Rehabilitation must be based on the individual needs and specific goals of the person and must be adapted to his abilities. According to the recommendation of the World Stroke Organization, the team ...involved in conducting rehabilitation should be multidisciplinary. One of the treatments that are applied within the multidisciplinary approach to a neurological patient is educational-rehabilitation treatment, which is multicomponent in nature. Before starting educational-rehabilitation treatment, an educational-rehabilitation clinical assessment is necessary, which aims to detect difficulties caused by impairment; identify potentials and constraints in these areas; determine the specifics, course, and forecasts of difficulties; formulate clear treatment recommendations; form a watch list that will be available to all team members in the process of diagnosis, treatment, education, and to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment; and continuously monitor the ability and adaptive behavior of the person. Educational-rehabilitation clinical treatment includes treatment of cognitive abilities, treatment of motor skills, relaxation, treatment of adaptive skills, as well as informing the person about the disease and counseling. This review focuses on some aspects of rehabilitation such as treatment of cognitive and motor disorders, treatment of adaptive skills, relaxation issues, and informing and counseling patients from the perspective of an educational rehabilitator with practical experiences in this area of rehabilitation.
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread globally, with relistic hope that will be solved with adequate vacination, more and more evidences are collected about the presence of psychiatric and ...neurological manifestations and symptoms associated with this diseas. Neurological manifestations, are part of the COVID-19 clinical picture, but questions remain regarding the frequency and severity of centra nervous system symptoms, the mechanism of action underlying neurological symptoms, and the relationship of symptoms with the course and severity of COVID-19. The review of the so far published papers shows that although more and more papers are reporting neurological and psyhiatric manifestations associated with COVID-19, many items remain unclear. The long-term psychological implications of this infectious diseases should not be ignored. In this paper, we aim to present a some of psychological consequences and neurological disorders associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and to emphasize the need a global action that requires close coordination and open-data sharing between hospitals, academic and public health institutions and the fast establishment of harmonised research priorities to face acut and long-term the neurological and psychological consequences.
- Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is a chronic demyelinating neuropathy mainly characterized by multifocal distribution; affecting only motor nerve fibers of two or more peripheral nerves, with the ...absence of symptoms and signs of upper motor neuron; chronic, sometimes cascading progressive course; demyelination with partial block of motor conduction; immune-mediated pathogenesis and good response to intravenous immunoglobulin treatment (IVIG). The diagnosis of MMN is based on clinical, laboratory and electrophysiological characteristics. Steroids are ineffective in MMN and may lead to worsening of the disease. Similarly, therapeutic plasma exchange is negligibly effective in this neuropathy. However, more than 80% of patients with MMN experience improvement after IVIG. We present our three cases of MMN with positive response to IVIG.
Background: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an extracorporeal blood purification technique that is designed to remove substances with a large molecular weight. The TPE procedure includes removal ...of antibodies, alloantibodies, immune complexes, monoclonal protein, toxins or cytokines, and involves the replenishment of a specific plasma factor. The aim of the study was to describe the clinical response to TPE in various neurological patients, and to assess the clinical response to this therapy.
Methods: The study was retrospective. We analyzed the medical records of 77 patients who were treated at the Department of Neurology, University Clinical Center (UCC) Tuzla from 2011 to 2016.
Results: 83 therapeutic plasma exchanges were performed in the 77 patients. There was a slight predominance of male patients (54.5%), with an average age of 51±15.9 years. The most common underlying neurological diseases were Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) (37.7%), then chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (23.4%), multiple sclerosis (MS) (11.7%) and myasthenia gravis (10.4%). Less frequent neurological diseases that were encountered were paraneoplastic polyneuropathies (5.2%), neuromyelitis optica (also known as Devic's disease) (3.9%), motor neuron disease (3.9%), polymyositis (2.6%) and multifocal motor neuropathy (1.2%).
Conclusions: Six years experience of therapeutic plasma exchange in neurological patients in our department have shown that, following evidence-based guidelines for plasmapheresis, the procedure was most effective in patients with GBS, CIDP and myasthenia gravis.
Infection with the new corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) was first registered in December 2019 in China, and then later spread rapidly to the rest of the world. On December 31, 2019, the World Health ...Organization (WHO) informed the public for the first time about causes of pneumonnia of unknown origin, in the city of Wuhan (Hubei Province, China), in people who were epidemiologically linked to a seafood and wet animal whole sale local market in Wuhan. Coronavrus disease, called COVID-19 (Corona virus disease 2019), after China quickly spread to most countries in the wold, and the WHO on March 11, 2020 declared a pandmic with this virus. SARS-CoV-2, has a high level of sequential similarities to the SARS-CoV-1 and uses the same receptors when it enters the human body (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2/ACE2). COVID-19 is respiratry infection that is primarily transmitted via respiratry droplets. Typical symptoms of COVID-19 infection can be very moderate (infected can be even asymptomatic) to very severe, with severe respiratory symptoms (bilateral severe pneumonia), septic schock, and fatal outcome. Numeous unknows regarding the biological, epidemilogical adn clinical characteristics of COVID-19, still exist, and make it impossible to predict with certainty the further course of the current pandemic. COVID-19 is primarily a disease of the respiratory system, but SARS-CoV-2, in a number of patients also penetrates the CNS, and apparently could be responsible for fatal outcome in some cases. The entrry of the virus into the brain can lead to neurological and psychiatric manifestationss, which are not uncommon, including headache, paresthesia, myalgia, impaired consciousnessm, confusion or delirum and cerebrovascular diseases. SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals should be evaluated in a timely manner for neurological and psychiatic symptoms because tretament of infection-related neurological and psychiatric complications is an important factor in better prognosis of severe COVID-19 patients.From the current point of view, it seems that in COVID-19 survivors, in the coming years and decades, the inflammatory systemic process and/or the inflammatory process of the brain could trigger long-term mechanisms that generally lead to an increase of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Psychosocial consequences as well as consequences for mental health are also significant, both for the general population and especially for health workers of all profiles. COVID-19 pandemia is associtaed with negative psychosocial consequences, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, anger and stress, sleep disorders, simpotms of posttrauamtic stres disorder, social isolation, loneliness and stigmatization.
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is the most common and best known monogenic small vessel disease. Here, we review the clinical, ...neuroimaging, neuropathological, genetic, and therapeutic aspects based on the most relevant articles published between 1994 and 2016 and on the personal experience of the authors, all directly involved in CADASIL research and care. We conclude with some suggestions that may help in the clinical practice and management of these patients.
Post-stroke dementia (PSD) or post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) may affect up to one third of stroke survivors. Various definitions of PSCI and PSD have been described. We propose PSD as a ...label for any dementia following stroke in temporal relation. Various tools are available to screen and assess cognition, with few PSD-specific instruments. Choice will depend on purpose of assessment, with differing instruments needed for brief screening (e.g., Montreal Cognitive Assessment) or diagnostic formulation (e.g., NINDS VCI battery). A comprehensive evaluation should include assessment of pre-stroke cognition (e.g., using Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly), mood (e.g., using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and functional consequences of cognitive impairments (e.g., using modified Rankin Scale). A large number of biomarkers for PSD, including indicators for genetic polymorphisms, biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid and in the serum, inflammatory mediators, and peripheral microRNA profiles have been proposed. Currently, no specific biomarkers have been proven to robustly discriminate vulnerable patients ('at risk brains') from those with better prognosis or to discriminate Alzheimer's disease dementia from PSD. Further, neuroimaging is an important diagnostic tool in PSD. The role of computerized tomography is limited to demonstrating type and location of the underlying primary lesion and indicating atrophy and severe white matter changes. Magnetic resonance imaging is the key neuroimaging modality and has high sensitivity and specificity for detecting pathological changes, including small vessel disease. Advanced multi-modal imaging includes diffusion tensor imaging for fiber tracking, by which changes in networks can be detected. Quantitative imaging of cerebral blood flow and metabolism by positron emission tomography can differentiate between vascular dementia and degenerative dementia and show the interaction between vascular and metabolic changes. Additionally, inflammatory changes after ischemia in the brain can be detected, which may play a role together with amyloid deposition in the development of PSD. Prevention of PSD can be achieved by prevention of stroke. As treatment strategies to inhibit the development and mitigate the course of PSD, lowering of blood pressure, statins, neuroprotective drugs, and anti-inflammatory agents have all been studied without convincing evidence of efficacy. Lifestyle interventions, physical activity, and cognitive training have been recently tested, but large controlled trials are still missing.
The review outlines the importance of understanding speech and language difficulties that occur among the first symptoms of frontotemporal dementia, as well as the role of speech therapists in the ...management of people with frontotemporal dementia. Frontotemporal dementia is one of the most common types of dementia in adults under the age of 65. The main variations of frontotemporal dementia are behavioral, progressive nonfluent aphasia, semantic dementia, and logopenic progressive aphasia. Speech and language difficulties are often among the first indicative signs of frontotemporal dementia, and their proper recognition and understanding play a significant role in the differential diagnosis. Speech and language therapists have to be involved both in the diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and its treatment to provide the highest quality services to people with dementia and their carers.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder causing not only motor dysfunction but also cognitive, psychiatric, autonomic and sensory disturbances. Depression is the most common ...psychiatric disturbance identified in patients with PD and has been shown to be more common in PD than in other chronic and disabling disorders, occurring in approximately 40% of PD patients. However, the prevalence and clinical features associated with depression in PD remain controversial. Dementia is increasingly recognized as a symptom associated with idiopathic PD, and is found in up to 40% of all patients suffering from that condition. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depressive and dementia symptoms in PD patients. The study included 35 consecutive patients with PD, 13 (37.4%) male and 22 (62.6%) female (mean age 62.9 ± 11.0, range 36-85 years), mean duration of disease 4.7 ± 2.9 (range 1-10) years, hospitalized during one year at Clinical Department of Neurology, Tuzla University Clinical Center, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used for assessment of cognitive deterioration and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for depression. Computerized tomography was performed in all patients. According to BDI scale, depressive symptoms were present in all 35 PD patients: minimal in 4 (11.4%), low in 7 (20%), moderate in 8 (22.8%), severe in 9 (25.4%) and extreme in 7 (20%) patients. On MMSE scale, 9 (25.4%) patients were free from cognitive deterioration and 26 (74.6%) patients had moderate to severe deterioration, but 21 (60%) patients (7 (33.33%) male and 14 (66.66%) female) had symptoms of dementia (MMSE score ≤ 23). Using MMSE scale, 8 (22.8%) patients were free from dementia and 27 (77.2%) patients had some cognitive deterioration. Very mild symptoms of dementia were found in 6 (25.9%) and overt features of dementia in 21 (74.1%) PD patients. So, out of 35 PD study patients, 21 (60%) (7 (33.3%) male and 14 (66.7%) female) had symptoms of dementia (MMSE score ≤ 23). In conclusion, depressive and dementia symptoms are common in PD patients.
Neuropsychology of acute stroke Sinanović, Osman
Psychiatria Danubina,
06/2010, Letnik:
22, Številka:
2
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Odprti dostop
Neuropsychology includes both the psychiatric manifestations of neurological illness (primary brain-based disorders) and neurobiology of "idiopathic" psychiatric disorders. Neurological primary brain ...disorders provoke broad spectrum of brain pathophysiology that cause deficit sin human behaviour, and the magnitude of neurobehavioral-related problems is a world wide health concern. Speech disorders of aphasic type, unilateral neglect, anosognosia (deficit disorders), delirium and mood disorders (productive disorders) in urgent neurology, first of all in acute phase of stroke are more frequent disorders then it verified in routine exam, not only in the developed and large neurological departments. Aphasia is common consequence of left hemispheric lesion and most common neuropsychological consequence of stroke, with prevalence of one third of all stroke patients in acute phase although exist reports on greater frequency. Unilateral neglect is a disorder that mostly effects the patient after the lesion of the right hemisphere, mostly caused by a cerebrovascular insult (infarct or haemorrhage affecting a large area - up to two thirds of the right hemisphere), and in general the left-side neglect is the most widespread neuropsychological deficit after the lesion of the right cerebral hemisphere. Reports on the incidence of visual neglect vary and they range from 13 to 85%. Anosognosia is on the second place as neuropsychological syndrome of stroke in right hemisphere, characterized by the denial of the motor, visual or cognitive deficit. This syndrome, defined as denial of hemiparesis or hemianopsia, is a common disorder verified in 17-28% of all patents with acute brain stoke. There are different reports on frequency of delirium in acute stroke, from 24 to 48%, and it is more frequent in hemorrhagic then ischemic stoke. Post stroke depression (PSD) is one of the more frequent consequences on the stroke, and the prevalence of PSD has ranged from 5 to 63% of patients in several cross-sectional studies, peaking three to six months after a stroke.
PDF
