| 1. |
- Blomsterwall, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
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Postural function and subjective eye level in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-1459 .- 0340-5354. ; 258:7, s. 1341-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disturbance of posture is a frequent indication of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and is characterised by an increased sway in the frontal and sagittal planes. Further, iNPH patients with increased backward sway are known to have a defective perception of the subjective visual vertical (SVV), with the upper portion of an articulated rod tilted towards themselves. The objective of the present study was to compare subjective eye level (SEL) with actual eye level (EL) and compare this data with SVV and postural function. Twenty iNPH patients and ten normal controls estimated SEL by placing an adjustable horizontal line at EL. Sway pattern and SVV were also examined as previously described. The patients presented larger errors on downward as compared to upward line adjustments; all patients also presented a SVV tilted towards them. The patients swayed more in the sagittal than in the frontal plane at a higher speed than the normal controls, and they were relatively less helped by their vision. This is in accordance with the tendency to fall backwards seen in many iNPH patients. iNPH patients have a tendency to place SEL higher than EL and this, together with examination of SVV and sway pattern, suggests defective internal processing of gravicentric information.
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| 2. |
- Lycke, Jan, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Asymptomatic visual loss in multiple sclerosis.
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5354 .- 1432-1459. ; 248:12, s. 1079-86
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Visual disturbances are common in multiple sclerosis (MS) and often a result of acute demyelinating optic neuropathy. Careful examination of MS patients, who have never suffered optic neuritis, may also reveal asymptomatic visual loss. This type of silent disease activity was investigated by computerised resolution perimetry, which has the potential to reflect the percentage of functional retino-cortical neural channels. The time of onset and the evolution of asymptomatic visual loss was investigated. One approach was to retrospectively select patients who never had suffered acute optic neuritis from a closely monitored MS population and re-examine them again. Sixteen patients were identified and vision was evaluated during a period of 5.5-9 years of follow-up and compared with that in 14 healthy controls. The mean channel percentage of the MS group was 89 +/- 19 % (SD) on entry into the study, compared with 110 +/- 15% (SD) of controls (p < 0.003). At termination of the study the mean percentage was essentially unchanged both in MS patients (87 +/- 21%, SD) and controls (110 +/- 19%, SD). The second approach was to test a group of 7 patients with MS or strongly suspected MS, with the same method, in close connection with their first clinical exacerbation. All cases lacked visual symptoms and none had previously had acute visual loss. Again, virtually all performed subnormally in the vision tests, and to the same degree as in the first group of patients. Results were compared with those obtained from 25 MS patients who had experienced one or more attacks of optic neuritis. Compared with controls the loss of functional retino-cortical neural channels was 20% in patients without a previous history of optic neuritis and 30 % in patients who previously had experienced optic neuritis. We conclude that asymptomatic visual loss seems to be a universal feature of MS and has a substantial impact on the visual pathways, that it is present already at the time of clinical onset of the disease, and that any progression thereafter is slow enough to elude detection during several years of follow-up.
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| 3. |
- Wikkelsö, Carsten, et al.
(författare)
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Subjective visual vertical and Romberg's test correlations in hydrocephalus.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5354 .- 1432-1459. ; 250:6, s. 741-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exploration of the subjective visual vertical in pitch and Romberg's test in patients with hydrocephalus. Patients Eleven patients with communicating normal pressure hydrocephalus and six with non-communicating hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis were examined before and after surgical treatment.The subjective visual vertical was examined with a simple, custom-made articulated rod. The rod was faintly illuminated from within so as to appear floating in space when presented in darkness. The test task was to manually adjust the rod's position in pitch so that it appeared perfectly vertical. Romberg's test was performed under standardized conditions.Patients with a backward movement on Romberg's test showed a deviation of the subjective visual vertical, tilting the upper end of the rod closer to their eyes. Patients moving in other directions tilted the rod in the opposite direction (p < 0.01). The time in which the patients managed Romberg's test with open eyes correlated with the intratest variability of rod placement (r = 0.86, p < 0.001). After surgery, improvements on Romberg's test correlated with a decreased intratest variability of the subjective visual vertical. There were no differences between the two patient groups.Quantitative measurements of the subjective visual vertical in pitch correlate strongly with results of Romberg's test in patients with hydrocephalus.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Lycke, Jan, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Acyclovir treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.
- 1996
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Ingår i: Journal of neurology. - 0340-5354. ; 243:3, s. 214-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Acyclovir treatment was used in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with parallel groups to test the hypothesis that herpes virus infections are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS were randomized to either oral treatment with 800 mg acyclovir or placebo tablets three times daily for 2 years. The clinical effect was investigated by an extensive test battery consisting of neurological examinations, neuro-ophthalmological and neuropsychological tests, and evoked potentials. Results were based on "intent-to-treat" data and the primary outcome measure was the exacerbation rate. In the acyclovir group (n = 30), 62 exacerbations were recorded during the treatment period, yielding an annual exacerbation rate of 1.03. The placebo group (n = 30) had 94 exacerbations and an annual exacerbation rate of 1.57. Thus, 34% fewer exacerbations were encountered during acyclovir treatment. This difference in exacerbation rate between the treatment groups was not significant (P = 0.083). However, this trend to a lower disease activity in acyclovir-treated patients was supported in subsequent data analysis. If the patients were grouped according to exacerbation frequencies, i.e. into low (0-2), medium (3-5) and high (6-8) rate groups, the difference between acyclovir and placebo treatment was significant (P = 0.017). Moreover, in a subgroup of the population with a duration of the disease of at least 2 years providing an exacerbation rate base-line before entry, individual differences in exacerbation rates were compared between the 2-year pre-study period and the study period in acyclovir-treated (n = 19) and placebo (n = 20) patients and acyclovir-treated patients showed a significant reduction of exacerbations (P = 0.024). Otherwise, neurological parameters were essentially unaffected by acyclovir treatment and there were no convincing signs of reduced neurological deterioration in the acyclovir group. This study indicates that acyclovir treatment might inhibit the triggering of MS exacerbations and thus suggests that acyclovir-susceptible viruses might be involved in the pathogenesis of MS. This possibility warrants further investigation.
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