Physician-assisted suicide and physician-assisted euthanasia: evidence from abroad and implications for UK neurologists.

In this article, we consider the arguments for and against physician-assisted suicide (AS) and physician-assisted euthanasia (Eu). We assess the evidence around law and practice in three jurisdictions where one or both are legal, with emphasis on data from Oregon. We compare the eligibility criteria in these different regions and review the range of approved disorders. Cancer is the most common cause for which requests are granted, with neurodegenerative diseases, mostly motor neurone disease, ranking second. We review the issues that may drive requests for a physician-assisted death, such as concerns around loss of autonomy and the possible role of depression. We also review the effectiveness and tolerability of some of the life-ending medications used. We highlight significant variation in regulatory oversight across the different models. A large amount of data are missing or unavailable. We explore physician-AS and physician-assisted Eu within the wider context of end-of-life practice.

Utility and accuracy of perceptual voice and speech distinctions in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, PSP and MSA-P.

AIM: To determine if perceptual speech measures distinguish people with Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy with predominant parkinsonism (MSA-P) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). METHODS: Speech-language therapists blind to patient characteristics employed clinical rating scales to evaluate speech/voice in 24 people with clinically diagnosed PD, 17 with PSP and 9 with MSA-P, matched for disease duration (mean 4.9 years, standard deviation 2.2). RESULTS: No consistent intergroup differences appeared on specific speech/voice variables. People with PD were significantly less impaired on overall speech/voice severity. Analyses by severity suggested further investigation around laryngeal, resonance and fluency changes may characterize individual groups. CONCLUSION: MSA-P and PSP compared with PD were distinguished by severity of speech/voice deterioration, but individual speech/voice parameters failed to consistently differentiate groups.

Otogenic pneumocephalus as a complication of multiple myeloma.

We report a case of otogenic pneumocephalus in an 80-year-old woman with multiple myeloma. The pneumocephalus was associated with Haemophilus influenzae otitis media and reactive meningitis in the absence of an intracranial brain abscess. Myeloma causes thinning of bone trabeculae and destructive lytic bone lesions. This can predispose to a risk of pathologic fractures and, in patients with skull vault involvement, to the rare complication of pneumocephalus. Therefore, pneumocephalus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute headache in patients with multiple myeloma, especially those with skull vault involvement. Prompt computed tomography and liaison between the otolaryngology and neurology teams may assist in making an early diagnosis and preventing life-threatening intracranial complications.

NMDA receptor encephalitis--expanding the clinical spectrum.

A young woman presented with memory problems of subacute onset. Imaging was normal. She was admitted with severe complex partial status epilepticus requiring intensive care support and ventilation. Fits proved difficult to control requiring high dose anticonvulsants. She developed a profound amnesic syndrome. A clinical diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis was considered and she was treated with intravenous steroids with an excellent cognitive outcome. She continues to have occasional seizures.

A case of evolving post-ictal language disturbance secondary to a left temporal arteriovenous malformation: jargon aphasia or formal thought disorder?

INTRODUCTION: Wernicke's dysphasia and formal thought disorder are regarded as distinct diagnostic entities although both are linked to pathology in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG). We describe a patient with focal pathology in the left STG, giving rise acutely to a fluent dysphasia, which gradually evolved into formal thought disorder. METHOD: Clinical, neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, and neuroradiological assessment. RESULTS: A right-handed patient, AJ, presented acutely with a fluent dysphasia. His speech output gradually evolved from undifferentiated jargon, through neologistic jargon, to an intelligible but bizarre form of discourse. Comprehension was relatively well preserved. Radiology revealed an arteriovenous malformation in the left middle, and inferior temporal gyri, with reduced perfusion of the left STG. Six months later his overt dysphasia had recovered, but his speech retained some of its previous characteristics, in particular a tendency to a loose association of ideas which now suggested a disorder of thought. CONCLUSIONS: AJ's case illustrates that comprehension may be unexpectedly preserved in jargon aphasia, and that an overtly linguistic impairment can gradually evolve to an apparent disorder of thought. Indistinguishable formal thought disorders can result from "structural" and "functional" pathology in the dominant temporal lobe.