[Validation of the French language version of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire - PDQ-39].

After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most frequent degenerative disease of the central nervous system. The consequences of PD at the functional, social and emotional levels warrant a better understanding the patient's perceptions as measured using a specific instrument rather than restricting the medical approach to the clinical evaluation of the motor component. In 1996, we began implementation of a project to transculturally validate the single specific instrument that had been published and was available at that time: PDQ-39.

The long-term effectiveness of preventive strategies for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women: a modeling approach.

Based on data from the literature, we have developed a computer-based simulation model to compare the long-term effectiveness of different preventive strategies of osteoporotic fractures. The Markov model comprises 25 states, including states which describe women distributed according to three levels of fracture risk, fractures states, post-fracture states and a death state. We chose eight standard preventive strategies, which we compare with the 'No Treatment' reference strategy.

[Frequency and costs of hospital stays for hypoglycemia in France in 1995].

Objectives: Diabetes is a highly prevalent chronic disease causing serious complications. Hypoglycemia is the most frequent, the most serious, and the most feared by patients and families. Hospitalization may be necessary and can be costly.

Patterns of neuroleptic drug prescription: a national cross-sectional survey of a random sample of French psychiatrists.

Aims: To describe the psychiatric indications of neuroleptics (especially the relative share of schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders) and the usage patterns of these drugs (dose, duration, coprescriptions).

Methods: A one-day national cross-sectional survey in a random sample of 723 French psychiatrists was carried out in 1996. Each psychiatrist was asked to complete a standardized questionnaire for the first three patients seen the day of the survey to whom at least one neuroleptic was prescribed (initiated or renewed).

[Use of a structured diagnostic interview to identify depressive episodes in an epidemiologic study: a posteriori internal validation].

Background: During these last years, many structured and standardized diagnostic interviews have been developed in order to identify psychiatric disorders in a standardized way. These tools enable a systematic investigation of these disorders according to international classifications. Their main drawback is to be long.

[Economic comparison of olanzapine versus haloperidol in treatment of schizophrenia in France].

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide an economic comparison of olanzapine-treated and haloperidol-treated patients from the subset of French patients who participated in a large, international, randomised clinical trial in schizophrenia.

Methods: Patients were evaluated from randomisation until discontinuation, drop out or completion of the 52-week study. The primary clinical measure was "clinically important response" (derived from BPRS total scores).

[What is the meaning of "stabilization" in schizophrenic patients?].

Unlabelled: The notion of stabilization in schizophrenia has been investigated, in France, through a survey of 875 psychiatrists. This survey, which has been conducted on the 9th, 10th and 11th of December 1997, looked into the clinical, therapeutic and socio-demographic variables, and the means of patient management, which are used by psychiatrists to ascertain that their patients are stabilized. The data was collected by each psychiatrist by way of a questionnaire administered to his or her next three patients, either at the hospital or in private practice (2,464 questionnaires were completed).

Which patients receive antidepressants? A 'real world' telephone study.

Introduction: The use of antidepressants has been questioned with respect to both undertreatment and inadequate prescription. The present investigation was therefore launched to assess the psychopathology profiles of antidepressant users.

Methods: A representative sample was constituted on the basis of usual antidepressant consumption, and ICD 10 compatible diagnoses were obtained after telephone administration of a structured psychiatric interview.

[Pharmaco-epidemiologic study of the use of antidepressant drugs in the general population].

The objective of this study was to evaluate the mode of prescription and the users of antidepressant agents. It consisted of an initial phase (survey of the general population), aimed at selecting a representative sample of antidepressants users by a mail questionnaire, without asking prescribers in order to avoid the bias inherent to such an approach. Results showed a current incidence of use of 2.