Neurology Alert – January 1, 2023

Misdiagnosis of Autoimmune Encephalitis

A recent multicenter, retrospective review of 393 adult patients given a diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis noted that 107 patients (27%) were misdiagnosed and ultimately had other diagnoses confirmed, but after a considerable delay.

What Is Oculopharyngodistal Myopathy?

Distal limb myopathies are rare disorders and are difficult to diagnose. Current muscle biopsy technology, coupled with genetic analysis, offers the best hope for an accurate diagnosis of these unusual neuromuscular disorders. Unfortunately, treatments remain elusive.

Body Weight Decline in Cognitively Intact Older Adults May Predict Future Cognitive Impairment

Among cognitively intact individuals, those who develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had faster body mass index (BMI) decline and significantly lower BMI seven years before MCI diagnosis. However, after MCI diagnosis, there was no difference in BMI decline between patients who developed dementia and those who did not.

Brain Iron Chelation with Deferiprone in Parkinson’s Disease

In a randomized, placebo-controlled treatment trial, deferiprone administered to early, levodopa-naive Parkinson’s disease patients over 36 weeks was associated with worsening of their symptoms, in spite of imaging evidence for reduction of iron in the substantia nigra.

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and Brain Hemorrhage

When comparing the time course of hematoma expansion between deep hematomas and lobar hematomas from cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and other etiologies, lobar hematomas from CAA show greater expansion and a longer period of risk for hematoma growth compared to deep hematomas.