Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus: High Incidence of Complex Partial Status

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus may be subdivided into generalized (absence) status and complex partial status. The latter is regarded as a rarity, whereas the former constitutes the dominant part of the hitherto reported cases. We report 10 consecutive cases of adult patients with nonconvulsive status epilepticus, all documented by ictal electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Five had a complex partial status; the origin of the complex partial status appeared to be frontal in four of these patients. Three had recurrent complex partial seizures with incomplete recovery between seizures, and two had more continuous symptoms. One of the latter exhibited neither motor phenomena nor automatisms. The effect of diazepam or clonazepam was immediate in all 10 cases though transient in eight. A lasting control of the status was not achieved in six patients until i.v. phenytoin was added. The difficulties in the differentiation between complex partial status and absence status despite ictal EEG recordings are discussed, illustrated by a case with seizure discharges of a focal onset which rapidly generalized. The study indicates that complex partial status may be more common and the clinical expressions of absence status more variable than hitherto recognized.     

Treatment of myofascial trigger points in common shoulder disorders by physical therapy: A randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN75722066]

Background  

Shoulder disorders are a common health problem in western societies. Several treatment protocols have been developed for the clinical management of persons with shoulder pain. However available evidence does not support any protocol as being superior over others. Systematic reviews provide some evidence that certain physical therapy interventions (i.e. supervised exercises and mobilisation) are effective in particular shoulder disorders (i.e. rotator cuff disorders, mixed shoulder disorders and adhesive capsulitis), but there is an ongoing need for high quality trials of physical therapy interventions. Usually, physical therapy consists of active exercises intended to strengthen the shoulder muscles as stabilizers of the glenohumeral joint or perform mobilisations to improve restricted mobility of the glenohumeral or adjacent joints (shoulder girdle). It is generally accepted that a-traumatic shoulder problems are the result of impingement of the subacromial structures, such as the bursa or rotator cuff tendons. Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in shoulder muscles may also lead to a complex of symptoms that are often seen in patients diagnosed with subacromial impingement or rotator cuff tendinopathy. Little is known about the treatment of MTrPs in patients with shoulder disorders.     

Lps Genotype in the C57 Black Mouse Blackground and its Influence on the Interleukin-6 Response to E. coli Urinary Tract Infection

The present study examined the influence of the mouse Lps genotype on the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) responses to mucosal Escherichia coli infection. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) responder C57BL/6J (Lpsn, Lpsn) and LPS non-responder C57BL/10ScCr (Lpsd, Lpsd) mice were inoculated intravesically with Escherichia coli Hu734. The secretion of IL-6, the recruitment of PMNs into urine, and the bacterial clearance from the kidneys and bladders were compared between the two mouse strains at 2, 6 and 24 h after infection. The C57BL/6J mice showed a high PMN response and rapid clearance of bacteria from the kidneys and bladders. In the C57BL/10ScCr mice the PMN response was low and infection remained. This supported a role of the Lps genotype in these events. The IL-6 levels remained low after infection in both LPS responder and non-responder mice, but became elevated in the animals which were accidentally traumatized during infection. The IL-6 response to trauma alone was independent of Lps genotype, but the response to trauma and infection combined differed between the mouse strains. The IL-6 response to trauma and infection was more rapid in the C57BL/6J than in the C57B1/10ScCr mice. The traumatized and infected animals did not clear the infection as efficiently as the non-injured animals in both backgrounds. The difference in PMN recruitment and susceptibility of infection between LPS responder and non-responder mice in the C57 Black background followed the pattern previously seen in the C3H mouse background and suggested that these events were under Lps gene control. An effect of the Lps locus on the IL-6 response could be detected only in traumatized and infected animals.     

Haemophilus influenzae causing conjunctivitis in day-care children

The role of Haemophilus influenzae in acute purulent conjunctivitis was studied during an outbreak among children in day care. Five day-care centers contributed 20 cases and 35 controls. All the children were subjected to culture of the nasopharynx and the eyes. H. influenzae was carried in the nasopharynx of 53% of the children (range between day care centers, 20 to 91%). Of the 20 children with acute conjunctivitis 8 had eye cultures positive for H. influenzae, 2 had Moraxella and the remaining were culture-negative. Ten colonies of H. influenzae were isolated from each positive culture and identified by capsular type, biotype and multi-locus enzyme electrophoresis. All but one of the isolates were nonencapsulated. They belonged to 4 biotypes and 8 electrophoretic types. The same strain was recovered from the eyes and nasopharynx of the symptomatic children, suggesting that the H. influenzae in the eyes originated from the nasopharynx. There was no evidence for spread of the same H. influenzae strains between day-care centers. Even within each center the Haemophilus strains recovered from the eyes varied among the symptomatic children. The in vitro capacity to attach to oropharyngeal epithelial cells was not increased among the H. influenzae recovered from the eyes. The results question if the majority of conjunctivitis cases were caused by H. influenzae and suggested that eyes were colonized with the nasopharyngeal carrier strain rather than infected by an isolate with special virulence for the eye.     

A new self-rating scale for depression and anxiety states based on the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale

Self-assessment scales have long been used in psychiatric research even if their validity has often been questioned, one reason being poor the concordance of expert ratings. In clinical practice the use of rating scales is restricted, since they are considered to be time-consuming and perhaps even to disrupt the clinician's rapport with the patient. In the present study, a self-assessment scale, the CPRS Self-rating Scale for Affective Syndromes (CPRS-S-A), was constructed by re-phrasing in a self-rating format 19 items from the original Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and covering depression, anxiety and obsessional symptoms. In a group of 30 patients with depression syndromes and anxiety syndromes, the CPRS-S-A and the original CPRS were both used on 2 occasions. The patient's Global Assessment of Functioning scores ranged from 30 to 76 (mean 58), which suggests a moderate severity of illness, as does the fact that the majority were outpatients. There was a high degree of concordance between the instruments for most items and for the scores on the subscales for both diagnostic groups (i.e., the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Brief Anxiety Scale, which are both subscales drawn from the CPRS). The time taken to complete the CPRS-S-A varied from 5 to 30 min (mean 19 min for depressive and 16 min for anxiety patients on the first occasion, 13 min for both groups on the second), and the self-rating procedure was readily accepted by both groups of patients. The CPRS-S-A would thus seem to be a promising instrument for quantitative rating of symptoms in ambulatory patients, both in clinical practice and in research.