bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
HTLV-I Associated Myelopathy: An Endemic Disease of Canadian Aboriginals of the Northwest Pacific Coast
Authors: Joël J.F. Oger , Denise H. Werker , Dean J. Foti , Gregory A. Dekaban 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I) is responsible for HTLV-I associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and for adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Both diseases have been well described in individuals living in Japan, West Indies, Seychelles Islands and Columbia where infection with HTLV-I is considered endemic and in persons whose descendants originated from these endemic areas. We report here 4 cases of HAM/TSP in 4 natives from 4 different tribal groups from British Columbia (B.C.). These are the first case reports of HTLV-I linked diseases found among North American Aboriginals. Possible routes of infection for HTLV-I infection included sexual transmission, breast feeding, blood transfusions and IV drug use. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I in North American Native population is unknown and we suggest that it is endemic in this ethnic group.
Abstracts of the Fifth International Conference on Computerized and Quantitative EMG
Authors: Alan J. McComas 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:The Conference was held in Hamilton, Ontario, on May 18-21 1993, and was the successor to the meetings in New York, Monaco, Cyprus and Mainz. Normally the conferences are held every two years but in this instance the event had been deferred to as not to clash with the 1992 International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology in Jerusalem. The Hamilton meeting had been immediately preceded by the International Course on Single Fiber EMG and Other Special Techniques and over 150 registrants and faculty attended the two events. A noted absentee was Dr. Erik Stalberg (Uppsala), the pioneer of single fiber EMG, who was unexpectedly taken ill shortly before the meetings began; by the unanimous decision of the participants, both the International Course and the International Conference were dedicated to Dr. Stalberg.
In Search of the Identity of the Cerebellar Climbing Fiber Transmitter: Immunocytochemical Studies in Rats
Authors: Nianhui Zhang , Ole P. Ottersen 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:Quantitative immunogold cytochemistry at the electron microscopic level was used to assess the endogenous contents of glutamate, aspartate, homocysteic acid, and glutamine (a precursor of glutamate) in the cerebellar climbing fiber terminals. Of the three excitatory amino acids, only glutamate appeared to be enriched in these terminals. The climbing fiber terminals also displayed immunoreactivity for glutamine. The level of aspartate immunoreactivity was far higher in the nerve cell bodies in the inferior olive than in their terminals in the cerebellar cortex. Homocysteic acid immunolabelling was concentrated in glial cells including the Golgi epithelial cells in the Purkinje cell layer. Our immunocytochemical data indicate that glutamate is a more likely climbing fiber transmitter than aspartate and homocysteic acid.
Modulation of Monoaminergic and Amino Acid Transmission as a Means for Therapeutic Intervention in Ataxia
Authors: Andreas Plaitakis 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:In recent years, substantial progress has been made in understanding the organization and function of the cerebellum at the neuronal, synaptic, and molecular level. More than any other region of the brain, the cerebellum utilizes amino acids as its main excitatory and inhibitory transmitters. Excitatory amino acids, such as glutamate and aspartate, in addition to serving as chemical messengers, may also mediate neurodegenerative processes in human ataxic disorders. Of the monoamines, serotonin has been proposed as a neuromodulator in the cerebellum and is thought to play a role in the pathophysiology of ataxia in animal models, and human cerebellar disorders. These considerations raise the possibility that pharmacologic modification of amino acid and serotonergic transmission may provide a means for therapeutic intervention in ataxia.
Pathophysiology of Cerebellar Dysfunction in the Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
Authors: Roger F. BuutterWoth 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:Cerebellar ataxia is a common presenting sign in the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS). Recovery from ataxia following thiamine treatment is rarely complete, suggesting the existence of both a reversible (“biochemical”) lesion as well as irreversible, neuropathological damage. Cerebellar pathology in WKS includes severeloss of Purkinje cells in superior cerebellar vermis as well as neuronal loss from the granular layer. In addition, damage to inferior olivary nucleus could result in loss of climbing fibre input to cerebellum in this condition. Experiments using an animal model of WKS, the pyrithiamine-treated rat, reveal selective reversible decreases of α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (αKGDH) in cerebellum. Decreased enzyme activities are associated with decreased cerebellar content of GABA and aspartate. Thiamine reversal of neurological symptoms results in normalization of cerebellar enzyme activities and GABA content suggesting that reduced activities of αKGDH constitute “the biochemical lesion” in these animals. Possible mechanisms implicated in neuronal cell death in cerebellum include impaired cellular energy metabolism, focal lactic acidosis and excitotoxic damage resulting from excess glutamate release mediated by Nmethyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Similar mechanisms could be involved in the reversible and irreversible neurological symptoms of WKS in humans.
Femoral Neuropathy in Renal Transplantation
Authors: Jog Mandar S. , Turley Jean E. , Berry Henry 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:Acute femoral neuropathy after renal transplantation is an uncommon and rarely recognized complication. Recovery of the nerve is usual. Although rare, five cases have come to our attention in the past twenty years. A detailed clinical and electrophysiological analysis with a six month follow-up is presented. A review of sixteen other reported cases is also provided. The possible pathophysiology including direct compression and nerve ischemia, is discussed. We believe that nerve ischemia, possibly caused by a steal phenomenon, occurs in all cases following the anastomosis of the graft renal artery to the internal iliac artery, with a superimposed component of compression in some cases. The severity of ischemia probably determines the degree of recovery.
Usefulness of Single Fiber EMG for Distinguishing Neuromuscular from Other Causes of Ocular Muscle Weakness
Authors: Ukachoke C. , Ashby P. , Basinsk A. , Sharpe J.A. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract:Consecutive patients (n = 114), who had single fiber electromyography of the frontalis muscles for symptoms suggestive of ocular myasthenia gravis, were followed up for a mean of 14 months (3-64 mos). At follow up, based on strict criteria, 23 patients were classified as having ocular myasthenia gravis, 8 patients were diagnosed as having mitochondrial myopathy or oculopharyngeal dystrophy, 18 patients were found to have other diseases and 65 patients remained without a definite diagnosis. The single fiber electromyography data of these patients were then reviewed. The patients with ocular myasthenia gravis had, on average, more than 7/20 single fiber pairs with jitter > 45 μs and mean jitter of 56 μs. The 8 patients with mitochondrial myopathy or oculopharyngeal dystrophy had an average of 5/20 single fiber pairs with jitter > 45 μs and a mean jittter of 52 μs and could not be separated from the group with ocular myasthenia gravis on the basis of the single fiber electromyography results. The 18 patients with definite other diagnosis had an average of less than 1/20 single fiber pair with jitter > 45 μs and a mean jitter of 25 μs. This group could be clearly separated from the group with ocular yasthenia gravis. We conclude that single fiber electromyelography is useful in the separation of ocular myasthenia gravis from other causes of oculomotor weakness except mitochondrial myopathy and oculopharyngeal dystrophy.
Unusual Evolution and Computerized Tomographic Appearance of a Gliosarcoma
Authors: Preul Mark C. , Espinosa Jose A. , Tampieri Donatella , Carpenter Stirling 
Published: February 2016

Abstract:A patient with a remote infarct, seizures, mild hemiparesis, and dysphasia became obtunded over four months and died. Computerized tomography (CT) over 5 years showed a consistent, large, wedge-shaped left hemisphere hypodensity with a central calcification, but without signs of mass effect. This was interpreted as an infarct of the left middle cerebral artery territory. Post-mortem examination of the brain revealed the entire area appearing as infarct on CT was a gliosarcoma. We suspect that the unusual CT appearance of the lesion was likely caused by multiple pathologies: a low grade glioma transforming into a gliosarcoma that was able to spread throughout the area of infarct encephalomalacia without revealing a typical CT appearance of mass effect. The patient's brief period of deterioration probably coincided with transformation of the tumor into a gliosarcoma. The variable CT characteristics of gliosarcomas are reviewed.
A Qualitative Study of Attitudes Toward Error in Patients Facing Brain Tumour Surgery
Authors: Bernstein Mark , Potvin Dawn , Martin Douglas K. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBackground:Medical error is an extremely important component of patient safety and requires intense study. The present investigation undertook to examine patients' perceptions and attitudes regarding medical error.Methods:Qualitative case study methodology was used. We conducted 30 face-to-face interviews with patients within one week of undergoing a neurosurgical operation for a brain tumour. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed and the data subjected to thematic analysis.Results:Three overarching themes emerged from the data: 1) trust in the patient's surgeon was of paramount importance; 2) patients'views toward medical error varied between fear and vulnerability to no concern; and 3) discussion of error was felt to be beneficial as it could help the medical profession decrease future errors and could help dispel the patient's fear and anxiety about the upcoming surgery.Conclusions:Patients'trust in their physician/surgeon is of paramount importance in allaying their fears about the possible occurrence and impact of medical error during their treatment. The level of concern about error varies among patients, but most felt that discussion of error was a good thing.
Medical and Cognitive Outcome in Children with Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Campbell Craig G.N. , Kuehn Sally M. , Richards Pauline M.P. , Ventureyra E. , Hutchison James S. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBackground:Head injury is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatrics. Comprehensive studies on outcome are scarce despite significant clinical concern that multiple areas of functioning may be impaired following moderate to severe head injury. The literature suggests that sequelae include not only medical problems but also impairments in cognitive functioning.Methods:Aretrospective medical and psychology chart review of patients, age 1-18 years, admitted to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario with moderate (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] 9-12) or severe head injury (GCS ≤ 8) from November 1, 1993 until December 31, 1998 was conducted. Correlations were performed between medical variables (i.e., GCS, Pediatric Risk of Mortality [PRISM] III score, duration of ICU and hospital stay) and measures of intelligence and memory functioning.Results:Eighty-three children age 1 to 18 were included. Seventy percent of the children were classified as having a severe head injury. There was a mortality rate of thirteen percent. Younger age at injury, lower GCS, and higher PRISM III scores predicted higher mortality. Medical complications were documented systematically. Forty-four patients underwent at least one cognitive assessment and 17 of these children had intelligence testing at three points in time: baseline (< four months), early recovery (five to 15 months) and follow-up (16 to 38 months). The mean intelligence and memory scores fell within the average range at the latest point in follow-up. For those children who underwent three serial assessments, the mean verbal and performance IQ fell within the low average range at baseline improving significantly to fall within the average range by early recovery. Continued improvements were apparent in verbal memory beyond early recovery, with the mean obtained at follow-up falling within 1 SD of the normative mean. Despite the return to normal ranges for the group means the proportion of scores falling below 1.5 standard deviations from the mean was greater than population norms for verbal IQ, performance IQ and verbal memory. Lower GCS scores and longer duration of stay in ICU or hospital were predictive of lower nonverbal intelligence. Lower GCS was also predictive of lower visual memory scores.Conclusions:This study describes a population of Canadian children who suffered moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Initial GCS was the best predictor of mortality and cognitive outcome. These children demonstrated a temporal improvement in intelligence and memory functioning, with their mean performance on these cognitive measures falling within the average range at 16 to 38 months postinjury, although there was considerable variability in the outcomes between individuals.
A Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption Model Eliminating the Hemodynamic Effect of Ketamine
Authors: Fortin David , Adams Robert , Gallez Ariane 
Published: February 2016

AbstractObjective:We propose a simple modification to an established blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) animal model that allows us to use ketamine/xylazine as the anaesthetic agent, therefore decreasing the complexity and the cost of the model, while maintaining similar efficiency.Methods:Sixty-two Long Evans rats were anaesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine/ xylazine. Osmotic BBBD was performed by administering 25% mannitol into the internal carotid artery in a retrograde fashion from the external carotid. The infusion rate of mannitol, as well as the duration was adjusted in a stepwise fashion to identify optimal parameters for BBBD and minimize complications. As a supplementary step to previously reported models, a vascular clip was applied to the common carotid artery prior to the infusion of mannitol, therefore isolating our model system from the depressant hemodynamic effects of ketamine/xylazine. Evans blue dye was used to control for BBBD intensity.Results:Using this model at an initial infusion rate of 0.15 ml/sec, a significant incidence of brain hemorrhage (75%) and a death rate of 62.5% were observed. Decreasing the infusion rate in a stepwise fashion, 0.08 ml/sec was found to produce optimal BBBD, as demonstrated by Evans blue staining. At this rate, 6/7 animals depicted grade II staining, whereas one animal depicted grade IV.Conclusion:The application of a clip to the common carotid artery prior to mannitol infusion allowed us to isolate the cerebral circulation from the depressant hemodynamic effects of ketamine/xylazine. This supplementary step produced consistent and efficient BBBD in our animal model.
Functional MRI Study of Verbal Fluency in a Patient with Subcortical Laminar Heterotopia
Authors: Keene Daniel L. , Olds Janet , Logan William J. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractRationale:Double cortex syndrome is a malformation in which there is a band of subcortical heterotopic grey matter separated from the cortex by white matter. The functional activity of the heterotopic neurons is unclear.Patient:A 13-year-old female was evaluated for seizures. The EEG showed bifrontal spike wave disturbance. Band heterotopia, in association with mild reduction of sulcation of the cerebral hemispheres, was found on MRI. Psychological assessment indicated the presence of variable cognitive abilities, with verbal IQ [82] generally better than nonverbal IQ [59], and specific difficulties in language comprehension and mathematics.Method:Functional MRI was used to localize the areas of language and motor activation. The language activation paradigm was a visual verb generation task with a visual fixation baseline. The motor paradigm consisted of alternating blocks of sequential finger tapping and rest. Coronal functional and anatomical images were obtained.Results:The motor paradigm produced activation of the primary motor cortex, the band heterotopia and the supplementary motor cortex. The language paradigm produced activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus and left supplementary motor area, but not of the band heterotopia.Conclusions:The activation of heterotopic grey matter during a motor task demonstrates a hemodynamic association with motor activity and suggests that this tissue may be functional. Such association was not seen with the language task. We speculate that later maturing functions such as language are restricted in their development to the normal situated superficial cortex in our patient.
Devic's Neuromyelitis Optica Treated with Intravenous Gamma Globulin (IVIG)
Authors: Bakker Jacqueline , Metz Luanne 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBackground:Devic's syndrome is a demyelinating disease of the spinal cord and optic nerves. It tends to have a poor prognosis, probably due to the occurrence of necrosis within lesions. There is no proven effective treatment although relapses are commonly treated with corticosteroids and people with recurrent attacks may be managed with chronic immune suppressing treatments. Intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG) and plasma exchange are reasonable treatment options because Devic's syndrome is believed to be antibody mediated. We report two patients of Devic's syndrome that stabilized following initiation of monthly IVIG.Patient 1:A 42-year-old woman with a 23 year history of Devic's syndrome continued to have frequent attacks of optic neuritis unresponsive to daily corticosteroids and azathioprine. Since initiation of monthly IVIG 5/2 years ago she has had no further definite attacks. She has also noted minimal improvement in color perception.Patient 2:A 58-year-old woman with a three year history of Devic's syndrome experienced five attacks during the first 16 months of disease. Monthly IVIG was associated with complete cessation of relapses and significantly improved neurological status over one year of treatment.Conclusions:Because active Devic's disease often results in severe, permanent neurological impairment, preventive intervention should be considered. These cases suggest that IVIG may be effective in preventing attacks and possibly in enhancing neurological recovery. Randomized controlled trials will be needed to confirm this and to determine optimal dosing and treatment duration.
Neurologic Signs Predict Periventricular White Matter Lesions on MRI
Authors: Bae Charles J. , Pincus Jonathan H. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractObjective:Periventricular white matter disease (PVWD) is associated with abnormalities on tests that involve complex cognitive processes, along with an increased risk of cerebrovascular events which are associated with significant morbidity in older patients. This study investigates whether the neurological examination can predict the presence of PVWD on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). No prior studies have assessed whether the neurological examination can predict the presence of PVWD on MRI.Methods:A focused neurological examination was performed on a random selection of patients referred for a MRI of the brain. Staff neuroradiologists who were blinded to the results of the physical examination independently read the MRI scans. The MRI interpretations were divided into four categories based on the degree of PVWD: none, mild, moderate, severe.Results:Twenty-three subjects had some degree of PVWD, while 25 subjects had none. The total number of neurologic signs correlated significantly with the severity of PVWD even when adjusting for the effect of age (rho=0.67, p<0.001). Ninety-one percent of subjects with PVWD had three or more abnormal signs, while 76% of subjects without PVWD had fewer than three. Abnormalities with the three step motor sequencing and horizontal visual tracking tests were maximally predictive of PVWD. One or both of these tests were abnormal in 96% of subjects with PVWD, while 64% of subjects without PVWD had no problems with either test.Conclusion:Simple neurologic tests can predict the presence or absence of PVWD on MRI.
Monsters that remember: Tracing the story of the Workers' Monument in Tophane, İstanbul
Authors: Ahiska Meltem 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThis article focuses on a particular monument in Tophane, the Workers' Monument, which has been subjected to destructions ever since the time it was put in place in 1973 and which still stands in the same place as a crippled and unidentifiable body. Many people have referred to it as a “monster.” The term “monster” points to unacceptable forms of life, cast aside as “abnormal,” and can be of use in tracing how certain memories are crushed or abandoned and become aberrant. Thus, I argue that the story of the destruction of the Workers' Monument cannot be read independently of the performative command of the state, best observed in erecting Atatürk monuments all over the country as visual embodiments of power and furthermore securing and protecting them against destruction by the force of law. Monuments contribute to the closure of the past as a dead body. However, they also forge a regime of memory and desire that serves power. I dwell on the issue of monuments in Turkey in that interstice between life and death, that is, in their “monstrosity,” so as to reflect on what remainsunrepresentablewithin the complex history—in other words, to reflect on the problem of power, history, and memory/counter-memory.
Images delegitimized and discouraged: Explicitly political art and the arbitrariness of the unspeakable
Authors: Karaca Banu 
Published: February 2016

AbstractWhile the increasing interest in contemporary art from Turkey has centered on explicitly political works, discussions on the limitations of the freedom of expression have likewise come under the spotlight, not least with regard to Turkey's EU candidacy. In contrast to the attempts of complete suppression marking the 1980 coup d'état and its aftermath, current censorship mechanisms aim to delegitimize and discourage artistic expressions (and their circulation) that can be construed as threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Turkish state, and to turn their producers into targets. This article investigates selected images produced in the contemporary art world between 2005 and 2008, which were taken to transcend the limits of what constitutes tolerable depictions of Turkey's socio-political realities. It examines current modalities of censorship in the visual arts and the different actors involved in silencing efforts. The cases show that within these fields of delimitation there are considerable contingencies: The domain of the unspeakable remains unclearly mapped. I argue that it is because, not despite, this arbitrariness that delegitimizing interventions are successful, in that they (a) create incentives for self-censorship, and (b) produce defenses of artistic freedom that, by highlighting the autonomy of art, to some extent consolidate a conceptual separation of art from politics.