Advances in Intraoperative Neurophysiology During Microvascular Decompression Surgery for Hemifacial Spasm

Microvascular decompression (MVD) is a widely used surgical intervention to relieve the abnormal compression of a facial nerve caused by an artery or vein that results in hemifacial spasm (HFS). Various intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (ION) and mapping methodologies have been used since the 1980s, including brainstem auditory evoked potentials, lateral-spread responses, Z-L responses, facial corticobulbar motor evoked potentials, and blink reflexes. These methods have been applied to detect neuronal damage, to optimize the successful decompression of a facial nerve, to predict clinical outcomes, and to identify changes in the excitability of a facial nerve and its nucleus during MVD. This has resulted in multiple studies continuously investigating the clinical application of ION during MVD in patients with HFS. In this study we aimed to review the specific advances in methodologies and clinical research related to ION techniques used in MVD surgery for HFS over the last decade. These advances have enabled clinicians to improve the efficacy and surgical outcomes of MVD, and they provide deeper insight into the pathophysiology of the disease.

Periodic Limb Movements During Sleep Associated with Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type I-Associated Myelopathy

Periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) are frequently observed in the general population, although such movements may be associated with a variety of medical and neurological disorders. Human T-lymphotropic virus type I-associated myelopathy (HAM) is a rare progressive disease in which abnormalities are rarely observed on spinal images. We present the case of a 55-year-old woman with PLMS who was later diag-nosed with HAM. The current case indicates that HAM can be considered a possible cause of PLMS.

Sleep Perception in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Study Using Polysomnography and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Discrepancies between objectively measured sleep and subjective sleep perception in patients with insomnia have been reported. However, few studies have investigated sleep-state misperception in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We designed this study to 1) delineate the factors that could affect this discrepancy and 2) infer an underlying mechanism in patients with OSA. METHODS: We recruited patients who visited our sleep clinic for the evaluation of their snoring and/or observed OSA. Participants completed a structured questionnaire and underwent overnight polysomnography. On the following day, five sessions of the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) were applied. We divided the patients into two groups: normal sleep perception and abnormal perception. The abnormal-perception group included patients whose perceived total sleep time was less than 80% of that measured in polysomnography. RESULTS: Fifty OSA patients were enrolled from a university hospital sleep clinic. Excessive daytime sleepiness, periodic limb movement index (PLMI), and the presence of dreaming were positively associated with poor sleep perception. REM sleep near the sleep termination exerted important effects. Respiratory disturbance parameters were not related to sleep perception. There was a prolongation in the sleep latency in the first session of the MSLT and we suspected that a delayed sleep phase occurred in poor-sleep perceivers. CONCLUSIONS: As an objectively good sleep does not match the subjective good-sleep perception in OSA, physicians should keep in mind that OSA patients who perceive that they have slept well does not mean that their OSA is less severe.

Nemaline Myopathy Presenting as Adult-onset Distal Myopathy / 대한임상신경생리학회지

No abstract available.

Isolated Injury of the Axillary Nerve Branch to Teres Minor Muscle Following After Traumatic Posterior Instability of Shoulder

We describe a case of a 23-year-old man who presented with posterior instability of the right shoulder following trauma. Focal neuropathy of the axillary nerve branch to the teres minor muscle was diagnosed electrophysiologically. A shoulder magnetic resonance image revealed fatty atrophy of the teres minor muscle with sparing of the deltoid, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and subscapularis muscles. To our knowledge, this is the first case of selective injury of the branch of the axillary nerve to the teres minor muscle to be described in Korea.

A Case of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Endophthalmitis Treated with Intravitreal Ceftazidime Injection

Bacterial endophthalmitis is an ocular emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and therapeutic decision making. Before the use of intravitreal antibiotics, endophthalmitis almost always resulted in the loss of vision in the affected eye. The introduction of intravitreal injection of antibiotics had been a major advancement because it has resulted in a marked improvement in visual outcome. Current therapy is to administer broad-spectrum antibiotic agents covering both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Typically, vancomycin hydrochloride and aminoglycoside, such as amikacin sulfate, are administered as separate intrvitreal injections on an empiric basis. We experienced a case of culture-proven Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis treated with intravitreal ceftazidime injection. We present it with a review of literature.