Demographic, clinical and electrophysiological findings of our GBS cases were highly similar to those of the previous reports. Two of our cases were presented with preceding tuberculosis infection, which was not reported before in the literature.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of the serum uric acid (UA) level with disease progression and L-Dopa treatment in PD (Parkinson's disease) patients. Serum UA levels of 80 consecutive PD patients were measured and were matched according to age and sex with 80 healthy controls. The patients were divided into two subgroups according to the pharmaceutical treatment received. First group consisted of patients treated with L-Dopa and a dopamine agonist and the second group consisted of patients treated only with a dopamine agonist. The patients were divided into two other subgroups according to Hoehn and Yahr scale. First group consisted of patients at the first two stages and the second group included patients at the third and upper stages. PD patients were found to have significantly lower levels of serum UA than controls (p = 0.000). Serum UA levels were lower in the group under L-Dopa + dopamine agonist treatment and in patients at third and upper Hoehn and Yahr stages than the patients under only dopamine agonist treatment and in the patients at the first two stages (p = 0.000 and p = 0.000). Multivariate logistic regression showed that advanced stages (OR 0.65, CI 0.50-0.79, p = 0.000) and L-Dopa treatment (OR 1.08, CI 1.03-1.16, p = 0.001) were independently associated with low UA levels. Our study supports that there is an inverse relation between UA levels and L-Dopa treatment and PD stages, and high serum UA levels may decrease the oxidative stress taking part in the pathogenesis of PD.

BACKGROUNDOrganization and management of neurological emergencies differs among hospitals. Some have specialized neurological emergency rooms (ER).OBJECTIVESThe purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics, diagnosis and outcome of patients referred to a specialized emergency neurology clinic.DESIGNProspective, observational study of consecutive patients presenting between March 2014 and July 2014.SETTINGNeurologicaler of a training and research neuropsychiatric hospital.PATIENTS AND METHODSPatients older than 16 years of age with a neurological complaint were assessed by neurological exam, laboratory and imaging tests including brain computed tomography (CT), brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cerebrospinal fluid analysis, electroencephalography or electromyography.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESTypes of diagnosis.RESULTSOf 4500 patients, 2602 (57.8%) were female, and the mean age was 49.2 (23.6) years. The most common symptom was headache, which presented in 30.8% of all patients. The three most common diagnoses after emergency work-up were headache (27.8%), stroke (20.6%) and peripheral vertigo (13%). In the ER, CT was performed on 65.5% of patients and MRI on 66.9%. After emergency work-up, 72.2% patients were discharged home.CONCLUSIONSNeurological diseases are common, with headache and cerebrovascular diseases being the most frequent diagnosis in this specialized ER. CT and MRI are most often used to diagnose or exclude neurological diseases. Many patients do not require immediate hospitalization. The two most frequent diagnoses for hospitalization were stroke and demyelinating disease.LIMITATIONSAbsence of follow up data on patients discharged home.

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Manganese toxicity, which may cause a distinctive irreversible neurodegenerative disorder, can be seen frequently with "Russian Cocktail" abuse, a substance which can be accessed very easily and at a low cost.