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Journal of Neural Transmission (Vienna,... Oct 2021Differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes is considered one of the most challenging in neurology. Quantitative MR planimetric measurements were reported to... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes is considered one of the most challenging in neurology. Quantitative MR planimetric measurements were reported to discriminate between progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and non-PSP-parkinsonism. Several studies have used midbrain to pons ratio (M/P) and the Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index (MRPI) in distinguishing PSP patients from those with Parkinson's disease. The current meta-analysis aimed to compare the performance of these measures in discriminating PSP from multiple system atrophy (MSA). A systematic MEDLINE review identified 59 out of 2984 studies allowing a calculation of sensitivity and specificity using the MRPI or M/P. Meta-analyses of results were carried out using random effects modelling. To assess study quality and risk of bias, the QUADAS-2 tool was used. Eight studies were suitable for analysis. The meta-analysis showed a pooled sensitivity and specificity for the MRPI of PSP versus MSA of 79.2% (95% CI 72.7-84.4%) and 91.2% (95% CI 79.5-96.5%), and 84.1% (95% CI 77.2-89.2%) and 89.2% (95% CI 81.8-93.8%), respectively, for the M/P. The QUADAS-2 toolbox revealed a high risk of bias regarding the methodological quality of patient selection and index test, as all patients were seen in a specialized outpatient department without avoiding case control design and no predefined threshold was given regarding MRPI or M/P cut-offs. Planimetric brainstem measurements, in special the MRPI and M/P, yield high diagnostic accuracy for the discrimination of PSP from MSA. However, there is an urgent need for well-designed, prospective validation studies to ameliorate the concerns regarding the risk of bias.
Topics: Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Multiple System Atrophy; Parkinson Disease; Parkinsonian Disorders; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive
PubMed: 34105000
DOI: 10.1007/s00702-021-02362-8 -
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology May 2021Radial artery access for cerebral angiography is traditionally performed in the wrist. Distal transradial access in the anatomic snuffbox is an alternative with several... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Radial artery access for cerebral angiography is traditionally performed in the wrist. Distal transradial access in the anatomic snuffbox is an alternative with several advantages.
PURPOSE
Our aim was to review the safety and efficacy of distal transradial access for diagnostic cerebral angiography and neurointerventions.
DATA SOURCES
We performed a comprehensive search of the literature using PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE.
STUDY SELECTION
The study included all case series of at least 10 patients describing outcomes associated with distal transradial access for diagnostic cerebral angiography or a neurointervention.
DATA ANALYSIS
Random-effects models were used to obtain pooled rates of procedural success and complications.
DATA SYNTHESIS
A total of 7 studies comprising 348 (75.8%) diagnostic cerebral angiograms and 111 (24.2%) interventions met the inclusion criteria. The pooled success rate was 95% (95% CI, 91%-98%; I = 74.33). The pooled minor complication rate was 2% (95% CI, 1%-4%; I = 0. No major complications were reported. For diagnostic procedures, the combined mean fluoroscopy time was 13.53 [SD, 8.82] minutes and the mean contrast dose was 74.9 [SD, 35.6] mL.
LIMITATIONS
A small number of studies met the inclusion criteria, all of them were retrospective, and none compared outcomes with proximal transradial or femoral access.
CONCLUSIONS
Early experience with distal transradial access suggests that it is a safe and effective alternative to proximal radial and femoral access for performing diagnostic cerebral angiography and interventions. Additional studies are needed to establish its efficacy and compare it with other access sites.
Topics: Cerebral Angiography; Humans; Neuroendoscopy; Radial Artery; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 33707276
DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A7074 -
PloS One 2021Functional neuroimaging is a powerful and versatile tool to investigate central lower urinary tract (LUT) control. Despite the increasing body of literature there is a... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
PURPOSE
Functional neuroimaging is a powerful and versatile tool to investigate central lower urinary tract (LUT) control. Despite the increasing body of literature there is a lack of comprehensive overviews on LUT control. Thus, we aimed to execute a coordinate based meta-analysis of all PET and fMRI evidence on descending central LUT control, i.e. pelvic floor muscle contraction (PFMC) and micturition.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A systematic literature search of all relevant libraries was performed in August 2020. Coordinates of activity were extracted from eligible studies to perform an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) using a threshold of uncorrected p <0.001.
RESULTS
20 of 6858 identified studies, published between 1997 and 2020, were included. Twelve studies investigated PFMC (1xPET, 11xfMRI) and eight micturition (3xPET, 5xfMRI). The PFMC ALE analysis (n = 181, 133 foci) showed clusters in the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, cingulate gyrus, frontal gyrus, thalamus, supramarginal gyrus, and cerebellum. The micturition ALE analysis (n = 107, 98 foci) showed active clusters in the dorsal pons, including the pontine micturition center, the periaqueductal gray, cingulate gyrus, frontal gyrus, insula and ventral pons. Overlap of PFMC and micturition was found in the cingulate gyrus and thalamus.
CONCLUSIONS
For the first time the involved core brain areas of LUT motor control were determined using ALE. Furthermore, the involved brain areas for PFMC and micturition are partially distinct. Further neuroimaging studies are required to extend this ALE analysis and determine the differences between a healthy and a dysfunctional LUT. This requires standardization of protocols and task-execution.
Topics: Humans; Likelihood Functions; Pelvic Floor; Urinary Tract; Urinary Tract Physiological Phenomena; Urination
PubMed: 33534812
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246042 -
Case Reports in Neurology 2020Gasperini syndrome (GS), a rare brainstem syndrome, is featured by ipsilateral cranial nerves (CN) V-VIII dysfunction with contralateral hemibody hypoesthesia. While...
Gasperini syndrome (GS), a rare brainstem syndrome, is featured by ipsilateral cranial nerves (CN) V-VIII dysfunction with contralateral hemibody hypoesthesia. While there have been 18 reported cases, the GS definition remains ambiguous. We report a new case and reviewed the clinical features of this syndrome from all published reports to propose a new definition. A 57-year-old man with acute brainstem stroke had right CN V-VIII and XII palsies, left body hypoesthesia and ataxia. Brain MRI showed an acute stroke in the right caudal pons and bilateral cerebellum. After a systematic review, we classified the clinical manifestations into core and associate features based on the frequencies of occurring neurological deficits. We propose that a definitive GS requires the presence of ipsilateral CN VI and VII palsies, plus one or more of the other three core features (ipsilateral CN V, VIII palsies and contralateral hemibody hemihypalgesia). Additionally, GS, similar to Wallenberg's syndrome, represents a spectrum that can have other associated neurological features. The revised definition presented in this study may enlighten physicians with the immediate recognition of the syndrome and help improve clinical localization of the lesions and its management.
PubMed: 33362523
DOI: 10.1159/000510845 -
Frontiers in Neurology 2020To present a patient with acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis (AHLE) and a systematic review of the literature analyzing diagnostic procedures, treatment, and outcomes...
To present a patient with acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis (AHLE) and a systematic review of the literature analyzing diagnostic procedures, treatment, and outcomes of AHLE. PubMed and Cochrane databases were screened. Papers published since 01/01/2000 describing adult patients are reported according to the PRISMA-guidelines. A 59-year old male with rapidly developing coma and cerebral biopsy changes compatible with AHLE is presented followed by 43 case reports from the literature including males in 67% and a mean age of 38 years. Mortality was 47%. Infectious pathogens were reported in 35%, preexisting autoimmune diseases were identified in 12%. Neuroimaging revealed uni- or bihemispheric lesions in 65% and isolated lesions of the cerebellum, pons, medulla oblongata or the spinal cord without concomitant hemispheric involvement in 16%. Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid showed an increased protein level in 87%, elevated white blood cells in 65%, and erythrocytes in 39%. Histology (reported in 58%) supported the diagnosis of AHLE in all cases. Glucocorticoids were used most commonly (97%), followed by plasmapheresis (26%), and intravenous immunoglobulins (12%), without a clear temporal relationship between treatment and the patients' clinical course. Although mortality was lower than previously reported, AHLE remains a life-threatening neurologic emergency with high mortality. Diagnosis is challenging as the level of evidence regarding the diagnostic yield of clinical, neuroimaging and laboratory characteristics remains low. Hence, clinicians are urged to heighten their awareness and to prompt cerebral biopsies in the context of rapidly progressive neurologic decline of unknown origin with the concurrence of the compiled characteristics. Future studies need to focus on treatment characteristics and their effects on course and outcome.
PubMed: 32973663
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00899 -
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and... Jul 2020Benchmarks have long been used to verify and compare the readiness level of different technologies in many application domains. In the field of wearable robots, the lack...
Benchmarks have long been used to verify and compare the readiness level of different technologies in many application domains. In the field of wearable robots, the lack of a recognized benchmarking methodology is one important impediment that may hamper the efficient translation of research prototypes into actual products. At the same time, an exponentially growing number of research studies are addressing the problem of quantifying the performance of robotic exoskeletons, resulting in a rich and highly heterogeneous picture of methods, variables and protocols. This review aims to organize this information, and identify the most promising performance indicators that can be converted into practical benchmarks. We focus our analysis on lower limb functions, including a wide spectrum of motor skills and performance indicators. We found that, in general, the evaluation of lower limb exoskeletons is still largely focused on straight walking, with poor coverage of most of the basic motor skills that make up the activities of daily life. Our analysis also reveals a clear bias towards generic kinematics and kinetic indicators, in spite of the metrics of human-robot interaction. Based on these results, we identify and discuss a number of promising research directions that may help the community to attain a comprehensive benchmarking methodology for robot-assisted locomotion more efficiently.
Topics: Biomechanical Phenomena; Exoskeleton Device; Humans; Locomotion; Lower Extremity; Walking
PubMed: 32634096
DOI: 10.1109/TNSRE.2020.2989481 -
Systematic Reviews Jun 2020Vestibular compensation is a homeostatic process that occurs in the central nervous system in response to peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Experimental studies in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Vestibular compensation is a homeostatic process that occurs in the central nervous system in response to peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Experimental studies in rodent models have suggested that unilateral peripheral vestibular lesions are correlated with an increase in the intrinsic excitability of central vestibular neurons. This process may be dependent on the intrinsic properties of the neurons themselves. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of the literature to survey the evidence for changes in intrinsic plasticity observed during the acute phase of vestibular compensation.
METHODS
We systematically reviewed the literature regarding the electrophysiological effect of experimentally induced unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD) on the intrinsic membrane properties of medial vestibular nucleus neurons in animal models. We developed tools to assess the methodological quality (precision, validity and bias) of studies that met pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We extracted numerical data and performed a meta-analysis of specific quantitative data pooled from these studies.
RESULTS
We identified 17 studies that satisfied the inclusion criteria. There is moderate quality evidence to suggest a statistically significant increase in the intrinsic excitability of medial vestibular nucleus neurons following unilateral vestibular deafferentation. Specifically, the spontaneous discharge rate increases by 4 spikes/s on average and the sensitivity to current stimuli increases.
CONCLUSION
Using this novel approach, we demonstrate that the methodology of systematic review and meta-analysis is a useful tool in the summation of data across experimental animal studies with similar aims.
Topics: Animals; Denervation; Neuronal Plasticity; Neurons; Vestibular Nuclei
PubMed: 32552855
DOI: 10.1186/s13643-020-01399-2 -
Neurosurgical Review Apr 2021Brainstem hemangioblastomas are benign, highly vascular tumors located in the mesencephalon, pons, and medulla oblongata. Although surgical resection is currently... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Brainstem hemangioblastomas are benign, highly vascular tumors located in the mesencephalon, pons, and medulla oblongata. Although surgical resection is currently considered the main therapeutic option for symptomatic lesions, evidence supporting the application of microsurgery has not been systematically assessed. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of surgical treatment for brainstem hemangioblastomas. A comprehensive search of the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases was performed to identify all English language publications reporting the outcomes of surgical treatment for brainstem hemangioblastomas. Studies from January 1990 to July 2019 with ≥ 10 cases were included. We analyzed the surgical outcomes, including gross total resection, mortality, neurological morbidity, and functional outcome according to the McCormick Scale or Karnofsky Performance Scale. Thirteen studies with 473 cases were included. The pooled proportion of gross total resection was 98% (95% confidence interval (CI), 94-100%). Overall mortality and neurological morbidity were 4 (95% CI, 2-6%) and 13% (95% CI, 7-20%), respectively. Favorable functional outcomes at the last follow-up were achieved in 85% (95% CI, 78-92%) of all patients. Improved or stable functional outcomes at long-term follow-up were achieved in 94% (95% CI, 89-97%) of patients. This meta-analysis revealed that surgical treatment for brainstem hemangioblastomas is technically feasible and effective with lasting patient benefits and cure.
Topics: Adult; Brain Stem Neoplasms; Female; Hemangioblastoma; Humans; Karnofsky Performance Status; Male; Microsurgery; Middle Aged; Neurosurgical Procedures; Observational Studies as Topic; Retrospective Studies; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 32356022
DOI: 10.1007/s10143-020-01305-3 -
Journal of Clinical Neuroscience :... Aug 2019We studied patients with chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) associated with or without lymphoma and...
Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) associated with or without lymphoma: Comparison of clinical features and risk factors suggestive of underlying lymphomas.
BACKGROUND
We studied patients with chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) associated with or without lymphoma and measured risk factors suggestive of an underlying lymphoma and follow-up outcomes.
METHODS
CLIPPERS patients associated with or without lymphoma were included into this study. Clinical presentations were documented, risk factors suggestive of an underlying lymphoma were tested, and prognostic differences in terms of death were compared.
RESULTS
Ten patients had a diagnosis of CLIPPERS associated with lymphoma, with 6 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 2 T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 2 Hodgkin lymphoma. Using multivariate logistic analysis, the following 3 independent risk factors were found to be related to a final diagnosis of lymphoma: hyperreflexia (HR 16.56; 95% CI 1.03-265.29; p = 0.032), elevated protein in CSF (HR 11.59; 95% CI 1.24-108.39; p = 0.047), and recurrences between 2 months and 1 year after treatment (HR 29.27; 95% CI 2.09-409.58; p = 0.012). The model calibration was satisfactory (p = 0.392 with the Hosmer-Lemeshow test), and the discrimination power was good (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.921; p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.826-1.000). Patients with CLIPPERS associated with lymphoma had higher mortality rate and lymphoma was a significant predictor of total mortality (HR 0.040; 95% CI 0.006-0.262; p = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Hyperreflexia, elevated protein in CSF and recurrences between 2 months and 1 year after treatment are risk factors suggesting an underlying lymphoma. Relapses during high-dose steroids maintenance therapy can be indicative of lymphoma, too. Patients having CLIPPERS associated with lymphoma have a worse prognosis than those without lymphoma.
Topics: Adult; Brain Diseases; Female; Humans; Inflammation; Lymphoma; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Pons; Steroids
PubMed: 31088767
DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2019.04.022 -
European Stroke Journal Jun 2018Pontine haemorrhage comprises approximately 10% of intracerebral haemorrhages. There is a common presumption that pontine haemorrhage is inherently associated with poor... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Pontine haemorrhage comprises approximately 10% of intracerebral haemorrhages. There is a common presumption that pontine haemorrhage is inherently associated with poor outcome.
PURPOSE
The aim of the review was to identify chief predictors of prognosis in (pontine haemorrhage) through systematic review of published literature.
METHODS
A query of PubMed/MEDLINE was conducted in search of studies in English language since, 1980 focusing specifically on outcome in pontine haemorrhage. References for each publication were reviewed for additional studies not detected by the PubMed/MEDLINE probe. Surgical outcome studies were excluded from the review.
FINDINGS
The query identified 7867 titles, after removal of duplicates and irrelevant studies, 20 titles were included in the review. In a total of 1437 pontine haemorrhage patients included in the 20 studies, the overall rate for early all-cause mortality was 48.1%. Level of consciousness on admission and haemorrhage size were the most consistent predictors of mortality in patients with pontine haemorrhage. Haemorrhage localisation within the pons was also a prognostic factor, but not consistently. Age and intraventricular extension were not found to be powerful prognostic predictors.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION
Based on this review, level of consciousness on admission and haemorrhage size were the most influential prognostic factors in pontine haemorrhage, whereas age, haemorrhage localisation, and intraventricular haemorrhage did not consistently predict prognosis.
PubMed: 31008342
DOI: 10.1177/2396987317752729