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Purpose Benign neonatal sleep myoclonus is a common nonepileptic condition occurring in neurologically normal full-term newborns. During jerks, EEG has always been described as normal. The aim of this study was to describe EEG changes associated with the myoclonic jerks. Methods Polygraphic video-EEG recordings of four full-term neonates presenting benign neonatal sleep myoclonus were studied. Myoclonic jerks were analyzed regarding their topography, frequency, propagation pattern, and reflex component. EEG averaging time-locked to myoclonic jerks and to somatosensory stimuli (realized by tapping on palms and feet) was performed to study eventual EEG correlates of myoclonus and to asses somatosensory evoked responses-for the latter, two control newborns were added. Results Visual analysis of the EEG disclosed theta band slow waves on central and vertex electrodes concomitant to myoclonic jerks and jerk-locked back-averaging disclosed a sequence of deflections, not preceding, but following the myoclonus. This response predominated on the vertex electrode (CZ) and consisted of five components (N1, P1, N2, P2, and N3), with only the three later components being constantly present (at 110, 200, and 350-500 ms, respectively). Back-averaging locked to the tactile stimuli in four subjects and two control newborns showed similar components and were comparable to those described in the literature as late somatosensory evoked responses in full-term newborns. Conclusions Myoclonic jerks in benign neonatal sleep myoclonus can evoke visually identifiable EEG potentials on vertex electrodes corresponding to somatosensory responses. This EEG aspect may be misleading and could give rise to an anti-seizure treatment that mostly worsens the condition.

H. pylori infection and peptic ulcerations and their complications such as bleeding are causally related, but the available methods used in bleeding to confirm active H. pylori lack accuracy. AIM To evaluate the usefulness of 13C-urea breath test (UBT) in diagnosing of H. pylori infection in bleeding patients.Eighty-one patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding and 258 matched controls without bleeding were enrolled to the study. UBT was performed using low-dose capsulated 13C-urea and IgG antibodies to H. pylori were determined by ELISA.UBT performed in bleeding patients was positive in 77.7%. In this group anti Hp IgG was positive in 79% of cases and among them gastroscopy showed 40.7% of bleeding duodenal ulcer, 38% bleeding gastric ulcer, and 86% hemorrhagic gastritis. UBT was positive in 90.9%, 77.4%, and in 52.97% cases, respectively, and it was not statistically different from that in non-bleeding controls, duodenal and gastric ulcers and gastritis. All patients with blood or "coffee grounds" in the stomach had both UBT and serology positive.The UBT is simple and non-invasive method, which can be successively applied also in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding to detect active H. pylori infection prior to emergency endoscopy.

It is not possible to discuss academic neurology from the mid-20th to the early 21st century and not mention one of its most influential contributors, Professor Irena Hausmanowa-Petrusewicz. She died at her home and in the city with which she will always be associated, Warsaw, Poland, on July 7, 2015, at the age of 97. Professor Hausmanowa-Petrusewicz's parents came from Lvov, Poland, and their careers presaged their daughter's career. Her father was a literary critic and her mother was a Swiss-educated dermatologist who was one of the first female physicians in Poland.

Editors' Note: In WriteClick this week, Dr. Bej traces the changing names and dominions of the city currently called L'viv, Ukraine, birthplace of Irena Hausmanowa-Petrusewicz, MD, PhD. In reference to “Cause of death and predictors of mortality in a community-based cohort of people with epilepsy,” Drs. Nevalainen and Ansakorpi and authors Sander et al. discuss the relationship between cause of death and epilepsy etiology as well as the concerning increased risk of death from neoplasms in patients with epilepsy. —Megan Alcauskas, MD, and Robert C. Griggs, MD Dr. Hausmanowa-Petrusewicz's In Memoriam mentioned she studied in “Lvov.”1 A consequence of Europe's frequent changes to national borders (usually via conquest) is that …