Kurume University

Foix-Alajouanine syndrome (FAS) is a subacute, progressive spinal cord disorder that usually shows abnormalities on spinal cord MRI. Here, the authors report a case of FAS that showed no abnormalities on MRI and was treated.

A 64-year-old woman presented with progressive spinal cord damage in both lower limbs. Repeated hospitalizations for neurological examinations revealed no obvious abnormalities. MRI showed no obvious abnormalities, but angiography suggested a ventral arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in the thoracic spinal cord. A microcatheter confirmed the diagnosis of perimedullary AVF, and shunt occlusion was performed using a combination of a microscope and an oblique endoscope. After surgery, symptoms were mildly alleviated and progression was halted.

In patients with progressive FAS, spinal vascular disease should be investigated even if MRI findings are normal. In addition, combined endoscopic surgery is a promising tool for treating perimedullary AVFs in the ventral thoracic spinal cord.https://thejns.org/doi/10.3171/CASE25864

The present study investigated spousal interdependencies in well-being and the sources of these interdependencies among Americans and Japanese. We collected high-powered three-wave longitudinal and cross-sectional data from a wide age range of participants ( N s = 3,012 American couples aged 26–96 and 2,307 Japanese couples aged 24–76) and assessed a variety of well-being measures. Study 1 replicated previous findings that American spouses’ well-being was positively associated with each other. Studies 2a and 2b generalized the findings of Study 1 to Japanese spouses. Both Studies 1 and 2b showed conflicting results: There were effects of mutual influence and shared environmental factors’ influences on American and Japanese spouses’ well-being in a longitudinal actor-partner interdependence model when using the cross-lagged panel model, but not when using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model. These findings illustrate that the interdependent nature of well-being is an essential feature of American and Japanese married couples.