White matter lesions and cognitive impairment may be related to recovery from unilateral spatial neglect after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is frequently found in ischemic stroke patients. Because USN is related to poor functional outcomes, evaluating recovery from USN after stroke is critical. METHODS: Patients with acute ischemic stroke with lesions in the right cerebral hemisphere on MRI and exhibiting left USN were administered the Behavior Inattention Test (BIT) at 1 and 3weeks after admission. BIT improvement was defined as a ≥1-point increase in ≥4 of the 6 BIT subtests from 1 to 3weeks, or a total BIT score ≥131 at 3weeks. Factors associated with improvement of left USN were analyzed. RESULTS: Eighteen patients (8 men; mean age, 70±12years) were enrolled in this study. BIT was performed at 5.3±0.7 and 18.2±0.7days after admission. Twelve patients were classified to the improvement (I) group, and 6 to the non-improvement (NI) group. BIT scores increased substantially from 76.6±40.5 in the acute phase to 109.2±43.3 in the subacute phase. The I group displayed higher BIT scores than the NI group in both acute and subacute phases (P<0.01 each). The degree of white matter lesions on the Fazekas scale was lower in the I group (0.6±0.7) than in the NI group (1.7±1.2, P=0.028). Increased BIT scores correlated significantly with increased Mini Mental State Examination scores (r=0.487, P=0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Amelioration of left USN might be related to white matter lesions and cognitive impairment. Sample size in the current study was small, limiting the generalizability of results, and larger studies are warranted in the future.

Influence of barometric pressure in patients with migraine headache.

OBJECTIVE: Barometric pressure has been reported as a triggering and exacerbating factor in migraine headaches, although there are few reports concerning the association of weather change and migraine headache. The relationship between barometric pressure changes and migraine headaches was prospectively examined. METHODS: A total of 28 migraine patients who lived within 10 km of the Utsunomiya Local Meteorological Observatory kept a headache diary throughout the year. Daily and monthly mean barometric pressure data of the Utsunomiya Local Meteorological Observatory were obtained via the homepage of the Meteorological Office. RESULTS: The correlation between headache frequency obtained by the headache diaries for 1 year and changes in the barometric pressure during the period of 2 days before and 2 days after the headache onset were evaluated. The frequency of migraine increased when the difference in barometric pressure from the day the headache occurred to the day after was lower by more than 5 hPa, and decreased when the difference in barometric pressure from the day the headache occurred to 2 days later was higher by more than 5 hPa. Of 28 patients, weather change was associated with migraine headache development in 18 (64%) patients, 14 of which reported low barometric pressure to be a cause of headache. There was no association between the monthly mean barometric pressure and headache frequency throughout the year. CONCLUSION: Barometric pressure change can be one of the exacerbating factors of migraine headaches.

[A 62-year-old woman presenting with progressive nonfluent aphasia, apraxia of eyelid opening, supranuclear gaze palsy, and asymmetric rigidity].

A 62-year-old woman presented with difficulty in speaking and difficulty in opening her eyes. A neurological examination revealed progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), apraxia of eyelid opening, supranuclear vertical gaze palsy, and mild asymmetric rigidity. The diagnosis was difficult to establish because of unusual clinical features, and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) was considered. The results from recent studies suggest a positive association between PNFA and a diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) or PSP, even in mild parkinsonism cases. The overlapping clinical, genetic, and pathological features of CBD and PSP have also been recently recognized. However, in Japan, there have been few reports evaluating the clinical features of CBD or PSP accompanied by primary progressive aphasia. We report the case of our patient and compare the clinical features of our patient with those of Japanese patients with CBD or PSP accompanied by primary progressive aphasia; moreover we discuss clues that can lead to the correct clinical diagnosis of patients with primary progressive aphasia and parkinsonism comorbidities.

Evaluation of olfaction in patients with migraine using an odour stick identification test.

AIMS: Peculiar characteristics of migraine headaches include the arousal of olfaction during the attacks and osmophobia. We performed an olfactory test to evaluate the association between olfaction and migraines. METHODS: We evaluated olfactory dysfunction in 80 migraine patients (31 experienced migraines with aura (MWA), 49 migraine without aura (MWOA)) and 30 healthy controls. Participants were assessed for concurrent osmophobia. Olfaction was evaluated using an odour stick identification test (OSIT), in which participants were asked to identify various odours during a migraine-free period. The degree of offensiveness of each odour was also evaluated. RESULTS: Sixty-three percent of migraine patients were found to have concurrent osmophobia (MWA 71%; MWOA 57%). The percentages of migraine patients and controls who correctly identified test odours were 91% (92%, MWA; 89%, MWOA) and 92%, respectively. Perfume, rose and Japanese cypress odours were more offensive to migraine patients than to controls. All test odours were found to be more offensive to MWA than to MWOA patients. CONCLUSIONS: The OSIT showed certain odours to be highly offensive to migraine patients even when they were not experiencing migraine headaches. More attention should be paid to odours that are perceived to be offensive by migraine patients, particularly those with MWA.

Prevalence of typical migraine aura without headache in Japanese ophthalmology clinics.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of typical aura without headache (TAWH) in Japan. We distributed a self-report questionnaire comprising seven items. Of 1914 cases, the number of patients who provided valid answers was 1063. They included 1063 out-patients with 81 of these patients positive in the ID migraine screener Japanese version. TAWH was diagnosed in 35 patients (3.2%), aged 23-87 years, and included 12 males and 23 females. The age of patients with TAWH showed a biphasic distribution (20-39 years and 60-69 years), similar to the age distribution of all patients. Migraine with aura was diagnosed in 67 patients (6.3%) and showed a monophasic age distribution (40-49 years). These data suggest that TAWH is not a rare headache type in clinics especially in a setting of general ophthalmology clinics, and some patients of migraine with aura may transform to TAWH with ageing.

[Case of subdural empyema caused by Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence analysis].

A 24-year-old woman presented subdural empyema developing from sinusitis caused by Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium infection. She experienced fever and progressive headache with gradually worsening symptoms. Neurological examination revealed drowsiness and neck stiffness. A CSF examination detected pleocytosis and a low glucose level. Gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images from brain MRI showed thickening enhancement at the leptomeninges in the left frontal to temporal lobes and interhemispheric fissure with edema. Based on the diagnosis of bacterial meningoencephalitis and subdural empyema developing from sinusitis primary to odontogenic infection, she received antibacterial chemotherapy with meropenem hydrate and vancomycin hydrochloride, after which motor aphasia and consciousness disturbance occurred. No bacteria were isolated from a trans-sphenoidal biopsy specimen and CSF culture. Molecular typing also was performed by sequencing the 16S ribosomal RNA intergenic spacer region, and Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium were identified. She was given cephalosporin and metronidazol, after which her neurological symptoms and signs gradually lessened. Physicians need to be aware that patients may develop subdural empyema subsequent to sinusitis associated with Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium infection and that amplification and sequence analysis of partial bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene should be examined when no bacteria is identified by culture.