[Neurogeriatrics--a new chapter in clinical neuropathology].

An analysis is presented of age-related changes of the nervous system in the course of aging and their role in the development and course of age-dependent diseases, primarily, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, parkinsonism, osteochondrosis etc. in the elderly and old. Practical physicians have to pay attention to the peculiarities of clinical symptomatology, diagnosis, treatment and secondary prophylaxis of nervous system diseases in the elderly and old.

[The dynamics of the cerebral circulation and of brain functional activity in patients with initial atherosclerotic encephalopathy under the influence of a single intravenous administration of sermion].

The efficacy of sermion was studied in 41 patients of the middle and elderly ages. The reactive changes in the parameters of the cerebral circulation (the frontomastoidal RhEG), total hemodynamics, frequency-integration characteristics of EEG and visual evoked potentials at the administration of 2 mg and 4 mg of sermion were shown. There are given recommendations for the differential approach to the choice of the drug doses in the elderly persons taking into consideration the parameters of the background reactivity of the CNS and the state of vascular regulation.

[Age-related features of the functional state of the brain in patients with circulatory encephalopathy].

Complex clinico-physiological examinations was performed in 300 patients of middle and old ages with early and pronounced dyscirculatory encephalopathy of atherosclerotic and, in most cases, hypertensive etiologies. The cerebral hemodynamics was found to be relatively independent of the central one in patients with early atherosclerotic encephalopathy; the level of the systemic circulation and that of the median regional cerebral flow were found to correlate in early and advanced hypertensive encephalopathy cases. The cerebral function was shown to be more associated with the cerebral flow in the early encephalopathy in elderly patients than in middle-aged ones.

[Sermion treatment of middle-aged and elderly patients with initial atherosclerotic encephalopathy].

The authors report results of a clinico-physiological study of the efficacy of a vasoactive agent sermion in patients with initial atherosclerotic encephalopathy indicating a positive effect of course treatment with this agent on the main clinical manifestations of the disease, pulse blood filling, bioelectric activity of the brain, psychomotor rate, mental working capacity, mnemonic function. Considering the established age-related differences in the efficacy of the agent, it is expedient to recommend sermion for long-term employment in the elderly. One should be cautious in instituting the drug in persons suffering of raised intraocular pressure.

[Initial dyscirculatory encephalopathy in middle-aged and elderly patients (problems of early diagnosis and therapy)].

Combined clinicophysiological investigation was performed in IDE (195 patients) in order to assess the degree of cerebral circulation disorders and their impact on the levels of brain functional activity. The informative values of several quantitative indices of brain hemodynamics and neurodynamics were assessed with respect to the patients' age. Single administration and full course of cavinton and sermion (nicergoline) were effective as judged by cerebral circulation studies (133Xe clearance), brain bioelectric activity (EEG frequency integration analysis, visual evoked potentials).