Neurology Commons^™

Limb-Shaking Transient Ischemic Attacks: Case Report And Review Of Literature, Saad Ali, Muhib Alam Khan, Bhojo Khealani

Section of Neurology

Background: Limb shaking Transient Ischemic Attack is a rare manifestation of carotid-occlusive disease. The symptoms usually point towards a seizure like activity and misdiagnosed as focal seizures. On careful history the rhythmic seizure like activity reveals no Jacksonian march mainly precipitated by maneuvers which lead to carotid compression. We here present a case of an elderly gentleman who was initially worked up as suffering from epileptic discharge and then later on found to have carotid occlusion.CASE PRESENTATION: Elderly gentleman presented with symptoms of rhythmic jerky movements of the left arm and both the lower limbs. Clinical suspicion of focal epilepsy …

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: Need For Early Diagnosis And Therapy, Humaira M. Khan, Nadir A. Syed, Mughis Sheerani, Bhojo Khealani, Ayeesha Kamal, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Background: Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) is a medical entity that has received little attention in the clinical settings in Pakistan. The aim of our study was to review the predisposing factors, outcomes and characteristics of in-patients diagnosed with NMS.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of all cases (age > 15 years) at a tertiary care center in Karachi between January 01, 1990 and November 30, 2001, diagnosed using ICD 10 coding. Data was collected using a standardized data entry form and statistical analysis was performed using Epi Info 6, Version 6.02.

Results: There were a total of 20 patients …

Comparison Of Two Surveys Of Head Injured Patients Presenting During A Calendar Year To An Urban Medical Centre 32 Years Apart, Rashid Jooma, Shahid Ahmed, Abdul Malik Zarden

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: To study the patients presenting with head injuries to a tertiary hospital in Karachi during the year 2003.
Methods: During the calendar year 2003, a cross-sectional study was conducted of all patients presenting to the casualty department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) with head injury. Personal information was collected from the patient's attendants at presentation or later if the patient had been brought in by the emergency services as an unknown person. The circumstances of the injury were similarly established and the clinical features documented.
Results: During the year 2003, a total of 3008 patients reported to the …

Dural Metastases Presenting As An Extradural Hematoma: A Rare Presentation, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim, Muhammad Ehsan Bari, S. Ather Enam

Department of Surgery Docs

Abstract

We report a case of an elderly man who presented with hemiparesis and plain CT scan findings highly suggestive of an extradural hematoma as the underlying cause. This patient was later found to have dural metastases secondary to bronchogenic carcinoma. Dural metastases are rare, usually presenting as dural mass, but may also present as chronic subdural or extradural hematoma on non contrast CT scan, leading to an erroneous diagnosis in the unsuspecting.

Prognostic Indicators In Patients With Primary Intraventricular Haemorrhage, Bilal Hameed, Bhojo A. Khealani, Tahseen Mozzafar, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Objectives: Primary intraventricular haemorrhage (PIVH) is a rare clinical entity. We sought to evaluate risk factors, clinical and radiological features, and outcome of patients with PIVH.

Materials and Methods: Cases of PIVH were identified from cohort of patients with non traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) by reviewing the radiological data. Their charts were reviewed and demographic, clinical, radiological and laboratory data was recorded and analyzed. Chi square and t test were used to determine predictors of poor outcome.

Results: Fifteen of 677 (2%) patients with ICH had PIVH. Nine (60%) were men. Median age was 56 years. Predisposing factors included hypertension …

Rapidly Developing Optic Neuritis Secondary To Ethambutol: Possible Mechanism Of Injury, Sajjad Ali, Uzma Usman, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Optic neuritis has been described among the toxic effects of Ethambutol. This side effect is dose related. The mean duration of Ethambutol induced optic neuritis (EON) is three months. We report a case of EON after few days of exposure to Ethambutol and the symptoms resolved after discontinuation of Ethambutol. This most likely represents an idiosyncratic reaction which is different as compared to dose related optic neuritis.

Gas-Producing Brain Abscess, Arshad A. Siddiqui, Khalid N. Chishti

Section of Neurosurgery

A case of a known psychiatric patient who presented with rapid neurological deterioration is reported. Neuroimaging revealed a gas-producing brain abscess in left parietal lobe with a contiguous focus of infection in the adjacent bone and scalp initiated by obsessive scalp scratching. On complete surgical excision of abscess, followed by culture-based antibiotic therapy, a good neurological recovery was achieved with minimal residual deficits at follow-up.

Development Of A Comprehensive Epilepsy Surgery Programme In Pakistan, Mughis Sheerani

Section of Neurology

No abstract provided.

The Long Shadow Of Cerebral Localization, Saad Shafqat

Section of Neurology

In 1995, during my first week as a neurology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, I had the privilege of meeting the late Raymond Adams. He was an established octogenarian by then, but the years had made no difference to his air of professionalism and academic authority. His reputation was made in the 1950s and 1960s, when he developed Boston as a major centre of clinical neurology. Among other things, he is immortalized through a famous textbook that has appeared in multiple editions. Our meeting took place at a clinical conference in which I was required to present a case. He …

Preventing Neural Tube Defects By Folic Acid Fortification Of Flour, Rashid Jooma

Section of Neurosurgery

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of Tuberculosis In The Central Nervous System, Soobia Raza, Aliyah Sadaf, Faisal Fecto, Rushna Pervez Ali, Muhammad Ehsan Bari, Ather Enam

Medical College Documents

Tuberculous involvement of central nervous system (CNS), although not very frequent, results in severe morbidity. Tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in developing countries but even in developed countries, after an initial decline up until 1980’s, incidence of TB is on the rise. The AIDS epidemic, emergence of multi-drug resistant strains and immigration of people from endemic areas are some of the factors significantly contributing to this increase. Consequently, the burden of central nervous system tuberculosis has increased significantly worldwide.

Chance-Type Flexion-Distraction Fracture Of Lumbar Spine, Arshad A. Siddiqui, Ahmad Ali Shah

Section of Neurosurgery

A case of a twenty years old male who had been hit by a van at the lower back, presented two weeks later with complete paraplegia and double incontinence is presented. Radiological imaging revealed shearing of spine with fracture line slicing through the second lumbar (L2) vertebra going across all the three vertebral columns with complete retrolisthesis of upper fragment. He was managed conservatively with immobilization and rehabilitation.

Neurology In The 21st Century: Contemporary State Of Diagnostics And Therapeutics, Saad Shafqat, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Although neurological disease has been recognized since antiquity, neurology as a systematic clinical discipline is less than 130 years old. Neurological practice has traditionally been constrained by the complexity of the human nervous system, which has been slow to yield its secrets. Over the last three decades, however, clinical neurology has been transformed in terms of both diagnostics and therapeutics and now marches in lockstep with the cutting edge of medicine. Efficacious treatments are now available for the majority of neurological diseases, including epilepsy, migraine, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and ischemic stroke. This neurological revolution has been enabled …

Complete Surgical Excision Of Intramedullary Schwannoma At The Craniovertebral Junction In Neurofibromatosis Type-2, A A. Siddiqui, A A. Shah

Section of Neurosurgery

Intramedullary spinal schwannomas are extremely rare. We describe a case of a 13-year-old female who was found to have an intramedullary schwannoma at craniovertebral junction along with incidental bilateral acoustic neuromas, which was excised completely. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of intramedullary schwannoma in association with NF-2 located at the craniovertebral junction. The literature has been reviewed with emphasis on radiological imaging, histopathological diagnosis and technique to achieve complete microsurgical excision.

An Audit Of Head Trauma Care And Mortality, Arshad A. Siddiqui, Hasnain Zafar, S H. Bashir

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: To analyze the factors contributing to deaths from head trauma by using standardized assessment parameters and to provide a peer-review of head injury deaths with focus on identifying deficiencies and analyzing contributory factors.
Design: Descriptive study.
Place and duration of study: The study was carried out at the Emergency, Aga Khan University Hospital during January 1998 to December 1999.
Subjects and method: One hundred and three patients above the age of 15 years presenting alive to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) emergency with head injury were included in this study. Identified deaths data was reviewed by the Hospital …

Motor Neuronopathy Associated With Adenocarcinoma Of Esophagus, Bhojo A Khealani, R. Qureshi, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Neurologic paraneoplastic syndromes (NPS) are remote neurologic effects, except metastasis, of systemic cancers. These are a rare group of disorders, commonly associated with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC).1 Various NPS have been described, including motor neuronopathy. The motor neuronopathy has commonly been described with small cell carcinoma of lung, breast cancer and lymphoproliferative disorders.2,3 We report a case of motor neuronopathy in association with large cell adenocarcinoma of esophagus. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of motor neuronopathy associated with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

Prognostic Indicators In Patients With Intracranial Tuberculoma: A Review Of 102 Cases, Mohammad Wasay, M. K. Moolani, J. Zaheer, Bhojo A. Khealani, R. A. Smego, A. R. Sarwari

Department of Medicine

Objective:

To see the characteristics, course and outcome of patients suffering from intracranial tuberculoma.

Methods:

Retrospective review of 102 patients diagnosed as intracranial tuberculoma at a tertiary care center over 10 years.

Results:

A total of 102 cases were seen with an age range of 1 to 75 years (mean, 30 years). Predisposing factors included Diabetes mellitus (8 patients) and pregnancy or puerperium (7 patients). Five pediatric patients had tuberculoma despite documented BCG vaccination. Fever (59%), headache (57%), meningeal irritation (36%) were the commonest presenting features; one-third of patients were drowsy or comatosed at presentation. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was performed …

Extradural Granulocytic Sarcoma Causing Acute Paraparesis, Arshad A. Siddiqui, Naim-Ur Rehman

Section of Neurosurgery

A case of 9 years old female presenting with rapidly progressive paraparesis during remission phase of acute myeloblastic leukemia is reported. Radiological imaging revealed an extradural mass in the upper dorsal spine producing significant cord compression. The patient showed a dramatic neurological recovery after spinal cord decompression and subsequently treated with appropriate chemotherapy and local radiotherapy.

Ischemic Stroke Subtypes In Pakistan: The Aga Khan University Stroke Data Bank, N. A. Syed, B. A. Khealani, S. Ali, A. Hasan, H. Brohi, T. Mozaffar, N. Ahmed, A. Hameed, S. M. Baig, M. Wasay

Department of Medicine

Objective: Frequency of ischemic stroke subtypes is influenced by ethnic and geographic variables. Our objective was to identify various stroke subtypes and its determinants at a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: We prospectively collected data on ischemic stroke subtypes admitted to The Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi.

Results: A total of 596 patients were enrolled in 22 months in the Aga Khan Universtiy Stroke Registry. These included 393 patients with Ischemic stroke, 126 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, 50 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and others. The ischemic stroke group was classified according to the TOAST criteria and comprised of lacunar 168/393 …

Neurological Care In Pakistan: Actions Are Needed, M. Wasay

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Spectrum Of Complications And Mortality Of Bacterial Meningitis: An Experience From A Developing Country, M. A. Rabbani, A. A. Khan, S. S. Ali, B. Ahmad, Mohammad Asim Beg, M. A. Khan, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Objective:

The aim of this study was to obtain data on predisposing factors, causative organisms and their associated mortality and complications related to acute bacterial meningitis.

Methods:

The chart review of all patients in whom acute bacterial meningitis was diagnosed at The Aga Khan University Hospital from January 1995 through December 2001.

Results:

One hundred ninety-four patients were included in study. There were 146 males and 48 females. The mean age of our study population was 41±12.3 years. One hundred and ninety (97.9%) patients had community acquired meningitis; only 4 (2.0%) patients developed meningitis nosocomially. The two most common predisposing …

Giant Choroid Plexus Papilloma Of The Third Ventricle, Ashfaq A. Razzaq, Khalid N. Chishti

Section of Neurosurgery

Abstract are not provided by the author/publisher

Peritumoral Cystic Meningioma, Arshad A. Siddiqui, Junaid Asharaf, Ahmed Ali Shah

Section of Neurosurgery

A case of 39 years old male is described who presented with headache, right-sided focal fits and decreased power in the right hand. CT scan brain showed a left fronto-parietal cystic lesion with centrolateral intramural nodule with homogenous enhancement. At surgery, the extra-axial lesion with cyst containing xanthochromic fluid had a well-defined capsule that could easily be separated from the peri-lesional cortical surface. The dural-based nodule with its cyst wall was resected in toto. The histopathology of mural nodule was reported as meningioma while the cyst wall histology revealed meningothelial cells.

Experience In 118 Consecutive Patients Undergoing Ct-Guided Stereotactic Surgery Utilizing The Cosman-Robert-Wells (Crw) Frame, G. R. Sharma, H. Siddiqui, Rashid Jooma

Section of Neurosurgery

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of CT-guided neurosurgical procedures done on patients operated by this modality.
Methods: Between January 1997 and March 2000, 118 patients undergoing CT-guided stereotactic procedures were recruited to the study. The CRW III stereotactic system (Radionics, USA) and the TSX-00ZA CT Scanner (Toshiba, Japan) were used for all the procedures in the series. These procedures were directed to symptomatic brain lesions or for the treatment of Parkinsonian tremor.
Results: Of 118 patients, 109 had intra-cranial lesions and 9 had Parkinson's Disease. The stereotactic procedures performed on these patients were: biopsies in 62, guided mini-craniotomies in 22, …

Radiosurgery For The Control Of Glomus Jugulare Tumours, Muhammad Ehsan Bari, A A. Kemeny, D M C Forster, M W. Radatz

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: To ascertain the efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (gamma knife) for the control of glomus jugulare tumours.
Method: Between March 1994 and December 1997 we treated eight patients of glomus jugulare tumour with radiosurgery. These patients have been followed for more than four years (range 52 to 97 months). The age of the patients ranged between 32-64 years (mean 53 years). The male: female ratio was 3:5. Three patients had previously undergone surgery and one had unsuccessful embolization. The dose applied to tumour margin ranged between 16-25 Gy (median 25 Gy). Patients were followed up with yearly MRI scans and …

Clinical Practice Guidelines For The Management Of Ischemic Stroke In Pakistan, Saad Shafqat

Section of Neurology

Ischemic stroke represents a huge global burden, being the leading cause of physical disability and the third leading cause of death worldwide¹. Although rigorous epidemiological data from Pakistan are lacking, stroke is certainly the commonest reason for admission to a neurology ward in our part of the world, as elsewhere. Recent years have seen a number of new developments in the clinical approach to stroke, including in the areas of diagnostic work-up, acute treatment and secondary prevention. These developments enable the formulation of clinical practice guidelines for achieving standardized management of ischemic stroke, with the overall aini of …

Brainstem Encephalitis With Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease, Saad Shafqat, Saima Bano Memon, Shiraz Hyder, Sheema H Hasan, Raymond A Smego

Section of Neurology

A case of young woman is described who developed clinical and MRI features of brainstem encephalitis in the setting of fever and cervical lymphadenopathy. Lymph node biopsy revealed histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease), which may reflect host response to an unspecified immune insult.

Cost Of Acute Stroke Care At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Karachi, Pakistan, B. A. Khealani, Z. F. Javed, N. A. Syed, Saad Shafqat, Mohammad Wasay

Section of Neurology

Objective:To evaluate cost of acute stroke care and its determinants at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi and to find out predictors of high cost care. Acute stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Cost of care is the single most important determinant in availability of acute stroke care at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.It is also an important factor in development of public health policies and medical insurance plans. Average nnual income in Pakistan is 4881 rupees (U$ 85).
Methods: Medical and billing records of 443 patients with acute stroke were retrospectively reviewed from …

Moyamoya Disease: An Elusive Diagnosis, K. B. Asumal, N. Akhtar, N. A. Syed, Saad Shafqat, S. M. Baig

Section of Neurology

Moyamoya disease is an idiopathic vasculopathy, affecting vessels of Circle of Willis.1 It usually manifests as stroke, but can also cause seizures and cognitive impairment.2 Ischemic strokes are common in children and hemorrhagic strokes in adults.1 We describe our experience with moyamoya disease in four patients who presented with ischemic strokes, at an academic tertiary care center and emphasize that this diagnosis should be considered in young patients, especially children, who present with stroke.

Radiologic Features Of Hallervorden Spatz Disease, K B. Asumal, M Wasay, S N. Ali

Section of Neurology

Hallervorden Spatz Disease is a rare familial neurodegenerative disorder, which primarily affects children but also can occur in adults1 . Major clinical features are abnormal involuntary movements and cognitive impairment2 . Diagnosis is based on clinical and radiological features. The radiological features are hypointense signals in globus pallidus and substantia niagra on MR! of brain3 . Occasionally the pallidal hypointense signals surround hyperintense signals, this is known as “tigereye-sign”4 and is postulated to be specific for Hallervorden Spatz Disease. We report two brothers with such MRI findings.