Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Recurrent cerebellar ataxia following falciparum malaria(1996) Senanayake, N.; de Silva, H.J.Item Delayed cerebellar ataxia complication falciparum malaria - a clinical study of 74 patients(Springer-Verlag, 1994) Senanayake, N.; de Silva, H.J.We report the clinical features of 74 patients with delayed cerebellar ataxia (DCA) following falciparum malaria, who were prospectively followed up at two centres. This unusual complication has an acute onset, with signs suggesting a predominantly midline cerebellar lesion without any evidence of cerebral involvement. There was a delay of a median 13 days between the onset of fever and the onset of ataxia. DCA has a good prognosis, with spontaneous and complete recovery within 3 months. In our opinion, it is an example of a post-infective neurological syndrome possibly mediated via an immune mechanism.Item Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis: a delayed complication of organophosphorus poisoning?(SAGE Publishing, 1994) de Silva, H.J.; Shanmuganathan, P.; Senanayake, N.No Abstract AvailableItem Hypokalaemic periodic paralysis in central Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 1994) de Silva, H.J.; Senanayake, N.We describe 14 Sinhalese male patients with hypokalaemic periodic paralysis (HPP). The age at onset was between 10 and 32 years. Each paralytic episode lasted from 6 to 48 hours (except in one patient who had an attack lasting 5 days). The frequency of attacks varied from 8 to 10 per month in one patient to only 2 attacks over a period of 16 years in another. Four patients (28.6%) had a family history of the disease. Hypokalaemia (serum potassium 1.5 to 3 mmol/l) was documented during an attack in 11 patients. No cause for hypokalaemia was evident in any of them. Investigations including EMG, thyroid hormone level and skeletal muscle histology were within normal limits between episodes. All the patients responded well to treatment with potassium supplementation, alone or with acetazolamide.Item Absence of anti-Purkinje cell antibodies in patients with cerebellar ataxia following falciparum malaria(SEAMEO Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Project, 1994) de Silva, H.J.; Senanayake, N.Immunological mechanisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of delayed cerebellar ataxia following falciparum malaria (DCA). We tested serum and CSF samples obtained from 39 Sri Lankan patients with DCA for the presence of antibodies (Ab) directed against cerebellar Purkinje cells by an immunofluorescence (IF) technique and Western blot analysis. For the IF test 7 mu thick frozen sections of histologically normal cerebellum obtained at post mortem were used. Proteins obtained from crude preparations of Purkinje cells isolated from the cerebellum were used for Western blot analysis. Sera obtained from patients known to have antineuronal antibodies associated with cerebellar degenerations and paraneoplastic disorders (anti-Hu and anti-Yo Ab) and sera from normal blood donors served as positive and negative controls, respectively. All serum and CSF samples obtained from patients with DCA were negative for Ab directed against cerebellar Purkinje cells. Humoral mechanisms are, therefore, unlikely to be important in the pathogenesis of this delayed complication of falciparum malaria.Item Scale to assess severity in organophosphorus intoxication: POP scale(SAGE Publishing, 1993) Senanayake, N.; de Silva, H.J.; Karalliedde, L.A.We have developed a clinical scale to assess severity or organophosphorus (OP) intoxication. Five common clinical manifestations of OP poisoning have been selected as parameters, each to be assessed on a 3 point scale varying from 0-2. Poisoning can then be graded as mild (score 0-3), moderate (score 4-7) or severe (score 8-11) when the patient first presents. The scale was validated using two consecutive series of 173 patients with OP poisoning. Correlations between the scores obtained on admission and three outcome variables, namely, death, the need for ventilatory support and the dose of atropine required in the first 24 hours after admission were significant. We believe that this scale would assist in grading severity of OP intoxication at first contact and help in predicting possible outcome.Item Does pralidoxime affect outcome of management in acute organophosphorus poisoning?(Lancet Publishing Group, 1992) de Silva, H.J.; Wijewickrema, R.; Senanayake, N.Acute organophosphorus (OP) poisoning is usually treated with atropine plus cholinesterase reactivators such as oximes, but controlled trials to assess the efficacy of oximes in OP poisoning have not been done. A period when the acetyl cholinesterase reactivator pralidoxime chloride was not available in Sri Lanka gave us the opportunity to compare atropine alone for treatment of moderate to severe OP poisoning (21 patients) with atropine plus pralixodime (24 patients). Outcome, as assessed clinically, was similar in the two groups. These results cast doubt on the necessity of cholinesterase reactivators for treatment of acute OP poisoning.Item An Epidemiological study of delayed onset cerebellar ataxia complicating falciparum malaria(1992) de Silva, H.J.; de Silva, N.R.; Dunuwille, A.; Kandanarachchi, S.; Senanayake, N.