Attention deficits following ADEM ameliorated by guanfacine.
The authors report here the case of a patient with severe deficits in arousal and sustained attention, associated with hemispatial neglect. These impairments were secondary to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, with bilateral involvement of the medial nuclei and pulvinar of the thalamus. Treatment with the noradrenergic agonist guanfacine, previously used for attention deficits in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and stroke, was associated with a significant amelioration of both the spatial and sustained attention impairments in neglect. Guanfacine may prove to be a useful tool in the treatment of disorders of attention associated with neurological conditions.
Singh-Curry
Victoria
V
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
Malhotra
Paresh
P
Farmer
Simon F
SF
Husain
Masud
M
D058647:Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D004673:Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016316:Guanfacine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology
D058647:Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists; D016316:Guanfacine