Browse Neurology Articles by Topic

Migraine and Cognitive Dysfunction

During an attack of migraine without aura, patients may experience transient cognitive impairment, with predominant involvement of verbal processing speed, learning, and memory, due to reversible cortical dysfunction.

RYR1-related Myopathies

Ryanodine receptor gene mutations are among the most common genetic disorders found in a variety of congenital myopathies, both mild and severe.

A Modern Epidemiologic View of Status Epilepticus in the United States

In this retrospective review of mortality and hospitalization related to status epilepticus from 1999 to 2010, the authors found that overall mortality remained relatively stable, whereas the rate of related hospitalizations significantly increased, particularly in patients who were intubated and in whom status epilepticus was not the primary diagnosis.

Scrub Typhus and the Brain

Scrub typhus infections involve the nervous system in a majority of cases and should be suspected in patients who live in, or are returning from, endemic regions with a compatible clinical syndrome.

GAD Antibody Syndromes: When to Dig Deeper

This retrospective case series identifies the clinical and immunologic features of GAD antibody-positive patients who should be screened for an underlying cancer.

Neurological Emergencies in Children and Adolescents

Neurological issues in children can take a very dramatic but relatively benign form, or can be subtle but representative of serious underlying illness. Differentiating between high- and low-risk presentations can be challenging, but a thorough understanding of pediatric practice guidelines can help emergency department physicians determine the most appropriate ED interventions and eliminate potential injury to a child from either excessive intervention or the sequelae of a missed diagnosis. This monograph will help ED physicians recognize and appropriately treat seizures in children, and provide advice to worried parents about their child’s potential for seizure recurrence. In addition, physicians will learn how to determine which patients require lumbar puncture and understand the risks of brain CT imaging in the pediatric population. It also covers how to know when to emergently or urgently refer children to pediatric neurology.

Cryptogenic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation

In large prospective databases of ischemic stroke, cryptogenic stroke occurs in as many as 30% of all ischemic stroke patients. Many of these patients have the characteristics of cardioembolic stroke, and there has always been a strong suspicion that some of these patients have atrial fibrillation.

Antibiotics for Intra-abdominal Infections: Less Is More

Complicated intra-abdominal infections cause significant morbidity and mortality, especially in the elderly. Often these infections are treated with antibiotics until all the signs and symptoms of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome resolve, typically for 7 to 14 days.

Duration of Antibiotic Treatment for Vertebral Osteomyelitis

Three hundred fifty-nine patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis were randomized to 6 weeks vs. 12 weeks of antibiotic treatment in an open-label controlled trial. Six weeks of antibiotics was found to be not inferior to 12 weeks of treatment.

VTE Occurs Frequently in Patients with Sepsis

The purpose of this multicenter study was to prospectively determine the incidence of VTE among ICU patients with sepsis and septic shock, and to identify independent risk factors for VTE in these patients.