Unilateral ptosis associated with paramedian thalamiic infarction.

The paramedian artery arises from P1 segment of posterior cerebral artery and supplies a variable extent of thalamus but usually the dorsomedian, median, internal medullary lamina and the intralaminar nuclei. The typical clinical picture of unilateral paramedian thalamic infarctions consist of arousal and memory disorders, language or visuospatial disorders depending on the side of the lesion accompanied with gaze palsies and sensory-motor deficits. Ipsilateral ptosis associated with paramedian thalamic infarctions has been rarely reported. We report a 31 years old patient presenting with unilateral ptosis and right sided facial numbness associated with right paramedian thalamic infarction.

The impact of prolonged hunger strike: clinical and laboratory aspects of twenty-five hunger strikers.

BACKGROUND: Hunger strike is a very serious entity which may lead to severe diseases and death. AIMS: The aim of this study is to document the clinical, neurophysiological, neuroradiological, and neuropsychological aspects of prolonged hunger strike. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We investigated the clinical and laboratory characteristics of 25 hungerstrikers hospitalized during refeeding process. One sample t-test, independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney and Pearson correlation tests were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Twelve of them had a continuous hunger strike ranging between 190-366 days. The other 13 had quitting intervals for various reasons with a continuous hunger ranging between 65-265 days with a total hunger duration of 153-382 days. The mean loss of body mass index (BMI) was 40.98 +/- 9.3%. Imbalance, sleep disorders, somatosensory disturbances, and adynamia were the most common complaints. At admission, one third experienced ophthalmoparesis, about half of them had paresis, one quarter had truncal ataxia. At discharge 16% had persistent ophthalmoparesis and 36% nystagmus. Only four patients (16%) could walk independently. There was no serious MRI, EEG findings. Most prominent EMG findings were the decrease in median and sural nerve cnap, median and fibular cmap, and fibular ncv values. They showed mild impairment in MMTS and most of them had attention deficit and frontal type memory impairment. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that vitamin B intake, independent of the quantity and timing, lowers the morbidity and mortality of hunger strikers.

Idiopathic Tolosa-Hunt syndrome: four additional cases.

Idiopathic Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (ITHS) is a very rare cause of painful ophthalmoplegia characterized by unilateral orbital pain, ipsilateral oculomotor paralysis and prompt response to steroids. In this paper we report 4 additional cases of ITHS. This rare cause of painful ophthalmoplegia effects the cranial nerves due to a granulomatous lesion of unknown etiology in the cavernous sinus or superior orbital fissure. The International Headache Society redefined the diagnostic criteria for ITHS but it is still mostly a diagnosis of exclusion. Careful evaluation and follow-up is essential for diagnosis. Optimal therapy duration and dosage and prophylactic treatment in recurrent cases needs further research.

Tuberculous meningitis in adults: review of 61 cases.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is still a major cause of serious illness in developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical, laboratory, radiological and prognostic features of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) in immuncompetent adult patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-one patients with confirmed or presumed TBM seen over a 12-year period at the Neurology Department of Bakirköy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Disease, Istanbul, Turkey, were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were grouped according to the severity of meningitis on admission (stages I, II and III). They were also divided into two groups according to the presence of paradoxical response (progressive increase of lymphocytes or increase of polymorphonuclear cells instead of lymphocytes) in CSF samples. A combination of five antituberculosis drugs was used in the 1st month of treatment. Patients received antituberculosis therapy for at least 12 months. The outcome of the patients was defined on the basis of the 12-month Barthel index (BI) score (BI < 12 poor; BI >/= 12 good). For statistical analysis death was included in the poor outcome group. RESULTS: Paradoxical response in CSF findings was seen in 20 patients. There was no statistically significant difference between the outcome of the patients with and without CSF paradoxical response; however, new tuberculomas developed more frequently in the first group (p < 0.05). The overall mortality was 27.8%. Stage of disease was found to be independently associated with the 12-month outcome (OR 7.2; 95% CI 1.7-30.3, p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: In developing countries such as Turkey, tuberculosis is still an important public health issue. Early suspicion and appropriate long-term antituberculosis therapy together with corticosteroids may reduce mortality and morbidity in TBM patients.

Cognitive dysfunction of right hemisphere-like Todd's paralysis after status epilepticus: a case report.

We describe a case with symptoms of transient diffuse right hemisphere dysfunction (hemispatial neglect, dyscalculia, and disturbance of both spatial construction and visuospatial perception) occurring after status epilepticus. The clinical picture of this case suggested to us that these features could be understood as a variant of Todd's paralysis.

Cortical silent period following transcranial magnetic stimulation in epileptic patients.

Cortical silent period (SP) following transcranial magnetic stimulation is mainly due to cortical inhibitory mechanisms. SP may have a value for detecting inhibitory mechanisms in epileptic patients with or without treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of both the epilepsy and the antiepileptic medication on these inhibitory mechanisms. The subgroups studied consisted of (a) normal subjects, (b) unmedicated epileptic patients, (c) epileptic patients with uncontrolled seizures under medication, (d) epileptic patients with controlled seizures under medication. SP following transcranial magnetic stimulation was measured in all subjects. The SP values from shortest to the longest were in the following order: 1) normal subjects; 2) epileptic patients with controlled seizures under medication; 3) unmedicated epileptic patients; 4) epileptic patients with uncontrolled seizures under medication. Our findings probably indicate the enhanced interictal inhibitory mechanisms in epilepsy which is resistant to antiepileptic medication.