We investigated a 69-year-old male with a clinical syndrome resembling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis characterized by fasciculation, wasting of the limb muscles and increased deep tendon reflexes in the lower limbs. Electromyographic (EMG) studies showed abundant positive sharp waves and fibrillation potentials with decreased recruitment in the limbs and paraspinal muscles. The patient recovered almost completely in approximately 1.5 years, and follow-up EMG studies showed no positive sharp waves or fibrillation potentials in the limb muscles except for some polyphasic motor units in the bilateral intrinsic hand muscles. No known systemic disease, malignancy or heavy metal intoxication was found during the course of his illness. So far, there are only few cases reported with spontaneous remission of motor neuron disease; however, the possibility should always be considered.
The treatment of dementia-related diseases is a global issue. Taiwan is facing a more serious dementia problem due to the combination of an aging society and a declining birthrate. A great portion of healthcare resources has been utilized for dementia among the aged population. In order to understand how dementia develops in rural areas in Taiwan, a cooperated effort between the university and a regional hospital was formed to develop a customized medical information system to collect and track dementia patients. This efficient customized system compiled information on 768 patients with dementia-released diseases. Big data technology and data mining approaches were then applied to analyze the relevant information. Using statistical analysis, we then extracted useful medical findings from the large amounts of collected medical data. Some of the findings indicate that the patients’ education level and care practices have a major effect on the dementia severity in these local senior populations.
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