Full Issue

The first issue of Volume 11 of the International Journal of Neurology (1976) was dedicated to the biochemical and metabolic approach to neurological diseases. It opened with an editorial introducing recent advances in understanding the biochemical mechanisms underlying neurological disorders and their therapeutic implications. The issue featured André Barbeau’s review of recent developments in Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s chorea, highlighting the biochemical and neurochemical insights that reshaped treatment strategies. John N. Cumings discussed how neurological diseases often reflect systemic metabolic disturbances, establishing links between general metabolism and brain pathology. Further studies included differential diagnostic methods for muscle glycogenoses (Tarui and Ikura), and therapeutic approaches to inborn errors of metabolism with neurological manifestations (Dekaban and Brady), emphasizing early biochemical diagnosis and enzyme-targeted interventions. Okajima, Mishima, and Tokuomi presented a long-term follow-up of Minamata disease, a seminal work on methylmercury poisoning and its chronic neurological consequences. Keiya Tada analyzed the pathogenesis of mental retardation in amino acid disorders, integrating biochemical, enzymatic, and developmental factors. The issue concluded with John F. Fulton’s History of Medicine essay, “Historical Reflections on the Backgrounds of Neurophysiology”, and a section of news. This volume represented a pivotal moment in the journal’s evolution, illustrating the shift toward biochemical neurology—linking metabolic research, molecular pathology, and clinical neurology in the understanding and management of neurological diseases.