Voice quality outcomes of idiopathic Parkinson's disease medical treatment: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate voice quality (VQ) impairments in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and to explore the impact of medical treatments and L-Dopa challenge testing on voice. METHODS: Relevant studies published between January 1980 and June 2017 describing VQ evaluations in IPD were retrieved using PubMed, Scopus, Biological Abstracts, BioMed Central and Cochrane databases. Issues of clinical relevance, including IPD treatment efficiency and voice quality outcomes, were evaluated for each study. The grade of recommendation for each publication was determined according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine evidence levels. RESULTS: The database research yielded 106 relevant publications, of which 33 studies met the inclusion criteria, for a total of 964 patients with IPD. Data were extracted by 3 independent physicians who identified 21, 11 and 1 trials with IIIb, IIb and IIa evidence levels, respectively. The main VQ assessment tools used were acoustic testing (N = 27), aerodynamic testing (N = 10), subjective measurements (N = 8) and videolaryngostroboscopy (N = 3). The majority of trials (N = 32/33) identified subjective or objective VQ improvements after medical treatment (N = 10) or better VQ evaluations in healthy subjects compared to patients with IPD (N = 22). Especially, our analysis supports that VQ overall improves during the L-Dopa challenge testing, making the VQ evaluation an additional tool for the IPD diagnosis. The methodology used to assess subjective and objective VQ substantially varied from 1 study to another. All of the included studies took into consideration the patient's clinical profile in the VQ analysis. CONCLUSION: The majority of studies supported that VQ assessments remain useful as outcome measures of the effectiveness of medical treatment and could be helpful for the IPD diagnosis based on L-Dopa challenge testing. Further controlled studies using standardised and transparent methodology for measuring acoustic parameters are necessary to confirm the place of each tool in both IPD diagnosis and treatment evaluation.

Could visual neglect induce amblyopia?

Oculomotor nerve disease is a common cause of diplopia. When strabismus is present, absence of diplopia has to induce the research of either uncovering of visual fields or monocular suppression, amblyopia or blindness. We describe the case of a 41-year-old woman presenting with right oculomotor paresis and left object-centred visual neglect due to a right fronto-parietal haemorrhage expanding to the right peri-mesencephalic cisterna caused by the rupture of a right middle cerebral artery aneurysm. She never complained of diplopia despite binocular vision and progressive recovery of strabismus, excluding uncovering of visual fields. Since all other causes were excluded in this case, we hypothesise that the absence of diplopia was due to the object-centred visual neglect. Partial internal right oculomotor paresis causes an ocular deviation in abduction; the image being perceived deviated contralaterally to the left. Thus, in our case, the neglect of the left image is equivalent to a right monocular functional blindness. However, bell cancellation test clearly worsened when assessed in left monocular vision confirming that eye patching can worsen attentional visual neglect. In conclusion, our case argues for the possibility of a functional monocular blindness induced by visual neglect. We think that in presence of strabismus, absence of diplopia should induce the search for hemispatial visual neglect when supratentorial lesions are suspected.

[Acute stroke: early diagnosis, management, and treatment]. / AVC aigu: diagnostic précoce, prise en charge et traitement.

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability. The resulting burden on society continues to grow, despite recent advances in acute stroke therapy. Acute stroke units, which allow for the greatest overall improvement in outcome, provide the best facilities for acute intervention. Despite recent advances in acute management, such as endarterectomy and anticoagulation, primary and secondary preventive measures to control stroke risk factors, along with appropriate specific interventions, are the keys to reducing the overall burden of stroke. Thrombolysis reduces stroke morbidity but is only applicable to a small percentage of stroke patients. Intravenous tissue-plasminogen activator (tPA) was the first treatment demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial to improve outcome if given within the first 3 hours of stroke onset. Subsequent trials failed to extend the time window for intravenous therapy beyond 3 hours. For the millions of stroke survivors, investigations are now underway into the possibility of improvement of function through neuronal transplantation.

Painful arm and moving fingers: clinical features of four new cases.

The syndrome of painful arm and moving fingers associates pain in one arm or hand with involuntary movement of one or several fingers. In the four cases described, an association between a central and a peripheral nervous system lesion is demonstrated or suspected. Treatment of the condition is disappointing.

[The neurology department]. / Le Service de Neurologie.

The department of neurology is devoted to the diagnosis and medical treatment of organic diseases of central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (peripheral nerves and muscles). Basic and clinical research in neuroscience constitute an essential activity of the department that defines its academic character. Over the years, the department of neurology has evolved from providing general neurology services to a multifaceted unit that has developed the several subspecialties of clinical neuroscience. Main research areas have included neurooncology, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, cerebrovascular diseases, childhood epilepsy and conditions affecting the psychomotor development of children. Neurogenetics is a recent addition to the areas of the interest of the department; research in neurogenetics includes basic investigations as well as clinical studies and focuses on inherited ataxias and genetic epilepsies.

[Placoid pigment epitheliopathy and cerebral vasculitis: a clinical case]. / Epithéliopathie en plaques et vasculite cérébrale: un cas clinique.

We report the case of a 21 year old man who has severe headache and blurred vision since 2 weeks. Ophthalmologic examination discloses typical lesions of acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy and an homonymous right inferior quadrantanopsia. An inflammatory syndrome and a cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis are found. Cerebral imagery is normal. Headache improves only with corticotherapy. We conclude that the neurological attack associated with this acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy is most likely due to a cerebral vasculitis.

Audiogenic startle reflex in acute hemiplegia.

The generators of the audiogenic startle reflex (ASR) are located in the bulbopontine reticular formation. We studied the influence of acute vascular supratentorial lesions on ASR. Ten patients with hemiplegia due to hemispheric cerebral infarct were studied within 5 days of stroke onset. ASR and magnetic cortical stimulation were performed the same day. A muscle response to magnetic stimulation was not elicited over the plegic side in any patient. In four of seven patients, ASR was enhanced over the plegic side. We suggest that enhanced ASR is due to the loss of a predominantly inhibitory hemispheric drive on ASR generators.

General management of patients with ischaemic stroke: clinical features and epidemiology.

The management of patients with acute ischaemic stroke includes treatment of stroke itself, the management of medical problems, and the early initiation of rehabilitation. Current research focuses more on specific stroke treatment, such as reperfusion or prevention of extension of ischaemic brain damage, than on the management of general conditions and the treatment of medical complications associated with acute stroke. At present, a better prognosis of stroke is more often the consequence of good general management than of a specific therapy. General management of stroke includes cardiac and pulmonary care, fluid and ion balance restoration, metabolic maintenance, blood pressure control and prevention of bed sores and phlebitis. Treatment of elevated intracranial pressure and temperature control must also be considered in some cases. Several points, however, remain controversial, such as the treatment of arterial hypertension and the management of cardiac arrhythmia.

Acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy presenting as an aseptic meningitis.

We report a 33-year-old patient with acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy presenting as steroid-responsive aseptic meningitis. Four unusual biological abnormalities were present: an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, circulating immunocomplexes, an oligoclonal banding in cerebrospinal fluid and a transient abnormal urine sediment All these and the prompt response to corticosteroids give support to the hypothesis of a systemic autoimmune disease.

Carbon-11-methionine and fluorine-18-FDG PET study in brain hematoma.

Three patients were examined using PET with L-methyl-11C-methionine (11C-methionine) and 2-18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) 20 to 32 days after the occurrence of nontumoral brain hematomas. PET revealed high uptake of 11C-methionine in the area surrounding the hematoma in all three patients. In two patients, discrete spots of moderate uptake of FDG were found at the periphery of a hypometabolic area. PET studies were repeated in two patients 76 and 103 days after the bleeding, respectively, and showed a dramatic decrease in 11C-methionine uptake around the hematoma. The spots of FDG uptake disappeared on the repeated late scans. We hypothesize that the subacute gliotic reaction surrounding brain hematomas is responsible for increased uptake of 11C-methionine and for the presence of spots of FDG uptake. PET studies with 11C-methionine and FDG performed 20 to 32 days after the initial symptom are not helpful in the differentiation between neoplastic and non-neoplastic origins of an intracerebral hemorrhage since tracer uptake at the periphery of the lesion may be increased in both.

Pure amnesia after unilateral left polar thalamic infarct: topographic and sequential neuropsychological and metabolic (PET) correlations.

A 54-year-old patient who had an isolated small polar thalamic infarct and acute global amnesia with slight frontal type dysfunction but without other neurological dysfunction was studied. Memory improved partially within 8 months. At all stages the impairment was more severe for verbal than non-verbal memory. Autobiographic recollections and newly acquired information tended to be disorganised with respect to temporal order. Procedural memory was unaffected. Both emotional involvement and pleasure in reading were lost. On MRI, the infarct was limited to the left anterior thalamic nuclei and the adjacent mamillothalamic tract. The regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (measured with PET) was decreased on the left in the thalamus, amygdala, and posterior cingulate cortex 2 weeks after the infarct, and in the thalamus and posterior cingulate cortex 9 months later. These findings stress the specific role of the left anterior thalamic region in memory and confirm that longlasting amnesia from a thalamic lesion can occur without significant structural damage to the dorsomedial nucleus. Furthermore, they suggest that the anterior thalamic nuclei and possibly their connections with the posterior cingulate cortex play a role in emotional involvement linked to ipsilateral hemispheric functions.

[Should bicarbonates still be administered in lactic acidosis?]. / Faut-il encore administrer du bicarbonate dans l'acidose lactique?

Bicarbonate administration during lactic acidosis seems logical in view of the myocardial depression associated with the decrease in intracellular pH. This treatment has been recently challenged on the basis of observations showing an increase in the veno-arterial gradient for CO2 during acute circulatory failure. The partial transformation of bicarbonate in CO2 carries the risk of aggravating the phenomenon and thereby decreasing intracellular pH. Alternatives to sodium bicarbonate--carbicarb, THAM and dichloroacetate--are discussed.

Atropine administration in experimental electromechanical dissociation.

Atropine can have a place during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the management of asystole, where parasympathetic influence might be excessive. However, the beneficial effects of atropine in electromechanical dissociation (EMD) have not been clearly demonstrated. The authors studied the effects of atropine in combination with epinephrine on an experimental model of EMD in the closed-chested dog. In 15 pentobarbital-anesthetized, mechanically ventilated dogs (mean weight 20 kg), EMD was induced by ventricular fibrillation followed by an external countershock, and was observed for 2 minutes before CPR was started. After 5 minutes of chest compression using a CPR thumper, either atropine 0.5 mg or D5W was administered, and the same injection was repeated every 5 minutes until recovery. Epinephrine 1 mg was administered in alternans. Each dog was submitted to two successive episodes of CPR, using either atropine or D5W, in a randomized order. Of a total of 28 CPRs, five were successful with chest compression alone. In the treatment groups, 10 of 11 were successful with atropine, but only eight of 12 with D5W (P < .01). The duration of CPR was also significantly shorter when atropine was used (9 minutes 56 seconds +/- 14 seconds versus 12 minutes 08 seconds +/- 43 seconds, P < .001). During the recovery period, atropine-treated animals had higher arterial pressure, heart rate, cardiac output and stroke volume. On this experimental model, the administration of high doses of atropine together with epinephrine enhances the recovery from EMD and results in a better cardiac function during recovery.

Correction of metabolic acidosis in experimental CPR: a comparative study of sodium bicarbonate, carbicarb, and dextrose.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Carbicarb, sodium bicarbonate, and 5% dextrose were compared for effects on resuscitability in a canine model of electromechanical dissociation after ventricular fibrillation. DESIGN/INTERVENTIONS: 21 healthy mongrel dogs were anesthetized with pentobarbital, intubated, and mechanically supported. They were instrumented to measure heart rate, arterial pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, right atrial pressure, cardiac output, and arterial and mixed venous blood gases. The dogs were then subjected to a protocol that consisted of three successive CPR episodes. During each episode they were treated with repeated injections of one of the three substances, randomly chosen. After two minutes of ventricular fibrillation and four minutes of electromechanical dissociation, CPR was started with a thumper (rate, 60; duty cycle, 50%). If recovery was not obtained after five minutes of CPR, 1 mEq/kg carbicarb or sodium bicarbonate or 5 mL D5W was injected in the right atrium. Half the dose of the same substance was injected every five minutes thereafter; 1 mg epinephrine was also injected every five minutes until recovery. Hemodynamic and gasometric evaluations were performed five and 20 minutes after recovery. This later evaluation served as baseline for the next CPR episode. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The duration and success rates of CPR are similar in the three CPR groups. Hemodynamic parameters were also similar during recovery. Bicarbicarb and sodium bicarbonate increased bicarbonate levels and corrected pH in the arterial and mixed venous blood. There was no difference in the blood gas values after carbicarb and sodium bicarbonate. CONCLUSION: In this model of cardiac arrest, carbicarb was not superior to sodium bicarbonate in the correction of metabolic acidosis during CPR.

Bretylium tosylate versus lidocaine in experimental cardiac arrest.

Bretylium tosylate has been shown effective in the treatment of ventricular fibrillation and in the prevention of its recurrence. However, lidocaine is generally preferred because bretylium could have adverse hemodynamic effects related to its antiadrenergic action. To explore further the differences between these two antiarrhythmic agents, the authors compared the effects of bretylium, lidocaine, and saline on a standardized dog model of ventricular fibrillation followed by electromechanical dissociation (EMD). The protocol included three successive episodes of cardiac arrest in each animal. Three minutes before each episode of ventricular fibrillation, 5 mg/kg of bretylium tosylate (n = 11), 1 mg/kg of lidocaine (n = 9) or saline (n = 12) were administered blindly. There was no difference in the duration of cardiac arrest (bretylium, 8 min 18 sec; lidocaine, 7 min 54 sec; saline, 8 min 20 sec) or the total doses of epinephrine required to resuscitate the animals. Both bretylium and lidocaine appeared to preserve cardiac function 5 minutes after recovery, as stroke volume increased from 17.8 +/- 6.7 to 18.7 +/- 6.7 mL (NS) after bretylium and from 17.7 +/- 7.7 to 19.0 +/- 7.0 mL (NS) after lidocaine, but decreased from 19.0 +/- 5.3 to 14.6 +/- 6.0 mL (P less than .05) after saline. During the first 10 minutes of EMD, ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia recurred in 4 dogs treated with lidocaine, 3 dogs treated with saline, but no dog treated with bretylium (P less than .05 between bretylium and saline).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dopamine compared with dobutamine in experimental septic shock: relevance to fluid administration.

The hemodynamic effects of dopamine and dobutamine (at doses of 6 micrograms X kg-1 X min-1) were compared during fluid resuscitation from septic shock induced by endotoxin (3 mg/kg) in the dog. In the first part of the study, when a standard amount of saline solution was infused (in 24 dogs), dopamine infusion resulted in higher cardiac filling pressures than did dobutamine infusion, whereas dobutamine infusion resulted in higher cardiac output. In the second part of the study, when fluid infusion was titrated to maintain pulmonary artery balloon-occluded pressure at constant level (in 24 dogs), the total amount of fluids was significantly greater with dobutamine than when dopamine was used (109 +/- 13 vs 71 +/- 10 ml/kg). The combination of dobutamine with fluids resulted in significantly greater stroke volume (39.6 +/- 3.8 vs 21.0 +/- 4.0 ml, P less than 0.05) and oxygen consumption (194 +/- 18 vs 144 +/- 8 ml/min, P less than 0.05). The different effects of dopamine and dobutamine on cardiac filling pressures can be due to differences in effects on myocardial contractility, ventricular afterload, and cardiac compliance. This experimental study indicates that when fluid therapy is combined with adrenergic agents in resuscitation from septic shock, dobutamine can be associated with higher cardiac output and oxygen transport and can result in higher tissue oxygen consumption than dopamine.