Plasma homocysteine and severe white matter disease.

The objective of this study was to assess if high total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) levels are a risk factor for severe leukoaraiosis (LA). This case-control study was done in a primary care neurology ward and included 178 consecutive patients. Patients with severe LA at CT scan were compared with patients without any LA regarding age, cerebrovascular risk factors, tHcy, vitamin B12, folate, creatinine levels and dementia. Multivariate logistic regression was used to find variables independently associated with severe LA. Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.10 per year; p<0.0001), tHcy (OR, 1.07/micromol/l increase; p=0.045) and hypertension (OR, 2.97; p=0.007) were significantly associated with severe LA. Total homocysteine levels are associated with severe LA independently of other risk factors for cerebrovascular disease. This may suggest that decreasing tHcy may help preserve the integrity of the brain white matter.

Hemimegalencephaly in hypomelanosis of Ito: early sonographic pattern and peculiar MR findings in a newborn.

Sonography is a reliable tool for the evaluation of the most severe congenital abnormalities of the brain; in the present case it provided an early demonstration of hemimegalencephaly in hypomelanosis of Ito in a newborn affected by body hemihypertrophy and skin lesions. Serial magnetic resonance (MR) examinations confirmed the asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres, and documented the evolution of the hemispheric growth and the presence of unusual aspects.

Recurrence after first cerebral infarction in young adults.

OBJECTIVE: We have investigated recurrence of stroke in a consecutive series of young adults, aged 16 to 45 years, after a first cerebral infarction. METHODS: From January 1, 1988 to December 31, 1996 we submitted those patients to a diagnostic protocol including angiographic, cardiological, and haematological investigations. The patients were followed at 6 month intervals up to December 31, 1998. RESULTS: We have evaluated and followed-up 135 patients, 71 men and 64 women, who were 3.99% of all the admitted stroke patients. At 12 months after stroke, 83 patients had returned to work, 40 patients were mildly to moderately handicapped, 4 were using a wheel-chair, and 8 had died. Follow-up was 26 to 123 months (mean 68.8). Recurrence of stroke, always of ischaemic nature, was seen in 15 patients (11.1%), 3 to 76 months after the first stroke (mean 27.4), for an annual incidence of 2.26%. Recurrence was significantly associated with Partial Anterior Circulation Syndrome and Haematological subtype of first stroke (respectively, P = 0.0209 and P = 0.0135, chi2 test), but not with age (< or = or > 35 years) or risk factors. Repetition of stroke was never fatal, but it caused heavy disability in 13 patients, 8 of whom had completely or nearly completely recovered after the first event. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that recurrence of stroke is a major clinical problem also for the patients aged less than 45 years and that it might be more frequent with specific clinical syndromes and etiologic subtypes of first stroke.

Three-dimensional MR myelography of traumatic injuries of the brachial plexus.

PURPOSE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of three-dimensional MR myelography in the evaluation of traumatic injuries of the brachial plexus. METHODS: Twenty patients with clinical and electromyographic evidence of traumatic brachial plexopathy were examined with three-dimensional MR myelography, conventional cervical myelography, and CT myelography 1 to 9 months after trauma. Three-dimensional MR myelography was performed on a 1.5-T MR unit with a constructive interference in steady state (CISS) technique. For each patient, maximum intensity myelographic projections and multiplanar reconstruction reformatted 1-mm axial sections were obtained from the same 3-D data set. Three-dimensional MR myelographic findings were compared with findings at cervical myelography and CT myelography. Surgical findings were available for comparison in 13 patients. RESULTS: Three-dimensional MR myelography enabled detection of meningoceles with avulsed or intact nerve roots, partial or complete radicular avulsions without disruption of the thecal sac, dural sleeve abnormalities, and dural scars. Assuming cervical myelography and CT myelography as the standards of reference, 3-D MR myelography showed 89% sensitivity, 95% specificity, and 92% diagnostic accuracy in the evaluation of nerve root integrity. CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional MR myelography can show the majority of traumatic lesions that involve the proximal portion of the brachial plexus in a single rapid examination. On the basis of our findings, we propose this technique as a screening examination for patients with traumatic brachial plexus palsy.

Dementia after first stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cognitive deficits may significantly worsen the quality of life after stroke. Our aim was to determine the frequency of dementia in a consecutive series of previously nondemented patients between the ages of 40 and 79 years at 3 months after a first ischemic stroke. METHODS: All patients admitted to our department during an 18-month period who met the above criteria were visited and tested and underwent a CT scan 3 months after their stroke. Dementia was diagnosed according to criteria of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and AIREN, but cases with aphasia were not excluded. RESULTS: Of 304 patients admitted for stroke, 146 were eligible for study. Eleven refused to participate, 25 were dead at 3 months, and 110 were tested. Fifteen patients were demented (13.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.8% to 21.5%), and six had severe isolated aphasia, neglect, or memory deficit (5.4%). Excluding patients with aphasia, 5.0% of cases showed dementia (95% CI, 1.6% to 11.3%). The frequency of dementia was 24.6% (95% CI, 14.5% to 37.3%), considering only patients with supratentorial lesions and with residual deficits of elementary functions (paresis, sensory deficits) at the time of examination. Demented patients had significantly more diabetes (P<.029), atrial fibrillation (P=.032), aphasia at entry (P<.001), large middle cerebral artery infarctions (P=.001), and a more severe neurological deficit at entry (P=.003) and at 3 months (P=.001). At CT scan, demented patients had a larger mean volume of the recent lesion (P<.001) and more lesions in the frontal lobe (P=.041). An exploratory multivariate analysis selected age between 60 and 69 years (odds ratio [OR], 45.8; 95% CI, 2.9 to 726.0), diabetes (OR 59.4; 95% CI, 4.3 to 821.0), aphasia (OR, 14.8; 95% CI, 2.0 to 111.0), a large middle cerebral artery infarction (OR, 30.0; 95% CI, 2.7 to 334.0), and lesions of the frontal lobe (OR, 9.8; 95% CI, 1.3 to 72.8) as significant independent correlates of poststroke dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Dementia is relatively frequent after a clinical first stroke in persons younger than 80 years, and aphasia is very often associated with poststroke dementia. If aphasic patients are not considered, it may be necessary to screen a very large number of subjects to collect an adequate sample of demented cases.

Brachial plexus injuries. Guidelines for management: our experience.

In spite of the progress made by microneurosurgery, the treatment of brachial plexus injuries still remains a great challenge. This personal series of 49 patients with brachial plexus injuries (excluding tumours and thoracic outlet syndromes) is peculiar because the cases arose after the introduction in Italy of the law requiring all motorcyclists to wear a safety helmet. Our experience confirms that there has been a 32% increase in very severe almost irreparable injuries of the plexus in comparison with previous data reported in the literature. This is probably due to the higher rate of survival among severely-injured patients, although the possibility of a direct effect of the helmet on the plexus cannot be completely discarded. Our results confirm the good prognosis of the microsurgical repair of C5-C6 stretch injuries and infraclavicular lesions.

[Prognostic importance of the criteria of stability and instability in traumatic injuries of the spine]. / Considerazioni sull'importanza prognostica dei criteri di stabilità ed instabilità delle lesioni traumatiche del rachide.

A traumatic vertebral lesion is unstable when, in spite of correct and timely reduction and immobilisation, a displacement occurs during the days following the trauma. Prompt correct diagnosis (often impeded by the serious conditions of the patients) and subsequent examinations are of great importance, especially in the case of very small, hardly detectable lesions, which do not involve neurological injuries. A series of some 800 vertebral fractures/dislocations was reviewed and numerical coefficients as proposed by Goutallier et al. were assigned to each case. These criteria were generally valid. However certain predictable unstable lesions for which surgery is indicated despite the absence of neurological lesions were stabilised by synostosis or anatomofunctional blocks even without surgical intervention. In contrast surgical stabilisation is necessary not only in the presence of neurological lesions but also when no sign of repair can be seen and/or vertebral dislocations worsen and/or anomalous vertebral movements arise.

Iopamidol and metrizamide in cervical myelography: side effects, EEG, and CSF changes.

Two nonionic contrast media, iopamidol and metrizamide (Amipaque), were used for cervical myelography (C1-C2 puncture) in 95 consecutive patients. Both contrast media gave excellent radiographic results. Headache and vagal symptoms were similar in both groups, whereas metrizamide produced more electroencephalographic changes and epileptic seizures. Meningeal irritation occurred in both groups and was severe in three cases. Cerebrospinal fluid showed protein and cellular changes of inflammatory type in both groups. Iopamidol is considered to be the more suitable contrast medium for cervical myelography despite its slight neurotoxicity.