930s. Due to the unavailability and unaffordability of ethanol, people in Qatar among the low income group are consuming household chemicals, some of which contain diethylene glycol, for recreational purposes.The history of ingestion is usually not volunteered and the initial clinical presentation is usually nonspecific, making it difficult to diagnose from the clinical presentation.

Newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis in state of Qatar.

Background: Epidemiologic studies on multiple sclerosis (MS) are well-documented in the western population but to a lesser extent in Arab world.

Objective: To study the demographics, clinical aspects, radiologic and laboratory features along with the degree of disability inflicted, and factors affecting disease progression and outcome of newly diagnosed MS patients at our institution.

Methods: Data from all newly diagnosed MS patients fulfilling McDonald criteria from January 01, 2005 to December 31, 2010 were collected and analyzed.

Prevalence, demographics and clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis in Qatar.

No published epidemiologic data on multiple sclerosis (MS) in Qatar exist. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence, demographics and clinical characteristics of MS in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. We analyzed data for Qatari MS patients fulfilling the McDonald diagnostic criteria.

Hypothalamic hamartoma presenting with gelastic seizures, generalized convulsions, and ictal psychosis.

We report a case of hypothalamic hamartoma in an adult female who presented with gelastic seizures, generalized convulsions, and ictal aggressive psychotic behavior. Anticonvulsant treatment was ineffective in controlling the epileptic seizures. Surgical excision after accurate imaging diagnosis 3 decades after the onset of symptoms markedly ameliorated her condition.

Cerebral venous thrombosis. Clinical presentation and outcome in a prospective series from Sudan.

Objective: To describe the presentation and outcome of treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) in patients from Sudan, an example of a developing country.

Methods: In a prospective study, we described the clinical features, risk factors, and outcome of CVT in patients admitted to the National Center for Neurological Diseases, Khartoum, Sudan, the only specialized neurological hospital in the country, during the period from February 2001-October 2006. Patients were referred from other hospitals in the town or from nearby hospitals in Khartoum state.

Acute stroke type, risk factors, and early outcome in a developing country: a view from Sudan using a hospital-based sample.

This hospital-based prospective study was conducted to determine stroke type, risk factors, and early outcome in patients admitted with acute stroke in both Khartoum and Shaab hospitals located in the capital city of Sudan. Consecutive stroke patients presenting within 48 hours of onset were included in the study. Data were obtained from history taking, physical examination, and investigations.

Stroke in Qatar: a one-year, hospital-based study.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is a major health problem in Qatar, yet no stroke studies have been reported from this region. This hospital-based study was conducted to determine the types and the 30-day fatality rate of stroke. The data were collected from the only hospital in Qatar and, therefore, are considered to be community-based estimations.

Tuberculoma of the brain: a series of 16 cases treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Objectives: To describe the clinical presentation, radiological findings and outcome of treatment with antituberculosis drugs in 16 cases of intracranial tuberculoma.

Design: Consecutive cases admitted with tuberculoma to the National Center for Neurological Diseases in Khartoum, Sudan, were included in the study. The diagnosis was based on clinical and neuro-imaging features and response to anti-tuberculosis treatment.

Anticardiolipin antibodies in stroke patients in Sudan. Appraisal of their significance in a region of high burden of endemic infections.

Objective: To screen and evaluate the significance of anticardiolipin seroprevalence in patients with acute ischemic stroke, in patients with infectious disease, and in healthy subjects resident in Sudan, a tropical country endemic for several infectious diseases.

Methods: We conducted the study in Khartoum Teaching Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan between July 2003 and January 2005. We included 89 stroke cases, 30 infectious disease patients, and 30 asymptomatic healthy subjects.

Pure isolated unilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia from ischemic origin: report of a case and literature review.

Purpose: To report a case of pure isolated unilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia from ischemic stroke, and to review its literature.

Methods: A 55-year old man, with a history of long-standing diabetes mellitus, developed acute-onset left internuclear ophthalmoplegia. MRI revealed a small paramedian dorsal pontine infarct ventral and lateral to the aquaductus cerebri.

Parasite diversity in adult patients with cerebral malaria: a hospital-based, case-control study.

Thirty adult patients with cerebral malaria (CM) were recruited for this study. Two clinical groups were used as controls: those with mild malaria (n = 20) and asymptomatic volunteers (n = 20). Thick and thin blood smears were examined for detection of Plasmodium falciparum and estimating infection intensity.

Guillain-Barré syndrome following acute falciparum malaria.

Plasmodium falciparum malaria is often complicated by involvement of the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. The development of Guillain-Barré syndrome in 10 patients who had had acute P. falciparum malaria during its seasonal exacerbation is reported.

Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia type 1 in a Sudanese family.

Objective: To study a large Sudanese family with a progressive autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia and describe the clinical features and identify the genotype of the disorder.

Methods: This study was conducted during the year 1999 in the University Neurology Department of Shaab Teaching Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan. Affected individuals were identified by clinical examination or by reliable narrative data obtained from relatives of diseased or inaccessible family members.

Post malaria cerebellar ataxia and ocular flutter: report of two cases.

We report two cases of post malarial cerebellar ataxia presenting with severe ocular flutter, in a female of 72 years and a male of 20 years. Both patients had falciparum malaria infection. CT scans of both patients were within normal limits for the age.

Clinical presentation and CAT scan findings in mycetoma of the head.

Nine cases comprising seven males and two females with mycetoma of the cranium were studied between January 1990 and June 1997. Streptomyces somaliensis was the most common causative organism. The source of the infection was thought to be known in only three cases.

Unusual neuropsychiatric manifestations of hypoparathyroidism: report of two cases.

Clinical, laboratory and radiological features of two cases of hypoparathyroidism presenting with pure neurological disease are described. The first patient has choreoathetosis and the second has mutism, locked jaw bilateral papilloedema and generalised tonic clonic epilepsy. Computerised tomography of the brain showed extensive calcification in the gray and white matter in both cases.

Post-malarial cerebellar ataxia in adult Sudanese patients.

In this study the clinical manifestation and the effect of corticosteroids on the course and the outcome of post malaria cerebellar ataxia on thirty adult Sudanese patients wr investigated. Twenty four patients with delayed ataxia, that is, ataxia occurring shortly after full recovery from otherwise uncomplicated, documented malaria and six patients who were found to be ataxic on recovery from cerebral malaria were included in the study. The distribution of the age, sex and various clinical aspects were outlined.

Motor neurone disease in the tropics: findings from Sudan.

In this clinical study the presentation, electromyography and nerve conduction studies were described in different types of motor neurone disease in 28 Sudanese patients seen at El Shaab and Khartoum Teaching Hospitals. The three major clinical subtypes encountered were amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 19), progressive bulbar palsy (n = 7) and progressive muscular atrophy (n = 2). Family history of the disease was found in four patients and those mainly presented with bulbar symptoms.

Oedema-related tissue damage after temporary and permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery.

Eleven adults spontaneously-hypertensive male rats (SHR) were studied 22 h or 7 days after a 2 h unilateral occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA). Another 11 SHR were studied after 24 h or 7 days of permanent MCA ligation. The brain infarcts were significantly larger (P < 0.

The relationship between plasma protein extravasation and remote tissue changes after experimental brain infarction.

Extravasated endogenous serum albumin and fibrinogen were identified immunohistochemically in coronal brain sections from normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) after permanent ligation of the right middle cerebral artery. Infarcts were seen in all the SHR but only in 6 out of 14 WKY. Six hours after ligation, extravasated proteins were located primarily within the borders of the infarcts whereas after 24 h and later there was an increasing spread in the white matter.