Assessing and restoring cognitive functions early after stroke.
Authors: Zucchella C, Capone A, Codella V, Vecchione C, Buccino G, Sandrini G, Pierelli F, Bartolo M
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is a frequent complication of stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive training performed early after stroke. Ninety-two patients were randomly assigned to either the study group (SG) or the control group (CG). Cognitive rehabilitation consisted of 16 individual one-hour sessions in which patients performed therapist- guided computer exercises. The patients in the CG performed a sham intervention. After four weeks all the patients were re-eva...
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Excitability of spinal neural function during motor imagery in Parkinson's disease.
Authors: Suzuki T, Bunno Y, Onigata C, Tani M, Uragami S, Yoshida S
Abstract
the median nerve at the wrist in subjects during two motor imagery conditions: holding and not holding the sensor of a pinch meter between the thumb and index finger. Our aim was to determine whether mental simulation without the muscle contraction associated with motion can increase the excitability of spinal neural function in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). F-waves of the left thenar muscles were examined in 10 patients with PD under resting, holding and motor imagery conditions. For the holding condition, the subjects ...
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Co-occurrence of multiple sclerosis and Thomsen's myotonia: a report of two cases.
Authors: Ashtari F, Bahreini SA, Zahednasab H
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common demyelinating disease of the central nervous system in which an abnormal immune system response results in damage to the myelin sheaths surrounding nerves. The etiology of MS remains elusive, although it has been suggested to be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Here, we report two exceptional cases of patients affected by both MS and Thomsen's myotonia. Electromyography and MRI scans confirmed the presence of both diseases in the referred cases. Although the mechanisms underlying the co-occurrenc...
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Effect of cranioplasty on functional and neuro - psychological recovery after severe acquired brain injury: fact or fake? Considerations on a single case.
We describe the pre- and post-operative neuropsychological and functional evaluation of a 30-year-old male patient who underwent cranioplasty following previous craniectomy for a subarachnoid hemorrhage due to a spontaneously ruptured aneurysm of the right middle cerebral artery.
PMID: 25764258 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Functional Neurology)
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Paraneoplastic cerebellar ataxia associated with anti-Hu antibodies and benign ganglioneuroma.
We describe a case of cerebellar ataxia associated with anti-Hu antibodies and benign ganglioneuroma. A 28-year-old woman developed progressive ataxia with hyporeflexia at the age of 19. Brain MRI showed progressive cerebellar atrophy. Neurophysiological studies, screening of immune-mediated ataxias, oncological markers, vitamin E and genetic tests for spinocerebellar ataxia types 1,2,3, Friedreich ataxia and POLG1 were negative. Anti-Hu antibodies were positive in Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence (1:640). Total-body computed tomography revealed a mediastinum mass; the histological diagnosis was maturing gangli...
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Takotsubo syndrome: consequence or cause of ischemic stroke.
Authors: Finsterer J, Aliyev R
PMID: 25764260 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Functional Neurology)
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Authors' reply to Finsterer and Aliyev.
Authors: Bersano A, Bassetti C
PMID: 25764261 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Functional Neurology)
Source: Functional Neurology - March 13, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Dual task-related gait changes in patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Authors: Nascimbeni A, Caruso S, Salatino A, Carenza M, Rigano M, Raviolo A, Ricci R
Abstract
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) entails a high risk of developing Alzheimer's dementia. In MCI patients gait impairment, which increases the risk of falls and institutionalization, is an early motor sign. A dualtask (DT) paradigm might improve the observation of this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to investigate motor-cognitive interference in a sample of MCI patients and a group of matched healthy controls submitted to DT conditions. To this end, three different cognitive tasks were used: counting backward...
Source: Functional Neurology - February 6, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Paraneoplastic cerebellar ataxia associated with anti-Hu antibodies and benign ganglioneuroma.
We describe a case of cerebellar ataxia associated with anti-Hu antibodies and benign ganglioneuroma. A 28-year-old woman developed progressive ataxia with hyporeflexia at the age of 19. Brain MRI showed progressive cerebellar atrophy. Neurophysiological studies, screening of immune-mediated ataxias, oncological markers, vitamin E and genetic tests for spinocerebellar ataxia types 1,2,3, Friedreich ataxia and POLG1 were negative. Anti-Hu antibodies were positive in Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence (1:640). Total-body computed tomography revealed a mediastinum mass; the histological diagnosis was maturing gangli...
Source: Functional Neurology - January 25, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Magnetoencephalography in the study of brain dynamics.
Authors: Pizzella V, Marzetti L, Della Penna S, De Pasquale F, Zappasodi F, Romani GL
Abstract
To progress toward understanding of the mechanisms underlying the functional organization of the human brain, either a bottom-up or a top-down approach may be adopted. The former starts from the study of the detailed functioning of a small number of neuronal assemblies, while the latter tries to decode brain functioning by considering the brain as a whole. This review discusses the top-down approach and the use of magnetoencephalography (MEG) to describe global brain properties. The main idea behind this approach...
Source: Functional Neurology - January 25, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Neurophotonics: non-invasive optical techniques for monitoring brain functions.
Authors: Torricelli A, Contini D, Dalla Mora A, Pifferi A, Re R, Zucchelli L, Caffini M, Farina A, Spinelli L
Abstract
The aim of this review is to present the state of the art of neurophotonics, a recently founded discipline lying at the interface between optics and neuroscience. While neurophotonics also includes invasive techniques for animal studies, in this review we focus only on the non-invasive methods that use near infrared light to probe functional activity in the brain, namely the fast optical signal, diffuse correlation spectroscopy, and functional near infrared spectroscopy methods. We also pr...
Source: Functional Neurology - January 25, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Excitability of spinal neural function during motor imagery in Parkinson's disease.
Authors: Suzuki T, Bunno Y, Onigata C, Tani M, Uragami S, Yoshida S
Abstract
the median nerve at the wrist in subjects during two motor imagery conditions: holding and not holding the sensor of a pinch meter between the thumb and index finger. Our aim was to determine whether mental simulation without the muscle contraction associated with motion can increase the excitability of spinal neural function in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). F-waves of the left thenar muscles were examined in 10 patients with PD under resting, holding and motor imagery conditions. For the holding condition, the subjects ...
Source: Functional Neurology - December 23, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Takotsubo syndrome: consequence or cause of ischemic stroke.
Authors: Finsterer J, Aliyev R
PMID: 25529301 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Functional Neurology)
Source: Functional Neurology - December 23, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Authors' reply to Finsterer and Aliyev.
Authors: Bersano A, Bassetti C
PMID: 25529302 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Functional Neurology)
Source: Functional Neurology - December 23, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Influence of intensive multifunctional neuro - rehabilitation on neuronal oxidative damage in patients with Huntington's disease.
Authors: Ciancarelli I, De Amicis D, Di Massimo C, Sandrini G, Carolei A, Ciancarelli MG
Abstract
The influence of intensive multifunctional neurorehabilitation on serum levels of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), as markers of oxidative damage, was evaluated in symptomatic patients with Huntington's disease (HD). Improved clinical outcome measures were observed after neurorehabilitation. Baseline levels of Cu/Zn-SOD, NSE and 8-OHdG were higher than those observed in controls. Cu/Zn-SOD and NSE values decreased after neurorehabil...
Source: Functional Neurology - December 19, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
