Palliative care management in patients with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders in Spain. National survey of neurologists.

INTRODUCTION: Palliative care in neurodegenerative diseases is useful but underused. The objective of this study is to know how palliative care (PC) is applied in Spain in order to identify limitations and unmet needs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It is a descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study, anonymous survey type of 20 questions, directed and answered by neurologists dedicated to movement disorders (MD) in Spain. RESULTS: 58 responses were obtained from neurologists from 15 autonomous communities. 69% answered that they did not have a specialised MD nursing facility but did have a PC team in their centre (81%). No specific protocol for PC in MD was identified. All except one neurologist stated that they lacked sufficient training in PC, the main training need being the "advance directives explanation". Only 1 in 4 neurologists answered routinely explaining advance healthcare planning to their patients, recognising up to 84.5% of neurologists not knowing how to assess the patient's competence. 60.3% of those surveyed answered that between 10% and 30% of their patients would be candidates for PC, although 1 in 3 said they were not clear when to refer the patient to PC. 100% of neurologists affirmed the priority need to implement PC protocols in MD. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows a formative deficit in PC in this area and in the care of the patient with movement disorders and their environment, and should serve as a starting point to develop consensual care protocols.

Síndrome de ClusterTic. A propósito de um caso / No disponible

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Apolipoproteína e4 en la demencia con cuerpos de Lewy / Apolipoprotein e4 in dementia with Lewy bodies

Introducci¨®n. Existe una fuerte asociaci¨®n entre el alelo¦Å4 de la apolipoprote¨ªna E (APOE) y enfermedad de Alzheimer(EA), constituyendo este alelo un factor de riesgopara padecer esta enfermedad. Su asociaci¨®n con la demenciacon cuerpos de Lewy (DCL) es objeto de controversia. Enla DCL la presencia de APOE4 se ha relacionado con unamayor carga de placas seniles y degeneraci¨®n neurofibrilar.M¨¦todo. Estudio de casos y controles en el que se determin¨®el genotipo APOE mediante la t¨¦cnica de reacci¨®nen cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) modificada de Wenhamen 306 pacientes diagnosticados de EA probable, criteriosNINCDS-ADRDA, 58 casos de DCL probable, criterios de consensode McKeith et al. (1996), todos ellos con SPECT con 123IFP-CIT patol¨®gico, y 80 controles normales (CN) de edad y distribuci¨®npor sexos similares.Resultados. La frecuencia de alelos fue la siguiente:DCL ¦Å4: 16%; ¦Å3: 75%; ¦Å2: 9%; EA ¦Å4: 32%; ¦Å3: 67%; ¦Å2:1%; CN ¦Å4: 12%; ¦Å3: 83%; ¦Å2: 5%. En los tres grupos la distribuci¨®nde alelos en ambos sexos fue similar.Conclusiones. En la DCL la frecuencia de ¦Å4 (16%) esmuy inferior a la de la EA (32%) y muy pr¨®xima a la cifra delos CN (12%). Teniendo en cuenta que la presencia de alteracionesmorfopatol¨®gicas tipo Alzheimer en la DCL, fundamentalmentedegeneraci¨®n neurofibrilar, se correlacionainversamente con la presencia de signos parkinsonianos, esposible que este grupo represente a las formas puras de laenfermedad, aunque la falta de comprobaci¨®n neuropatol¨®gicano permite confirmar esta hip¨®tesis (AU)

Introduction. There is a strong association betweenthe ¦Å4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE) and Alzheimer¡¯sdisease (AD). This converts this allele into a risk factorfor the development of AD. The association between APOE4and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is under discussion.In DLB, the presence of APOE4 has been related with a greateramount of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.Method. This is a case-control study in which the APOEgenotype was determined using the modified PCR techniqueof Wenham in 306 patients with diagnosis of probably AD,NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, 58 cases of probably DLB, McKeithet al. consensus criteria (1996), all of them with SPECT withpathological 123I-FP-CIT and 80 normal controls (NC) havingsimilar age and gender distribution.Results. The frequency of alleles was: DLB group ¦Å4:16%; ¦Å3: 75%; ¦Å2: 9%; AD: ¦Å4: 32%; ¦Å3: 67%; ¦Å2: 1%;and in the normal control group: ¦Å4: 12%; ¦Å3: 83%; ¦Å2:5%. The percentage of alleles in both genders was similarin the three groups.Conclusions. APOE4 percentage in DLB group (16%)was lower than in AD group (32 %), and similar to thecontrol group (12 %). Considering that the presence ofmorphopathological Alzheimer type alterations in DBL,essentially neurofibrillary tangles, is inversely correlatedwith the presence of Parkinsonian signs, this group mayrepresent pure forms of the disease, although the lack ofneuropathological demonstration does not make it possibleto confirm this hypothesis (AU)

[Apolipoprotein E4 in dementia with Lewy bodies]. / Apolipoproteína e4 en la demencia con cuerpos de Lewy.

INTRODUCTION: There is a strong association between the e4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). This converts this allele into a risk factor for the development of AD. The association between APOE4 and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is under discussion. In DLB, the presence of APOE4 has been related with a greater amount of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. METHOD: This is a case-control study in which the APOE genotype was determined using the modified PCR technique of Wenham in 306 patients with diagnosis of probably AD, NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, 58 cases of probably DLB, McKeith et al. consensus criteria (1996), all of them with SPECT with pathological 123I-FP-CIT and 80 normal controls (NC) having similar age and gender distribution. RESULTS: The frequency of alleles was: DLB group epsilon4: 16%; epsilon3: 75%; epsilon2: 9%; AD: epsilon4: 32%; epsilon3: 67%; epsilon2: 1%; and in the normal control group: epsilon4: 12%; epsilon3: 83%; epsilon2: 5%. The percentage of alleles in both genders was similar in the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: APOE4 percentage in DLB group (16%) was lower than in AD group (32%), and similar to the control group (12%). Considering that the presence of morphopathological Alzheimer type alterations in DBL, essentially neurofibrillary tangles, is inversely correlated with the presence of Parkinsonian signs, this group may represent pure forms of the disease, although the lack of neuropathological demonstration does not make it possible to confirm this hypothesis.

Hemianopsia homónima aislada debida a infarto en el territorio de la arteria coroidea anterior / Pure homonymus hemianopia due to anterior choroidal artery territory infarction

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[Infiltration of the meninges or brain by a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, diagnosed by flow cytometry in cerebrospinal fluid]. / Infiltracion meningea y cerebral por un linfoma no Hodgkin, diagnosticada por citometria de flujo en liquido cefalorraquideo.

INTRODUCTION: Two forms of growth are reported in the neuroradiology of cerebral lymphomas: mass, single or multiple lesions, with homogeneous contrast enhancement, and diffuse infiltration. Flow cytometry enables us to diagnose non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, when clonality of B cells is detected. It is usually employed with peripheral blood or bone marrow samples but can be used with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 68-year-old female, who was admitted to hospital because of rapidly progressive onset of confusion and right-side hemiparesis that developed in a matter of days. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head showed a diffuse infiltrative lesion, without contrast enhancement, which covered the left basal nuclei, the left frontal white matter, the genu of the corpus callosum and the right frontal white matter. The CSF showed slight pleocytosis (20 cells/mL) and a notable degree of hypoglycorrhachia (10 mg/dL). The cytological examination only revealed lymphocytes, with no data indicating atypicality. The flow cytometry assay detected large mononuclear B cells, with the CD19 + CD20 + CD10-lambda phenotype, which is characteristic of diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of large B cells. The clinical course ran quickly towards a fatal outcome; it progressed to left-side hemiplegia and coma, and the patient died two weeks after admission to hospital. CONCLUSIONS: In cases of cerebral lymphoma, especially when the neuroradiological pattern displays diffuse infiltration and there are anomalies involving CSF, the flow cytometry in CSF can be diagnostic, thus avoiding the need for other invasive brain procedures to deal with lesions that are usually located deep inside the brain at badly defined sites.

Infiltración meníngea y cerebral por un linfoma no Hodgkin diagnosticada por citometría de flujo en el líquido cefalorraquídeo / Infiltrationof the meninges or brain by a non-hodgkin lymphoma, diagnosed by flow cytometry in cerebrospinal fluid

Introduction. Two forms of growth are reported in the neuroradiology of cerebral lymphomas: mass, single or multiple lesions, with homogeneous contrast enhancement, and diffuse infiltration. Flow cytometry enables us to diagnose non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, when clonality of B cells is detected. It is usually employed with peripheral blood or bone marrow samples but can be used with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Case report. We report the case of a 68-year-old female, who was admitted to hospital because of rapidly progressive onset of confusion and right-side hemiparesis that developed in a matter of days. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head showed a diffuse infiltrative lesion, without contrast enhancement, which covered the left basal nuclei, the left frontal white matter, the genu of the corpus callosum and the right frontal white matter. The CSF showed slight pleocytosis (20 cells/dL) and a notable degree of hypoglycorrhachia (10 mg/dL). The cytological examination only revealed lymphocytes, with no data indicating atypicality. The flow cytometry assay detected large mononuclear B cells, with the CD19 + CD20 + CD10-lambda phenotype, which is characteristic of diffuse non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of large B cells. The clinical course ran quickly towards a fatal outcome; it progressed to left-side hemiplegia and coma, and the patient died two weeks after admission to hospital. Conclusions. In cases of cerebral lymphoma, especially when the euroradiological pattern displays diffuse infiltration and there are anomalies involving CSF, the flow cytometry in CSF can be diagnostic, thus avoiding the need for other invasive brain procedures to deal with lesions that are usually located deep inside the brain at badly defined sites (AU)

Introducción. En la neurorradiología de los linfomas cerebrales se describen dos formas de crecimiento: lesión en masa, única o múltiple, con captación homogénea de contraste, e infiltración difusa. La citometría de flujo permite diagnosticar un linfoma no Hodgkin B cuando se detecta clonalidad B; habitualmente, esta técnica se utiliza sobre muestras de sangre periférica o de médula ósea, pero puede usarse en el líquido cefalorraquídeo (LCR). Caso clínico. Mujer de 68 años que ingresó por confusión y hemiparesia derecha de instauración rápidamente progresiva en días. La resonancia magnética (RM) de cráneo mostró una lesión infiltrativa difusa, sin captación de contraste, que abarcaba los núcleos basales izquierdos, la sustancia blanca frontal izquierda, la rodilla del cuerpo calloso y la sustancia blanca frontal derecha. El LCR mostró una ligera pleocitosis (20 células/L) y una marcada hipoglucorraquia (10 mg/dL). La citología sólo objetivó linfocitos, sin datos de atipicidad. La citometría de flujo detectó células grandes mononucleares B, con fenotipo CD19 CD20 CD10-, propio de un linfoma no Hodgkin difuso de células grandes B. El curso clínico fue rápidamente fatal; progresó a hemiplejía izquierda y coma, y la paciente falleció a las dos semanas del ingreso. Conclusiones. En casos de linfoma cerebral, particular-mente cuando el patrón neurorradiológico es de infiltración difusa y existen anomalías licuorales, la citometría de flujo en el LCR puede ser diagnóstica y evitar otros procedimientos invasivos cerebrales sobre lesiones que habitualmente tienen una localización profunda y mal definida (AU)