touchREVIEWS in Neurology – Volume 17 Issue 1 – 2021

Welcome to touchREVIEWS in Neurology, our newly-named journal, previously US Neurology. The decision to expand the scope of the journal was taken after an excellent year for touchNEUROLOGY. We feel that in an increasingly global research community, submissions were limited by an assumed primary reach to one regional audience. By taking on submissions from the […]

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an acquired progressive sensorimotor neuropathy of the peripheral nerves and nerve roots that appears to be immune-mediated by both the cellular and humoral immune systems. It is caused by chronic damage to the myelin sheaths of the neurons of the peripheral nervous system. It has a variable prognosis, with […]

Migraine is one of the most prevalent and disabling diseases worldwide, affecting more than one billion people in 2016.1 It is characterized by recurrent headache attacks with nausea/vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia.2 Currently, the first line of acute treatment of migraine is pharmacological; however, pharmacological approaches may be ineffective, poorly tolerated, and need to be limited in use […]

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and is known to cause recurrent episodes of optic neuritis and transverse myelitis. Myelitis is radiologically referred to as longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis on spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), extending to ≥3 vertebral segments. The disease flare, either at […]

Neuropathic pain arises from injury to or disease in the somatosensory nervous system.1 Normal sensation and pain sensation are both impaired and patients may present with peculiar painful characteristics such as allodynia and hyperalgesia.2 Central neuropathic pain includes pain from spinal cord injury and demyelinating diseases of the spinal cord, such as multiple sclerosis.1 Lesions or disease of […]

Studying cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is essential for diagnosing many central nervous system (CNS) diseases, including infection, inflammation and malignancy. Lumbar puncture is a relatively safe and routinely performed procedure for extracting CSF.1 In this review, we summarize the essential CSF flow dynamics, common indications and contraindications for lumbar puncture, and describe the procedures to rule out […]

Parkinson’s disease is now considered to be a spreading disease caused by the aggregation of abnormal alpha-synuclein.1 According to Braak et al., in stage I of the disease, alpha-synuclein pathology is found in the olfactory bulb and the dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve,2 as well as in the enteric nervous system (Auerbach’s and Meissner’s plexuses).3 These observations […]

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive synucleinopathy that causes widespread neurodegeneration.1 It is estimated to affect approximately 6.1 million people globally and 0.7–1.0 million people in the USA.2–4 The incidence of the disease is expected to continue to increase over time, and with it, the burden to healthcare systems.3,4 The cardinal motor symptoms, which reflect nigral dopaminergic degeneration, are bradykinesia, […]

In 2018, the Global Burden of Disease study placed headache disorders as the second leading cause of years lived with disability.1 As another indicator of its burden, headache was ranked among the leading causes of years lived with disability.1 Given its prevalence and severe symptom burden, headache has a consequential negative impact on the quality of life […]

Healthcare workers are currently facing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its complications, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Patients usually suffer from respiratory problems and non-specific neurological symptoms, such as headache, dizziness and ataxia, as well as specific neurological complications in some patients.1,2 Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a life-threatening […]

Neurologic manifestations in systemic sclerosis are rare, occurring in 0.8–5.6% of patients. Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common neurologic abnormalities, with central nervous system involvement reported less frequently.1 Central nervous system (CNS) manifestation has been described in a few cases,1–3 and has been explained by a compressive mechanism or through metabolic disorders due to gastrointestinal […]

Lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, is pain in the lateral elbow as a result of repetitive forearm pronation and supination in elbow extension.1 It is a frequent cause of elbow pain, and affects 1–3% of the adult population every year, resulting in decreased productivity and economic losses.2,3 Equally present in males and females, it mostly occurs between […]

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), also known as congophilic angiopathy, is a recognized cause of lobar intracerebral haemorrhage in patients above the age of 50 years.1 It is known to be due to deposition of a variant of amyloid (beta-amyloid plaque) in cerebral blood vessels. Beta-amyloid plaque is formed by the degradation of amyloid precursor protein via […]