[Audiological assessment and follow-up after bacterial meningitis]. / Avaliação e acompanhamento audiológico após meningite bacteriana.

Hearing loss is the more frequent sequel of bacterial meningitis in children. This study describes the audiological profile (peripheric and central) of 89 children admitted to the hospital wards with the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Those children attended audiological follow up, after their hospital discharge, and were submitted to audiological tests. The results showed that 85.4% among them presented normal hearing in both ears 10.1% presented bilateral neurosensorial hearing loss and 4.5% presented unilateral neurosensorial hearing loss. The results from the auditory processing skills assessment showed that 10% of those children presented auditory localization and recognition of sentences with competitive messages (Paediatric Sentences Identification-ipsilateral) disorders.

Short latency median nerve somatosensory evoked potential (SEP): increase in stimulation frequency from 3 to 30 Hz.

Somatosensory evoked potentials were obtained by electrical stimulation of the median nerve in 10 normal subjects at 3 and 30 Hz. At the higher rate of stimulation, a reduction was observed in amplitudes and prolongation of latencies of the N9, N/P13 and N20 components as well as increase of the interpeak latency N9-N/P13. A significant increase between the onsets of the N11 and N20 components was also seen; however, no significant increase of the N/P13-N20 interpeak latency was observed. Analysis suggested that an important reason for this last finding was related to the fact that in some cases different fast frequency components (FFC) determined the N20 peak in the different situations. It was further observed that, in those cases in which at least 3 peaks in the fast frequency components were detected (7/10), a significantly different increase in latency between the first and the third peaks was noted. A possible thalamo-cortical generation of the FFC is discussed.

Psychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus: clinical features, symptoms, and signs of central nervous system activity in 43 patients.

Forty-three female inpatients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were studied by a multidisciplinary team to answer the following research questions: 1) What are the features of the psychopathology in patients with active SLE? and 2) In these patients, what is the relationship between psychiatric disorders and symptoms and signs suggesting activity of SLE in the CNS? Our a priori hypothesis was that, in patients with active SLE, those with psychiatric manifestations would have more symptoms and signs of CNS activity than those without psychiatric manifestations. Psychiatric evaluation consisted of standardized psychiatric instruments and diagnostic criteria. The assessment of SLE systemic and central nervous system (CNS) activity consisted of rheumatologic, neurologic, and ophthalmologic evaluations; serum and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) analysis; brain computerized tomography (CT); and electroencephalogram (EEG). Twenty-seven patients (63%) presented psychiatric symptoms (Psychiatric Group), and 16 (37%) patients presented no current psychiatric diagnosis (Nonpsychiatric Group). These groups were compared in terms of the above variables. Depressive syndrome was the most frequent diagnosis (44%) followed by delirium (7%) and dementia (5%). Psychiatric symptoms were associated with subjective cognitive impairment (85%) and neurologic abnormality (85%). Widened cortical sulci was the most frequent CT alteration and was equally common in both groups. No statistical difference was found between the 2 groups regarding their general clinical evaluation, serum and CSF exams, or EEG alterations. To determine whether the severity of psychiatric symptoms was related to CNS activity, we divided the 27 patients with psychiatric manifestations into 2 groups: the Major Group--18 patients with major psychopathology, and the Minor Group--9 patients with mild depressive syndromes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Benign familial chorea: report of 2 cases]. / Coréia familiar benigna: relato de dois casos.

Two cases (siblings) of benign familial chorea are reported. The family's pedigree shows an autosomic dominant form of inheritance with incomplete penetrance. The differential diagnosis is discussed as well a brief literature revision is made.