Optimizing odor identification testing as quick and accurate diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate odor identification testing as a quick, cheap, and reliable tool to identify PD.

Methods: Odor identification with the 16-item Sniffin' Sticks test (SS-16) was assessed in a total of 646 PD patients and 606 controls from three European centers (A, B, and C), as well as 75 patients with atypical parkinsonism or essential tremor and in a prospective cohort of 24 patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (center A). Reduced odor sets most discriminative for PD were determined in a discovery cohort derived from a random split of PD patients and controls from center A using L1-regularized logistic regression.

Impact of depression and anxiety on burden and management of episodic and chronic headaches - a cross-sectional multicentre study in eight Austrian headache centres.

Background: Recurrent and especially chronic headaches are associated with psychiatric comorbidities such as depression and anxiety. Only few studies examined the impact of depression and anxiety on episodic (EH) and chronic headache (CH), and data for Austria are missing at all. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the impact of depression and anxiety on burden and management of EH and CH in patients from eight Austrian headache centres.

Prevalence, management and burden of episodic and chronic headaches--a cross-sectional multicentre study in eight Austrian headache centres.

Background: Episodic and chronic headaches (EH, CH) are highly prevalent disorders. Severely affected patients are usually referred to headache centres. In Austria, at least one headache centre is available in seven of nine states, but detailed multicentre data are missing.

Memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease: an observational post-marketing study.

Memantine is an N-methyl-D: -aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, approved for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a 4-month observational, post-marketing, Austrian study of memantine in 377 outpatients with moderate to severe AD. In this 'real-life' setting, memantine was well-tolerated, and produced benefits in cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination), activities of daily living (Activities of Daily Living score), and global function (Clinical Global Impression scale).

[Transdermal rivastigmine patch in outpatient services in Austria: a naturalistic study in 103 patients with Alzheimer dementia].

We performed a 6-month open-label study on the use of the transdermal rivastigmine patch in clinical routine in 103 patients with Alzheimer's disease from 25 outpatient services in Austria. After baseline, safety and tolerability of the 10 cm2--rivastigmine patch was assessed at week 4, 12 and 24 in all patients. A Mini Mental State Examination was done at baseline and at week 12 and 24.