[Neuropsychological impairment in Parkinson's disease without dementia].

Cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease (PD) has been consistently reported, but little is known about cognitive impairment in PD patients without dementia, and its association with clinical characteristics, neuropsychiatric disturbance and functional activities. Therefore, we evaluated 52 non-demented PD patients, 22 of them with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) who were matched with 52 healthy controls. Our results confirm the existence of dysfunction in information processing speed, executive function, verbal memory and visuo-perceptual processing in PD.

Recurrent coital headache associated with an unruptured carotid saccular aneurysm.

We report the case of a 48-year-old woman whose recurrent coital headache ceased following intracranial internal carotid artery aneurysm embolization.

Phenotypic variability in familial prion diseases due to the D178N mutation.

Background: Between January 1993 and December 2003, 19 patients with familial prion diseases due to the D178N mutation were referred to the regional epidemiological registry for spongiform encephalopathies in the Basque Country in Spain, a small community of some 2,100,000 inhabitants.

Methods: Ten further patients belonging to the same pedigrees were retrospectively ascertained through neurological or neuropathological records. In four of the patients, the diagnosis was confirmed by analysing DNA obtained from paraffin blocks.

Familial prion diseases in the Basque Country (Spain).

In 1995, a surveillance system for prion diseases was set up in the Basque Country, an autonomous region in northern Spain (2.1 million inhabitants). In the period from January 1993 to December 2003, we diagnosed 21 patients with familial prion diseases prospectively and another 4 patients retrospectively.

[Dementia with frontal lobe atrophy: clinical study from 18 patients with cognitive impairment and frontal lobe involvement detected by structural and functional neuroimaging].

Objective: To characterize clinically patients with cognitive impairment and frontal lobe degeneration at neuroimaging.

Patients And Methods: Patients diagnosed of dementia or mild neurocognitive impairment by DSM IV criteria and neuropsychological tests with frontal lobe atrophy and hipoperfusion detected by computed tomography and single photon emission computed tomography.

Results: 18 patients, 5:1 on behalf of women; mean age at onset, 74 years; hereditary for dementia, 38%; mean duration of illness at first testing, 2 years; the most common initial symptoms, memory loss.

[Symptomatic paroxysmal dystonia (non-kinesigenic forms): two new cases].

We report two new cases of symptomatic paroxysmal non-kinesigenic dystonia. The first is a 68-year-old woman with paroxysmal spontaneous dystonic spasms in her right arm lasting 1 minute. They occurred 1-2/day, a few months after a cerebral infarction (left internal capsule and left lenticular nucleus) which occurred 6 years ago.

[Risk of the development of dementia after interruption of zidovudine treatment].

Background: Epidemiologic data suggest that zidovudine (ZDV) could prevent the AIDS dementia complex (ADC), but this hypothesis has been specifically studied.

Patients And Methods: We have reviewed the medical records of all patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection admitted to our section between January 1990 and December 1993 who were diagnosed with ADC, and we have compared them to those of a control group with regard to the interruption of ZDV at least 3 months before. Controls were selected from the remaining HIV-related admissions, matched by calendar year, CD4-cell count and previous HIV-disease stage.

[Idiopathic cervical plexopathy].

We describe a 26 year-old woman with cervical plexopathy with damage of left superficial or cutaneous branches, and left cervical sensory dorsal rami. Picture began acutely and vanished few days later. We ruled out known etiologies like traumatisms, tumours and surgical and anaesthetic complicated procedures, therefore the patient suffered an idiopathic cervical plexopathy.

Operculum syndrome in childhood: a rare cause of persistent speech disturbance.

An infant is described who developed operculum syndrome during an acute encephalitic illness. Presenting symptoms were cortical pseudobulbar palsy and focal seizures of facial origin. Persistent mutism--with normal language comprehension and orofacial motor disturbance--were the main neurological sequelae.

[Use of magnetic resonance in the diagnosis of neuro-cryptococcosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: study of 4 patients].

Neuro-cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic infection in AIDS or HIV infected patients. From a series of 10 neuro-cryptococcosis the four of them studied by magnetic resonance (MR) are reported. In AIDS patients a high suspicion of opportunistic infection of the CNS is needed as exemplified by two of the four patients who only presented cephalalgia.

[Cryptococcal meningitis and AIDS. Clinical description of 10 patients].

We have studied 10 patients with cryptococcal meningitis and AIDS. Nine of them were intravenous drug users and four have been previously diagnosed of AIDS. In 60% of them cryptococcal meningitis was the first opportunistic infection, and as group represented only 6.

[Idiopathic cerebral gas embolism].

Air embolism to the brain is an accident that may occur in situations that favour the entrance of air into the bloodstream. The clinical diagnosis is sometimes difficult and only the computerized axial tomography may be of invaluable help. We present a rare case of air embolism occurring during sleep in which no apparent causes could be established.