An accomplished organist, who could neither read nor write music, suddenly lost his ability to play familiar melodies as the result of an infarction of the right superior temporal and supramarginal gyri. Although the patient had minor difficulty recognizing familiar melodies and coordinating his hands, he had mainly an expressive instrumental amusia. This case provides further evidence of right hemispheric dominance for musical execution, relatively independent of musical knowledge and training.

Aged↗

PubMed1982

Chronic traumatic trigeminal neuralgia.

Atypical facial pain or neuralgia and lower-half headache are confusing terms and should be discarded. Recurrent unilateral, throbbing, frontal headaches should be referred to as facial migraine. Patients whose trigeminal branches have been subjected to repeated surgical procedures and who have relentless unilateral face-jaw pain should be classified as having chronic traumatic trigeminal neuralgia. Effective treatment is available provided surgical manipulations cease.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Herpes zoster: a ten-year experience with cytosine arabinoside treatment.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1981

Differential diagnosis of chronic facial pain.

The differential diagnosis of chronic facial pain is facilitated by a knowledge of anatomy. Nasal and dental conditions are prevalent causes of facial pain. Orbital discomfort with ophthalmoplegia or Horner's syndrome generally has a vascular etiology. The lower-half headache or atypical facial neuralgia also is vascular in origin and should be referred to as facial migraine. Previously, chronic iatrogenic trigeminal neuralgia has been erroneously included in the category of lower-half headaches. This disabling condition is due to repeated trauma to the trigeminal nerve.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed1978

Papulosis atrophicans maligna (Köhlmeier-Degos disease): a disseminated occlusive vasculopathy.

Malignant atrophic papulosis usually presents as pathognomonic skin lesions followed by acute abdominal pain, bowel perforation, peritonitis, and death. Rare patients who may lack gastrointestinal symptoms present with central nervous system manifestations, including headache, paresthesias, weakness, and rapid deterioration to death. The patient reported here was a 47-year-old man whose neurological symptoms apparently preceded his cutaneous lesions. His course consisted of a disseminated neurological disease and exacerbated following a herpes zoster infection. His condition rapidly deteriorated despite corticotropin, glucocorticoids, and low-molecular-weight dextran. Necropsy revealed a disseminated occlusive vasculopathy and diffuse encephalomyelomalacia of the brain and spinal cord. A review of autopsied patients with central nervous system involvement is provided.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗

PubMed1978

Carbamazepine as a substitute treatment of single and compound seizures.

Carbamazepine is a suitable substitute for phenobarbital, primidone, and phenytoin, alone or in combination, when used in the treatment of generalized tonic-clonic or partial epilepsy. Seventy-five percent of 19 patients successfully transferred to carbamazepine and clinically their seizures were at least as well controlled during 18 months of observation. Carbamazepine, alone, is not a satisfactory substitute for drug combinations used in the treatment of compound epilepsy. Fifty percent of 18 patients were successfully transferred to carbamazepine but few of them were significantly improved during the 24 month follow-up. The gradual replacement of standard anticonvulsants with carbamazepine can be accomplished without seizure exacerbation, often with improved control and patient satisfaction. Unfavorable reactions usually are brief, provided serum levels are established between 5 and 12 micrograms/ml.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977