Debashish Chowdhury

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis associated with dengue infection: a case report with literature review.

Dengue is the commonest arboviral illness caused by four antigenically distinct dengue virus serotypes (DEN-1 through DEN-4). The clinical spectrum of the disease ranges from asymptomatic or mild infection to catastrophic dengue shock syndrome (DSS). In last few years, neurological manifestations of dengue infection have been increasingly observed and reported mainly with serotypes DEN-2 and DEN-3. The pathogenesis of neurological manifestations includes: neurotrophic effect of the dengue virus, related to the systemic effects of dengue infection, and immune mediated. Encephalopathy and encephalitis are the most frequently reported neurological manifestations followed by meningitis, myositis, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, stroke, Guillain-Barré syndrome and transverse myelitis. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) associated with dengue infection is rarely reported. We herein report a case of ADEM associated with classic dengue fever. Favourable clinical outcome occurred after a five-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone therapy.

Tension type headache

Tension type headaches are common in clinical practice. Earlier known by various names, the diagnosis has had psychological connotations. Recent evidence has helped clarify the neurobiological basis and the disorder is increasingly considered more in the preview of neurologists. The classification, clinical features, differential diagnosis and treatment of tension type headache are discussed in this paper.

Behavioural and psychological symptoms in poststroke vascular cognitive impairment.

Background. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) cause significant patient and caregiver morbidity in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Objectives. To study and compare the occurrence and severity of BPSD between multi-infarct dementia (MID), subcortical ischaemic vascular disease (SIVD), and strategic infarct subtypes of poststroke VCI and to evaluate the relationship of these symptoms with the severity of cognitive impairment. Methods. Sixty patients with poststroke VCI were classified into MID, SIVD, and strategic infarct subtypes. BPSD were studied by the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). The severity of cognitive impairment was evaluated by the clinical dementia rating scale (CDR). Results. 95% of cases had at least one neuropsychiatric symptom, with depression being the commonest, irrespective of subtype or severity of VCI. Strategic infarct patients had the lowest frequency of all symptoms. SIVD showed a higher frequency and severity of apathy and higher total NPI scores, compared to MID. Apathy and appetite disturbances occurred more commonly with increasing CDR scores. The total NPI score correlated positively with the CDR score. Conclusion. Depression was the commonest neuropsychiatric symptom in VCI. The neuropsychiatric profiles of MID and SIVD were similar. The frequency and severity of apathy and the net burden of BPSD increased with increasing cognitive impairment.

The profile of behavioral and psychological symptoms in vascular cognitive impairment with and without dementia

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the occurrence and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) between vascular dementia (VaD) and vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND). Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with cognitive impairment at least 3 months after an ischemic stroke and with a Hachinski Ischemic Score ≥4 were included. VaD was diagnosed as per National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke – Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l’Enseignement en Neurosciences criteria for probable VaD and VCI-ND on the lines of the Canadian study of health and aging. The severity of cognitive impairment and the behavioral/psychological symptoms were studied by means of the clinical dementia rating scale and the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) respectively. Results: All patients with VaD and 89% of those with VCI-ND had at least one BPSD. The mean no. of symptoms per patient and the total NPI scores were higher in VaD than in VCI-ND. Apathy and night-time behavior disturbances were significantly more common and severe in VaD. Conclusions: BPSD are very common both in VCI-ND and in VaD. The profile of BPSD is similar in both groups, albeit more severe in VaD. The net burden of BPSD is higher in VaD as compared to VCI-ND.

Clinical profile of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures in adults: A study of 63 cases

Aims: To evaluate clinical profile and short-term outcome of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) in Indian adult population. Setting and Design: A prospective observational study, conducted at tertiary teaching institute at New Delhi. Materials and Methods: Sixty-three patients with confirmed PNES were enrolled. The diagnosis was based on witnessing the event during video-electroencephalography (Video-EEG) monitoring. A detailed clinical evaluation was done including evaluation for coexistent anxiety or depressive disorders. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of excessive or paucity of movements during PNES attacks. Patients were followed-up to 12 months for their PNES frequency. Statistical Analysis: Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables. Chi-square and Students t-test were used to compare categorical and continuous variables respectively. Results: The mean age at onset of PNES was 25.44 years; with F:M ratio of 9.5:1. Coexistent epilepsy was present in 13 (20.63%) cases. Twenty-two patients (44%) with only PNES (n = 50) had received antiepileptic drugs. Out of 63 patients of PNES 24 (38.1%) had predominant motor phenomenon, whereas 39 (61.9%) had limp attacks. The common features observed were pre-ictal headache, ictal eye closure, jaw clenching, resistant behavior, ictal weeping, ictal vocalization, and unresponsiveness during episodes. Comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders was seen in 62.3% and 90.16% patients, respectively. Short-term (6-12 months) outcome of 45 patients was good (seizure freedom in 46.66% and >50% improvement in 24.44% cases). Conclusion: PNES is common, but frequently misdiagnosed and treated as epileptic seizures. A high index of suspicion is required for an early diagnosis. Proper disclosure of diagnosis and management of the psychiatric comorbidities can improve their outcome. Limitation: Limited sample size and change in seizures frequency as the only parameter for the assessment of the outcome are the two major limitations of our study.

Guidelines on the diagnosis and the current management of headache and related disorders

There are at present no existing guidelines on “headache” that pertain to the Indian setting. With a view to standardizing headache diagnosis across the country and keeping in mind treatment issues peculiar to our setting, these Guidelines have been evolved to help primary care physicians deal with headache patients. These Guidelines have been drawn up by neurologists with a special interest in headache. With limited evidence in literature regarding headache practice and treatment in India, these guidelines are more experience based than evidence based. All contributors have adhered to the second edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD2-2004). In ICHD2, the first four categories deal with the primary headaches.[1–5] The next eight categories deal with headaches due to identifiable secondary causes.[6–13] The last two categories deal with cranial neuralgias and other causes of facial pain.[14–17] It is well accepted that no practice guidelines can cover all situations. Some headaches need to be handled by a neurologist but for the most part, primary care physicians are the ones who should be ideally handling headaches and these guidelines are targeted toward that end. These guidelines reflect current clinical practice trends in India. Every chapter has a brief introduction, followed by the salient diagnostic features, the way to investigate and treatment options. A summary of important practice points regarding when to refer to a specialist has also been included. Common entities have been described in greater detail while rare conditions that are seen less often are only mentioned in passing. The following is a brief listing of the headache conditions that are included in the second edition of The Classification of Headache Disorders of the International Headache society- ICHD2 (2004). The rubrics employed in all the chapters will be the same that is used in ICHD2.

A case of crossed aphasia with apraxia of speech

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a rare, but well-defined motor speech disorder. It is characterized by irregular articulatory errors, attempts of self-correction and persistent prosodic abnormalities. Similar to aphasia, AOS is also localized to the dominant cerebral hemisphere. We report a case of Crossed Aphasia with AOS in a 48-year-old right-handed man due to an ischemic infarct in right cerebral hemisphere.

Paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis with symptomatic seizures secondary to hypoglycemia caused by insulinoma

Neurological syndromes are not an uncommon presentation with insulinomas. Recurrent hypoglycemia associated with it can present with a variety of neurological symptoms that may include disturbances of consciousness, seizures, stroke-like presentation, movement disorder, dementia and chronic neuropathy. The myriad of presentations, resemblance with other neurological conditions and episodic nature often lead to misdiagnosis and a delay in definitive treatment. Rare cases of insulinoma presenting as combination of abnormal movements have been described. We report a patient who presented with both hypoglycemia induced symptomatic seizures and paroxysmal non-kinesiogenic dystonic choreoathetosis. Insulinoma is a potentially treatable disorder and early definitive intervention can prevent long term neurological disability in patients.

Pregnancy related symptomatic vertebral hemangioma

Vertebral hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors of the spine that remain asymptomatic in most cases and incidentally encountered on imaging. Rarely, altered hemodynamic and hormonal changes during pregnancy may expand these benign lesions resulting in severe cord compression. The management of symptomatic vertebral hemangioma during pregnancy is controversial as modalities like radiotherapy and embolization are not suitable and surgery during pregnancy has a risk of preterm labor. Few cases of pregnancy related symptomatic vertebral hemangioma with marked epidural component have been reported in the literature. We report a case of 23-year-old primigravida who developed rapidly progressive paraparesis at 28 weeks of gestation and spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed upper thoracic vertebral hemangioma with extensive extra-osseous extension and spinal cord compression. Laminectomy and surgical decompression of the cord was performed at 32 weeks of the pregnancy. There was significant improvement in muscle power after a week of surgery. Six weeks postoperatively she delivered a full term normal baby with subsequent improvement of neurologic deficit. Repeat MRI of dorsal spine performed at 3 months postoperatively showed reduced posterior and anterior epidural components of vertebral hemangioma.

Topiramate Responsive Prominent Head Tremor as an Atypical Presentation of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

Neuropathic tremors are often encountered in both hereditary as well as acquired inflammatory demyelinating neuropathies, such as IgM paraproteinemic neuropathy and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy and occasionally during the recovery phase of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) accounts for up to 30–65% the patients with GBS in East Asia and is rarely associated with a neuropathic tremor. We report a patient with AMAN, who presented with pure motor quadriplegia with bulbar symptoms and a prominent atypical resting head tremor during the acute phase of illness, which showed an excellent response to topiramate therapy.