Interview with Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit

In this interview with Julia Stringfellow, Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit, LU class of 1943, discusses her time as a student as well as her time on the Board of Trustees.https://lux.lawrence.edu/oralhistories/1036/thumbnail.jp

Diagnosis of comorbid migraine without aura in patients with idiopathic/genetic epilepsy based on the gray zone approach to the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 criteria

BackgroundMigraine without aura (MwoA) is a very frequent and remarkable comorbidity in patients with idiopathic/genetic epilepsy (I/GE). Frequently in clinical practice, diagnosis of MwoA may be challenging despite the guidance of current diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 (ICHD-3). In this study, we aimed to disclose the diagnostic gaps in the diagnosis of comorbid MwoA, using a zone concept, in patients with I/GEs with headaches who were diagnosed by an experienced headache expert.MethodsIn this multicenter study including 809 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of I/GE with or without headache, 163 patients who were diagnosed by an experienced headache expert as having a comorbid MwoA were reevaluated. Eligible patients were divided into three subgroups, namely, full diagnosis, zone I, and zone II according to their status of fulfilling the ICHD-3 criteria. A Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was performed to bring out the meaningful predictors when evaluating patients with I/GEs for MwoA comorbidity, using the variables that were significant in the univariate analysis.ResultsLonger headache duration (<4 h) followed by throbbing pain, higher visual analog scale (VAS) scores, increase of pain by physical activity, nausea/vomiting, and photophobia and/or phonophobia are the main distinguishing clinical characteristics of comorbid MwoA in patients with I/GE, for being classified in the full diagnosis group. Despite being not a part of the main ICHD-3 criteria, the presence of associated symptoms mainly osmophobia and also vertigo/dizziness had the distinguishing capability of being classified into zone subgroups. The most common epilepsy syndromes fulfilling full diagnosis criteria (n = 62) in the CART analysis were 48.39% Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy followed by 25.81% epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone.ConclusionLonger headache duration, throbbing pain, increase of pain by physical activity, photophobia and/or phonophobia, presence of vertigo/dizziness, osmophobia, and higher VAS scores are the main supportive associated factors when applying the ICHD-3 criteria for the comorbid MwoA diagnosis in patients with I/GEs. Evaluating these characteristics could be helpful to close the diagnostic gaps in everyday clinical practice and fasten the diagnostic process of comorbid MwoA in patients with I/GEs

Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis in Women: Subgroup Analysis of the VENOST Study

Background. Early diagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) associated with reproductive health-related risk factors (RHRF) including pregnancy, puerperium, and oral contraceptive (OC) use can prevent severe neurological sequelae; thus, the symptoms must be documented in detail for each group.Methods. Out of 1144 patients with CVST, a total of 777 women were enrolled from a multicenter for the study of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (VENOST). Demographic, biochemical, clinical, and radiological aspects were compared for 324 cases with RHRF and 453 cases without RHRF.Results. The mean age of the RHRF (-) group (43.2 +/- 13 years) was significantly higher than of the RHRF (+) group (34 +/- 9years). A previous history of deep venous thrombosis (3%), isolated cavernous sinus involvement (1%), cranial neuropathy (13%), comorbid malignancy (7%), and its disability scores after 12 months (9%) were significantly higher in the RHRF (-) group. The RHRF (+) group consisted of 44% cases of puerperium, 33% cases of OC users and 23% of pregnant women. The mean age was found to be higher in OC users (38 +/- 9years). A previous history of deep venous thrombosis was slightly higher in the pregnancy subgroup (4%). Epileptic seizures were more common in the puerperium group (44%).Conclusion. The results of our study indicate that the risk of CSVT increases parallel to age, OC use, and puerperium period. In addition, when considering the frequency of findings and symptoms, epileptic seizures in the puerperium subgroup of the RHRF (+) group and malignancies in the RHRF (-) group may accompany the CSVT. In daily practice, predicting these risks for the CSVT and early recognition of the symptoms will provide significant benefits to patients

Voice abnormalities and their relation with motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease

Objective To evaluate changes in perceptual and several acoustic parameters of voice in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD ) and to find out any relation with these parameters and motor components of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) in this patient group. Materials and methods Twenty patients with PD (12 male and 8 female) were given objective and subjective voice tests and results were compared with those of 20 age- and sex-matched controls. Patient's perceptual voice analysis was assessed using GRBAS scale including Grade of Dysphonia, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia and Strain items. Measurements for objective voice analysis, acoustic assessment tests including frequency perturbation [jitter (jitt)%], intensity perturbation [shimmer (shim)%], noise to harmonic ratio (NHR), fundamental frequency (F0), variability of fundamental frequency (vF0), diadochokinetic rate (DDK) and maximum phonation time (MPT) were used. An assessment of disability caused by voice disorders was scored according to the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) by the patient. All subjects also underwent videolaryngostroboscopic (VLS) examination. Motor components of UPDRS and acoustic parameters of voice were investigated for any correlations. Results Compared with controls, roughness (P = 0.15), breathiness (P = 0.004) and asthenia (P = 0.031) values of males and breathiness (P = 0.043) and asthenia (P = 0.023) values of females were higher in patients with PD. Mean VHI scores of patients with PD were higher for both male and female patients (P = 0.0001 for male, P = 0.002 for female). The mean values for MPT (P = 0.02) and DDK (P = 0.025) were shorter in patients with PD. Jitt%, shim% and mean F0 values were similar among the two groups. But mean vF0 values were significantly higher in male patients with PD (P = 0.05). On VLS examination, non-closure glottic pattern was found to be more frequent in the PD group. Conclusion Although it is well known that pathophysiological changes in PD affect the voice, the present study found only few significant correlations between motor component of UPDRS and voice parameters

A Multicenter Study of 1144 Patients with Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: The VENOST Study

Background: Based on a number of small observational studies, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis has diverse clinical and imaging features, risk factors, and variable outcome. In a large, multicenter cerebral venous thrombosis (VENOST) study, we sought to more precisely characterize the clinical characteristics of Caucasian patients. Methods: All data for the VENOST study were collected between the years 2000 and 2015 from the clinical follow-up files. Clinical and radiological characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes were compared in terms of age and sex distribution. Results: Among 1144 patients 68% were women, and in older age group (>50 years) male patients were more prevalent (16.6% versus 27.8%). The most frequent symptoms were headache (89.4%) and visual field defects (28.9%) in men, and headache (86.1%) and epileptic seizures (26.8%) in women. Gynecological factors comprised the largest group in women, in particular puerperium (18.3%). Prothrombotic conditions (26.4%), mainly methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation (6.3%) and Factor V Leiden mutation (5.1%), were the most common etiologies in both genders. 8.1% of patients had infection-associated and 5.2% had malignancy-related etiology that was significantly higher in men and older age group. Parenchymal involvement constitutively hemorrhagic infarcts, malignancy, and older age was associated with higher Rankin score. Epileptic seizures had no effect on prognosis. Conclusions: Clinical and radiological findings were consistent with previous larger studies but predisposing factors were different with a higher incidence of puerperium. Oral contraceptive use was not a prevalent risk factor in our cohort. Malignancy, older age, and hemorrhagic infarcts had worse outcome. (c) 2017 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Localizing Epileptic Focus with Interictal Scalp EEG in Patients with Focal Cortical Dysplasia

Objective: To assess the localizing value of interictal scalp EEG in epileptic focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) patients. Methods: A retrospective observational study of EEG records of epileptic patients seen at the Marmara University Hospital was performed. EEG and MRI findings were evaluated to detect a possible correlation. Results: EEG findings were consistent with MRI findings in 6 patients (37.5%). Conclusion: EEG findings were irrelevant in 62.5% (n:10) of patients. Additional imaging techniques such as ictal SPECT, MEG etc. will clearly augment the success of lesion localisation in FCD patients

Headache characteristics and frequency of migraine in patients with cervical artery dissections

Headache is a common symptom of cervical artery dissections (CAD). Sometimes, it can be the only symptom and mimic migraine. We aimed to investigate headache characteristics and previous history of migraine in CAD patients, and to compare headache features between patients with internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) and vertebral artery dissection (VAD). We investigated 53 CAD patients (n = 28 with ICAD, n = 25 with VAD). Demographic and clinical data were evaluated retrospectively. Headache information was obtained from the patient interviews with a structured questionnaire (based on the International Headache Society criteria). The patients with headache were assessed by headache specialist with a face-to-face interview. Headache was evaluated according to International Classification Committee of the International Headache Society ICHD. Headache (n = 38, 71.7%) was the most common symptom in CAD patients, which was mostly thunderclap, throbbing, intense and ipsilateral to dissection. Headache frequency and neck pain were significantly higher in VAD patients (p = 0.002, p < 0.001, respectively). Photophobia and phonophobia were also more common in patients with VAD (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). 29 (54.7%) of CAD patients had a prior history of headache, that 20 (37.7%) of them met the migraine criteria. CAD should be considered in patients with severe unilateral throbbing headache with phonophobia and photophobia, even in patients with a history of migraine. Phonophobia and photophobia may be more common symptoms in VAD patients. Because headache commonly precedes the development of cerebral ischemic events, it needs prompt and accurate diagnosis and treatment