Isolated pulmonary recovery in a veteran with late stage bulbar ALS following edaravone treatment and cessation.

Context: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a group of rare neurological diseases which cause progressive loss of upper and lower motor neurons at the spinal or bulbar level. ALS affects voluntary muscles of the body which control eating, talking, and moving. Individuals with ALS manifest difficulty breathing on their own due to weakness of the respiratory system.

Mirtazapine in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy associated with polycythemia vera.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a usually fatal cerebral white matter disease found in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection and other immunocompromised states. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman with polycythemia vera who developed a progressive focal neurological deficit with white matter abnormalities on magnetic resonance images of the brain that was proved on biopsy to be PML. She was treated with the serotonin reuptake inhibitor mirtazapine and remains neurologically stable, with resolution of cerebral lesions, >2 years after diagnosis.

Effects of hepatic function and hepatitis C virus on the nervous system assessment of advanced-stage HIV-infected individuals.

Objectives: To examine the effects of liver function and hepatitis C virus (HCV) serostatus on neurological, neuropsychological, and psychiatric abnormalities in an advanced-stage HIV-infected cohort.

Design: A correlational analysis of baseline data accumulated on 137 participants in the Manhattan HIV Brain Bank, a longitudinal study of HIV-infected individuals.

Methods: Patients underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests, a semi-structured psychiatric interview, and a neurological examination.

HIV-associated neuropathic pain: epidemiology, pathophysiology and management.

Peripheral neuropathy is associated with numerous systemic illnesses including HIV infection. Neuropathic pain constitutes approximately 25-50% of all pain clinic visits. Distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSP) is the most common form of peripheral neuropathy in individuals with HIV infection.

Controlling Neuropathic Pain in HIV.

Neuropathic pain is associated with numerous systemic illnesses, including HIV infection. The diagnosis and management of peripheral neuropathy presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Among various forms of HIV-associated peripheral neuropathies, distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSP) is the most common.

Neuromuscular complications in HIV.

HIV affects many organs of the body, including the nervous system. As a result, a series of neurologic complications have created challenges for scientists and clinicians alike. Among these, HIV-associated neuropathy and myopathy may occur at all stages of the disease process.