Neurology Alert – March 1, 2010
March 1, 2010
View Issues
-
Are Vaccines Safe after Guillain-Barré and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Neuropathy?
Vaccines appear to be safe for patients who have been previously diagnosed with GBS or CIDP, and are recommended in appropriate individuals. -
Will Injection Therapy Soon Be Obsolete for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis?
Three phase III clinical trials of two oral agents for the treatment of multiple sclerosis were found to have a beneficial effect on clinical and MRI markers of disease activity, but there is a heightened concern for long-term safety due to cases of malignancy reported in each of the three studies. -
PET-CT Tumor Detection in Patients with Paraneoplastic Syndromes
Colocalized PET-CT is the most sensitive and accurate method for identifying an underlying neoplasm in paraneoplastic neurological syndromes. -
Pramipexole + Levodopa in Parkinson's Disease: Is the Whole Greater than the Sum of its Parts?
Pramipexole has more than a simple additive benefit in augmenting the motor benefits of levodopa, but also increases the duration and severity of dyskinesias. -
Decreased Heart Rate Variability: A Cause for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP)?
The authors hypothesize that postictal autonomic dysregulation, as measured by decreased heart rate variability, is a key factor in sudden death in epileptics. -
Stroke Alert: A Review of Current Clinical Stroke Literature
In this prospective, population-based study of 13,549 middle-age black and white men and women in four U.S. communities, who, at the time of enrollment were free of cancer and cardiovascular disease, the investigators showed that abdominal obesity raised the risk of stroke in all groups, men and women, white and black. -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care Supplement
-
Pharmacology Watch
Two oral medications for relapsing-remitting MS in phase III development; antihypertensives find new uses; Ginkgo biloba does not prevent cognitive decline in elderly; and FDA Actions.