1/79. Chronic axonal sensory and autonomic polyneuropathy without motor involvement: a new 'chronic inflammatory neuropathy?'.We report the case of a woman with axonal sensory and autonomic neuropathy lasting several months who improved in association with steroid administration. During the course of her disease and in the follow-up, the patient underwent repeated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examinations, neurophysiological somatic, autonomic nervous system studies and sural nerve biopsy. Clinical and laboratory assessments demonstrated the occurrence of a monophasic, chronic sensory and autonomic neuropathy. A sural nerve biopsy suggested an axonopathy. After a progressive worsening of symptoms lasting about 6 months, steroid treatment was started and within 6 months a complete recovery, with normalization of the CSF findings, was observed. Although the 'chronic inflammatory neuropathies' are still debated entities, the features of this chronic, exclusively sensory and autonomic neuropathy are new, and the occurrence of a high protein level in the CSF, together with the favorable outcome associated with steroid treatment, suggests that our case might be another variant in this debated area.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/79. electrodiagnosis in spinal cord injured persons with new weakness or sensory loss: central and peripheral etiologies.OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and causes of late neurologic decline of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN: Retrospective review of persons with SCI over a 9-year period. Those with complaints of new weakness or sensory loss were grouped into three categories based on clinical examination, electrodiagnosis, and imaging: (1) central pathology (ie, brain, spinal cord, or nerve root); (2) peripheral pathology (plexus or peripheral nerve); or (3) no identifiable etiology. The specific diagnoses of late neurologic decline were identified. SETTING: Regional veterans Affairs spinal cord Injury Service. patients: Five hundred two inpatient and outpatient adults with SCI. RESULTS: Nineteen percent of the study population complained of new weakness and/or sensory loss. Neurologic abnormalities were noted in 13.5%, 7.2% with central and 6.4% with peripheral causes. The most common pathologies were posttraumatic syringomyelia (2.4%) and cervical (1.6%) and lumbosacral (1.2%) myelopathy/radiculopathy. A specific etiology was not determined in 6 cases (1.6%). Peripheral involvement was mostly from ulnar nerve entrapment (3.4%) and carpal tunnel syndrome (3.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Late-onset neurologic decline is common after SCI and can result from central or peripheral pathology. Regular neurologic monitoring of SCI patients is recommended, since many with neurologic decline respond favorably if diagnosed and treated early.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/79. Endoscopic supraorbital nerve neurolysis.Endoscopic surgery, performed through small incisions, yields therapeutic results equivalent or superior to those obtained using the conventional approach. The technique has been established in laparoscopic cholecystectomic surgery. In plastic surgery, endoscopic techniques were first developed in aesthetic procedures and have been reported to be useful in face-lift operations, breast reconstruction, muscle flap harvesting and subcutaneous surgery. Endobrow lift has become a more and more popular aesthetic procedure. The endoscope provides an excellent magnification and, through a high power light source, a very good illumination of the operative field. It explains why the endoscope is more and more used in reconstructive procedures. We report the case of a patient suffering from a posttraumatic entrapment of the right supraorbital nerve which was released by an endoscopic approach.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/79. Subacute sensory neuropathy associated with Epstein-Barr virus.A 35-year-old man experienced severe sensory loss, pseudoathetosis, and areflexia during recovery from a severe viral illness. Sensory nerve action potentials were absent, motor conduction velocities were mildly slowed, and blink reflexes were normal. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed abnormal signal within the central and dorsal aspects of the thoracic cord. Acute and convalescent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) titers suggested EBV as the etiology. Subacute sensory neuropathy, with peripheral and central nervous system involvement, is a rare complication of EBV infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/79. Following the clues to neuropathic pain. Distribution and other leads reveal the cause and the treatment approach.Neuropathic pain can seem enigmatic at first because it can last indefinitely and often a cause is not evident. However, heightened awareness of typical characteristics, such as the following, makes identification fairly easy: The presence of certain accompanying conditions (e.g., diabetes, hiv or herpes zoster infection, multiple sclerosis) pain described as shooting, stabbing, lancinating, burning, or searing pain worse at night pain following anatomic nerve distribution pain in a numb or insensate site The presence of allodynia Neuropathic pain responds poorly to standard pain therapies and usually requires specialized medications (e.g., anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, opioid analgesics) for optimal control. Successful pain control is enhanced with use of a systematic approach consisting of disease modification, local or regional measures, and systemic therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/79. Bilateral median nerve compression at the level of Struthers' ligament. Case report.Struthers' ligament syndrome is a rare cause of median nerve entrapment. Bilateral compression of the median nerve is even more rare. It presents with pain, sensory disturbance, and/or motor function loss at the median nerve's dermatomal area. The authors present the case of a 21-year-old woman with bilateral median nerve compression caused by Struthers' ligament. She underwent surgical decompression of the nerve on both sides. To the authors' knowledge, this case is the first reported bilateral compression of the median nerve caused by Struthers' ligament. The presentation and symptomatology of Struthers' ligament syndrome must be differentiated from median nerve compression arising from other causes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 61.374313369626keywords = median nerve, nerve, median (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/79. A new ambulatory foot pressure device for patients with sensory impairment. A system for continuous measurement of plantar pressure and a feed-back alarm.Abnormal and excessive plantar pressure is a major risk factor for the development of foot ulcers in patients with loss of protective pain sensation. Repeated pressure with each step can result in inflammation at specific points, followed by ulcer formation. patients with peripheral nerve disease are unable to prevent the development of such lesions, which often lead to amputation. For this reason, it has been suggested that a fundamental therapeutic intervention should be the reduction of high plantar pressure. We have developed a portable, battery-operated ambulatory foot pressure device (AFPD) which has two important functions: (1) to determine the areas of high plantar pressure, and (2) to provide an acoustic alarm, adjusted to a specific pressure load, which is triggered when weight-bearing exceeds the predetermined plantar pressure. A memory of plantar pressure parameters allows for downloading of the data and sequential analysis during the investigation period. Such an alarm device could replace the lack of pain sensation and may play an important role in the prevention of ulcer development and lower extremity amputation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/79. Morphometric evaluation of paraneoplastic neuropathies associated with carcinomas, lymphomas, and dysproteinemias.Paraneoplastic peripheral neuropathies are caused by indirect effects of carcinomas, mainly small cell bronchogenic carcinomas, lymphoproliferative disorders (lymphomas, myelomas, polycythemia vera), and dysproteinemias (benign monoclonal paraproteinemia, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia) including cryoglobulinemias. Those associated with carcinomas are usually considered as severe, those associated with benign gammopathies (monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance, MGUS) as mild, and those with cryoglobulinemias as of variable severity. In a larger series of 104 autopsy and biopsy cases, we noted a wide range of severity concerning various morphometric parameters of peripheral nerve fibers by evaluating sural nerves. There were no apparent morphometric differences between the groups of disorders. The most valuable parameter of optic-electronic evaluation and comparison turned out to be the myelin area expressed as a percentage of the endoneurial area because this measure comprises the relative number, size, and myelin thickness of the myelinated nerve fibers. In the 104 cases of the three disease groups, most of the cases (38 cases; 36.5%) showed a moderate reduction of the myelin sheath area per endoneurial area of sural nerves. This was followed by 34 cases (32.7%) with severe and very severe reduction. Twenty-nine cases (27.9%) presented with mild reduction. It is concluded that the severity of the neuropathy depends largely on the stage of the disease and the time of progression rather than on the type of the underlying disorder.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/79. Transient hemifacial sensory loss with xerophthalmia following temporal lobectomy.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: The occurrence of a unilateral sensory loss in the second trigeminal distribution and the inability to tear following an ipsilateral temporal lobectomy has not been noted despite a number of reports of cranial nerve compromise under similar situations. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 48-year-old woman experienced complex partial seizures over three years attributable to the presence of cavernous malformations of the right temporal lobe. INTERVENTION: An anterior temporal extrahippocampal resection was performed. The surgery was marked by the need for electrocoagulation of the dural base of the temporal lobe where numerous bleeding points were encountered. Postoperatively, the patient experienced an ipsilateral maxillary division sensory loss, absence of tearing, and diminished nasal congestion for an eight-month period until resolution. CONCLUSION: Injury of the fibers of the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve and the adjacent greater superficial petrosal nerve appears to be the cause. No prior account of such an occurrence has been published.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/79. Sensory guillain-barre syndrome.OBJECTIVE: To report eight cases of sensory guillain-barre syndrome (GBS). BACKGROUND: The concept of sensory equivalent to ascending paralysis of GBS was raised in 1958, and the diagnostic criteria for a sensory loss and areflexia variant of GBS were proposed in 1981. However, clinical cases meeting these criteria have been relatively scarce. methods: During a 13-year period between 1986 and 1999, the authors collected eight cases of an acute sensory demyelinating neuropathy that met most of the proposed diagnostic criteria of a sensory variant of GBS. RESULTS: In all patients, sensory neuropathy was sudden at onset and peaked to maximal deficit within 4 weeks. In five (63%) cases, there was an antecedent viral illness. All patients had objective sensory loss and diminished or absent reflexes. None showed any muscle weakness. In all four patients in whom the spinal fluid was examined during the first 4 weeks, there was albuminocytologic dissociation. All of the patients had electrophysiologic evidence of demyelination in at least two nerves. Demyelination was demonstrated in motor nerve conduction in seven patients and in sensory nerve conduction in one, indicating that motor nerve conduction studies were the key for the diagnosis of demyelinating neuropathy. All patients had sensory nerve conduction abnormalities in at least one nerve. Three patients responded to immunotherapies. All had a favorable outcome, with a monophasic course of disease and no sign of relapse. CONCLUSION: The current study confirms the existence of sensory GBS.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
| | Next -> |