Dream Recall Frequency and Sleep in Patients with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder

OBJECTIVES: The dream recall and sleep of patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) were not sufficiently studied. We hypothesized that RBD patients have frequent dream recall with poor sleep quality, and investigated the relationship between the dream recall frequency and sleep quality in RBD patients compared to controls. METHODS: We analyzed 81 drug naïve patients [RBD (+), 64.6±8.3 y, 57 males] and 81 age and gender matched patients with sleep disturbances without RBD [RBD (−), 63.7±7.3 y, 57 males]. All completed Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), insomnia severity index (ISI), Epworth sleepiness scale and Beck depression inventory. The 5-point rating scale was used to categorize dream recall frequency of most recent month (0=never, 4=very frequent). RESULTS: In RBD (+), dream recall frequency was much higher [frequent dreaming, 77.2% vs. 35.4%], and subjective sleep quality was much better [PSQI, 6.36±3.26 vs. 8.71±4.69]. Insomnia severity was much less in RBD (+) (ISI, 9.13±5.86) than RBD (−) (12.43±7.62). No significant differences were found in sleep parameters except lower N2 sleep % in RBD (+). The relationship between dream recall frequency and sleep was not significant in RBD (+), yet, a positive correlation was noted in RBD (−). CONCLUSIONS: RBD (+) had better sleep quality despite higher frequency of dream recall compared to RBD (−). Also dream recall was not related to their sleep quality in RBD (+), which suggests that RBD patients may have different sleep perception about their sleep and sleep quality.

Ischemic Stroke with Extracranial Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion in Essential Thrombocythemia with JAK-2 Mutation

In essential thrombocythemia (ET), cerebral infarction with large cerebral artery occlusion has rarely been reported. A 53-year-old male was admitted with left sided weakness. Brain magnetic resonance images revealed right internal carotid artery (ICA) territory infarction and proximal ICA occlusion. The blood laboratory examination demonstrated continuously increased platelet count (above 617,000/µL). Increased megakaroycytes and JAK2 V617F mutation were confirmed in the bone marrow biopsy. We should consider the possibility of ET in patient with large artery thrombosis and thrombocythemia.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis with tremor as the initial symptom

Multiple neurological deficits can occur in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) but rarely movement disorders. A 24-year-old female patient was admitted because of tremor in bothupper limbs. After admission, her mental status progressively declined into coma. Brain magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis were compatible with ADEM. Tests for central nervous system infection and autoimmune diseases were all negative. She was given steroid and IVIG, and the patient fully improved. We report here the first case of adult ADEM, who presented with tremor as the initial neurological manifestation.

Low Plasma Proportion of Omega 3-Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Predicts Poor Outcome in Acute Non-Cardiogenic Ischemic Stroke Patients / 대한뇌졸중학회지

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Alterations in blood fatty acid (FA) composition are associated with cardiovascular diseases. We investigated whether plasma FA composition was related to stroke severity and functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 156 patients with first-episode cerebral infarction, within 7 days of symptom onset. The proportion of FAs was analyzed using gas chromatography, and the summation of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega3-PUFA), 18:3 omega3 alpha-linolenic acid, 20:3 omega3 eicosatrienoic acid, 20:5 omega3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and 22:6 omega3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was reported as Sigmaomega3-PUFAs. Stroke severity was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission. Poor functional outcome was defined by modified Rankin scale (mRS) > or =3 at three months after the index stroke. RESULTS: Lower proportions of EPA (beta=-0.751), DHA (beta=-0.610), and Sigmaomega3-PUFAs (beta=-0.462) were independently associated with higher NIHSS score, after adjusting for stroke subtype, hemoglobin, high density lipoprotein, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, fasting glucose, 16:0 palmitic acid, and Sigmasaturated fatty acids. Moreover, a lower proportion of DHA (odds ratio [OR]: 0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.04-0.88), and Sigmaomega3-PUFAs (OR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.05-0.84) showed an independent relationship with poor functional outcome after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, NIHSS score, stroke subtype, and 16:0 palmitic acid. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that omega3-PUFAs correlated with stroke severity on admission and functional outcomes at 3 months. omega3-PUFAs are potential blood biomarkers for prognosis of acute non-cardiogenic ischemic stroke patients.

Levator Palpebrae and Inferior Rectus Palsy From Thalamo-Mesencephalic Infarction

No abstract available.