Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
In the past, neuropathic pain in patients with diabetes has been largely attributed to hyperexcitability of peripheral nerves, but a key role for central mechanisms has emerged from studies conducted over the past 5 years. In this article, Fischer and Waxman discuss findings that implicate thalamic neurons in the central generation and amplification of pain in diabetes.
Activated microglia are a feature of many neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer disease. Conflicting results exist, however, for the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs in such conditions. In this article, Schwartz and Shechter propose a model that describes the complexities of the immune response in neurodegenerative diseases and offer an explanation for why such drugs have so far yielded inconsistent data in this setting.
Practicing clinicians can experience difficulty in differentiating between Parkinson disease and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus. In this article, Morishita and colleagues consider the clinical features that might differentiate Parkinson disease from idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, and highlight the usefulness of the levodopa challenge test in distinguishing between these two conditions.
