Neurologist practice patterns in treatment of muscle cramps in Canada.

Recently an article provided patient perspectives on therapies and perceived effectiveness in preventing muscle cramps. However, there are few studies evaluating physicians' point of view in the management of this common symptom. In our study, we studied physician practice patterns in the treatment of muscle cramps by surveying a group of neurologists in Canada. We demonstrated that most physicians use a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods in treating muscle cramps. The most commonly used medications are baclofen, quinine and gabapentin, of which baclofen and quinine were reported to be the most tolerated.

Public perception of Tourette syndrome on YouTube.

We sought to determine public perception surrounding Tourette syndrome through viewers' responses to videos on YouTube. The top 20 videos on YouTube for search terms Tourette's, Tourette's syndrome, Tourette syndrome and tics were selected. The portrayal of Tourette syndrome was assessed as positive, negative, or neutral. Top 10 comments for each video were graded as "sympathetic," "neutral," or "derogatory." A total of 14 970 hits were obtained and 41 videos were retained, with an average of 590 113 views (1369 to 13 747 069) and 1761 comments (0 to 35 241). Twenty-two percent of videos retained portrayed Tourette syndrome negatively, 20% were neutral and 59% positive. Negative portrayals were significantly associated with more views (Spearman correlation rho = -.46, P =.003) and comments (Spearman correlation rho = -.47, P = .002). Although excellent examples of Tourette syndrome are available on YouTube, the popularity of negative portrayals may reinforce existing stigma in society.

YouTube videos as a teaching tool and patient resource for infantile spasms.

The purpose of this study was to assess YouTube videos for their efficacy as a patient resource for infantile spasms. Videos were searched using the terms infantile spasm, spasm, epileptic spasm, and West syndrome. The top 25 videos under each term were selected according to set criteria. Technical quality, diagnosis of infantile spasms, and suitability as a teaching resource were assessed by 2 neurologists using the Medical Video Rating Scale. There were 5858 videos found. Of the 100 top videos, 46% did not meet selection criteria. Mean rating for technical quality was 4.0 of 5 for rater 1 and 3.9 of 5 for rater 2. Raters found 60% and 64% of videos to accurately portray infantile spasms, respectively, with significant agreement (Cohen κ coefficient = 0.75, P < .001). Ten videos were considered excellent examples (grading of 5 of 5) by at least 1 rater. YouTube may be used as an excellent patient resource for infantile spasms if guided search practices are followed.