Three new studies have investigated clinical features that differentiate pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM).
Neurology
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: new guidelines
February 10, 2009The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation have published guidelines for the clinical management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) (Bhattacharyva et al. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2008;139(5 suppl 4):S47-S81).
Cognitive impairment in Parkinson disease
February 10, 2009Untreated patients with early Parkinson disease are at risk of cognitive impairment, according to a comparison of 196 non-demented PD subjects and 201 healthy controls in the Norwegian ParkWest study (Aarsland et al. Neurology 2008; epublished November 19, 2008).
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Statins appear beneficial in atherothrombotic stroke
January 27, 2009An observational study in Spain reports that previous treatment with a statin is an independent predictor of better outcome post-stroke (Martinez-Sanchez et al. Eur J Neurol 2008; 16:127-133).
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Managing patients with severe Alzheimer disease
January 27, 2009The management of severe Alzheimer disease may include the use of cholinesterase inhibitors and/or memantine, and atypical antipsychotics for patients with severe agitation, aggression and psychosis, according to the Third Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia (Herrmann & Gauthier. Can Med Assoc J 2008;179:1279-1287; free text at www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/179/12/1279. See also Patterson et al. Can Med Assoc J 1999;160:1738-1742).
The Third Canadian Consensus Conference also recommends using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the assessment of cognitive function, although this measure will be less sensitive as the disease progresses. The Global Deterioration Scale (Reisberg et al. Am J Psychiatry 1982;139:1136-1139) may be employed to assess overall severity. Read More