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Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia share common clinical features, and antipsychotic medications can treat both conditions effectively. An assessment of 73,929 people with bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia from a Swedish registry found evidence that the two disorders also share more than half of their genetic determinants.
A trial of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to treat multiple sclerosis has yielded promising results, generating considerable interest within both the clinical literature and the mainstream press. The findings should, however, be interpreted with some caution, and larger, randomized trials will be required to establish the true efficacy of the approach.
Investigators in Germany have solicited the views of neurologists and psychiatrists on the effectiveness of antidementia drug treatments. The study concludes that clinicians generally consider these treatments to be beneficial, and that the provision of support to caregivers seems to further enhance the perceived benefits.
Most grade II and grade III gliomas, as well as the secondary glioblastomas that arise from these tumors, possess point mutations that affect the substrate binding site of isocitrate dehydrogenase. These mutations are essentially unique to gliomas, seem to represent an early step in gliomagenesis, and confer a favorable prognosis.
Epidemiological studies suggest that the risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia is increased in individuals with diabetes mellitus, although the evidence from clinicopathological studies on neurodegenerative changes is at odds with these observations. A thorough appraisal of concomitant vascular changes in dementia might resolve this incongruity.
Complex regional pain syndrome is a chronic condition arising mainly after tissue injury and involves both inflammatory and neurogenic factors. Use of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors has been associated with an increased risk of developing the chronic pain condition, which suggests possible roles for substance P and bradykinin in the underlying pathogenic process.
In light of claims of improved efficacy and lower incidence of adverse effects compared with older drugs, second-generation antipsychotics have emerged as the predominant treatment for schizophrenia. A new meta-analysis concludes that the difference in efficacy between newer and older agents is small, and the current classification scheme for antipsychotics does not survive close scrutiny.
Alterations in the levels and activities of neurotrophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have been described in various neurodegenerative disorders, most notably Huntington disease. In this article, Zuccato and Cattaneo review the current knowledge about the involvement of BDNF in these diseases and critically assess whether BDNF treatment would be a beneficial and feasible therapeutic approach in the clinic.
Nearly 80% of the worldwide burden of epilepsy is borne by resource-poor countries. The quality of epilepsy care in these countries is compromised by numerous factors, including poverty, illiteracy, inefficient health-care systems, and social stigma. In this article, Kurupath Radhakrishnan highlights these difficulties and suggests practical solutions, drawing on his own experiences in southern India.
Patients with Parkinson disease can experience a range of hallucinatory phenomena, which can have considerable psychosocial effects and be important factors determining the admission of patients into nursing homes. This Review explores the wide array of hallucinations in Parkinson disease, and examines the contribution of both pharmacological therapies and the underlying disease pathology to their formation.
The neuroendocrine tumor pheochromocytoma is usually detected via measurement of levels of catecholamines and their metabolites in plasma and urine. In patients with Parkinson disease, however, the results of these tests can be confounded by dopaminergic medications. Mehtaet al. present the case of a 59-year-old man with Parkinson disease in whom a diagnosis of pheochromocytoma was confirmed by means of structural and functional imaging.
