1/62. Neonatal type of nonketotic hyperglycinemia.Two infants with the neonatal type of nonketotic hyperglycinemia that had manifested as early neonatal consciousness disturbance are presented. Transient hyperammonemia had been detected in both initially. High levels of glycine in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid disturb the nervous system, causing variable manifestations of this disease. Both cases were complicated by intracranial hemorrhage, which has never before been reported. After treatment with sodium benzoate and dextromethorphan, some neurologic improvement was observed, although the glycine levels did not lower. Recent clinical trials are reviewed, and because of the unfavorable outcomes, the special need for prenatal diagnosis is highlighted.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nervous system (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/62. The smith-magenis syndrome: a new case with infant spasms.The smith-magenis syndrome (SMS) is characterized by congenital anomalies, mental retardation and the interstitial deletion of the 17p. 11.2 chromosome. The subjects affected by this syndrome show cranio-facial dysmorphias, brachycephalia, skeletal, ocular, cardiac, genitourinary and otolaryngological anomalies. The central nervous system is affected and this may be shown by psychomotor retardation, intellective deficit, electroencephalographic alterations (reduced/missing REM phase); the neuroradiological tests detect megacisterna magna, cerebellar hypoplasia, cortical dysplasia, ventricular asymmetry. Behavioural troubles are frequent and, among them, self-aggressive conducts (tearing out the nails). The syndrome is associated with the interstitial deletion of the 17p. 11.2 chromosome. The diagnosis can be made in the pre-natal period and a mosaic situation is possible. Even though the cases of SMS reported in the literature allow defining a characteristic phenotype, studies have been carried out to quantify the deletion of the chromosome 17 in order to identify the chromosomic tract which is responsible for the phenotypical induction. The deletion can either appear de novo or come from one of the parents. In addition, these subjects can show peripheral neuropathy, missing or reduced deep tendon reflexes and (rarely) epileptic crises. However, by reviewing the literature, no descriptions of patients affected by infant spasms are pointed out. This report refers to a new case of smith-magenis syndrome in a nine-month-old girl with spasms in extension.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5391273572333keywords = central nervous system, nervous system (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/62. tetrasomy 9p due to an intrachromosomal triplication of 9p13-p22.To date, approximately 30 patients have been described with a tetrasomy 9p, all being caused by the presence of an isochromosome 9p. We now report on a 3-year-old boy with a de novo intrachromosomal triplication of 9p13-p22, resulting in partial tetrasomy 9p. We compared his phenotype with cases of tetrasomy 9p caused by the presence of an extra isochromosome 9p. He has facial anomalies similar to those of cases of tetrasomy 9p, central nervous system abnormalities, and severe psychomotor retardation but no other major congenital anomalies. fluorescence in situ hybridization with region-specific probes showed that the middle repeat of the triplicated part is inverted. Microsatellite analysis demonstrated an involvement of both paternal chromosome 9 homologues in the triplication. This is compatible with either unequal crossing over of three of the four chromatids in paternal meiosis I or with a double crossing over in meiosis I and II (or an early mitotic division).- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5391273572333keywords = central nervous system, nervous system (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/62. Special features of Graves' disease in early childhood.Graves' disease (GD) is extremely rare in children younger than 4 years of age, but if not recognized and treated it can seriously interfere with growth and development. We report three unrelated children, all females, in whom GD occurred before the age of 3. These children presented with goiter, exophthalmos, tachycardia, and hyperactivity. Moreover, one showed a severe psychomotor delay, and had previously undergone surgery due to craniosynostosis; the other two manifested a language delay. All had high thyroid hormones and thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) serum levels that clearly indicated autoimmune hyperthyroidism. In all of them, the disease presumably had developed during the first or second year of life. No maternal history of GD was present in two. The third child was born to a mother affected with GD during pregnancy, but it is likely that her GD began to develop after 6 months of life. These children are being treated with methimazole, and treatment is still necessary after 32 months. TRAb levels were persistently high at follow-up. Psychological evaluation including language development at follow-up was appropriate for age in two children; the third child improved, but severe mental retardation is still evident. GD assessment in early childhood also needs to focus on psychological evaluation. Pediatricians should be aware of the possibility of permanent brain damage and craniosynostosis due to hyperthyroidism in infancy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.8799318184255keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/62. Clinical and neuroradiological follow-up in mucopolysaccharidosis type III (Sanfilippo syndrome).Mucopolysaccharidosis type III (Sanfilippo syndrome) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by progressive nervous system involvement with mental retardation, behavioural problems and seizures. Three patients, of 20 months to 12 years of age, were followed up for 3 years both clinically and by using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our results suggest that in MPS III patients MRI findings, including atrophy and abnormal or delayed myelination, may precede the onset of overt neurological symptoms. The increasing neurological morbidity is accompanied by different degrees of progressive atrophic changes, mainly affecting the cerebral cortex and the corpus callosum. However, it appears that, across subjects, the rate of MRI changes is unrelated to the severity of the clinical phenotype. On this basis it could be argued that in MPS III the worsening of the neurological symptoms might not necessarily reflect only the progressive cerebral abnormalities detectable by MRI.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4.8799318184255keywords = brain, nervous system (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/62. Neurophysiological findings in a case of carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndrome type I with phosphomannomutase deficiency.The carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndromes are multisystemic disorders involving the glycosylation pathway. The most common subtype is CDG syndrome type I (CDG I). In most CDG I patients a phosphomannomutase (PMM) deficiency has been recognized as the basic defect. We made a neurophysiological evaluation in an 8-year-old boy affected by CDG I with PMM deficiency. The evaluation included central and peripheral nervous system assessment [electroencephalogram (EEG), multimodal evoked potentials (MEP), somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP), visual evoked potentials (VEP), auditory brainstem response (ABR), electroretinogram (ERG) and motor and sensory nervous conduction velocity (NCV)]. We found a peculiar electrophysiological pattern characterized by slowly and mildly progressive motor NCV reduction; progressive impairment of ERG and VEP; slowing of background activity and sharp waves at the EEGs; late sensorineural abnormality of ABR; decreased amplitude and increased latency of SEP. To our knowledge this is the first report involving the neurophysiological aspects both at onset and during follow-up of a case of CDG I with proven PMM deficiency.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4.8799318184255keywords = brain, nervous system (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/62. Neuropsychological functioning in a patient with essential tremor with and without bilateral VIM stimulation.The effects of deep brain stimulation on motor functions, cognitive abilities, and mood were assessed in an 80-year-old, right-handed male with a chronic history of essential tremor. electrodes were implanted bilaterally in the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus during a single operation. Upon evaluation at 3 months postsurgery, bilateral stimulation was associated with a clinically significant reduction in tremor ratings and improvement in manual dexterity. At that time, a battery of neuropsychological measures was administered with and without bilateral stimulation. The patient demonstrated comparable performances on measures of visuospatial perception, attention, mental tracking, verbal learning, and verbal recognition memory in both the "on" and "off" conditions. Without stimulation, the patient demonstrated declines of greater than 1 SD on measures of verbal fluency and verbal recall compared to when the stimulators were active. Responses to mood rating scales also indicated greater subjective distress without stimulation. Results are discussed in the context of previous studies of the effects of thalamic stimulation on neurocognitive functioning.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.8799318184255keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/62. phenotype of a patient with pure partial trisomy 2p(p23-->pter).We present the case of a 7-month-old girl with the karyotype 46,XX, der(13) t(2;13)(p23;p11.2).ish der(13)(wcp2 ) de novo. Painting confirmed that the additional segment on 13p was of chromosome 2 origin, resulting in trisomy 2p23 -->2pter. The child had a prominent forehead with a flat hemangioma, depressed nasal bridge, protruding tongue, posteriorly angulated ears, esotropia with poor abduction of the right eye, bilateral severe myopia (-5.5 D), retinal hypopigmentation, foveal hypoplasia, and striking left optic nerve hypoplasia. She also had pectus excavatum, a protruding abdomen with diastasis recti, generalized hypotonia, delayed fine and gross motor development, grade II reflux on the left side, and grade III-IV reflux on the right side. An EEG showed epileptiform discharges. Computed tomographic scan of the brain showed decreased white matter, but magnetic resonance imaging showed normal results.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.8799318184255keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/62. dementia with impaired temporal glucose metabolism in late-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy.An unusual case of very-late-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) with dementia was studied. The patient was a 41-year-old male who presented with mild dementia and a single generalized tonic clonic seizure. Neuropsychological assessment demonstrated mild amnesia, visuospatial dysfunction and attention deficits with a slow psychomotor speed. MR brain imaging displayed confluent hyperintensities of periventricular and subcortical white matter. Low levels of arylsulfatase A confirmed the diagnosis. Impaired cortical glucose metabolism especially of the medial temporal and frontal cortices was observed using positron emission tomography and fluor-18-labeled fluorodesoxyglucose. The neuropsychological deficits are related to the location of deficits in glucose metabolism.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.8799318184255keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/62. leigh disease: clinical, neuroradiologic, and biochemical study of three new cases with cytochrome c oxidase deficiency.Three cases of leigh disease are described. In all three, symptoms began in the first months of life, with muscle hypotonia, lactic acidosis, and psychomotor delay. The diagnosis was made on the basis of the clinical characteristics, biochemical abnormalities, and typical brain magnetic resonance imaging with symmetric lesions suggesting bilateral necrosis at the level of the basal ganglia and of the midbrain. Cytochrome c oxidase (complex IV of the mitochondrial respiratory chain) deficiency was demonstrated in muscle tissue in all patients and confirmed in skin fibroblasts in patient 3. A genetic heterogeneity was present in these patients since only one had a SURF-1 gene mutation. The clinical, biochemical, and neuroradiologic aspects are discussed. Finally, the finding of facial dysmorphisms in the cytochrome c oxidase deficiency observed in one of the described cases is of extreme interest; to our knowledge, this association has never been reported in the literature.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7.7598636368509keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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