Neurology Commons^™

Alterations In Human Reaction Time Upon Consumption Of Taurine-Caffeine Based Energy Drink. A Gender Based Study., Asif Abbasi, Amaila Fazal, Faizan Mirza, Sadaf Ahmed

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Energy drinks contains several potentially psychoactive ingredients including taurine, glucoronolactone, and caffeine that increases the human performances, reaction time and mood with relative differences to visual and auditory stimuli between both the genders.

Vagal Nerve Stimulation; Current And Future Interventions, Sidra Saleem, Muhammad Wasay

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Vagus Nerve is the 10th and the largest cranial nerve of the parasympathetic system, consist of approximately 20% efferent and 80% afferent. It is a big nerve, providing autonomous, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, immune and endocrine systems.

Perception Of Shisha Smoking & Drug Abuse Among University Students Of Karachi, Farwah Rizvi, Lubna Naz, Nazneen Zehra

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Tobacco smoking in the form of cigarettes and shisha hasbecome a sign of modernization and trend among youth for pleasant and relaxing experience. Drug addiction is the most common problem in young ones nowadays causing craving practices and long-term consequences includesdisturbances in physical and mental health.

Prevalence Of Risk Factors Promoting Diabetic Neuropathy ., Aisha Qadir, Sumera Sohail1, Lubna Naz, Ghazala Yasmeen, Nazish Iqbal

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Diabetic neuropathy is the worst consequence of diabetes mellitus leading to nerve dysfunction that is the cause of several complications such as pain, loss of sensitivity, damage to body systems, foot ulcers, morbidity and amputations etc. The aim of the present work was to study the prevalence of risk factors and occurrence of diabetic neuropathy in patients with diabetes, and how much diabetic neuropathy complications affect the life of diabetic patients.

The Endocannabinoid System In Migraine: From Bench To Pharmacy And Back., Cristina Tassorelli, Rosaria Greco, Stephen D. Silberstein

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Migraine is a common, highly disabling disorder. Its treatment involves acute and preventive therapy. Many of available preventive medications are not well tolerated, which results in poor compliance and limited effectiveness. Cannabinoids have been proposed for the treatment of migraine but their efficacy and tolerability are controversial.

RECENT FINDINGS: Cannabinoids modulate functions and activity of signaling pathways that have a key role in pain control. Growing preclinical evidence and initial clinical findings suggest that modulation of the endocannabinoid system, via endogenous or exogenous cannabinoids may be relevant for migraine via multiple mechanisms.

SUMMARY: The endocannabinoid system qualifies …

Publisher Correction: Toxoplasma Modulates Signature Pathways Of Human Epilepsy, Neurodegeneration & Cancer., Huân M Ngô, Ying Zhou, Hernan Lorenzi, Kai Wang, Taek-Kyun Kim, Yong Zhou, Kamal El Bissati, Ernest Mui, Laura Fraczek, Seesandra V Rajagopala, Craig W Roberts, Fiona L Henriquez, Alexandre Montpetit, Jenefer M Blackwell, Sarra E Jamieson, Kelsey Wheeler, Ian J Begeman, Carlos Naranjo-Galvis, Ney Alliey-Rodriguez, Roderick G Davis, Liliana Soroceanu, Charles Cobbs, Dennis A Steindler, Kenneth Boyer, A Gwendolyn Noble, Charles N Swisher, Peter T Heydemann, Peter Rabiah, Shawn Withers, Patricia Soteropoulos, Leroy Hood, Rima Mcleod

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Automated Fiber Tract Reconstruction For Surgery Planning: Extensive Validation In Language-Related White Matter Tracts., Matteo Mancini, Sjoerd B. Vos, Vejay N. Vakharia, Aidan G. O'Keeffe, Karin Trimmel, Frederik Barkhof, Christian Dorfer, Salil Soman, Gavin P. Winston, Chengyuan Wu, John S. Duncan, Rachel Sparks, Sebastien Ourselin

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Diffusion MRI and tractography hold great potential for surgery planning, especially to preserve eloquent white matter during resections. However, fiber tract reconstruction requires an expert with detailed understanding of neuroanatomy. Several automated approaches have been proposed, using different strategies to reconstruct the white matter tracts in a supervised fashion. However, validation is often limited to comparison with manual delineation by overlap-based measures, which is limited in characterizing morphological and topological differences. In this work, we set up a fully automated pipeline based on anatomical criteria that does not require manual intervention, taking advantage of atlas-based criteria and advanced acquisition protocols …

Delirium In Long Term Care Rehabilitation Residents: A Correlational Retrospective Study, Rebecca Lerma-Kjonegaard

Dissertations

Abstract Background: Delirium is associated with devastating outcomes, cognitive loss,

decreased function and an increase risk of mortality which affects patients and places a heavy burden on family and the healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between select demographics, clinical characteristics, CHART- DEL-derived delirium diagnosis and ICD-10 coded discharge delirium diagnoses among Long Term Care (LTC) rehabilitation residents.

Method: A retrospective correlational design from174 LTC rehabilitation residents age 65 years or older using EMR and hard copy charts. The setting was a Southern California community hospital-based 100-bed LTC. Abstracted data included demographic characteristics (age, …

Reduced Gravity Contributes To Neutrophil To Lymphocyte Ratio Shifting And Promotion Of The Oxidative Stress Response, Amber M. Paul, Siddhita D. Mhatre, Egle Cekanaviciute, Ann-Sofie Schreurs, Candice G.T. Tahimic, Ruth K. Globus, Brian Crucian, Sharmila Bhattacharya

Publications

Spaceflight can cause immune system dysfunction, such as elevated white blood cells (WBC) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), along with unchanged or reduced lymphocyte counts. A high PMN to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can acts as a poor prognosis in cancer and a biomarker for subclinical inflammation however, the NLR has not been identified as a predictor of astronaut health during spaceflight. CBC data collected on board the International Space Station (ISS) was repurposed to determine the granulocyte to lymphocyte ratio (GLR) in humans and the NLR in rodents. The results displayed a progressive increase in GLR and NLR during spaceflight and …

Loss Of Nrf2 Results In Decreased Neuronal Arborization And Synaptic Density And Causes Exacerbated Age-Related Cognitive Impairment., Mikah Brandes, Nora Gray, Maya Caruso, Jonathan Zweig, Amala Soumyanath, Joseph F. Quinn

Student Research Symposium

Background: As the brain ages, free radicals accumulate and cause damage to cellular macromolecules. This increased oxidative damage is thought to contribute to the cognitive decline observed in aging. Activation of the antioxidant regulatory transcription factor NRF2 (Nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2) has been shown to improve neuronal health in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Yet exactly how NRF2 participates in maintaining synaptic and cognitive function has not been fully elucidated. This study investigates how loss of NRF2 affects synaptic density and cognitive performance in aged mice.

Methods: Dendritic arborization and synaptic was evaluated in hippocampal neurons isolated from mice lacking NRF2 …

Erenumab In Chronic Migraine: Patient-Reported Outcomes In A Randomized Double-Blind Study., Richard B. Lipton, Stewart J. Tepper, Uwe Reuter, Stephen Silberstein, Walter F. Stewart, Jon Nilsen, Dean K. Leonardi, Pooja Desai, Sunfa Cheng, Daniel D. Mikol, Robert Lenz

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of erenumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor, on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), headache impact, and disability in patients with chronic migraine (CM).

METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 667 adults with CM were randomized (3:2:2) to placebo or erenumab (70 or 140 mg monthly). Exploratory endpoints included migraine-specific HRQoL (Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire [MSQ]), headache impact (Headache Impact Test-6 [HIT-6]), migraine-related disability (Migraine Disability Assessment [MIDAS] test), and pain interference (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS] Pain Interference Scale short form 6b).

RESULTS: Improvements were observed for all endpoints in …

Olfactory Hallucinations As A Unique Presentation Of Anti-Depressant Discontinuation Syndrome, Shweta Varade Md, Casey Judge Do, Megan Leary Md, Preet Varade Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Nilotinib-Associated Demyelinating Disease, Casey Judge Do, Negar Moheb Md, Christopher Melinosky Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Visual And Verbal Serial List Learning In Patients With Statistically-Determined Mild Cognitive Impairment., Victor Wasserman, Sheina Emrani, Emily F Matusz, David Miller, Kelly Davis Garrett, Katherine A Gifford, Timothy J Hohman, Angela L Jefferson, Rhoda Au, Rod Swenson, David J Libon, Consortium For Clinical And Epidemiological Neuropsychological Data Analysis (Cenda).

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Background and Objective: Prior research with patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) suggests that visual versus verbal episodic memory test performance may be more sensitive to emergent illness. However, little research has examined visual versus verbal episodic memory performance as related to MCI subtypes.

Research Design and Methods: Patients were diagnosed with non-MCI, amnestic MCI (aMCI), and combined mixed/dysexecutive MCI (mixed/dys MCI). Visual and verbal episodic memory were assessed with the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) and the 12-word Philadelphia (repeatable) Verbal Learning Test (P[r]VLT), respectively.

Results: BVMT-R and P(r)VLT scores yielded similar between-group patterns of performance. Non-MCI patients scored …

Asymmetric Crying Facies Syndrome, Kai-Yu Ho Pt, Phd, Jing Nong Liang Pt, Phd

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

A female infant, born vaginally at 40 weeks of gestation with a birthweight of 3260 g had an Apgar score of 10 at 1 and 5 minutes. She presented with an asymmetric facial expression when crying, with the right side of her mouth deviating inferior-laterally (Figure, A and Video[available at www.jpeds.com]). At rest, her facial expression was symmetric and a thinner left lower lip was noted (Figure, B). A pediatricneurologist noted intact motor, reflex, and cranial nerve functions, and she was diagnosed with asymmetric crying facies, likely because of hypoplasia of the left depressor angularis oris muscle. Asymmetric crying facies …

Affective Disturbance In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Jason Greenhagen, Emily Matusz, Sheina Emrani, David Libon, Sherry Pomerantz

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an identifiable, prodromal stage of cognitive impairment and has been further defined into subtypes: amnestic, language, executive functioning, and multi domain/mixed MCI (Jak et al. 2009 ). The purpose of this study is to (1) examine the differences in depression, anxiety, and apathy between MCI subtypes; and (2) assess the relationship between the neurocognitive domains (executive functioning, language, and memory and affective symptoms. We hypothesize that apathy will be greater in dysexecutive/mixed MCI (dys/mixed MCI) and be more highly correlated to neurocognitive deficits compared to depression or anxiety. This is a retrospective study of 113 …

Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Impairs Performance In A Rodent Assay Of Cognitive Flexibility, Christopher P. Knapp, Doug P. Fox, Ramesh Raghupathi, Laura L. Giacometti, Stan B. Floresco, Barry D. Waterhouse, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) occurs in almost 80% of the 3 million reported cases of TBI-related emergency department visits each year in the United States. The majority of mTBIs, sometimes classified as concussions, are due to sports-related activities and typically occur repeatedly over the course of an athlete’s career. mTBI symptoms are generally classified as either somatic or neuropsychiatric/cognitive in nature and include impairments in prefrontal cortex mediated functions, including attention, memory, processing speed, reaction times, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility. To date, there remains a major gap in our understanding of the behavioral manifestations, underlying neurobiology, and treatment …

Maternal Morbidity Outcomes In Idiopathic Moyamoya Syndrome In New York State, Hajere J. Gatollari, Amelia K. Boehme, E. Sander Connolly, Alexander M. Friedman, Mitchell S.V. Elkind, Joshua Z. Willey, Eliza C. Miller

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of stroke in young women. Idiopathic moyamoya syndrome (IMMS) is a rare condition characterized by progressive narrowing of large cerebral arteries resulting in flimsy collaterals prone to rupture or thrombosis. Data are limited on pregnancy outcomes in women with IMMS. We hypothesized that IMMS would be associated with increased pregnancy morbidity, including stroke.

Conclusion: Pregnancies within 1 year prior or any time after IMMS diagnosis did not have increased maternal morbidity compared to unexposed pregnancies after adjusting for age and clustering of women with multiple pregnancies. Prospective studies are needed to better …

Stiff-Limb Syndrome: A Variant Of Stiff-Person Syndrome, Sagar Vadhar Do, Ethan S. Stern Do, Jaimin Patel Do, Keithan Sivakumar Md, Mba, N Shah Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

The Miller-Fisher Variant Of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Sagar Vadhar Do, Jaimin Patel Do, Kathryn Kass Md, N Shah Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Freehand Pedicle Screw Fixation: A Safe Recipe For Dorsal, Lumbar And Sacral Spine, Muhammad Junaid, Ali Afzal, Anisa Kalsoom, Syed Sarmad Bukhari

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: To determine outcome of freehand pedicle screw fixation for dorsal, lumbar and sacral fractures at a tertiary care centre in the developing world.
Methods: A retrospective review was performed of 150 consecutive patients who underwent pedicle screw fixation from January 1, 2012 to 31^st December 2017. A total of 751 pedicle screws were placed. Incidence and extent of cortical breach by misplaced pedicle screw was determined by review of intra-operative and post-operative radiographs and/or computed tomography.
Results: Among the total 751 free hand placed pedicle screws, four screws (0.53%) were repositioned due to a misdirected trajectory towards the …

Enhanced Recovery After Elective Craniotomy For Brain Tumours, Ummey Hani, Saqib Kamran Bakhshi, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim

Section of Neurosurgery

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is aimed at accelerated rehabilitation after surgery, and involves a multidisciplinary approach. Significant work has been published on this concept with regards to abdominal surgeries, however, the idea is relatively new for those undergoing neurosurgical procedures. We have reviewed literature on ERAS in patients undergoing craniotomy for brain tumours.

Need Of Physical And Chemical Restraints: Experiences At Inpatient Psychiatric Ward In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Karachi, Pakistan, Humera Saeed, M. Shameel Khan, Syeda Maheen Batool, Asma Akbar Ladak, Nadia Karim, Rabeeka Aftab

Department of Psychiatry

In psychiatry, agitated / aggressive patients are often treated with de-escalation techniques. If this does not work, physical or chemical restrains are required; but in the event of resistance, seclusion is applied. We report the findings of baseline study of experiences of physical and chemical restraints in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, where 104 files were evaluated retrospectively. The mean age of patients was 32.5 ±14.3 years with 54.8% men, while the average length of stay was 11.5 ±9.3 days. Agitation, violent behaviour, and aggression were the most common indications for restraints. In total, 94.5% of patients had both …

Tdp-43 Proteinopathy In Aging: Associations With Risk-Associated Gene Variants And With Brain Parenchymal Thyroid Hormone Levels, Peter T. Nelson, Zsombor Gal, Wang-Xia Wang, Dana M. Niedowicz, Sergey C. Artiushin, Samuel Wycoff, Angela Wei, Gregory A. Jicha, David W. Fardo

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

TDP-43 proteinopathy is very prevalent among the elderly (affecting at least 25% of individuals over 85 years of age) and is associated with substantial cognitive impairment. Risk factors implicated in age-related TDP-43 proteinopathy include commonly inherited gene variants, comorbid Alzheimer's disease pathology, and thyroid hormone dysfunction. To test parameters that are associated with aging-related TDP-43 pathology, we performed exploratory analyses of pathologic, genetic, and biochemical data derived from research volunteers in the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center autopsy cohort (n = 136 subjects). Digital pathologic methods were used to discriminate and quantify both neuritic and intracytoplasmic TDP-43 pathology …

Predator Journals: An Urgent And Global Problem., Karsten Wiechert, Jeffrey C Wang, Jens R Chapman

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Management Of Acute Traumatic Central Cord Syndrome: A Narrative Review., Srikanth N Divi, Gregory D Schroeder, John J Mangan, Madeline Tadley, Wyatt L Ramey, Jetan H Badhiwala, Michael G Fehlings, F Cumhur Oner, Frank Kandziora, Lorin M Benneker, Emiliano N Vialle, Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran, Jens R Chapman, Alexander R Vaccaro

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Study Design: Narrative review.

Objectives: To provide an updated overview of the management of acute traumatic central cord syndrome (ATCCS).

Methods: A comprehensive narrative review of the literature was done to identify evidence-based treatment strategies for patients diagnosed with ATCCS.

Results: ATCCS is the most commonly encountered subtype of incomplete spinal cord injury and is characterized by worse sensory and motor function in the upper extremities compared with the lower extremities. It is most commonly seen in the setting of trauma such as motor vehicles or falls in elderly patients. The operative management of this injury has been historically variable …

Diagnostic Accuracy Of Diffusion Weighted Mri In Differentiating Benign And Malignant Meningiomas, Din Muhammad Sohu, Saba Sohail, Rehana Shaikh

Department of Radiology

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of DWI in differentiating benign and malignant meningiomas keeping histopathology as gold standard.
Methods: This was a descriptive analytical study conducted at Radiology Department, DUHS/Dr. Ruth K. M. Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, from August 2016 to March 2018.It included152 patients clinically suspected of meningioma on conventional neuroimaging. Imaging features of DWI were compared with histopathology findings. The diagnostic accuracy of DWI was calculated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV using histopathology as gold standard.
Results: There were 59 male and 93 female patients with mean age of 55.38±9.8 years. Mean duration …

Seeing Eye To Eye: A Machine Learning Approach To Automated Saccade Analysis, Maigh Attre

Honors Scholar Theses

Abnormal ocular motility is a common manifestation of many underlying pathologies particularly those that are neurological. Dynamics of saccades, when the eye rapidly changes its point of fixation, have been characterized for many neurological disorders including concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and Parkinson’s disease. However, widespread saccade analysis for diagnostic and research purposes requires the recognition of certain eye movement parameters. Key information such as velocity and duration must be determined from data based on a wide set of patients’ characteristics that may range in eye shapes and iris, hair and skin pigmentation [36]. Previous work on saccade analysis has …

P-Value Worship: Is The Idol Significant?, Joseph R Dettori, Daniel C Norvell, Jens R Chapman

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Commentary: Ganglion Cell Complex Of Retinal Layer Thickness By Optical Coherence Tomography In Cases Of Multiple Sclerosis Without Optic Neuritis Compared To Healthy Eyes, Padmaja Sudhakar

Neurology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.