JNS.jpgThe August issue of the Journal of the Neurological Sciences Vol 439 is now available online.

 

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Issue highlights

Full length article

Repeated lumbar puncture in search of oligoclonal bands – What is the yield?

Mermelstein et al.

Published online: May 26, 2022

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal bands (OCBs) are immunoglobulins that represent intrathecal synthesis during central nervous system infection or inflammation. As repeated lumbar puncture (LP) is usually not performed unless clinically indicated, there is very limited data on the natural history and course of OCBs status in the CSF, its relation to disease activity, duration of persistence, and the rate of either CSF conversion of OCBs or disappearance.

We retrospectively collected data from adult patients with various neurological syndromes who had repeated CSF samplings. OCBs were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis or by isoelectric focusing.


Full length article

Effect of higher body temperature and acute brain edema on mortality in hemorrhagic shock and encephalopathy syndrome

Kuki et al.

Published online: June 16, 2022

Hemorrhagic shock and encephalopathy syndrome (HSES) is a severe subtype of acute encephalopathy with a poor prognosis. The factors associated with acute neurological outcomes in patients with HSES remain unclear.

This study aimed to determine the clinical features, laboratory and radiological findings, and treatments that determine the acute outcomes of HSES.


Full length article

Detection of post-stroke visual field loss by quantification of the retrogeniculate visual pathway

Kim et al.

Published online: May 26, 2022

Visual field loss is associated with poor post-stroke functional outcomes. However, early detection of visual field loss is often challenging in patients with disabling stroke.

This study explored the association between the microstructural integrity of the retrogeniculate pathway and visual field loss in disabling stroke patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.


Full length article

Impact on quitting smoking of cognitive impairment in stroke patients

N'Gbo N'Gbo Ikazabo et al.

Published online: May 26, 2022

Smoking is a well-established risk factor for strokes, leading to a high incidence of cognitive deficits. Since the impact of cognitive impairment on the effectiveness of interventions for smoking cessation is not yet known, we considered important to assess it.

We compared, from April 2012 to November 2015, the success rate of quitting smoking in two groups of acutely hospitalised adult smokers. The first group consisted of stroke patients (SP, n = 54) with lesions confirmed by cerebral imaging. The second used as a control group (NSP, n = 38), included patients hospitalised for any reason other than stroke and characterised by normal global cognition. All participants were assessed twice, in acute phase (T0) and 3 months later (T1), using exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) and several questionnaires.