Subject(s)
Botany/history , Classification , Eponyms , Expeditions/history , Africa , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , History, Ancient , United KingdomABSTRACT
Acupuncture is a popular complementary treatment for various pain syndromes. Some studies claim efficacy in the treatment of primary headache syndromes. However, data on the frequency of acupuncture use by patients with headache prior to neurological referral have not been identified. In this study, 12% of patients with headache attending general neurology outpatient clinics had already received acupuncture; of the remainder, 73% said they would be willing to try it.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Analgesia/statistics & numerical data , Headache Disorders/epidemiology , Headache Disorders/therapy , Neurology/statistics & numerical data , Referral and Consultation/statistics & numerical data , Acupuncture Analgesia/trends , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Ambulatory Care Facilities/statistics & numerical data , Ambulatory Care Facilities/trends , Cohort Studies , Female , Headache Disorders/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neurology/trends , Prevalence , Referral and Consultation/trends , Treatment Outcome , United Kingdom/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The clinical, neuropsychological and neuropathological features of a patient with early-onset Alzheimer's disease as a result of the M139V presenilin-1 (PSEN-1) mutation are presented, and compared with previous reports of patients with the same mutation. Similarities, such as the age at onset and the relative preservation of naming skills, and differences, such as the significant basal ganglia, thalamic and cerebellar pathology, are noted. This clinical and pathological heterogeneity in patients with the same PSEN-1 mutation suggests phenotype modulation by genetic and/or epigenetic factors.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/genetics , Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Membrane Proteins/genetics , Mutation , Cerebellar Cortex/metabolism , Cerebellar Cortex/pathology , Cerebral Cortex/metabolism , Cerebral Cortex/pathology , Humans , Male , Methionine/genetics , Middle Aged , Phenotype , Presenilin-1 , Thalamus/metabolism , Thalamus/pathology , Valine/geneticsSubject(s)
Expeditions/history , Medicine, African Traditional/history , Travel/history , Africa , Germany , History, 19th Century , HumansABSTRACT
The possible role of the abnormal trace element tellurium in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is examined. Tellurium has been reported to produce cognitive impairment and cerebral lipofuscinosis in rats-changes akin to those seen in Kuf's disease, a condition which shares certain clinical and neuropathological features with Alzheimer's disease. Tellurium can damage mitochondria; defects in mitochondrial energy metabolism may be relevant to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. The deficiency of selenium, which may act physiologically as an antagonist of tellurium, in the Alzheimer's disease brain would also be in keeping with the hypothesis of tellurium toxicity as a factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/etiology , Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses/etiology , Selenium/deficiency , Tellurium/toxicity , Adult , Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Animals , Energy Metabolism , Humans , Mitochondria/drug effects , Mitochondria/metabolism , Mitochondria/pathology , Models, Biological , Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses/physiopathology , Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses/psychology , RatsABSTRACT
The efficacy of garlic as a lipid-lowering agent is being increasingly recognized, but the biochemical mechanisms underlying this action are currently unknown. It is proposed that organic tellurium compounds, which are found in high concentration in fresh garlic buds, may contribute to this action by inhibiting squalene epoxidase, the penultimate enzyme in the synthetic pathway of cholesterol. Weanling rats fed a diet rich in tellurium develop a demyelinating polyneuropathy due to inhibition of this enzyme in peripheral nerves. Chronic exposure to small amounts of tellurium found in garlic might reduce endogenous cholesterol production through inhibition of hepatic squalene epoxidase and so reduce cholesterol levels. Tellurium may also contribute to the characteristic odour of garlic since the most obvious clinical sign of tellurium poisoning is a garlic-like odour.