A Quantitative, Digital Method to Analyze Human Figure Drawings as a Tool to Assess Body Representations Distortions in Stroke Patients.

Objective: Human figure drawings are widely used in clinical practice as a qualitative indication of Body Representations (BRs) alterations in stroke patients. The objective of this study is to present and validate the use of a new app called QDraw for the quantitative analysis of drawings and to investigate whether this analysis can reveal distortions of BRs in chronic stroke patients.

Results: QDraw has proven to generate reliable data as compared to manual scoring and in terms of inter-rater reliability, as shown by the high correlation coefficients.

A progranulin mutation associated with cortico-basal syndrome in an Italian family expressing different phenotypes of fronto-temporal lobar degeneration.

Cortico-basal syndrome (CBS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterised by movement and cognitive disorders. It occurs along the spectrum of fronto-temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which also includes fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). FTLD has recently been shown to be associated with mutations in GRN gene, coding for progranulin, a multifunctional secreted glycoprotein involved in cell cycle, inflammation and tissue repair.

Post-anoxic vegetative state: imaging and prognostic perspectives.

Prognostic determination of patients in coma after resuscitation from cardiac arrest is a common and difficult requirement with significant ethical, social and legal implications. We set out to seek markers that can be used for the early detection of patients with a poor prognosis, so as to reduce uncertainty over treatment and non-treatment decisions, and to improve relationships with families. We reviewed the medical literature from 1991 to 2010, using key words such as post-anoxic coma, post-anoxic vegetative state, vegetative state prognosis, recovery after cardiac arrest.