Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a devastating disease without available disease modifying therapy. As a relatively pure tauopathy, study of the disease holds great promise in leading to progress in other neurodegenerative diseases. Tim Rittmann and James Rowe take us through the advances in the neuropathology and nosology of PSP, and discuss new therapeutic approaches to the pathological tau protein in this disorder. They provide a useful clinical and radiological summary, and highlight the work of the PSP Association in improving standards of care for patients and their carers.
The finer points of the anatomy and organisation of the descending components of the motor system are surprisingly poorly understood and are key to developing future treatments in neurorehabilitation. Karen Fisher, Demetris Soteropoulos and Claire Witham in the latest article in the series of motor control edited by Martyn Bracewell, present a clear and interesting account of the origins, anatomy and function of the corticospinal tracts, and its relationship to the other descending motor pathways that originate from the brainstem.
Alastair Compston and Alasdair Coles present the first of their three articles on the Top Ten Papers in Multiple Sclerosis, and note that the application of the best available technology at the time has been key to many developments. The papers in this issue are JD Dawson’s pathological account of nine cases from 1916, Lowenthal and colleagues’ application of agar electrophoresis to identify cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal bands specific to MS in 1960, and a well designed placebo controlled multi-center trial of ACTH in the treatment of an acute relapse by Rose and colleagues from 1970. It also highlights that dropping out of medical school can ultimately lead to a Nobel prize winning discovery.
In the second in the neuro-ophthalmology series, Rebecca McLean and Irene Gottlob provide a useful framework for the categorisation and symptomatic treatment of infantile nystagmus and acquired nystagmus. In this short review they discuss the advances that have been made in better modelling these disorders of eye movement which in turn should lead proper trials of novel therapies.
If you are right handed and right footed, are you right eared? Kenneth Hugdahl in the series of articles on leading Norwegian discoveries gives an introduction to auditory laterality. He summarises his research group’s work in using a delayed forced auditory task to study perception, attention, and executive function and introduces a new paradigm which may have use in quantifying perceptual difficulties in a range of neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions.
The neurosurgical article by Shawn Agius et al takes us through the unique problems of managing paediatric cervical spinal injuries. These unique issues relate to the type of injury such children are likely to suffer coupled to their head to neck size and the developmental status of their skeleton. This review distils the critical issues and is clearly written and provides a clear practical approach that comes from those who have great experience with such patients.
Elizabeth Neal provides a brief account of the ketogenic diet and its variants in the management of refractory epilepsy, and presents some surprising findings on the efficacy of this dietary treatment!.
Brian Payne in a short letter responds to the recent article on physician assisted dying and encourages others to offer their thoughts on this ethical dilemma.
In our book reviews section, Clive Bezzina reviews a book on exercise physiology in special populations, and Andrew Larner reviews a handbook to internet addiction, which warns us that the internet may have psychoactive properties. This paragraph is as good a place as any to remind you to follow us on twitter: #acnrjournal. We have a large selection of informative conference and journal reviews. Finally, we are also delighted to have our 2011 MS supplement with this issue, which presents and discusses the major papers in this field over the last 12 months. We are very grateful to Dr Alasdair Coles and colleagues for doing such a great job in distilling down the 2011 publications in this condition, which is the subject of so much great research. We hope you enjoy it.
Roger Barker, Co-Editor
Email: Rachael@acnr.co.uk |
