Naloxone, an opiate antagonist, has recently been reported to temporarily reverse neurologic deficits associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage. To determine if this unexpected effect of naloxone might also occur in other forms of cerebrovascular diseases, 13 patients who presented with acute neurologic deficits were administered intravenous naloxone. In 3 of these patients, coincidental improvem...

The role of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies in treating medical conditions has expanded tremendously since its inception in the 1970s, and their use in neurologic conditions has increased in just the past few years. Currently, mAb treatments are being tested in conditions ranging from neuromuscular disorders to demyelinating diseases. What is now considered experimental therapy may soon bec...

The advent of whole exome/genome sequencing and the technology-driven reduction in the cost of next-generation sequencing as well as the introduction of diagnostic-targeted sequencing chips have resulted in an unprecedented volume of data directly linking patient genomic variability to disorders of the brain. This information has the potential to transform our understanding of neurologic disord...

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of oral drugs in the treatment of spasticity in patients with nonprogressive neurologic disease (NPND). METHODS Systematic review of double-blind randomized controlled trials of antispastic oral drugs in the treatment of spasticity in NPND. DATA SOURCES Electronic MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and hand searches. RESULTS Twelve studies (469 patients) w...

Identification of biomarkers in neurological disease remains impeded by many obstacles. Among them are the availability of tissue at the site of pathology, poor clinical diagnostics, the complexity of the brain and a general dearth of functional end points and models for validation. However, advances in technology have helped to overcome these challenges. Some of these advances include standard...

In parallel to our better understanding of the role of the immune system in neurologic diseases, there has been an increased availability in therapeutic options for autoimmune neurologic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, polyneuropathies, central nervous system vasculitides and neurosarcoidosis. In many cases, the purported benefits of this class of therapy are anecdotal a...

Albumin and immunoglobulin G (IgG) were determined in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum, and the CSF/serum albumin Index (CSF X 10(3)/serum albumin concentration ratio) and IgG Index [(CSF/serum IgG)/(CSF/serum albumin)] were calculated. Data for these indices and oligoclonal banding are described in 23 cases of multiple sclerosis (MS), 19 of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), eight of sarco...

In June 1996, NINDS and Johns Hopkins University Department of Neurology organized a 1‰ day workshop, `HIV Neurologic Therapies Workshop'. The principal objective of the Workshop was to facilitate the development of innovative therapeutic strategies for dementia, neuropathy, neurologic CMV disease, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Separate groups focused on different neurol...

Systemic medical conditions may cause central and peripheral nervous system dysfunction. It is important to recognize that the function of all organ systems is to keep the brain alive. If treatment is initiated for systemic organ failure (i.e., medication, transplantation, surgery), these may be associated with other types of neurological disorders. Rather than memorizing lists of neurological ...

Neuroinflammation is implicated in the pathogenesis of a wide range of neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases. For over 20 years, (11)C-PK11195 PET, which aims to image expression of the translocator protein (TSPO) on activated microglia in the brain, has been used in preclinical and clinical research to investigate neuroinflammation in vivo in patients with brain diseases. However, (11)C-PK1...