[From in-person didactic sessions to videoconferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic: satisfaction survey among participants]. / Cambio de sesiones docentes presenciales a virtuales durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en un servicio de neurología: descripción del proceso y satisfacción de los usuarios.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed many hospital activities, including medical education. We describe the switch from in-person didactic sessions to videoconferencing in a Neurology department. We analyse the opinions and satisfaction of participants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Narrative description of the adopted measures; Online survey among participants. RESULTS: One of the three weekly sessions was cancelled, and two switched to videoconferencing. There were more participants online than in the conference hall. 49 users answered the survey, 51% women, mean age 40.5 years (range 25-65). Satisfaction was higher for previous face-to-face meetings (8.68) than for videoconferencing (8.12) (p=0.006). There was a significant inverse correlation between age and satisfaction with virtual sessions (r=-0.37; p=0.01), that was not found for in-person attendance. Most users (75.5%) would prefer to continue with online sessions when the pandemic is over, and 87.8% support inter-hospital remote meetings, but the safety of web platforms is a concern (53.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The change from in-person to virtual sessions is an easy measure to implement in a neurology department, with a good degree of satisfaction among users. There are some unsolved problems with the use of commercial web platforms and inter-hospital connection. Most users recommend leadership and support from educational and health authorities.

TITLE: Cambio de sesiones docentes presenciales a virtuales durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en un servicio de neurología: descripción del proceso y satisfacción de los usuarios.Introducción y objetivo. La pandemia de COVID-19 ha trastornado la actividad hospitalaria, incluyendo la docente. Se describe el cambio de un sistema presencial a otro de sesiones en línea en un servicio de neurología, y se analizan la satisfacción y las opiniones de los usuarios. Material y métodos. Exposición de las medidas adoptadas para pasar a modalidad en línea y análisis de una encuesta entre los participantes. Resultados. Se pasó de tres a dos sesiones semanales, con restricción del público presencial. El público virtual superó al presencial. Contestaron la encuesta 49 participantes, un 51% mujeres, con una media de 40,5 años (rango: 25-65). La satisfacción de los asistentes fue mayor para las sesiones presenciales (8,68) que para las en línea (8,12) (p = 0,006). Existía una correlación inversa significativa entre la edad y la satisfacción con las sesiones en línea (r = ­0,37; p = 0,01) que no se daba para las sesiones presenciales. El 75,5% fue partidario de mantener las sesiones virtuales cuando se eliminaran las restricciones de aforo. Una mayoría (87,8%) apoyó sesiones interhospitalarias y recomienda que las autoridades sanitarias faciliten aplicaciones informáticas seguras (53,1%). Conclusiones. La introducción de sesiones virtuales es una medida fácil de implementar en un servicio de neurología, con un alto grado de satisfacción de los usuarios, aunque menor que con las sesiones presenciales. Existen problemas no resueltos respecto al uso de plataformas comerciales y conexión interhospitalaria. Sería recomendable que las autoridades sanitarias y educativas desarrollaran aplicaciones seguras y fomentaran la educación médica en línea.

Infiltrative cervical lesions causing symptomatic occipital neuralgia.

BACKGROUND: Occipital neuralgia is a well-recognized cause of posterior head and neck pain that may associate mild sensory changes in the cutaneous distribution of the occipital nerves, lacking a recognizable local structural aetiology in most cases. Atypical clinical features or an abnormal neurological examination are alerts for a potential underlying cause of pain, although cases of clinically typical occipital neuralgia as isolated manifestation of lesions of the cervical spinal cord, cervical roots, or occipital nerves have been increasingly reported. CASE REPORTS: We describe two cases (one with typical and another one with atypical clinical features) of occipital neuralgia secondary to paravertebral pyomyositis and vertebral relapse of multiple myeloma in patients with relevant medical history that aroused the possibility of an underlying structural lesion. DISCUSSION: We discuss the need for cranio-cervical magnetic resonance imaging in all patients with occipital neuralgia, even when typical clinical features are present and neurological examination is completely normal.

[Meralgia paraesthetica: a report on a series of 140 cases]. / Meralgia parestésica: a propósito de una serie de 140 casos.

INTRODUCTION: Meralgia paraesthetica is a pathology that is frequently seen in visits to extra-hospital neurology services. Nevertheless, the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this condition remain somewhat unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted involving 140 patients. Data were collected concerning demographic aspects, clinical picture, diagnostic study, aetiology, treatment and progression. RESULTS: There was a predominance of males, with a mean age of 54 years. The mean follow-up time was 25 months. The symptoms that were reported were as follows: numbness, burning pain, tingling or prickling in the nerve territory. Hypaesthesia was the most frequent sign found in the examination. History of another compressive neuropathy was present in 13.6% of patients. The diagnosis was based on the patient record and the neurological examination. The neurophysiological study and complementary tests were reserved for atypical cases. The most common causation was spontaneous and only three cases were found to be secondary to a structural lesion. A third of the patients were receiving pharmacological treatment. Although the clinical picture was benign, in most cases it tended to become chronic. Patients treated pharmacologically did not show a significant improvement in comparison to those who were not given treatment. The most important data for forecasting improvement of the clinical picture were the identification and correction of the factors precipitating compression of the nerve. CONCLUSIONS: Meralgia paraesthetica is a frequent, benign pathology but with a tendency to become chronic that responds poorly to pharmacological treatment. It is important to identify and correct mechanical factors and only in exceptional cases is it secondary to a structural lesion.

[Continuing medical education in neurology: a necessary challenge]. / Formación médica continuada en neurología: un reto necesario.

INTRODUCTION: The knowledge and skills acquired in the neurology specialty during post-graduate studies must be developed later as a specialist. Exponential growth of the scientific knowledge and its practical application make lifelong learning essential for optimal development of our professional activity. REVISION: The most relevant aspects of the learning and continued development of the neurologist have been reviewed. Current models and different proposals made by national and international medical organizations and societies on continuing medical education and the continuing professional development are presented and analyzed. CONCLUSION: Several aspects regarding the need for continuing medical education and the continuing professional development are discussed. Included among these are whether continuing education should be a voluntary commitment by each professional or an obligation regulated by specialist organizations. We have the opportunity to play a leading role in the changes that will affect us in this field.

[Nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder that responds to topiramate]. / Sindrome de ingesta nocturna relacionada con el sueno con respuesta al topiramato.

INTRODUCTION: Nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder is a non-REM sleep parasomnia that is associated to other sleep disorders, especially sleepwalking. It becomes chronic, is not remitting and consists in episodes of compulsive eating during the night, which are then partially or completely forgotten by the patient. This condition must be differentiated from night-eating syndrome, which is far more common and is linked to endocrinological and psychiatric disorders, as well as to other disorders involving eating behaviour during sleeping hours. CASE REPORT: A 28-year-old male who had suffered from the clinical picture every day for 10 years; this condition consisted in nocturnal episodes of binge eating in a state of semi-sleepiness, with no remembrance of what had happened the next morning. The patient had no history of psychiatric pathologies or any other eating disorder, but he did not rest adequately at night, was overweight and had a family and personal history of other sleep disorders. Since he did not respond to other treatments, we decided to try therapy with topiramate; as a result, the episodes disappeared, tolerance was excellent and effectiveness was maintained throughout the two years' follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In this paper we review eating disorders that occur during sleep, nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder and its therapeutic possibilities, while highlighting the usefulness of topiramate to treat this condition.

[Sensory ganglionopathy as a manifestation of celiac disease]. / Ganglionopatia sensitiva como manifestacion de enfermedad celiaca.

INTRODUCTION: The neurological manifestations of celiac disease (CD) may be caused by the disease itself, by associated autoimmune diseases or by complications from the tumours that may develop in the long term. We report a case of sensory ganglionopathy associated to CD. CASE REPORT: A 59-year-old female with chronic diarrhoea and loss of weight, who visited because of a clinical picture of gait disorders that progressed to the point where she was barely able to walk. Having been diagnosed with CD, finding a sensory ganglionopathy with dysautonomia (an atypical manifestation of this disease) led to a diagnosis of associated Sjogren's syndrome (SS). CONCLUSIONS: The neurological manifestations of CD are very varied, but in the presence of a sensory ganglionopathy, a neurological picture that is atypical in this disease, it becomes necessary to suspect SS, which is an infrequent but well established association. Likewise, all patients with SS must be screened for CD, which (albeit subclinically) can be complicated in the long term by the development of tumours. The differential diagnosis of the neurological manifestations of CD and of sensory ganglionopathy, as well as the association between celiac disease and SS, is also discussed.

[Complex regional pain syndrome type I: a frequent neurological disease. Reports of two atypical cases]. / Síndrome de dolor regional complejo de tipo I: una enfermedad neurológica frecuente. A propósito de dos casos atípicos.

INTRODUCTION: Complex regional pain syndrome type I is an agreed umbrella term used to replace other terms such as sympathetic-reflex dystrophy. This condition is a true neurological disease, which is completely different to the type II variation; both the central and the peripheral nervous systems are involved, the clinical presentation varies from patient to patient and it is diagnosed by means of a series of imprecise agreed criteria that are subject to debate. CASE REPORTS: We report two cases of atypical presentation, both with peculiarities that have not previously appeared in the literature, in which a diagnostic suspicion and proper management favoured the patients' recovery. It is shown how treatment, especially in more severe cases, requires an early, tailored, multidisciplinary approach based on the patient's signs and symptoms as manifestations of the underlying physiopathogenic mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: We review currently held knowledge about the pathophysiology of the condition and the therapeutic management that is employed, including the role played by the neurologist, who must work in cooperation with other health care professionals to reach a diagnosis, dissect the physiopathogenic mechanisms at play and plan the treatment of what we hold to be a neurological disease. Future work will need to be aimed at determining the risk factors, explaining the pain mechanisms involved, drawing up a better definition of the different clinical forms and at developing complementary tests, as well as better criteria for diagnosing the condition and enhanced therapeutic algorithms.

[Post-traumatic supraorbital neuralgia: a benign condition]. / Neuralgia supraorbitaria postraumática: una entidad benigna.

INTRODUCTION: Supraorbital neuralgia has only recently been described. Most of the cases reported involve patients suffering from chronic idiopathic neuralgias that are difficult to treat and sometimes require surgery to release the nerve. We present our experience in patients with a variant of this neuralgia which has a known causation, is commonly seen and has a benign prognosis. CASE REPORTS: We studied five patients, four females and one male, with a mean age of 55 years (range: 29-69 years). They had all suffered direct banal traumatic injury to the frontal region due to different causes. Four of them developed continuous, piercing or burning-type pain; three of them had paroxysmal pain and one had itching. There were no autonomic manifestations. All of them were found to be abnormally sensitive in the affected area, with tactile hypaesthesia, hyperalgesia or allodynia and a positive Tinel's sign. Neuroimaging tests were normal. Two patients were treated with gabapentin and amitriptyline. One was treated with an anaesthetic blockade, which afforded temporary relief. Three of them received no treatment at all. After one year of follow-up, all of them had improved and three were no longer in pain, although sensory alterations persisted in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Post-traumatic supraorbital neuralgia is a frequent condition, although it is probably underdiagnosed. It has its own characteristic clinical and developmental features that distinguish it from idiopathic supraorbital neuralgia. Progress is usually good and it responds favourably to symptomatic treatment, if needed.

[Electrooculography findings in Friedreich's ataxia]. / Hallazgos electrooculográficos en la ataxia de Friedreich.

INTRODUCTION: Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is the most frequent of the recessive hereditary ataxias. AIMS. Our aim was to analyse the findings from electrooculography studies in subjects with FA attended in our Service over a 30-year period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between the years 1970 and 1999, 51 patients with FA diagnosed in the Neurology Service of our hospital were examined. All of them were submitted to an electronystagmography study and an examination of the oculomotor system using electrooculography (EOG). In the EOG study, saccades, (square-wave) saccadic intrusions, spontaneous, triggered, positional and optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), visual suppression of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and following were all evaluated. RESULTS: The disorders that were found most often were ataxic following (72.5%), abnormalities in rotational testing (56.8%) and dysmetria in the saccades (52.9%). The presence of square waves was observed in just over half the traces (52.9%). CONCLUSIONS: In FA the predominant EOG findings are those suggesting a cerebellar disease.

[Transient cerebral oedema associated to hypoglycaemia]. / Edema cerebral transitorio asociado a hipoglucemia.

INTRODUCTION: In the adult, hypoglycaemia is documented as a consequence of overdose of insulin or oral hypoglycaemic agents. Neonatal hypoglycaemia is common but rarely symptomatic due to protective mechanisms. Very few reports on hypoglycaemic injury are available in adults and most of them in patients with poor outcome. CASE REPORT: Woman, 45 years old. She is referred to emergency room due to insulin overdose and coma of unknown duration. Glucose level was 15 mg% without other metabolic anomalies. Computerized tomography revealed brain oedema most obvious in the parieto-occipital lobes. Therapy with manitol and glucose was started with total functional recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Brain imaging in neonatal hypoglycaemia shows similar findings. In the acute phase oedema in the parieto-occipital cortex and underlying white matter and atrophy or malacic cysts in the chronic phase have been described. Chronic changes are related to long-term sequelae that vary from development delay and epilepsy to persistent vegetative state. In adults lesions involve hippocampus and basal ganglia. The reasons of different sensitivity of these regions are not fully clear. Differences in regional blood flow autoregulation or in excitotoxins receptors of aspartate have been postulated. Hypoglycaemia may induce blood-brain-barrier permeability and subsequently brain oedema.

[The importance of neurological examinations in the age of the technological revolution]. / Importancia de la exploración neurológica en la era de la revolución tecnológica.

INTRODUCTION: Neurologic practice and care have been modified in many important ways during the past ten years, to adapt to the explosion of new information and new technology. Students, residents and practicing physicians have been continuing programs to a model that focuses almost exclusively on the applications to neurologic disorders of the new knowledge obtained from biomedical research. On the other hand high demand for outpatient neurologic care prevents adequate patient's evaluation. CASE REPORTS: Case 1: 65 years old female. Occipital headache diagnosed of tensional origin (normal computerized tomography). Two months later is re-evaluated due to intractable pain and hypoglossal lesion. An amplified computerized tomography revealed a occipital condyle metastasis. Case 2: 21 years old female. Clinical suspicion of demyelinating disease due to repeated facial paresis and sensitive disorder. General exploration and computerized tomography revealed temporo-mandibular joint. Case 3: 60 years old female. Valuation of anticoagulant therapy due to repeated transient ischemic attacks. She suffered from peripheral facial palsy related to auditory cholesteatoma. CONCLUSIONS: Neurologic education is nowadays orientated to new technologies. On the other hand, excessive demand prevents adequate valuation and a minute exploration is substituted by complementary evaluations. These situations generate diagnostic mistakes or iatrogenic. It would be important a consideration of the neurologic education profiles and fulfillment of consultations time recommendations for outpatients care.

[Homocysteine and cerebrovascular disease]. / Homocisteína y enfermedad cerebrovascular.

AIMS: In the search for new, potentially treatable, vascular risk factors, one of the most recent to be put forward is the presence of increased total homocysteine (tHc) levels in blood plasma and this has also given rise to a large amount of literature and controversy. The origin of this hypothesis lies in the observation that patients with congenital disorders affecting homocysteine (Hc) metabolism suffered from early atherosclerosis. In this paper we analyse the studies that have been published about Hc and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). DEVELOPMENT: An important number of retrospective case control studies have found a strong dose dependent link between levels of Hc in plasma and cerebrovascular, heart and peripheral thromboembolic disease. Yet the prospective studies that have been published to date note only a weak or inexistent link between homocysteine and CVD. Moreover, some observations question the causal relationship between hyperhomocysteinemia and atherothrombosis and account for the findings in the retrospective studies as being a result of the rise in Hc following a stroke or its increasing because of classical vascular risk factors. In any case, knowing that the ingestion of folic acid, vitamin B12 and pyridoxine lowers tHc levels in plasma has led to clinical trails being set up that evaluate the effects of this treatment on vascular risk. CONCLUSION: The relation between Hc levels in plasma and CVD is open to controversy. New studies and the findings of clinical studies with vitamin therapy will allow this relation to be fully explained in coming years.

[Analysis of the neurologic demand of immigrant population in a outpatient neurological consultation]. / Análisis de la demanda asistencial de la población inmigrante en una consulta de Neurología extrahospitalaria.

INTRODUCTION: We analyse the demand for neurologic care reasons for consultation and diagnoses of the immigrant population in two extrahospitalary neurological outpatient clinics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective one-year study of first visits of adult immigrant patients sent to the neurological outpatient clinic. RESULTS: A total of 342 patients were included in the study. They represented 9.4% of total patients in one clinic and 4.1% in another. The average age was 32.9 years old. There was a predominance of women (62.2%). The average stay in our country was two years. Latin America (especially from Ecuador and Colombia), Morocco and East Europe were mainly the origin of the patients. The cause of consultation was headache in a half of the cases and neuromuscular pathology, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders were the next most frequent diagnoses in descending order. The most frequent diagnoses was tension-type headache, and in descending order of frequency: migraine and transformed migraine, epilepsy, carpal tunnel syndrome, idiopathic facial palsy, low back pain and sciatica and syncope. Tension-type headache and transformed migraine were in relation to their situation of immigrants (family, working, adaptive problems). CONCLUSIONS: The neurologic care demands in immigrant population is the same as in spanish one. These are a young people that fundamentally consults by headache (in relation to adaptive problems), neuromuscular disorders, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders. The public health service have to take into account this population to health resources planning.