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Patients with cognitive deficits have a prolonged latency and reduced amplitude of the P300 wave. However, no study has correlated P300 wave alterations with the cognitive performance of patients with cerebellar lesions. We aimed to determine if the cognitive status of these patients was associated with P300 wave alterations. We recruited 30 patients with cerebellar lesions from the wards of the N.R.S. Medical College, Kolkata, in West Bengal (India). The Kolkata Cognitive Screening Battery tasks and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) were used to assess the cognitive status and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) for cerebellar signs. We compared the results with the normative data of the Indian population. Patients had P300 wave alterations with a significant increase in latency and a non-significant trend in amplitude. In a multivariate model, P300 wave latency was positively associated with the ICARS kinetic subscale (p = 0.005) and age (p = 0.009), regardless of sex and years of education. In the model that included cognitive variables, P300 wave latency was negatively associated with performance in phonemic fluency (p = 0.035) and construction (p = 0.009). Furthermore, P300 wave amplitude was positively associated with the FAB total score (p < 0.001). In closing, patients with cerebellar lesions had an increase in latency and a decrease in the amplitude of the P300 wave. These P300 wave alterations were also associated with worse cognitive performance and some of the subscales of the ICARS, reinforcing that the cerebellum has motor, cognitive, and affective functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides clinical and imaging techniques, there is a lack of molecular makers for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). There is an immense need to develop biomarkers associated with the phenotypes which may be valuable for individualized treatment. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (PARK2: Ser167Asn (G>A) and Val380Leu (G>C); PARK7: IVS4 + 46G>A and IVS4 + 30T>G) in PD-related genes were examined to elucidate its relationship with concentration of serum elements and clinical symptoms of PD. A total of 214 PD patients and 213 controls from Indian population were genotyped using PCR and DNA sequencing methods. The serum element concentrations were detected and clinical symptoms were determined based on UPDRS scale and recorded at the time of sample collection. The IVS4 + 30T>G, Ser167Asn (G>A) and Val380Leu (G>C) polymorphisms appeared to alter element concentrations in PD. The patients with Ser167Asn polymorphism showed significant association with copper, iron and zinc that reinforces the role of A allele as a factor for change in the concentrations of elements, than those patients with G allele. In particular, patients with A allele of Ser167Asn have risk of having high serum iron concentration (OR 11.55, 95% CI 5.59–23.85), which are associated with dementia and postural imbalance. Similar results were observed for Val380Leu (G>C) and IVS4 + 30T>G polymorphisms which suggest their role in element concentration and neurological symptoms. Overall, our study demonstrates the influence of polymorphisms of PD genes on element concentrations and clinical symptoms. Results of this study may be taken into account when considering the contributing factors for PD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrete spectra of frequencies at 8, 14, 20, 26, ... Hz are generated by electromagnetic emission from lightning sources and can be regarded as excitation of AC global circuit. These electromagnetic emissions originating within the Earth-ionosphere waveguide occur in the ULF, ELF and VLF frequency ranges. These include Schuman Resonances (SR), ELF-VLF sferics, sprites etc. During 1990s and later, the scenario with these sub-ionospheric ELF SR waves changed and several new aspects emerged. The SR power varies with respect to the receiver position and the lightning centers, commonly referred as source-observer distance. Both electric and magnetic components of SR intensity vary with the spatial shifts of the thunderstorm regions under El-Niño and La-Niña conditions. The magnitude of the lightning in the lower atmospheric region varies with time of the day. The electromagnetic waves thus generated at SR frequencies resonate due to multiple reflections in the Earth-ionosphere cavity. The total signal may be dependent on the waves from the different lightning sources. In this context, different groups of researchers throughout the globe are working and published few interesting results. In this work, few results of different observatories are discussed. Also, an attempt was made to detect experimentally the discrete signals at Kolkata (Lat. 22.56° N, Long. 88.5° E) from the year 1999. Some frequency changes in the peak values are observed in the recorded data which may be attributed to uncertainty arising from spatial distribution of lightning sources exciting the Schuman Resonance modes. Some of those results are also presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A male child suffering from generalized tonic clonic epilepsy, on treatment with valproate, developed fulminant hepatic failure, hyperammonemia and encephalopathy due to drug toxicity. The most extraordinary feature was his MRI (FLAIR image) of brain which showed unilateral hyperintensities in right putamen and caudate nucleus. The patient recovered on withdrawal of valproate with mild residual left sided athetotic movements during remission. Repeat investigation confirmed an improved MRI imaging and normalised blood ammonia levels. The case report is unique because of unilateral involvement of basal ganglia due to valproate-induced encephalopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]