Management Strategy of Intracranial Complications of Sinusitis: Our Experience and Review of the Literature.

Objective: Sinusitis or rhinosinusitis is a very common disease worldwide, and in some cases, it leads to intracranial complications (ICS). These are more common in immunocompromised patients or with underlying comorbidities, but even healthy individuals, can be affected. Nowadays, ICS have become less common thanks to improved antibiotic therapies, radiological diagnostic methods, surgical techniques and skills. Nonetheless, they can still cause significant morbidity and mortality. For this reason, management of these complications requires a multidisciplinary approach to plan and customize treatment options. This paper presents our strategy in the management of a series of intracranial complications induced by acute sinusitis and compares our experience and outcomes with the literature. Study design: Single institute experience, retrospective analysis of cases series and literature review. Methods: Adult and child patients who were treated for ICS in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Sion Hospital, in Switzerland from 2016 to 2020 were included. Their symptoms, medical history, clinical and radiological findings, treatment, and outcome were documented. Results: Eight patients (6 males- 2 females) aged from 14 to 88 y.o., were enrolled. None had any previous history of chronic, or recurrent sinusitis. Moreover, very few presented specific rhinological symptoms, but with neurological or other symptoms. Computed tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were used to confirm the diagnosis of all ICS. All types of known intracranial complications were observed in our cohort with a wide range of extension and severity of sinusitis. A multidisciplinary approach with individual treatments was tailored to each patient. Outcomes were favorable in almost all patients with neither recurrence, nor neurological sequels being observed in the follow-up. Only one patient was lost due to fatal complications of advanced lung cancer. Conclusion: ICS remain a challenging clinical problem due to substantial associated morbidity and mortality. The incidence of these complications is relatively low. Therapeutical management guidelines are lacking. Early detection and multidisciplinary approach are key to successful treatment.

Robot-induced hallucinations in Parkinson's disease depend on altered sensorimotor processing in fronto-temporal network.

Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease (PD) are disturbing and frequent non-motor symptoms and constitute a major risk factor for psychosis and dementia. We report a robotics-based approach applying conflicting sensorimotor stimulation, enabling the induction of presence hallucinations (PHs) and the characterization of a subgroup of patients with PD with enhanced sensitivity for conflicting sensorimotor stimulation and robot-induced PH. We next identify the fronto-temporal network of PH by combining MR-compatible robotics (and sensorimotor stimulation in healthy participants) and lesion network mapping (neurological patients without PD). This PH-network was selectively disrupted in an additional and independent cohort of patients with PD, predicted the presence of symptomatic PH, and associated with cognitive decline. These robotics-neuroimaging findings extend existing sensorimotor hallucination models to PD and reveal the pathological cortical sensorimotor processes of PH in PD, potentially indicating a more severe form of PD that has been associated with psychosis and cognitive decline.

[Capgras delusion and Alzheimer disease]. / Syndrome de Capgras et maladie d'Alzheimer.

Capgras delusion is classified with the misidentification syndromes. In dementia it associates cognitive deficiency of memory and facial recognition (prosopoagnosia) with delirious idea of substitution by a double. The first reported case in the paper describes the important affective and comportmental reactions due to the identification of a double perceived as an imposter, affecting both the suffering person and his family. Rarely, as reported in the second case, misrecognition concerns the person itself (autoprosopagnosia) who can have the illusion to be in front of a twin brother (« auto-Capgras ¼). We discuss data from the literature concerning prevalence, results of cerebral imaging and functional prognosis associated with this curious syndrome.

Le syndrome de Capgras fait partie des troubles de l'identification des personnes. Dans la démence, il associe des déficits cognitifs de la mémoire et de la reconnaissance des visages (prosopagnosie) et des idées délirantes de substitution par des sosies. La première situation rapportée dans l'article décrit les importantes réactions affectives et comportementales engendrées par l'identification d'un sosie qui est perçu comme un imposteur, affectant à la fois le malade et son entourage. Rarement, comme rapporté dans la deuxième situation, la fausse reconnaissance concerne la personne elle-même (autoprosopagnosie) qui peut avoir l'illusion d'avoir en face d'elle un frère jumeau (« auto-Capgras ¼). Nous discutons de données issues de la littérature concernant la prévalence, les résultats de l'imagerie cérébrale ainsi que le pronostic fonctionnel liés à ce curieux syndrome.

Combined thalamic and subthalamic deep brain stimulation for tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the thalamic ventral intermediate (Vim) or the subthalamic nucleus (STN) reportedly improves medication-refractory Parkinson's disease (PD) tremor. However, little is known about the potential synergic effects of combined Vim and STN DBS. We describe a 79-year-old man with medication-refractory tremor-dominant PD. Bilateral Vim DBS electrode implantation produced insufficient improvement. Therefore, the patient underwent additional unilateral left-sided STN DBS. Whereas Vim or STN stimulation alone led to partial improvement, persisting tremor resolution occurred after simultaneous stimulation. The combination of both targets may have a synergic effect and is an alternative option in suitable cases.

Definition and management of varicella zoster virus-associated meningoradiculitis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: The varicella zoster virus affects the central or peripheral nervous systems upon reactivation, especially when cell-mediated immunity is impaired. Among varicella zoster virus-related neurological syndromes, meningoradiculitis is an ill-defined condition for which clear management guidelines are still lacking. Zoster paresis is usually considered to be a varicella zoster virus-peripheral nervous system complication and treated with oral antiviral therapy. Yet in the literature, the few reported cases of herpes zoster with mild cerebral spinal fluid inflammation were all considered meningoradiculitis and treated using intravenous antiviral drugs, despite absence of systemic signs of meningitis. Nevertheless, these two clinical pictures are very similar. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of an alcohol-dependent elderly Caucasian man presenting with left lower limb zoster paresis and mild cerebral spinal fluid inflammation, with favorable outcome upon IV antiviral treatment. We discuss interpretation of liquor inflammation in the absence of clinical meningitis and implications for the antiviral treatment route. CONCLUSION: From this case report we suggest that varicella zoster virus-associated meningoradiculitis should necessarily include meningitis symptoms with the peripheral neurological deficits and cerebral spinal fluid inflammation, requiring intravenous antiviral treatment. In the absence of (cell-mediated) immunosuppression, isolated zoster paresis does not necessitate spinal tap or intravenous antiviral therapy.