Sciatic neuropathy with preserved sensory nerve action potentials, a case series

Background: Sciatic neuropathy is differentiated from lumbosacral radiculopathy based on the finding of abnormal sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs). Cases of sciatic neuropathy with intact SNAPS have not been well described. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 12 patients with sciatic neuropathy in a single institution. Results: We describe 12 patients in whom a sciatic neuropathy was diagnosed based on a combination of history, physical exam, radiological and electrodiagnostic (EDX) findings. Lower extremity SNAPs were found to be within normal range in all patients, although SNAP amplitude asymmetry between both sides was observed in 3. Included patients were young (mean age of 40.3 years) and mostly female (9 patients). Conclusions: Sciatic neuropathy may occur with a relative sparing of sensory fibers. Recognition of this group of patients should help to avoid making a misdiagnosis of lumbosacral radiculopathy

Methotrexate Use in Generalized Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis: A Case series

Methotrexate (MTX) is an inexpensive and well-tolerated immunosuppressive medication that is used anecdotally in autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG). However, the efficacy in MG is unclear at this time. This retrospective analysis describes six patients with acetylcholine receptor antibody positive MG who were treated with MTX and corticosteroids. The efficacy of MTX was measured by steroid-sparing effect and the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) classification. MTX initiation was associated with a reduction in prednisone dosage in all patients. Minimal manifestation status was reached at an average duration of 10 months in 5 patients.  No patients were hospitalized for myasthenia gravis exacerbations. There were no major side effects experienced with MTX use.  This retrospective analysis suggests that MTX is safe and probably efficacious as a corticosteroid-sparing agent in the management of MG

Neuromuscular Complications in COVID-19: A Review of the Literature

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) belongs to the betacoronavirus family which is known to cross species barriers and lead to high pathogenicity. There is rapidly growing evidence that COVID-19 infection can be associated with neuromuscular complications. A comprehensive literature review was conducted evaluating articles published related to neuromuscular complications in COVID-19.  In this review we focus our discussion on two ways that COVID-19 critically impacts neuromuscular medicine: (1) serious complications and outcomes associated with the viral infection and; (2) management considerations for neuromuscular patients on immunotherapies during the COVID-19 pandemic. &nbsp

Identification of potential biomarkers to differentially diagnose solid pseudopapillary tumors and pancreatic malignancies via a gene regulatory network

Additional file 1: In-degree distribution for GRN. X-axis represents the in-degree for a certain node. A node of in-degree x means that this node is regulated by a total number of x other nodes. Y-axis represents the total number of network nodes which has an in-degree of x. The red curve was the fitting to the power law distribution. (A): The in-degree distribution for sub-GRN in which only miRNAs are included as regulators and the in-degree for each node (miRNAs and protein coding genes) was calculated in this sub-GRN. The in-degree ranges from 0 to 27. (B): In-degree distribution for sub-GRN in which only TFs are included as regulators

Anti–3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐coenzyme a reductase autoantibody‐positive necrotizing autoimmune myopathy with dermatomyositis‐like eruption

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143804/1/mus26072.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143804/2/mus26072_am.pd

Reversible Confluent Deep White Matter Abnormalities: A New Variant of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome

We describe a confluent deep white matter abnormalities variant of PRES, further strengthening the notion that PRES is a disorder of radiological heterogeneity. We present 2 cases of PRES with findings of diffuse but reversible vasogenic edema located in the deep periventricular white matter regions of bilateral hemispheres without a clearly posterior distribution. We feel that this represents a rare variant of PRES on imaging, thus adding to the existing radiological spectrum for this entity. Both of our patients presented with malignant hypertension (mean arterial blood pressure of 200 mmHg) and developed neurological symptoms that included encephalopathy, seizure, headache, and vision changes. Additionally, both patients presented with significant subcortical white matter edema that improved dramatically on follow-up imaging. The clinical and radiological improvement in both patients occurred following successful blood pressure management. It is possible that the deep white matter changes of PRES are seen exclusively in the setting of severe accelerated hypertension. Our case reports reveal that, in patients with hypertensive encephalopathy, a deep white matter pattern of diffuse signal changes may not necessarily indicate chronic ischemic changes and follow-up imaging studies are essential to rule out a diagnosis of PRES

The impact of physical therapy on dysphagia in neurological diseases: a review

A neurogenic dysphagia is dysphagia caused by problems with the central and peripheral nervous systems, is particularly prevalent in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke. It significantly impacts the quality of life for affected individuals and causes additional burdens, such as malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, asphyxia, or even death from choking due to improper eating. Physical therapy offers a non-invasive treatment with high efficacy and low cost. Evidence supporting the use of physical therapy in dysphagia treatment is increasing, including techniques such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation, sensory stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. While initial studies have shown promising results, the effectiveness of specific treatment regimens still requires further validation. At present, there is a lack of scientific evidence to guide patient selection, develop appropriate treatment regimens, and accurately evaluate treatment outcomes. Therefore, the primary objectives of this review are to review the results of existing research, summarize the application of physical therapy in dysphagia management, we also discussed the mechanisms and treatments of physical therapy for neurogenic dysphagia