Neurology Alert – October 1, 2015
October 1, 2015
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Small Fiber Neuropathy in Critical Illness
The spectrum of critical illness polyneuropathy may include painful, small-fiber degeneration that can be readily diagnosed by punch skin-biopsy.
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The Expanding Role of Tau in Neurodegeneration: New Insights from Huntington’s Disease
Although Huntington’s disease is due to a triplet repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, this study demonstrates abnormally phosphorylated tau pathology in Huntington’s disease brain tissue.
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Vitamin D and Diabetic Neuropathy
Vitamin D deficiency may exacerbate the clinical manifestations of diabetic neuropathy, and supplementation with vitamin D3 may be beneficial.
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Cerebrospinal Fluid Tau and Amyloid-ß1-42 in Patients with Dementia
In patients with clinically diagnosed dementia, the CSF biomarker profile of low CSF amyloid-ß1-42, high total tau, and high phosphorylated tau was seen in the majority of patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. Substantial proportions of patients with non-Alzheimer’s dementia were also found to have the Alzheimer’s disease pathological profile. The value of CSF biomarker measurements in clinical practice is uncertain.
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Biomarkers of Intrathecal Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis and Other Disorders
A study of intrathecal immune markers in neuro-immunological diseases revealed increased numbers of activated T and B cells in both relapsing and progressive multiple sclerosis, but they were preferentially embedded in the brain tissue in progressive multiple sclerosis.