ABSTRACT
Two sisters developed motor neurone disease (MND), which was associated with progressive intellectual impairment in one; they survived for 18 and 24 months, respectively. At necropsy, the features of MND were confirmed, and the demented patient had severe non-specific cerebral atrophy. No evidence of Alzheimer's disease was found. Organic dementia of non-specific type can be associated with up to 15% of the familial cases of MND and with about 2% of the sporadic cases of MND in the Western world.
Subject(s)
Dementia/genetics , Motor Neurons , Neuromuscular Diseases/genetics , Aged , Atrophy , Brain/pathology , Dementia/complications , Dementia/pathology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuromuscular Diseases/complications , Neuromuscular Diseases/pathology , Pedigree , Spinal Cord/pathologySubject(s)
Cerebrovascular Disorders/etiology , Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis/etiology , Mitral Valve Prolapse/complications , Adult , Cerebral Infarction/etiology , Epilepsies, Partial/etiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Rheumatic Fever/complications , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
A blind controlled trial of dextran 40 in ischaemic stroke is reported. In the treated group mortality in the acute stage in patients with severe strokes was significantly reduced but survivors were severely disabled and six months later no significant benefit could be detected. In less severe strokes no effect of treatment was found. It is concluded that the action of dextran 40 in reducing acute mortality probably lay in preventing or reversing cerebral swelling but no evidence of the expected action in reducing the area of infarction following improved blood flow was found. The importance of extending assessment beyond the two weeks customary in therapeutic trials in stroke is emphasized.
Subject(s)
Cerebrovascular Disorders/drug therapy , Dextrans/therapeutic use , Age Factors , Aged , Cerebrovascular Disorders/mortality , Cerebrovascular Disorders/physiopathology , Clinical Trials as Topic , Drug Evaluation , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Internuclear ophthalmoplegia has not previously been described in progressive supranuclear palsy. The present report draws attention to the occurrence of varying degrees of anterior internuclear ophthalmoplegia in 4 out of 13 cases of this condition studied over a 4-yr period. This finding suggests that the medial longitudinal fasciculus may be involved in the degenerative process in some cases of progressive supranuclear palsy.
Subject(s)
Demyelinating Diseases/diagnosis , Ophthalmoplegia/diagnosis , Aged , Bulbar Palsy, Progressive/diagnosis , Eye Movements , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , SyndromeABSTRACT
On admission to hospital during the acute phase of a stroke presumed due to ischaemic infarction in one cerebral hemisphere 93 patients were examined to determine the factors associated with a poor prognosis for immediate survival. The patients particularly at risk were those who were overtly unconscious and those with any combination of impaired consciousness, dense hemiplegia, and failure of conjugate ocular gaze towards the side of the limb weakness. Necropsy evidence suggested that these signs usually indicate infarction of the whole of one middle cerebral artery territory which is often secondary to internal carotid artery occlusion and commonly produces fatal cerebral oedema.
