Who is referred to neurology clinics?--the diagnoses made in 3781 new patients.

OBJECTIVE: Information on the nature and relative frequency of diagnoses made in referrals to neurology outpatient clinics is an important guide to priorities in services, teaching and research. Previous studies of this topic have been limited by being of only single centres or lacking in detail. We aimed to describe the neurological diagnoses made in a large series of referrals to neurology outpatient clinics. METHOD: Newly referred outpatients attending neurology clinics in all the NHS neurological centres in Scotland, UK were recruited over a period of 15 months. The assessing neurologists recorded the initial diagnosis they made. An additional rating of the degree to which the neurologist considered the patient's symptoms to be explained by disease was used to categorise those diagnoses that simply described a symptom such as 'fatigue'. RESULTS: Three thousand seven hundred and eighty-one patients participated (91% of those eligible). The commonest categories of diagnosis made were: headache (19%), functional and psychological symptoms (16%), epilepsy (14%), peripheral nerve disorders (11%), miscellaneous neurological disorders (10%), demyelination (7%), spinal disorders (6%), Parkinson's disease/movement disorders (6%), and syncope (4%). Detailed breakdowns of each category are provided. CONCLUSIONS: Headache, functional/psychological disorders and epilepsy are the most common diagnoses in new patient referral to neurological services. This information should be used to shape priorities for services, teaching and research.

Neurology out-patients with symptoms unexplained by disease: illness beliefs and financial benefits predict 1-year outcome.

BACKGROUND: Patients whose symptoms are 'unexplained by disease' often have a poor symptomatic outcome after specialist consultation, but we know little about which patient factors predict this. We therefore aimed to determine predictors of poor subjective outcome for new neurology out-patients with symptoms unexplained by disease 1 year after the initial consultation. METHOD: The Scottish Neurological Symptom Study was a 1-year prospective cohort study of patients referred to secondary care National Health Service neurology clinics in Scotland (UK). Patients were included if the neurologist rated their symptoms as 'not at all' or only 'somewhat explained' by organic disease. Patient-rated change in health was rated on a five-point Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) scale ('much better' to 'much worse') 1 year later. RESULTS: The 12-month outcome data were available on 716 of 1144 patients (63%). Poor outcome on the CGI ('unchanged', 'worse' or 'much worse') was reported by 482 (67%) out of 716 patients. The only strong independent baseline predictors were patients' beliefs [expectation of non-recovery (odds ratio [OR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40-2.96), non-attribution of symptoms to psychological factors (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.51-3.26)] and the receipt of illness-related financial benefits (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.37-3.86). Together, these factors predicted 13% of the variance in outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Of the patients, two-thirds had a poor outcome at 1 year. Illness beliefs and financial benefits are more useful in predicting poor outcome than the number of symptoms, disability and distress.

Symptoms 'unexplained by organic disease' in 1144 new neurology out-patients: how often does the diagnosis change at follow-up?

It has been previously reported that a substantial proportion of newly referred neurology out-patients have symptoms that are considered by the assessing neurologist as unexplained by 'organic disease'. There has however been much controversy about how often such patients subsequently develop a disease diagnosis that, with hindsight, would have explained the symptoms. We aimed to determine in a large sample of new neurology out-patients: (i) what proportion are assessed as having symptoms unexplained by disease and the diagnoses given to them; and (ii) how often a neurological disorder emerged which, with hindsight, explained the original symptoms. We carried out a prospective cohort study of patients referred from primary care to National Health Service neurology clinics in Scotland, UK. Measures were: (i) the proportion of patients with symptoms rated by the assessing neurologist as 'not at all' or only 'somewhat explained' by 'organic disease' and the neurological diagnoses recorded at initial assessment; and (ii) the frequency of unexpected new diagnoses made over the following 18 months (according to the primary-care physician). One thousand four hundred and forty-four patients (30% of all new patients) were rated as having symptoms 'not at all' or only 'somewhat explained' by 'organic disease'. The most common categories of diagnosis were: (i) organic neurological disease but with symptoms unexplained by it (26%); (ii) headache disorders (26%); and (iii) conversion symptoms (motor, sensory or non-epileptic attacks) (18%). At follow-up only 4 out of 1030 patients (0.4%) had acquired an organic disease diagnosis that was unexpected at initial assessment and plausibly the cause of the patients' original symptoms. Eight patients had died at follow-up; five of whom had initial diagnoses of non-epileptic attacks. Seven other types of diagnostic change with very different implications to a 'missed diagnosis' were found and a new classification of diagnostic revision is presented. One-third of new neurology out-patients are assessed as having symptoms 'unexplained by organic disease'. A new diagnosis, which with hindsight explained the original symptoms, rarely became apparent to the patient's primary care doctor in the 18 months following the initial hospital consultation.

Almotriptan: a balanced approach to migraine.

Effective acute treatment of migraine is possible with the 4HT(1B/1D) agonists (triptans), but their use has been limited in the UK because of concerns about limited efficacy, recurrence of attacks, adverse events, and cost. Almotriptan (Almogran, Lundbeck Ltd, Milton Keynes), the most recently available member of the class, offers some advantages over previously available agents.

The diagnostic yield of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spine requested by general practitioners: comparison with hospital clinicians.

The rate of diagnosis of radiologically significant abnormalities in outpatients following requests of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spine by general practitioners was compared with the rate following MRI scan requests by hospital clinicians. A similar rate of significant pathology was diagnosed in both groups in both the brain and the spine. Under carefully controlled conditions, open-access MRI scanning of the brain and spine can contribute to effective patient management.

The efficacy of subcutaneous sumatriptan in the treatment of recurrence of migraine headache.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy of a second subcutaneous dose of 6 mg sumatriptan in the treatment of recurrence of headache after successful treatment of a migraine attack with an initial 6 mg dose. METHODS: In a prospective, randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, parallel group study, 803 patients were treated for one to three migraine attacks with severe or moderate headache with a subcutaneous injection of 6 mg sumatriptan. Any subsequent recurrence of migraine headache was treated with a randomised second injection of sumatriptan or placebo. Recurrence was defined as a headache of moderate or severe intensity occurring 1-24 hours after the initial dose in a patient whose headache had been relieved by sumatriptan (reduction of headache severity from severe or moderate to mild or none after one hour). RESULTS: Headache recurrence was reported by 10%-15% of patients. At each attack, 6 mg sumatriptan given subcutaneously was significantly (P < 0.0005) more effective than placebo at relieving recurrent headache after one hour (84%-93% v 31%-50% of patients); 76%-83% of patients reported headache relief one hour after the initial dose of sumatriptan. Sumatriptan was generally well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Up to 15% of patients with migraine experience significant recurrence of headache after successful treatment with subcutaneous sumatriptan, and this recurrence is effectively treated by a further dose of subcutaneous sumatriptan.

Investigation of late-onset migraine.

Sixty-nine patients presenting with migraine, with or without aura, after age 40 were investigated with CT or MRI brain scanning, carotid ultrasound and serum antibody studies. A 2:1 female:male predominance was found, the mean age of presentation being 51.6 years. Migraine with aura was reported in 86% of patients. 46% of the females had active menopausal symptoms. No significant haematological or serological abnormalities were detected. CT or MRI brain imaging was normal in 93% of cases; 4 patients had evidence of cerebral infarction. No cerebral tumour or vascular malformation was found. Three patients had evidence of mild-moderate carotid atheroma on ultrasound scanning. Routine detailed investigation of late-onset migraine is unlikely to be of value unless the history is atypical or abnormalities are present on clinical examination.

Humoral immunity in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus or leukaemia virus.

The humoral antibody responses of 82 domestic cats to the common commensal bacteria Pasteurella multocida and Staphylococcus aureus were measured by an indirect immunofluorescence assay to give a subjective quantification of specific IgG in serum. There was no significant difference in specific serum IgG levels between sick cats which tested antibody-positive to feline immunodeficiency virus or antigen-positive to feline leukaemia virus and sick, virus-negative cats. This finding suggested that there was no change in immune status, as measured by this method, in both feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus infections, although, based on clinical signs shown by the virus-positive cats, overall immunosuppression was indicated. Feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus infection may have an effect on cellular immunity, as is the case with human immunodeficiency virus.

Prevalence of impaired cerebrovascular reserve in patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease.

Cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) was studied in 104 consecutive patients with symptomatic carotid territory disease and ipsilateral internal carotid artery stenosis. Overall, 30 of 104 patients (29 per cent) had impaired CVR. The frequency of CVR impairment increased with the severity of internal carotid artery stenosis: impairment was present in none of 11 patients with stenosis of less than 50 per cent, four of 24 with stenosis of 50-69 per cent, 14 of 41 with stenosis of 70-89 per cent and 12 of 28 with stenosis of 90-99 per cent. Patients presenting with a stroke were significantly more likely to have impaired CVR than those with transient ischaemic attacks and/or amaurosis fugax (odds ratio 3.7 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 1.5-9.0)), as were those with a residual neurological deficit (odds ratio 4.3 (95 per cent c.i. 1.6-11.5)) and evidence of infarction from computed tomography (odds ratio 3.8 (95 per cent c.i. 1.6-9.4)).

In-111 CYT-103 immunoscintigraphy in the imaging of ovarian carcinoma.

Fifteen presurgical patients with a history of ovarian carcinoma were evaluated with immunoscintigraphy using the In-111-labeled monoclonal antibody conjugate CYT-103. Twelve of these patients had residual neoplasia at time of laparotomy. A single intravenous dose of the radiolabeled monoclonal antibody was given to these patients before restaging laparotomy. All patients also underwent CT scanning of the abdomen and pelvis before laparotomy. Immunoscintigraphy detected the presence of disease in 10 of 12 patients before surgery, whereas CT scanning detected disease in only 6 of these 12 women. The results of this study indicate that immunoscintigraphy using In-111 CYT-103 is more sensitive than CT and may add useful information to the preoperative evaluation of women with ovarian carcinoma.

Western blotting analysis in patients with MS using human brain vessels as antigen.

Serum samples from patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, other neurological diseases and normal controls were screened by "western blotting" for antibody directed against proteins of human brain vessels purified from a post mortem brain. A small number of sera contained autoantibodies against some of the proteins of the brain vessels, particularly in patients suffering from MS, epilepsy and migraine. The significance of these results is discussed.

A comparison of facial grading systems.

There have been several attempts at establishing a grading system to estimate the severity of a facial palsy. This study compares the validity and consistency of all the leading systems. The results indicate that the systems are comparable and overall none had the advantage over the others. Interobserver variation had a significant effect on the consistency of the systems used, but experience of the observer was not a significant factor. The simplest classification studied was the House-Brackman system which is recommended.

Neurological disease associated with anticardiolipin antibodies in patients without systemic lupus erythematosus: clinical and immunological features.

Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), one of a group of antiphospholipid antibodies which include the lupus anticoagulant (LA), may occur in association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and are less commonly detected in other diseases. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and immunological features of 39 consecutive patients with abnormal aCL identified by one laboratory, to examine the spectrum of neurological disease in those patients without SLE. Fourteen patients in this category are described, 6 of whom did not have evidence of LA. All but 1 presented with neurological symptoms. Stroke and migraine dominated the clinical presentation, but many patients had features to suggest the presence of a hypercoagulable state. This study lends support to the concept of a primary antiphospholipid syndrome.