Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We examined CSF copper and zinc concentrations in 30 children with acute febrile illness and meningism (control group) and in 37 patients with shortlasting seizures, febrile or not, and acute viral meningitis. The trace elements were quantitatively measured by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. 1. It was shown that the concentrations of copper and zinc in CSF remain constant during childhood.--2. No increase could be found in the concentrations of copper and zinc in CSF caused by the neurological diseases of our patients. These data suggest that permanent cerebral lesions as a consequence of shortlasting seizures and viral meningitis would be very unlikely and that a transient dysfunction of metabolism does not liberate copper- and zinc-metallo-proteins in CSF. 3. There was no correlation between the protein concentration in CSF and copper and zinc concentrations in CSF.
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PMID:[Copper and zinc in cerebrospinal fluid of children with neurological diseases (author's transl)]. 73 23

The diagnosis of bacterial meningitis can be difficult nowadays when antibiotics are freely used in infants and children with fever due to infection, so that a positive smear or culture may be difficult to achieve. In areas where sophisticated methods of diagnosis may be hard to come by, the simple procedure of simultaneously estimating the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose levels may be helpful in distinguishing bacterial meningitis from viral meningitis. 74 proven cases of bacterial meningitis and aseptic meningitis were investigated prior to treatment. There were 36 cases of bacterial meningitis and 38 cases of aseptic meningitis. The CSF glucose/plasma glucose ratio was calculated for each patient. The cases were divided into two groups; Group A with CSF glucose/plasma glucose ratio of (0.38-2.0) and Group B with CSF glucose/plasma glucose ratio of (0.1-0.35). In Group A, two out of 59 cases died while in Group B, nine out of 15 died (p < 0.01). 44 out of 59 in Group A recovered fully while only two out of 15 in Group B were cured (p < 0.01). It was also found that 54.2% in Group A were admitted in deep coma compared with 86.7% in Group B (p < 0.05) and 25.4% in Group A were admitted with seizures while 66.7% in Group B had convulsion (p < 0.01). Hence, a low CSF glucose/plasma glucose ratio was associated with a poor outcome. The mechanisms responsible for these findings are discussed especially with reference to the blood-brain barrier (BBB).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The use of blood glucose/cerebrospinal fluid glucose ratio in the diagnosis of central nervous system infection in infants and children. 130 60

In prospective studies, tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha) was detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 33 of 38 children with bacterial meningitis (BM) but in none of 15 with viral meningitis/encephalitis (P less than .001). BM CSF TNF alpha (less than 35 to greater than 25,500 pg/ml) correlated with CSF bacterial density (P less than .01), CSF protein (P less than .001), endotoxin (LPS) in gram-negative disease (P less than .01), and consecutive febrile hospital days (P less than .001); initial CSF TNF alpha greater than 1000 pg/ml was associated with seizures (P less than .05). Only 5 children with BM (13%) had detectable plasma TNF alpha activity on admission. A higher proportion who died had detectable plasma TNF alpha activity compared with survivors (3/4 vs. 2/34, P less than .005). Platelet-activating factor (PAF) in CSF was higher in 19 children with Haemophilus influenzae meningitis than in 17 controls (P less than .01) and correlated with bacterial density (P less than .01), CSF LPS (P less than .01), CSF TNF alpha levels (P less than .01), and the Herson-Todd severity score (P less than .01). Elevated CSF TNF alpha and PAF are often present in children with BM and are associated with seizures and severity of disease. Detectable CSF TNF alpha appears to distinguish BM from viral meningitis.
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PMID:Cerebrospinal fluid cachectin/tumor necrosis factor-alpha and platelet-activating factor concentrations and severity of bacterial meningitis in children. 201 66

Both viral meningitis and encephalitis in infants and children give clinical features of various severity. The mechanism of viral encephalitis varies from CNS cellular destruction, immune or oedematous process. The clinical and EEG features of herpes encephalitis in the child are usually well recognizable. CSF characteristics are important for differential diagnosis. Management therapy includes anti-oedema treatment, prevention or cure of seizures. Passive immunisation against rubella, rubeola and measles is the best prevention therapy for post-infectious encephalitis. Herpes encephalitis prognosis has improved with acyclovir therapy. In France, mortality due to post-infectious encephalitis is estimated below 5% and sequellae below 20%.
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PMID:[Acute viral meningitis and encephalitis in children]. 283 87

This study was conducted to demonstrate that experienced pediatricians using standard clinical indications for performing a lumbar puncture should have a higher yield of positive spinal taps than previously reported and also can detect bacterial meningitis. These indicators included temperature elevation, inability to be consoled, level of alertness, nuchal rigidity, bulging fontanel, decreased appetite, rash, referral, and febrile seizures. Eighty-two of 381 (22%) lumbar punctures were positive for pleocytosis and/or organisms. Patients were divided into two groups, consisting of those with one indicator (low risk) and those with greater than one indicator (high risk). Thirteen of 14 patients with bacterial meningitis were placed in the high risk group. The single patient in the low risk group had been pretreated with antibiotics. The positive predictive value in bacterial meningitis for a score greater than one was 5%. The average number of clinical indicators in bacterial meningitis was 3.7, versus 2.4 in viral meningitis and 1.6 without meningitis. These findings suggest that, in the absence of prior antibiotic therapy, an experienced pediatrician can clinically detect patients at high risk for bacterial meningitis. Nonbacterial meningitis cannot be as readily detected clinically.
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PMID:Clinical indicators for lumbar puncture. 336 36

We report the data of 878 selected children between 1 month and 6 years, presenting a first episode of seizure with fever. Two-hundred-fifty-five children underwent lumbar puncture. In 7 cases the CSF findings showed a bacterial meningitis, in 14 cases a viral meningitis. In 598 of the 623 children who did not undergo LP, a bacterial meningitis could be excluded on the basis of the clinical course. The data show that the probability of finding a bacterial or viral meningitis is high in children under 6 months of age even if no significant neurological signs are found on examination performed shortly after the seizure. In our study, older children affected by bacterial meningitis were clinically identifiable. In children aged 6 months to 3 years without important neurological signs, a complex seizure has been found to be a significant discriminating factor between patients with and without viral meningitis.
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PMID:Lumbar puncture and febrile convulsions. 372 92

Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was determined in 53 patients with neurological diseases as follows: Epilepsy (n:17), febrile convulsions (n:3), meningoencephalitis (n:17), encephalopathies (n:10), CNS leukemia (n:3), congenital hydrocephalus (n:2) and pseudoileus neonatorum (n:1). Compared with the mean normal value (5.2 +/- 2.5 pmol CO2 formed/hr/ml) reported in Part I, a significant increase of GAD activity in CSF was demonstrated in patients with uncontrolled epileptic seizures (11.4 +/- 3.9 pmol CO2 formed/hr/ml), febrile convulsions (13.5 +/- 8.7), viral meningitis with or without encephalitis (20.3 +/- 13.6), encephalopathies (30.0 +/- 25.9), CNS leukemia (11.1 +/- 5.0), congenital hydrocephalus (20.5 +/- 7.3) and pseudoileus neonatorum (28.6). Markedly high GAD activity was found in patients with CNS leukemia several days after intrathecal injection of methotrexate (39.8 +/- 18.0). On the other hand, significantly low GAD activity was shown in patients with bacterial meningitis or brain abscess (1.3 +/- 1.2). This suggests that some bacterial factors may be inhibitory toward GAD activity in CSF. High GAD activity in CSF may be useful as an indicator of aseptic brain dysfunction, although it was not always correlated with the severity of symptoms.
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PMID:Glutamic acid decarboxylase in cerebrospinal fluid in infancy and childhood Part II. Glutamic acid decarboxylase activity in cerebrospinal fluid of children with neurological diseases. 666 Apr 21

Lactic acid concentration has been determined in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 715 patients suffering from various neurological diseases. It was found to be most often elevated in cases of ischemic cerebral infarction, cerebral contusion, arteriosclerotic dementia, metastatic encephalitis, bacterial meningitis, menigiosis carcinomatosa and after epileptic seizures. In fewer cases lactate levels were increased with brain tumors, encephalitis, viral meningitis and radiculitis. Diagnostic relevance of CSF lactic acid determination is discussed with regard to ischemic cerebral disorders, differential diagnosis of viral and bacterial meningitis and for the confirmation of epileptic seizures.
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PMID:[Importance of cerebrospinal fluid lactate determination in neurological diseases]. 686 67

We reviewed retrospectively the clinical records, autopsy protocols and central nervous system tissue sections of 50 patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation for end-stage liver disease between 12/83 and 8/93. The postoperative survival period ranged from hours (6), weeks (17), months (17), to years (10). All patients received immunosuppressive drugs from the immediate postoperative period to the time of their death (cyclosporine, steroids; occasionally azathioprine, OKT3, FK506). Nineteen patients had neurological manifestations (hepatic encephalopathy) prior to surgery. Post-transplant neurologic signs and symptoms included: hepatic encephalopathy/altered mental status (11), focal or generalized seizures (9) and stroke (2). In the majority of cases (37) the cause of death was septicemia and/or bleeding diathesis. The neuropathologic findings present in 36 patients could be classified into 3 distinct categories: metabolic disorders: hepatic/anoxic encephalopathy, central pontine myelinolysis (15); cerebrovascular disease: subarachnoid and/or intracerebral hemorrhage, bland or hemorrhagic infarction (23); and infection: bacterial meningitis/cerebritis, multifocal fungal microabscesses, presumptive viral meningitis/encephalomyelitis (10). In conclusion, 72% of 50 patients who came to autopsy after liver transplantation were found to have neuropathologic abnormalities; these abnormalities were predominantly infections and vascular diseases.
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PMID:Neuropathology of liver transplantation. 760 96

In Part I of this article, we present our data collected over the past 8 years on the clinical evaluations of pediatric brain tumors with an emphasis placed on the more common neoplasms. Our data consists of 385 children ranging in age from newborn to 18 years. The majority of children presented with signs of raised intracranial pressure (including nausea, vomiting, and headaches), seizures or other focal neurologic deficits. Five percent of our children presented to outlying hospitals with symptoms that retrospectively turned out to be due to brain neoplasms but were misdiagnosed as "gastroenteritis," "viral upper respiratory tract infection," or even viral meningitis. These delays in diagnosis can cause serious negative outcomes for these patients and can be avoided through more careful neurologic and ophthalmologic examination at the time of first presentation. Central nervous system neoplasms are not uncommon in children and any child presenting with nausea, vomiting, and headaches should raise the suspicion of a primary brain tumor and should receive both a thorough neurologic exam and screening for papilledema. If papilledema is present, these children should be referred for proper neuroradiologic evaluation (which will be addressed in Part II.
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PMID:The clinical and radiological evaluation of primary brain tumors in children, Part I: Clinical evaluation. 836 34


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