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Biomedical subjects

E Palomeras

Publications and source records attributed to E Palomeras.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Aspirin or anticoagulants in stenosis of the middle cerebral artery: A randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: We report the results of an open, randomized, multicenter trial that compared the efficacy of aspirin to oral anticoagulants (OA) for the prevention of vascular events in patients with symptomatic stenosis of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to receive 300 mg/day of aspirin or a dose of OA (target INR 2-3). The MCA stenosis was demonstrated by conventional angiography or by at least two noninvasive examinations. Patients had either transient ischemic attack or cerebral infarct (CI) attributable to the MCA stenosis within 90 days before inclusion. The primary endpoint was: nonfatal CI, nonfatal acute myocardial infarct, vascular death and major hemorrhage. The patients were followed-up for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years. RESULTS: The study included 28 patients (14 in each treatment group); the average age was 67 +/- 9.9 years. Men constituted 68% of the patients. After a mean follow-up of 23.1 +/- 10.9 months, there were no recurrences of CI in both groups. No endpoint was reported in the aspirin group, but 2 patients in the OA group (14.3%) exhibited vascular events: 1 acute myocardial infarct and 1 intracerebral hemorrhage). However, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.48). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that aspirin is the treatment of choice for the prevention of vascular events in patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis.

Aged↗

Dystonia in a patient treated with propranolol and gabapentin.

We present a 68-year-old patient with essential tremor who was treated with propranolol hydrochloride (80 mg daily) and gabapentin (900 mg daily) after a history of mild success of gabapentin alone in relieving his symptoms. The patient had several daily episodes of paroxysmal dystonic movements in both hands. After reducing the propranolol dose to 40 mg daily, the dystonic movements resolved. This case suggests a synergistic effect between propranolol and gabapentin.

Acetates↗

Migraine without aura and migrainous disorder in children; International Headache Society (IHS) and revised IHS criteria.

The widely used criteria of the IHS to define migraine without aura in children are highly specific but show poor sensitivity, with a large percentage of headaches being classified as migrainous disorder (MD). The objective of this study was to assess how many headache patients in a series of children met the diagnostic criteria of the IHS for migraine without aura or MD and to determine the changes required to convert the greatest number of MD into migraine without aura, without affecting classification of the remaining headache types. A prospective study was undertaken of 131 patients under 15 years old referred to our centre for headache. Patients were classified according to the IHS criteria and according to a modification of these criteria consisting of: (1) reduction of minimum time required for classification into migraine without aura from 2 h to 1 h; (2) acceptance of bifrontal location in addition to hemicranial; (3) acceptance of either phonophobia or photophobia as valid criteria instead of requiring presence of both. Using the IHS criteria, 51 (39%) children were diagnosed as having migraine without aura and 26 (20%) as having MD. According to our revised IHS criteria, 68 (52%) were diagnosed as migraine without aura and nine (7%) as MD. When the three modified criteria were applied, three tension headaches and one unclassifiable headache changed category. When only reduced duration and bifrontal location were applied, none of the headaches other than MD changed category. Application of two modifications to the IHS criteria--reduction in duration of headache to 1 h and acceptance of bifrontal location--increased sensitivity without reducing specificity in classifying migraine without aura in children.

Adolescent↗

[Oral anticoagulation in the secondary prevention of cerebrovascular disease. Long-term follow-up of 169 patients].

INTRODUCTION: Although the indications for oral anticoagulation (AO) in the treatment of cerebral vascular disease (CVD) are well established, their potential side effects continue to give cause for worry. OBJECTIVES: To describe the complications and ischemic relapses in patients treated with AO for secondary prevention of CVD of cardiac embolic origin. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 169 patients with embologenic cardiopathy who, following an CVD, were treated with AO and followed-up at our medical centre for at least three months. We recorded their past clinical history and risk factors, occurrence of vascular relapses (VR), complications involving hemorrhage (CH), and data regarding course and follow-up. RESULTS: During an average follow-up of 50.3 months of a total of 707.9 patient/years, 20 VR (2.8% per year) were recorded; 15 of these were cerebro-vascular and mainly mild. We recorded 59 CH in 41 patients (8.3% per year) of which 6 were considered to be major. There was a 30% drop-out rate from follow-up at our centre, mainly due to death from other causes or to change of referral centre. CONCLUSIONS: There is a low incidence of relapse and of complications (usually mild) following AO for the secondary prevention of CVD of cardio-embolic origin. Efficacy and security are maintained in the long term.

Acenocoumarol↗

[Cerebrovascular disease as a form of presentation of HIV infection].

Several necropsy reports have suggested that cerebral vascular disease (CVD) is more frequent in HIV positive patients than in HIV negative individuals of the same age, although clinical signs are rare. We describe three patients for whom CVD was the clinical manifestation that led to diagnoses of HIV infection. The patients were two men and a woman aged 29, 52 and 66, respectively, with differing risk factors for CVD: smoking (3), blood hypertension (2), endocarditis (1) and free protein S deficiency (1). The risk factors for HIV infection were also different. The CVD diagnoses were confirmed by computed tomography, which revealed lacunar infarction in two cases with favorable outcomes and embolia-like infarction with subarachnoid hemorrhage in the third patient, who died a few days later. CD4 levels varied (50, 130 and 689/mm3). Our observations lead us to the following conclusions: 1) CVD can be a first clinical manifestation of HIV infection and the disease that allows seropositivity to be diagnosed. Although CVD usually presents in advanced stages of HIV infection, it can also occur in seropositive patients who do not meet the criteria for AIDS. 2) The classical risk factors for vascular disease probably play a dominant role in the etiology of CVD in such patients, alongside systemic complications related to the virus; the direct role of HIV remains to be determined. 3) AIDS should be considered and ruled out in patients with CVD who are at risk for HIV infection, even in older patients with vascular risk factors.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Intracerebral haemorrhage in AIDS.

We report 8 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and intracerebral haemorrhage. There were 7 men and 1 woman (mean age 37.2 years) with a mean CD4 count of 81.2/mm3. Alcohol abuse was recorded in 7 patients, intravenous drug use in 4, homosexual activity in 2, thrombocytopaenia in 1 and severe hypertension in 1. There were 5 lobar and 3 deep haemorrhages. Potential aetiologies of intracerebral haemorrhage included cerebral toxoplasmosis (n = 2), thrombocytopenia (n = 2), hypertension (n = 1) and cerebral tuberculosis (n = 1). Data of these patients were compared with those of 30 AIDS inpatients without brain haemorrhage matched by age and sex and no statistically significant differences in risk factors for AIDS except for alcohol abuse (> 80 g/day) (p = 0.045) were found. Causes of brain haemorrhage in AIDS patients are heterogeneous. The relationship between both conditions may be explained by the effect of several predisposing factors to stroke in association with AIDS-related complications. Intracerebral haemorrhage is a late and serious complication of AIDS (mortality 62.5%). The frequency of intracerebral haemorrhage in AIDS (1.0%) is higher than that expected in a general population of young adults.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[Bulbar hematoma].

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Aged↗

[Partial benign crises in adolescence].

The aim of this paper is to present the case of teenage patient with partial seizures fulfilling the criteria of benign partial seizures of adolescence. A 16-year-old male patient had two seizures with a sensory-motor "march" that evolved into a secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizure on the same day. Several weeks before this event he had had several simple partial sensory seizures. The patient had no previous history of seizures and there was no family history of epilepsy. The neurological examination, EEG and magnetic resonance imaging were normal. The patient was treated with antiepileptic monotherapy during two years. The treatment was gradually tapered and withdrawn over the following six months. He has had no recurrences during the five years of follow-up. The early diagnosis of this entity has the significant prognostic and therapeutic repercussions.

Adolescent↗

[Validation of transcranial Doppler in Mataro, Barcelona].

INTRODUCTION: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a new technique which is becoming increasingly used in neurology and is highly dependent on the user. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability of TCD in our hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During a five month period, all patients who had a cerebral angiogram done, also had DTC within 24 hours. The TCD was reported on before the result of the angiogram was known. Subsequent analysis of the comparison of the results was done by a person who had not done the initial investigations. RESULTS: 49 persons were included in the study. The average time between the two investigations was 12.5 hours. In 5 patients the TCD was inconclusive due to a poor window. In 21 patients both tests were normal. Of the 14 patients in whom there were pathological findings on angiography, correct diagnosis was made on TCD in 12 cases, including those with stenosis of the anterior circulation. The two false negative findings of intracranial stenosis were in a vertebral artery and a posterior cerebral artery. The remaining seven cases were of patients in whom only one investigation showed signs of distal vasculopathy. CONCLUSION: The index of false positives of DTC showing intracranial stenosis was 0. All intracranial stenoses of the anterior circulation were correctly diagnosed.

Adolescent↗

[Clinical utility of outpatient videoelectroencephalogram monitoring].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the utility of outpatient videoelectroencephalogram (VEEG) in a general neurology department to detect an ictal event. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and five patients with ictal phenomenology of unknown etiology, suspicion of pseudoseizures, refractory epilepsy with very frequent seizures, underwent outpatient VEEG monitoring from 30 minutes to five hours of duration, between June 1, 1999 and June 30, 2003. Patient medication was not modified to perform the recording. RESULTS: Among the 105 outpatient VEEG monitoring, 33 clinical pathologic events were identified; these comprised 14 epileptic seizures, 12 pseudoseizures, four syncopes, and three non epileptic abnormal movements. Outpatient VEEG monitoring duration was as follows: 30 minutes in 12 patients, between 30 minutes and two hours in another 12, and more than two hours in 9. In 19 patients, the VEEG recording allowed a definitive diagnosis; in one case, it changed the epileptic seizure type, and in 11 patients, it helped to better characterize the epileptic seizure type. CONCLUSION: Although the percentage of pathologic events during an outpatient VEEG monitoring of 30 minutes to five hours of duration is low, its clinical repercussion is very important and the added cost is low.

Adolescent↗