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A survey conducted in Canada examined the prevalence of perceived genetic discrimination against patients with Huntington disease. The respondents reported discrimination not only by insurance or mortgage companies, but also in family and social contexts. Discrimination was more frequently attributed to family history than to genetic test results.
The management of acute migraine in the emergency department presents a therapeutic challenge for physicians, who need to provide adequate pain relief while minimizing adverse events and relapses. New research suggests that phenothiazines are effective drug therapies for acute migraine, highlighting their potential use as first-line treatments for acute migraine in the hospital setting.
Clinical trials aimed at preventing hematoma expansion in patients with intraparenchymal hemorrhage have failed to show benefit from experimental intervention. Novel methods for identifying those patients at the highest risk of hemorrhage growth might enable better patient selection and, hence, increase the chance of demonstrating an improvement in clinical outcome.
A genome-wide association study has identified the R92Q variant of the TNFRSF1A gene as a new susceptibility locus for multiple sclerosis. This locus is of special interest because the R92Q substitution was previously detected in a group of multiple sclerosis patients who had additional symptoms compatible with the autoinflammatory syndrome TRAPS.
Nonmotor symptoms are assuming an increasingly important place in the constellation of clinical traits that characterize Parkinson disease. A multicenter survey of patients with Parkinson disease highlights the prevalence of these symptoms. The findings indicate that further research into the pathophysiology and treatment of nonmotor symptoms is warranted.
Complete brachial plexus injury leads to paralysis and loss of sensation in the affected arm and hand. Carlstedt et al. present a long-term follow-up assessment of a 9-year-old boy who underwent spinal cord surgery after sustaining such an injury in a motorcycle accident. The patient showed recovery of hand motor function without restoration of sensation.
Early detection of a poor treatment response to disease-modifying agents could be of great benefit to patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis. Such individuals could be switched to a potentially more effective treatment before too much neurological damage has occurred. In this Review, Río and colleagues examine the use of clinical measures, MRI, and pharmacogenomics in assessing and predicting the treatment response in patients with this condition.