EUROPEAN NEUROLOGICAL REVIEW – VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2 – SUMMER 2012

Iam delighted to have been invited to write the foreword for this issue of European Neurological Review, especially in the 20th anniversary year of the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA). Twenty years ago, the concept of a united Europe was very much at the forefront of people’s minds and this continues to be the case […]

Although very large numbers of older Americans purchase the hormone melatonin and take it nightly to promote and sustain sleep, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require that consumers be provided with guidelines concerning its proper dosage nor information about its generally minor side-effects, both of which are obligatory for hypnotic drugs. […]

Alzheimer’s Disease – A Complex Neurodegenerative Disorder with a Multifactorial Pathogenesis Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the main cause of dementia, is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by a progressive decline of cognitive functions (memory, language, praxis, judgement and thinking, orientation and executive functions), increasing disabilities in daily living function and the presence of behavioural and psychological symptoms.1–3 […]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the commonest cause of dementia. It is characterised by the presence of senile amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles and clinical characteristics consistent with gradual deterioration in memory function of at least six months duration together with other neuropsychological deficits, most typically aphasia, agnosia, apraxia and disturbance in executive function. Although, strictly […]

Dementia is characterised by severe cognitive deficiencies that impact on functional activities of daily life.1 With an ageing population, the risk of dementia increases,2 which is a main cause of disability in later life, more so than some cancers, stroke and cardiovascular disease.3 Dementia is a worldwide problem. In the UK in 2010, there were […]

Like other chronic neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with an impaired quality of life (QoL) for patients and costs to society. In Sweden at 2011 prices, the overall average cost per patient and year has been estimated at SEK (Swedish crowns) 148,000 or €16,500.1 In 2005 in Europe, the direct cost was estimated […]

Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) presents clinically as a disorder of lower motor neurones with asymmetrical distribution and predominance in distal upper limbs. Electrophysiological investigation is considerably more sensitive and specific for MMN than magnetic resonance imaging of the brachial plexus.1,2 Nerve conduction studies (NCS) are therefore necessary to distinguish MMN from other disorders with a […]

The term multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) was first introduced over 20 years ago1 and it is now recognised as a clinically well-defined condition within the spectrum of chronic, immune-mediated neuropathies.2–4 MMN is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence of no more than one or two per 100,000.5 However, results from French and Dutch studies […]

Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is a rare, purely motor neuropathy with a prevalence of approximately 0.6 per 100,000 and a median age of onset of 40 years.1 Men are more likely than women to be affected, in a ratio of 2.7:1 and are usually diagnosed at an earlier age.1 Patients with MMN typically present with […]

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a disorder of the central nervous system characterised by the deposition of amyloid proteins in the wall of small- to medium-sized vessels, most frequently arteries, within the leptomeninges and cortex of the brain.1 In vessels affected by CAA, local muscle and elastic elements of the arterial wall are lost and […]

Neuromodulation Devices Vagus Nerve Stimulation Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), first used for seizure treatment in the 1880s, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 after decades of animal studies demonstrating reduction of chemically induced seizures,1,2 and subsequent promising human trials beginning in the early 1990s. Since FDA approval, VNS technology […]