Language, Science and Globalization in the Eighteenth Century.

Asia, America, and Europe have been intellectually intertwined for centuries. Several studies have been published revealing European scholars' interest in the "exotic" languages of Asia and America, as well as in ethnographic and anthropological aspects. Some scholars such as Polymath Leibniz (1646-1716), were interested in these languages in an attempt to construct a universal language, while others tried to establish language families, like the Jesuit Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809). However, all acknowledge the importance of language and the circulation of knowledge. This paper analyzes the dissemination of the compilation of eighteenth-century multilingual lexical compilations for comparative purposes as an early globalized project. These compilations were designed by European scholars and subsequently elaborated in different languages by missionaries, explorers, and scientists in the Philippines and America. Taking the correspondence and relations between botanist Mutis (1732-1808) and bureaucrats, European scientists such as polymath Humboldt (1769-1859) and Botanist Linnaeus (1707-1778) among others, and navy officers of the scientific exploration commanded by Malaspina (1754-1809) and Bustamante y Guerra (1759-1825) into consideration, I will analyze how simultaneous projects followed a unified aim, and illustrate their substantial contribution to the study of language in the late eighteenth century.

Functional neurological symptoms as initial presentation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: case series.

BACKGROUND: Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) are common in clinical practice. It is recognized that FND may present at onset or during the course of other neurological diseases (functional comorbidity). CASES: We report a clinical series of three patients who initially presented positive signs of a functional movement disorder (FMD) and were later diagnosed with a Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). All patients presented with unilateral functional tremor, two patients also had functional limb weakness. All patients progressed to an asymmetric corticobasal syndrome, fulfilling clinical criteria of CJD. They had a rapid progression and died within 2-3 months. CONCLUSIONS: FND may be the initial clinical presentation of neurodegenerative diseases reflecting a dysfunction across brain circuits that are involved in the pathophysiology of FND. A positive diagnosis of FND is essential as it is an adequate examination and a close follow-up of these patients in neurology clinics.