Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is an important cause of seizures. With the discovery of highly specific neuronal antibodies the recognition of the clinical syndrome associated with each marker is crucial to the right diagnosis and treatment regime. In this short review, we summarize the importance of CASPR2 antibodies in unknown etiology seizures and their epileptogenesis.

Ménières disease (also known as Ménières vertigo) is a condition characterized by disabling recurrent vertigo, sensorineural hearing loss, otic fullness, and tinnitus. There are various treatments to manage this entity, however, in certain cases, the lack of improvement with less aggressive strategies and the great impact on the quality of life of the patient requires radical procedures such as vestibular neurectomy. By means of a lateral suboccipital approach (retrosigmoid craniectomy) the best exposure of the vestibular nerve, its selective isolation and section is obtained, also allowing to preserve hearing and the entire facial nerve supported with neurophysiological monitoring techniques.

Intradural disc herniation is a rare entity, representing between 0.26% and 0.30% of all herniated discs. 92% of cases occur in the lumbar spine, more frequent at the L4-L5 level. The diagnostic and therapeutic conduct performed in a 61-year-old male patient who came to the office with a one-year and six-month history of dorsolumbar pain is described, accompanied by sensory alterations in the lower limbs. In view of the exacerbation of symptoms, a simple magnetic resonance study was performed, observing an intraspinal, intradural, extramedullary lesion at the D12-L1 space. An intradural disc herniation is suspected. After being evaluated the case in the group of Neurosurgeons (Group of Spinal Surgery) of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Havana, it is proposed to carry out surgical treatment, which consisted of the extraction with microsurgical technique of the Herniated disc, preserving the vertebral anatomy through the laminoplasty technique, an open book variant. The patient evolved satisfactorily after three months of follow-up. It is concluded that intradural disc herniation should be included among intradural, extraxial lesions of the spine. By means of the magnetic resonance study, a group of imaging signs that support the preoperative diagnosis of this lesion can be described. Surgery is the definitive therapeutic method and allows an accurate diagnosis of spinal herniation to be established.

Sigma receptors are widespread in the central nervous system and are differentiated in two subtypes, sigma1 and sigma2. In particular, the sigma1 receptor subtype appears to be able to influence biological mechanisms connected with neuro-degeneration. Furthermore, several studies are implicating sigma1 receptor agonists within antidepressant activity. Evidence of prefrontal cortex abnormalities in clinically depressed subjects have been reported by several works and that monoamines such as serotonin and cathecolamines can be involved in such malfunctions. Up to now the most of the preclinical work performed to analyze the influence of sigma1 receptor agonists upon catecholaminergic and serotoninergic activities in brain areas has been done by means of in vitro as well as ex vivo methodologies. Here, SA-4503, a selective sigma1 receptor agonist with potential antidepressant activity has been tested in vivo upon dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) levels detected by micro-dialysis in the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) of freely moving rats.

The aim of this study was to analyze the quality of life of drug users hospitalized for treatment through the SF-36. We executed a quantitative-descriptive and cross-sectional research. A total of 52 patients (47 men and 5 women) participated in this study. Our results showed low scores on the physical (M=60), (DP=17,23) and mental (M=49), (DP=17,63) concepts in the first application; however, they showed significant improvements in the second application (M=88.6), (DP=10,85) and (M=82.2), (DP=16,72), respectively. The physical functioning (M=69), (DP=18,05) and vitality (M=58.8), (DP=20,04) concept were highlighted with low initial scores. Nevertheless, significant statistical differences were observed at the end of the treatment: (M=95.3), (DP=9,54) and (M=86.8), (DP=13,58), respectively. We concluded that the therapeutic interventions conducted by the multidisciplinary team from the institution contributed to improving these patients’ quality of life perception, as well as cooperated to increase adherence to treatment.