Electrophysiological evidence for tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channels in slowly conducting dural sensory fibers.
(1/692)
A tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant sodium channel was recently identified that is expressed only in small diameter neurons of peripheral sensory ganglia. The peripheral axons of sensory neurons appear to lack this channel, but its presence has not been investigated in peripheral nerve endings, the site of sensory transduction in vivo. We investigated the effect of TTX on mechanoresponsiveness in nerve endings of sensory neurons that innervate the intracranial dura. Because the degree of TTX resistance of axonal branches could potentially be affected by factors other than channel subtype, the neurons were also tested for sensitivity to lidocaine, which blocks both TTX-sensitive and TTX-resistant sodium channels. Single-unit activity was recorded from dural afferent neurons in the trigeminal ganglion of urethan-anesthetized rats. Response thresholds to mechanical stimulation of the dura were determined with von Frey monofilaments while exposing the dura to progressively increasing concentrations of TTX or lidocaine. Neurons with slowly conducting axons were relatively resistant to TTX. Application of 1 microM TTX produced complete suppression of mechanoresponsiveness in all (11/11) fast A-delta units [conduction velocity (c.v.) 5-18 m/s] but only 50% (5/10) of slow A-delta units (1.5 +info)
Cardiovascular and neuronal responses to head stimulation reflect central sensitization and cutaneous allodynia in a rat model of migraine.
(2/692)
Reduction of the threshold of cardiovascular and neuronal responses to facial and intracranial stimulation reflects central sensitization and cutaneous allodynia in a rat model of migraine. Current theories propose that migraine pain is caused by chemical activation of meningeal perivascular fibers. We previously found that chemical irritation of the dura causes trigeminovascular fibers innervating the dura and central trigeminal neurons receiving convergent input from the dura and skin to respond to low-intensity mechanical and thermal stimuli that previously induced minimal or no responses. One conclusion of these studies was that when low- and high-intensity stimuli induce responses of similar magnitude in nociceptive neurons, low-intensity stimuli must be as painful as the high-intensity stimuli. The present study investigates in anesthetized rats the significance of the changes in the responses of central trigeminal neurons (i.e., in nucleus caudalis) by correlating them with the occurrence and type of the simultaneously recorded cardiovascular responses. Before chemical stimulation of the dura, simultaneous increases in neuronal firing rates and blood pressure were induced by dural indentation with forces >/= 2.35 g and by noxious cutaneous stimuli such as pinching the skin and warming > 46 degrees C. After chemical stimulation, similar neuronal responses and blood pressure increases were evoked by much smaller forces for dural indentation and by innocuous cutaneous stimuli such as brushing the skin and warming it to >/= 43 degrees C. The onsets of neuronal responses preceded the onsets of depressor responses by 1.7 s and pressor responses by 4.0 s. The duration of neuronal responses was 15 s, whereas the duration of depressor responses was shorter (5.8 s) and pressor responses longer (22.7 s) than the neuronal responses. We conclude that the facilitated cardiovascular and central trigeminal neuronal responses to innocuous stimulation of the skin indicate that when dural stimulation induces central sensitization, innocuous stimuli are as nociceptive as noxious stimuli had been before dural stimulation and that a similar process might occur during the development of cutaneous allodynia during migraine. (+info)
Dural arteriovenous fistula of the cervical spine presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage.
(3/692)
We describe a case of dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The diagnosis of DAVF was based on spinal angiography. A review of the literature revealed that five of 13 previously reported DAVFs of the cervical spine were accompanied by SAH. SAH has not been observed in DAVFs involving other segments of the spinal canal. (+info)
Nocardia osteomyelitis in a pachymeningitis patient: an example of a difficult case to treat with antimicrobial agents.
(4/692)
Antimicrobial agents played a miraculous role in the treatment of bacterial infections until resistant bacteria became widespread. Besides antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, many factors can influence the cure of infection. Nocardia infection may be a good example which is difficult to cure with antimicrobial agents alone. A 66-year-old man developed soft tissue infection of the right buttock and thigh. He was given prednisolone and azathioprine for pachymeningitis 3 months prior to admission. Despite surgical and antimicrobial treatment (sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim), the infection spread to the femur and osteomyelitis developed. The case showed that treatment of bacterial infection is not always as successful as was once thought because recent isolates of bacteria are more often resistant to various antimicrobial agents, intracellular parasites are difficult to eliminate even with the active drug in vitro, and infections in some sites such as bone are refractory to treatment especially when the patient is in a compromised state. In conclusion, for the treatment of infections, clinicians need to rely on laboratory tests more than before and have to consider the influence of various host factors. (+info)
Ruptured aneurysm of the orbitofrontal artery associated with dural arteriovenous malformation in the anterior cranial fossa--case report.
(5/692)
A 27-year-old male presented with a rare association of a ruptured orbitofrontal artery aneurysm and a dural arteriovenous malformation (DAVM) fed by both ethmoidal arteries, manifestation as severe headache, nausea, and vomiting. Computed tomography revealed a hematoma within the right frontal lobe and diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage. The aneurysm was clipped successfully and the hematoma was evacuated. After an uneventful postoperative course, the patient was referred for gamma knife radiosurgery to treat the DAVM. In this case, the DAVM was asymptomatic and pathogenetically unrelated to the aneurysm, which demanded urgent treatment. (+info)
Dural vasodilation causes a sensitization of rat caudal trigeminal neurones in vivo that is blocked by a 5-HT1B/1D agonist.
(6/692)
1. Migraine headache pain is thought to result from an abnormal distention of intracranial, extracerebral blood vessels and the consequent activation of the trigeminal nervous system. Migraine is also often accompanied by extracranial sensory disturbances from facial tissues. These experiments investigate whether meningeal dilation produces central sensitization of neurones that receive convergent input from the face. 2. Single unit extracellular activity was recorded from the trigeminal nucleus caudalis of anaesthetized rats in response to either noxious stimulation of the dura mater, innocuous stimulation of the vibrissae or to a transient dilation of the meningeal vascular bed. 3. Rat alpha-CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide; 1 microg kg(-1), i.v.) caused a dilation of the middle meningeal artery and facilitated vibrissal responses by 36+/-7%. 4. The 5-HT1B/1D agonist, L-741,604 (3 mg kg(-1), i.v.), inhibited responses to noxious stimulation of the dura mater (16+/-7% of control) and, in a separate group of animals, blocked the CGRP-evoked facilitation of vibrissal responses. 5. L-741,604 (3 mg kg(-1), i.v.) also inhibited responses to innocuous stimulation of the vibrissa (14+/-10% of control) with neurones that received convergent input from the face and from the dura mater, but not with cells that received input only from the face (70+/-12% of control). 6. These data show that dilation of meningeal blood vessels causes a sensitization of central trigeminal neurones and a facilitation of facial sensory processing which was blocked by activation of pre-synaptic 5-HT1B/1D receptors. 7. Sustained dural blood vessel dilation during migraine may cause a sensitization of trigeminal neurones. This may underlie some of the symptoms of migraine, such as the headache pain and the extracranial allodynia. Inhibition of this central sensitization may therefore offer a novel strategy for the development of acute and/or prophylactic anti-migraine therapies. (+info)
Application of a rheolytic thrombectomy device in the treatment of dural sinus thrombosis: a new technique.
(7/692)
We present a novel application of a transvascular rheolytic thrombectomy system in the treatment of symptomatic dural sinus thrombosis in a 54-year-old woman with somnolence and left-sided weakness. The diagnosis of bilateral transverse and superior sagittal sinus thrombosis was made and the patient was treated with anticoagulant therapy. After an initial period of improvement, she became comatose and hemiplegic 8 days after presentation. After excluding intracerebral hemorrhage by MR imaging, we performed angiography and transfemoral venous thrombolysis with a hydrodynamic thrombectomy catheter, followed by intrasinus urokinase thrombolytic therapy over the course of 2 days. This technique resulted in dramatic sinus thrombolysis and near total neurologic recovery. Six months after treatment, the patient showed mild cognitive impairment and no focal neurologic deficit. Our preliminary experience suggests that this technique may play a significant role in the endovascular treatment of this potentially devastating disease. (+info)
MR of CNS sarcoidosis: correlation of imaging features to clinical symptoms and response to treatment.
(8/692)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic systemic granulomatous disease, recognized in a patient when clinical and radiologic findings are confirmed by histopathologic analysis. The objective was to identify a relationship between MR imaging and clinical findings in CNS sarcoidosis. METHODS: The clinical charts of 461 patients with biopsy-proved sarcoidosis were reviewed retrospectively. Criteria for including patients in the study included those with symptoms referable to the CNS, excluding those with another explanation for their symptoms, those with headaches or other subjective complaints without accompanying objective findings, and those with peripheral neuropathy other than cranial nerve involvement or myopathy without CNS manifestations. Thirty-four of 38 patients whose conditions met the criteria for CNS sarcoidosis underwent a total of 82 MR examinations. The positive imaging findings were divided into categories as follows: pachymeningeal, leptomeningeal, nonenhancing brain parenchymal, enhancing brain parenchymal, cranial nerve, and spinal cord and nerve root involvement. Treatment response, clinical symptomatology, and any available histopathologic studies were analyzed with respect to imaging manifestations in each of the categories. RESULTS: Eighty-two percent of the patients with sarcoidosis with neurologic symptoms referable to the CNS had findings revealed by MR imaging. However, eight (40%) of 20 cranial nerve deficits seen at clinical examination of 13 patients were not seen at contrast-enhanced MR imaging, and 50% of the patients with symptoms referable to the pituitary axis had no abnormal findings on routine contrast-enhanced MR images. In contradistinction, 44% of 18 cranial nerves in nine patients with MR evidence of involvement had no symptoms referable to the involved cranial nerve. Clinical and radiologic deterioration occurred more commonly with leptomeningeal and enhancing brain parenchymal lesions. CONCLUSION: MR imaging can be used to confirm clinical suspicion and to show subclinical disease and the response of pathologic lesions to treatment. (+info)