Ophthalmoplegia without ataxia has various etiologies. An atypical Miller Fisher syndrome implies an ophthalmoplegia without ataxia, areflexia or both. The presence of anti-GQ1b antibody supports the diagnosis of an atypical Miller Fisher syndrome. A 4-year-old Russian girl visited our hospital because of acute bilateral abducens nerve palsy and mydriasis. Although the muscle power of extremities was normal and she didn't show an ataxia, the deep tendon reflex of both knees and ankles was absent. The results of nerve conduction study and cerebrospinal fluid analysis were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an enhancement of the bilateral abducens nerve. The anti-Gq1b antibody titer was elevated. The diagnosis of atypical Miller Fisher syndrome was made and a therapy with intravenous immunoglobulins led to the clinical recovery. We report a girl with atypical Miller Fisher syndrome with acute bilateral abducens nerve palsy and mydriasis, diagnosed by of anti-GQ1b antibody positivity.
Abducens Nerve ; Abducens Nerve Diseases* ; Ankle ; Ataxia ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child, Preschool ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Miller Fisher Syndrome ; Mydriasis* ; Neural Conduction ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Reflex, Stretch

No abstract available.
Myasthenia Gravis ; Ophthalmoplegia

No abstract available.
Arachnoid* ; Hypoglossal Nerve Diseases* ; Hypoglossal Nerve*

In this paper, a new superimposition scheme using a computer vision system was proposed with pairs of skull and ante-mortem photographs, which were already identified through other tests and DNA fingerprints at the Korea National Institute of Scientific Investigation. In this computer vision system, an unidentified skull was caught by video-camcoder with the MPEG and the other ante-mortem photograph was scanned by scanner. These two images were processed and superimposed using pixel processing. This recognition of individual identifications by anatomical references can be performed on the two superimposed images for many big cases like as Guam KAL accident in 1997.
Artificial Intelligence ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Guam ; Korea ; Skull

Glufosinate ammonium is the active ingredient in broad-spectrum contact herbicides such as BASTA(R) that inhibits the activity of glutamine synthetase, which is necessary for the production of the amino acid glutamine and for ammonia detoxification. Complications of glufosinate ammonium intoxication include gastrointestinal symptoms, loss of consciousness, convulsions, memory impairment, respiratory failure, and cardiovascular instability. We report herein a case of encephalopathy and reversible signal changes in the splenium of the corpus callosum, the bilateral corticospinal tracts, the hippocampi, and the cerebellar peduncles as seen in diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images following BASTA(R) intoxication.
Ammonia ; Ammonium Compounds* ; Corpus Callosum ; Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase ; Glutamine ; Herbicides ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Memory ; Pyramidal Tracts ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Seizures ; Unconsciousness

Autoimmune thyroid disease associated with Moyamoya syndrome has mostly been reported as Graves' disease, and not as Hashimoto's thyroiditis. We report a case of a 70-year-old man with right posterior cerebral artery territorial infarction and bilateral distal internal carotid artery occlusion, which suggests Moyamoya syndrome, but who was diagnosed as Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Aged ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Graves Disease ; Humans ; Infarction ; Moyamoya Disease ; Posterior Cerebral Artery ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroiditis

BACKGROUND: Local steroid injection is used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and electrophysiological effects of local steroid injection in patients with CTS over a 3-months period. METHODS: Twenty-one patients (35 hands) with clinical and electrophysiological evidence of CTS were treated by injection of triamcinolone 40 mg to the carpal tunnel. Visual analog scale (VAS), Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), rates of paresthesia, night awakening, and electrophysiological studies were used as outcomes. Clinical and electrophysiological assessments were performed before, 1 and 3 months after treatment. RESULTS: Prior to treatment, 86% of patients complained of night awakening. At 1 and 3 months after injection, only 17% and 29% of the patients, respectively, had night awakening (p<0.001). All patients complained of paresthesia before the treatment. This symptom disappeared in 60% and 31% of the patients after 1 and 3 months, respectively (p<0.001). Compared to baseline, both BCTQ and VAS show significant improvement during the 3 months of the study (p<0.005). Although significant improvements in clinical parameters were shown, electrophysiological parameters were not significantly improved at 1 and 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Local corticosteroid injection for the treatment of CTS provides significant improvement in symptoms for 3 months. On the other hand, no significant improvement was observed in electrophysiological parameters.
Boston ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; Electrophysiology ; Hand ; Humans ; Paresthesia ; Triamcinolone

Brachial radiculoplexitis is characterized by acute onset of shoulder and arm pain followed by weakness and sensory loss. Brachial radiculoplexitis by herpes zoster is a rare disease, which can be diagnosed by careful history, electrodiagnosis and MRI. It has remained uncertain about clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis. Better understanding of this disease helps earlier diagnosis and prompt treatment to minimize neurologic sequale. We present two cases of subacute brachial radiculoplexitis preceded by herpes zoster infection.
Arm ; Brachial Plexus Neuropathies ; Diagnosis ; Electrodiagnosis ; Herpes Zoster* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Shoulder

BACKGROUND: Cultural characteristics of taking care of patients with dementia in Korea are based on the influence of Confucianism on the lifestyle of Koreans. In addition, as the family size has been getting smaller, the number of old persons who live alone has been increasing. The purpose of this study is to examine the proportion of the elderly with dementia who live alone and demographics of caregivers when such patients live with their family. METHODS: From the multiple hospital-based cohort, 973 elderly patients with very mild dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR]=0.5), 1,056 patients with mild dementia (CDR=1) and 359 patients with moderate dementia (CDR=2) were recruited. We analyzed the proportion of the patients with dementia who live alone and the demographics of the caregivers if such patients live with and are taken care of by such caregivers depending upon the severity of dementia. RESULTS: The proportion of the patients with dementia who live alone accounts for about 40% of all elderly patients with dementia. Major age groups of caregivers are of 40s and 50s. Sons, daughters, and spouses were ranked in the said order in the proportion of caregivers according to their relationship to patients. CONCLUSIONS: Up to now, family members care for about 60% of elderly patients with dementia, which may suggest that from the objective viewpoint, direct burden borne by caregivers for old patients with dementia would be considerably high. On the other hand, about 40% of dementia patients live alone, implying that the social care system is needed for them.
Aged ; Caregivers ; Cohort Studies ; Confucianism ; Cultural Characteristics ; Dementia ; Demography ; Family Characteristics ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Nuclear Family ; Spouses

BACKGROUND: Cultural characteristics of taking care of patients with dementia in Korea are based on the influence of Confucianism on the lifestyle of Koreans. In addition, as the family size has been getting smaller, the number of old persons who live alone has been increasing. The purpose of this study is to examine the proportion of the elderly with dementia who live alone and demographics of caregivers when such patients live with their family. METHODS: From the multiple hospital-based cohort, 973 elderly patients with very mild dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR]=0.5), 1,056 patients with mild dementia (CDR=1) and 359 patients with moderate dementia (CDR=2) were recruited. We analyzed the proportion of the patients with dementia who live alone and the demographics of the caregivers if such patients live with and are taken care of by such caregivers depending upon the severity of dementia. RESULTS: The proportion of the patients with dementia who live alone accounts for about 40% of all elderly patients with dementia. Major age groups of caregivers are of 40s and 50s. Sons, daughters, and spouses were ranked in the said order in the proportion of caregivers according to their relationship to patients. CONCLUSIONS: Up to now, family members care for about 60% of elderly patients with dementia, which may suggest that from the objective viewpoint, direct burden borne by caregivers for old patients with dementia would be considerably high. On the other hand, about 40% of dementia patients live alone, implying that the social care system is needed for them.
Aged ; Caregivers ; Cohort Studies ; Confucianism ; Cultural Characteristics ; Dementia ; Demography ; Family Characteristics ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Nuclear Family ; Spouses