JNNP podcast

In the last JNNP podcast of 2012, we look at what jelly beans and the Andalucian mountains have done for neurology and psychiatry.Alan Emery, emeritus professor, Green Temple College, University of Oxford, describes studying the family that led him to delineate Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.And Jason Warren and Rohani Omar, UCL Institute of Neurology, talk about what their study into flavour identification in frontotemporal lobar degeneration reveals.See also:Impact commentary: Unusual type of benign X linked muscular dystrophy http://tinyurl.com/aszzjtyOriginal paper: Unusual type of benign X linked muscular dystrophy http://tinyurl.com/bjadyodFlavour identification in frontotemporal lobar degeneration http://tinyurl.com/a8zh35u

In the last JNNP podcast of 2012, we look at what jelly beans and the Andalucian mountains have done for neurology and psychiatry.Alan Emery, emeritus professor, Green Temple College, University of Oxford, describes studying the family that led him to delineate Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.And Jason Warren and Rohani Omar, UCL Institute of Neurology, talk about what their study into flavour identification in frontotemporal lobar degeneration reveals.See also:Impact commentary: Unusual type of benign X linked muscular dystrophy http://tinyurl.com/aszzjtyOriginal paper: Unusual type of benign X linked muscular dystrophy http://tinyurl.com/bjadyodFlavour identification in frontotemporal lobar degeneration http://tinyurl.com/a8zh35u

This month, Mark Richardson, professor of epilepsy, Kings College London, relates his vision for the future of epilepsy research (1.07).Alexander Leff, consultant neurologist, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, discusses his online tool for diagnosing and providing treatment for hemianopia, the visual impairment which can follow stroke or brain injury (14.07).And measuring sensory nerve conduction. Tom Sears, emeritus professor of neurophysiology, King’s College London, recalls the beginnings of the technique (22.39).See also:Large scale brain models of epilepsy: dynamics meets connectomics http://tinyurl.com/ab6ggfhA ‘web app’ for diagnosing hemianopia http://tinyurl.com/ahca28xRead-Right http://tinyurl.com/37f3y3kEye-Search http://tinyurl.com/af3fsz2Sensory nerve action potentials in patients with peripheral lesions http://tinyurl.com/a7rsj4s

This month, Mark Richardson, professor of epilepsy, Kings College London, relates his vision for the future of epilepsy research (1.07).Alexander Leff, consultant neurologist, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, discusses his online tool for diagnosing and providing treatment for hemianopia, the visual impairment which can follow stroke or brain injury (14.07).And measuring sensory nerve conduction. Tom Sears, emeritus professor of neurophysiology, King’s College London, recalls the beginnings of the technique (22.39).See also:Large scale brain models of epilepsy: dynamics meets connectomics http://tinyurl.com/ab6ggfhA ‘web app’ for diagnosing hemianopia http://tinyurl.com/ahca28xRead-Right http://tinyurl.com/37f3y3kEye-Search http://tinyurl.com/af3fsz2Sensory nerve action potentials in patients with peripheral lesions http://tinyurl.com/a7rsj4s

This month, we explore the latest research on treating multiple sclerosis with cannabis extract. Editor Matthew Kiernan speaks to John Zajicek, professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, UK. (0.54)Received wisdom is that if you are disabled shortly after a head injury, you are not going to see this improve. However Tom McMillan, professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Glasgow, explains how he has shown long term outcomes are actually dynamic. (9.08)And the Scheltens scale. If you work with dementia patients you’ve probably used this simple rating of hippocampal atrophy. Philip Scheltens, director of the Alzheimer Center, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, talks about how he put the scale together 20 years ago, and why it still underpins practice. (14.21)See also:Multiple Sclerosis and Extract of Cannabis: results of the MUSEC trial http://tinyurl.com/a7vwezbAtrophy of medial temporal lobes on MRI in “probable” Alzheimer’s disease and normal ageing: diagnostic value and neuropsychological correlates http://tinyurl.com/bxlc2dxDisability in young people and adults after head injury: 12–14 year follow-up of a prospective cohort http://tinyurl.com/albh9k3

This month, we explore the latest research on treating multiple sclerosis with cannabis extract. Editor Matthew Kiernan speaks to John Zajicek, professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, UK. (0.54)Received wisdom is that if you are disabled shortly after a head injury, you are not going to see this improve. However Tom McMillan, professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Glasgow, explains how he has shown long term outcomes are actually dynamic. (9.08)And the Scheltens scale. If you work with dementia patients you’ve probably used this simple rating of hippocampal atrophy. Philip Scheltens, director of the Alzheimer Center, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, talks about how he put the scale together 20 years ago, and why it still underpins practice. (14.21)See also:Multiple Sclerosis and Extract of Cannabis: results of the MUSEC trial http://tinyurl.com/a7vwezbAtrophy of medial temporal lobes on MRI in “probable” Alzheimer’s disease and normal ageing: diagnostic value and neuropsychological correlates http://tinyurl.com/bxlc2dxDisability in young people and adults after head injury: 12–14 year follow-up of a prospective cohort http://tinyurl.com/albh9k3

The Queen Square brain bank was set up by Andrew Lees, and whilst there he co-authored two of JNNP’s most highly cited papers – one on the importance of Lewy bodies in Parkinson’s, and the other on the accuracy of clinical diagnosis of the disease. Now director of the Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological studies, University College London, he discusses the changing relationship between pathologists and clinicians, and the progress he’s seen in diagnosis.Assessing response to dopamine replacement therapy is essential for diagnosing idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, and for adjusting dose. One measure is to ask the patient how they feel, others are more objective such as the UPDRS or timed tests. However a paper in this month’s issue shows they are not always correlated. First author David McGhee (clinical research fellow in the division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen) talks about the findings.And, movement disorders: where are we now? This month’s journal focuses on these conditions, so JNNP editor Matthew Kiernan and associate editors Nick Ward and Alan Carson debate the most important advances.See also:October’s JNNP: Movement disorder special http://tinyurl.com/a32m868Movement disorders: what lies beneath? http://tinyurl.com/a32m868A MODERN PERSPECTIVE ON THE TOP 100 CITED JNNP PAPERS OF ALL TIME: The relevance of the Lewy Body to the pathogenesis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease: Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease http://tinyurl.com/as9dq32Comparison of patient rated treatment response with measured improvement in Parkinson’s disease http://tinyurl.com/bj57hu2

The Queen Square brain bank was set up by Andrew Lees, and whilst there he co-authored two of JNNP’s most highly cited papers – one on the importance of Lewy bodies in Parkinson’s, and the other on the accuracy of clinical diagnosis of the disease. Now director of the Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological studies, University College London, he discusses the changing relationship between pathologists and clinicians, and the progress he’s seen in diagnosis.Assessing response to dopamine replacement therapy is essential for diagnosing idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, and for adjusting dose. One measure is to ask the patient how they feel, others are more objective such as the UPDRS or timed tests. However a paper in this month’s issue shows they are not always correlated. First author David McGhee (clinical research fellow in the division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen) talks about the findings.And, movement disorders: where are we now? This month’s journal focuses on these conditions, so JNNP editor Matthew Kiernan and associate editors Nick Ward and Alan Carson debate the most important advances.See also:October’s JNNP: Movement disorder special http://tinyurl.com/a32m868Movement disorders: what lies beneath? http://tinyurl.com/a32m868A MODERN PERSPECTIVE ON THE TOP 100 CITED JNNP PAPERS OF ALL TIME: The relevance of the Lewy Body to the pathogenesis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease: Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease http://tinyurl.com/as9dq32Comparison of patient rated treatment response with measured improvement in Parkinson’s disease http://tinyurl.com/bj57hu2

In 1974 Oliver Sacks was hiking through a remote part of Norway when he suffered a nasty injury to one leg. Although he managed to get to help and was successfully operated on, he struggled to relearn to walk and felt alienated from the limb. Jon Stone (consultant neurologist in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh) explains why from Sacks’s writing he thinks this was a case of functional paralysis, and why the account is so valuable.And progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: the rare but potentially fatal condition which can follow monoclonal antibody treatment. Dirk Mentzer (Department of Safety of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Germany) talks us through his new case definition, and offers some clinical advice.See also:‘A Leg to Stand On’ by Oliver Sacks: a unique autobiographical account of functional paralysis http://tinyurl.com/bc4oavvCase definition for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy following treatment with monoclonal antibodies http://tinyurl.com/aa2pmsqA poster presentation of the PML case definition http://tinyurl.com/b2db26e

In 1974 Oliver Sacks was hiking through a remote part of Norway when he suffered a nasty injury to one leg. Although he managed to get to help and was successfully operated on, he struggled to relearn to walk and felt alienated from the limb. Jon Stone (consultant neurologist in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh) explains why from Sacks’s writing he thinks this was a case of functional paralysis, and why the account is so valuable.And progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: the rare but potentially fatal condition which can follow monoclonal antibody treatment. Dirk Mentzer (Department of Safety of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Germany) talks us through his new case definition, and offers some clinical advice.See also:‘A Leg to Stand On’ by Oliver Sacks: a unique autobiographical account of functional paralysis http://tinyurl.com/bc4oavvCase definition for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy following treatment with monoclonal antibodies http://tinyurl.com/aa2pmsqA poster presentation of the PML case definition http://tinyurl.com/b2db26e

Derick Wade (professor and consultant in neurological rehabilitation at the Oxford Centre for Enablement) and Nick Ward (JNNP associate editor and reader in clinical neurology at UCL) discuss the past, present and future of measuring and predicting recovery after stroke.And poor effort, exaggeration and malingering can be used to explain why individuals post-concussion report persistent symptoms inconsistent with the severity of their injury. However Jonathan Silver (clinical professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine) writes in August’s JNNP that social psychology and behavioural economics reveal other factors. Killian Welch (consultant neuropsychiatrist in Edinburgh, UK) discusses them with him.See also:Functional abilities after stroke: measurement, natural history and prognosis http://tinyurl.com/awo4hv5Effort, exaggeration and malingering after concussion http://tinyurl.com/a7tgcf2

Derick Wade (professor and consultant in neurological rehabilitation at the Oxford Centre for Enablement) and Nick Ward (JNNP associate editor and reader in clinical neurology at UCL) discuss the past, present and future of measuring and predicting recovery after stroke.And poor effort, exaggeration and malingering can be used to explain why individuals post-concussion report persistent symptoms inconsistent with the severity of their injury. However Jonathan Silver (clinical professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine) writes in August’s JNNP that social psychology and behavioural economics reveal other factors. Killian Welch (consultant neuropsychiatrist in Edinburgh, UK) discusses them with him.See also:Functional abilities after stroke: measurement, natural history and prognosis http://tinyurl.com/awo4hv5Effort, exaggeration and malingering after concussion http://tinyurl.com/a7tgcf2

Despite current standard care for glioblastoma being aggressive, mean survival is around 14 months. Clark Chen (director of Clinical Neuro-oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston) argues we need a better understanding of the therapeutic concepts that have evolved over the past three decades to develop treatment, and in a JNNP article this month he lays out seven of these key ideas. Peter Warnke (JNNP associate editor) discusses them with him.See also:Key concepts in glioblastoma therapy http://tinyurl.com/ao8g8m3

Despite current standard care for glioblastoma being aggressive, mean survival is around 14 months. Clark Chen (director of Clinical Neuro-oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston) argues we need a better understanding of the therapeutic concepts that have evolved over the past three decades to develop treatment, and in a JNNP article this month he lays out seven of these key ideas. Peter Warnke (JNNP associate editor) discusses them with him.See also:Key concepts in glioblastoma therapy http://tinyurl.com/ao8g8m3

This month, editor Matthew Kiernan discusses new guidelines for recognising central nervous system neuronal surface antibody associated symptoms with Angela Vincent (emeritus professor of neuroimmunology at Oxford University).Danielle Cath (psychiatrist at Altrecht Academic Anxiety Outpatients Clinics, Utrecht University) explains what her review of the relationship between obsessive compulsive disorder and movement disorders reveals.And Charles Warlow (emeritus professor of medical neurology at the University of Edinburgh) looks back on his highly cited 1988 paper on incidence, outcome and type of stroke in Oxfordshire.See also:Central nervous system neuronal surface antibody associated syndromes: review and guidelines for recognition http://tinyurl.com/avn64slRelationship between movement disorders and obsessive–compulsive disorder: beyond the obsessive–compulsive–tic phenotype. A systematic review http://tinyurl.com/b8vk32gA prospective study of acute cerebrovascular disease in the community: the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project, 1981–86 http://tinyurl.com/ax26xlk