A young male admitted for dengue fever and systemic involvement developed ECG abnormalities on third day, in the form of prolonged QT interval and deep and symmetrical inversion of T wave. Echocardiography revealed akinesia of mid and apical segments and well contracting basal segments, typical of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy. These changes were transient and echocardiograp...

Saccadic eye tracking was studied in a monkey given i.v. injections of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). The Parkinson-like symptoms which appeared in the animal's general motor behavior (akinesia, bradykinesia, hypokinesia) were also observed in its eye tracking. Similar oculomotor deficits are seen in patients with idiopathic Parkinsonism. The MPTP model offers excellent po...

Tiapride, a substituted benzamide derivative closely related to metoclopramide, reduced levodopa-induced peak dose involuntary movements in 16 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. However, an unacceptable increase in disability from Parkinsonism with aggravation of end-of-dose akinesia led to its cessation in 14 patients. Tiapride had no effect on levodopa-induced early morning of "off...

Rigor, tremor, akinesia: The classic triad of symptoms of Parkinson's disease,which you can probably recite in your sleep. However, a tremor is also a symptom of several other disorders that are relevant in clinical practice. In the following article we discuss the most important differential diagnosis of tremor. By studying the many examples and tips in this article you will be perfectly prepa...

Fourteen slightly disabled patients with Parkinsonism were treated separately with benzhexol, amantadine, and levodopa. Benzhexol and amantadine both gave a 15% reduction in functional disability and levodopa a 36% reduction. Benzhexol lessened the rigidity and improved the flexion of posture of Parkinson's disease, but had little or no effect on akinesia and tremor. Amantadine and levodopa cau...

Zolpidem, an imidazopyridine hypnotic drug acting as a selective gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A agonist, has been reported to produce significant motor improvement in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, relevant reports are scarce. We report a patient with advanced PD who had had a unilateral pallidotomy, unilateral thalamotomy and bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of t...