Neuropsychological functioning in a young adult case of schizencephaly.

Schizencephaly is a rare neuromigrational/organizational disorder characterized by the development of cerebral clefts, which are typically associated with neurological sequelae including seizures, motor disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction. Although there are multiple case reports of schizencephaly and associated neurological sequelae, primarily in children, the literature regarding neuropsychological manifestations of schizencephaly is limited. This article reviews the case of a woman diagnosed with bilateral schizencephaly at age 29. Neuropsychological testing revealed intact intelligence and memory functioning. However, impairments were noted in attention, executive functioning, expressive language skills, visual-spatial abilities, and bilateral manual motor skills, all of which were adversely impacting her functional abilities (e.g., ability to be gainfully employed). Given the potential variability in deficits associated with schizencephaly, this case demonstrates the utility of neuropsychological evaluation for understanding cognitive and functional consequences of bilateral schizencephaly.

Apolipoprotein E and B alleles in Parkinson's patients.

Parkinson's patients were genotyped for the apolipoprotein E alleles as well as polymorphisms at the apolipoprotein B loci to determine whether they were at risk for late onset Alzheimer's disease or coronary disease. The Parkinson's patients were at no greater risk for either disease than were the control spouses. The frequency for the APOE4 allele was 11% compared with the spouses, 10%. Interestingly, 20% of the patients had the 2/3 genotype which may have a protective effect from late onset Alzheimer's disease.

The use of felbamate to treat infantile spasms.

Based on the initial successful use of felbamate for infantile spasms in an infant with tuberous sclerosis, three additional infants with infantile spasms of different etiologies who had failed conventional therapies were treated with felbamate. Three of the four patients have shown complete resolution of infantile spasms. All responding patients did so within 1 week of starting felbamate. The one treatment failure had an initial reduction of seizure frequency and severity but has not maintained that response long term. Controlled studies are needed to firmly establish that felbamate is both safe and effective for the treatment of infantile spasms. As these cases document, felbamate is currently available for use in infantile spasms, and the frequent conversion of infantile spasms to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, for which felbamate is approved, makes its use in infantile spasms logical.

Abnormal polarity of thunderclouds grown from negatively charged air.

Experiments were carried out in New Mexico to determine whether the electrification processes that lead to the formation of lightning in clouds are influenced by the polarity of the charges in the air from which the clouds grow. The normal, positive space charge in the sub-cloud air was reversed by negative charge released from an electrified wire, suspended across a 2-kilometer-wide canyon. On more than four occasions when the clouds over the wire grew and became electrified, they were of abnormal polarity with dominant positive charges instead of the usual negative charges in the lower part of the cloud. The formation of these abnormally electrified clouds suggests both that the electrification process in thunderclouds can be initiated and that its polarity may be determined by the small charges that are present in the atmosphere.