Alcohol-induced persistent mild cognitive impairment with successful withdrawal from alcohol dependence--a case report.

An 81-year-old man diagnosed with alcohol-induced persistent mild cognitive impairment consulted our clinic presenting with gait disturbance. Between the ages of 20 and 53 years, his alcohol consumption was 1.8 liters of alcoholic sake per day. However, from the age of 53 years onward, his consumption decreased to 360 ml per day. The patient had alcoholic neuropathy, mild cognitive impairment, and alcoholic cerebellar disorder. His score on the revised version of Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS-R) was 22 and his clinical dementia rating (CDR) was 0.5. His score on the Japanese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was 22. These scores indicated mild cognitive impairment (MCI). He had delusions and confabulations, without impairment of date and place orientation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated enlarged ventricles, sulcal widening, and brain atrophy. He was provided with medication and counseling to treat his alcohol abuse. He accepted our treatment and is presently doing well after 1 year 2 months of treatment.

New dopamine agonist pramipexole improves parkinsonism and depression in Parkinson's disease.

Previous studies have shown that pramipexole might have the potential to improve depressive symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease. To provide more evidence, in five Japanese patients at Hoehn & Yahr stage 1-3 we evaluated the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at our hospital. After the pramipexole treatment, each total score of UPDRS, HAMD and MADRS significantly decreased compared with that before the treatment. Our data indicate that pramipexole improves depressive symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson disease patient with fibromyalgia: a case report.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor disturbances such as tremor, slow movement and rigidity. Also, pain is a common symptom in patients with PD. The prevalence of pain is 40-75% in patients with PD. Physicians should pay attention to pain in patient with PD. We report a PD patient who suffered from fibromyalgia (FM). If the amount of pain is not maximal in the side more affected by parkinsonism and pain is not markedly relieved when the patient is in the "on" state, the pain may be due to FM.

Basal blood flow in complex regional pain syndrome does not necessarily indicate vasoconstrictor nerve activity.

OBJECTIVES: To quantitatively investigate simultaneous skin blood flow and sweating in a patient with complex regional pain syndrome. METHOD: Using one probe, skin blood flow and sweating were measured on the affected and non-affected sides at baseline and after activation of sympathetic system in a 47-year-old woman with complex regional pain syndrome type I of the left hand. RESULTS: Basal sweating, sympathetic sweat response, basal blood flow, sympathetic flow response, and attrition rate of blood flow (the ratio of sympathetic flow response to basal blood flow) of the affected side were greater than those on the non-affected side. CONCLUSIONS: Although sympathetic nerve activity (sympathetic flow response) appeared greater on one side, basal blood flow was also greater on that side. These contradictory results suggest that some factor or factors increase basal blood flow despite a higher sympathetic nerve tone on the side. Comparing basal blood flow on one side to the contralateral side does not necessarily indicate lesser vasoconstrictor nerve activity on that side. Advantages of simultaneous measurement of skin blood flow and sweating with a single probe may make the method useful.

Activation of human SII cortex during exploratory finger movement and hand clenching tasks.

We used electric median nerve stimuli to elucidate the functional properties of neurons in the human secondary somatosensory cortex during exploration of small objects and muscle contraction. Somatosensory evoked fields were recorded from nine healthy subjects with a 204-channel neuromagnetometer. Electrical stimuli were applied once every 3 s to the left median nerve at the wrist. The conditions during the stimulation were rest (control session), exploration of small objects (exploration session) and clenching the hand while the wrist was being electrically stimulated (clench session). The strengths of equivalent current dipoles of evoked fields from the secondary somatosensory cortex were increased during the exploration session, but those of evoked fields were decreased by the clench session.