Table of contents
April 2007 Volume 3 No 4
Editorial
Viewpoint
What impact will nanotechnology have on neurology?
180Nanotechnology is often hailed as a revolutionary technology. In this Viewpoint article, Gabriel Silva presents emerging nanotechnology applications directed towards neurological disorders and assesses their potential to provide patients with novel and advanced therapeutic choices.
Research Highlights
An autosomal recessive ataxia caused by SYNE1 mutations
182Diabetic retinopathy: an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke in diabetes
182Nicardipine implants improve outcome following subarachnoid hemorrhage
182Poststroke memory dysfunction is reversible in a large proportion of stroke survivors
183Heterozygous PARK2 mutations occur with equal frequency in PD and control populations
183Antiepileptic drug shows promise for treatment of Parkinson's disease
184Selective affinity resins remove TSE infectivity from blood
184Report on a case of vCJD with probable iatrogenic origins
184Topiramate can prevent progression from episodic migraine to chronic headache
185Noninvasive multigene marker associated with risk of Parkinson's disease
185Expectations of analgesia: cortical and spinal mechanisms affect pain response
186C-peptide replacement: a possible treatment for diabetic neuropathy
187Practice Points
Spinal metastases from lung cancer—who benefits from decompression surgery?
188Is stenting a safe alternative to endarterectomy in patients with severe symptomatic carotid stenosis?
190Is telemedicine the answer for delivering stroke care to rural areas?
192Withdrawing antiepileptic drugs in seizure-free patients: what are the cognitive benefits?
194Reviews
From bench to bedside—experimental rationale for immune-specific therapies in the inflamed peripheral nerve
198In recent years, considerable progress has been made towards understanding the mechanisms that underlie autoimmune inflammatory diseases of the PNS, such as Guillain–Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. As Meyer zu Hörste et al. discuss in this Review, many promising therapeutic approaches for these conditions have been established in animal models, but attempts to transfer this knowledge to the clinic have met with limited success to date.
doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0452 | Full Text | PDF (410K)
Stenting for carotid artery stenosis
212Stenting is being used increasingly for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis, but it is still unknown whether it is as safe and successful as carotid endarterectomy—the standard treatment for symptomatic patients with more than 50% carotid stenosis. This Review summarizes current knowledge on the effectiveness of both procedures, and provides an updated meta-analysis based on data from randomized trials.
doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0470 | Full Text | PDF (259K)
Drug Insight: the use of melatonergic agonists for the treatment of insomnia—focus on ramelteon
221Melatonin has been used successfully to treat insomnia, but has not received regulatory approval by the FDA because it can be sold freely as a food supplement. This has prompted a search by pharmaceutical companies for patentable melatonin receptor ligands, and the melatonin receptor agonist ramelteon has received particular attention. This Review describes the pharmacology and metabolism of ramelteon, assesses evidence from animal models and clinical studies that supports its efficacy in treating insomnia, and discusses its possible mechanism of action.
doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0467 | Full Text | PDF (220K)
Case Study
Training Matters
Teaching residents to be teachers
236In this Training Matters article, Samuel Frank advocates teaching as a ubiquitous skill that neurology residents need to acquire regardless of whether they are pursuing a career in clinical practice or academics. The author also discusses potential methods to assess and improve resident teaching skills.
