Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease: a case report

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Visual Event-Related Potentials in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background: To compare the findings of visual event-related potential (ERP) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy individuals. Methods: Twenty patients (12 males, 8 females) diagnosed as MCI who received no treatment and 20 healthy individuals (14 males, 6 females) with no cognitive impairments were included to the study. To obtain visual ERP responses, 32 (rare) and 64 (frequent) angle checkerboard displays were used. Three channel recordings were performed from Fz, Cz, and Pz. Results: The mean age of the control and MCI groups were 66.0 ± 3.6 and 66.3 ± 4.4 years, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found in the mean age and distribution of gender between the groups. Visual ERP revealed that mean N200 and P300 latencies of the MCI group were significantly longer than controls. The longest N200 and P300 latencies were obtained from Fz. The mean P300 amplitudes were found to be significantly lower in patients with MCI. No significant difference was observed between the two groups with respect to N200 amplitudes. Conclusion: Visual ERP can be used to support MCI diagnosis. Although it is not a diagnostic test for cognitive impairment per se, it is an important, feasible, and noninvasive technique for evaluating the cognitive state

Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase Levels in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels, cerebrovascular risk factors, and distribution of cerebral infarct areas in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Patients and Methods. Sixty patients with AIS and 44 controls who had not cerebrovascular disease were included in the study. The patients were divided into four groups according to the location of the infarct area and evaluated as for GGT levels and the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), and hyperlipidemia (HL). Results. The frequency of DM, HT, and HL and gender distributions were similar. The mean GGT levels were significantly higher in patients with AIS and those with relatively larger areas of infarction (P<0.05). Increased mean GGT levels were found in the subgroup with hypertension, higher LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels among cases with AIS (P<0.05). Conclusion. Higher GGT levels in AIS patients reinforce the relationship of GGT with inflammation and oxidative stress. The observation of higher GGT levels in patients with relatively larger areas of infarction is indicative of a positive correlation between increases in infarct areas and elevated GGT levels

MEFV mutation frequencies in a Turkish cohort with low prevalence of familial Mediterranean fever

Background/aim: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a genetically recessive autoinflammatory disease caused by mutations in the Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequencies of the most common MEFV mutations among a sample of healthy individuals from the Havsa population of European Turkey, where FMF is less prevalent compared to Asian Turkey. Materials and methods: The study group consisted of 263 unrelated healthy adults. All of the participants were analyzed for the M694V, V726A, M680I, and E148Q mutations in the MEFV gene. Results: In total, 25 of the 263 individuals carried MEFV mutations (9.5%). The observed allele frequencies were 1.5% for M694V (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5-2.5), 2.6% for E148Q (95% CI 1.6-3.9), 0.5% for M680I (95% CI 0.0-1.1), and 0.0% for V726A. The frequencies of the M694V, M680I, and E148Q mutations were not significantly different from allele frequencies (approximately 20%) determined for other regions of Turkey where FMF is more prevalent. Conclusion: These data suggest that the positivity of the MEFV gene mutation tests have lower predictive value in a population with low FMF prevalence

Postcoital Internal Carotid Artery Dissection Presenting as Isolated Painful Horner Syndrome: A Case Report

Postcoital artery dissection is a rare condition. Here we report a 40-year-old male patient with painful Horner syndrome related to postcoital internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection. In neurologic examination of the patient, semiptosis, enophthalmus, and myosis were observed on the left side. There were no carotid bruits. On T1-weighted and fat-suppressed cranial MRI, hyperintensity consistent with intramural hematoma was observed within cervical and temporal petrous segments of left ICA. On cervical and cranial MRA, marked decrease in the calibration of C1 and C2 segments of the left ICA was remarkable. The patient was diagnosed as left ICA dissection and anticoagulant therapy was initiated. A prominent improvement was noted in clinical findings during two months of followup period

Confocal scanning laser tomography of the optic nerve head on the patients with Alzheimer's disease compared to glaucoma and control

WOS: 000345403300005PubMed ID: 25284015The purpose of this study was to evaluate optic nerve head (ONH) differences of the patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) measured by confocal scanning laser tomography [Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) III] and compare with glaucoma and control subjects. Eighty-four patients were enrolled into the study: 44 eyes of 24 patients with mild to moderate AD (Group 1), 68 eyes of 35 patients with glaucoma (Group 2), and 49 eyes of 25 heathy volunteers as a control (Group 3). A complete ophthalmologic examination as well as a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopic assessment with HRT III were performed on all patients. Mean values of the ONH topographic parameters such as rim area (RA), rim volume (RV), height variation contour, linear cup/disc ratio, cup shape measure, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) were recorded. Mean values of RNFL thickness was 0.23 +/- A 0.07 in AD, 0.22 +/- A 0.09 in glaucoma and 0.24 +/- A 0.07 in the control group (p = 0.323). RA and RV were significantly lower, and linear C/D ratio was significantly higher in the glaucoma group when compared to AD and control (p 0.05). We observed a negative correlation of the age with RNFL in all of the groups (p < 0.005). Age was the most important parameter affecting RNFL. Our results suggest that HRT does not demonstrate ONH differences between AD and control group, while it successfully differentiates glaucoma from AD and control cases of older age

Case Report Postcoital Internal Carotid Artery Dissection Presenting as Isolated Painful Horner Syndrome: A Case Report

Postcoital artery dissection is a rare condition. Here we report a 40-year-old male patient with painful Horner syndrome related to postcoital internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection. In neurologic examination of the patient, semiptosis, enophthalmus, and myosis were observed on the left side. There were no carotid bruits. On T1-weighted and fat-suppressed cranial MRI, hyperintensity consistent with intramural hematoma was observed within cervical and temporal petrous segments of left ICA. On cervical and cranial MRA, marked decrease in the calibration of C1 and C2 segments of the left ICA was remarkable. The patient was diagnosed as left ICA dissection and anticoagulant therapy was initiated. A prominent improvement was noted in clinical findings during two months of followup period