Immediate catheter removal after laparoscopic hysterectomy: A retrospective analysis.

Objectives: All patients undergoing a laparoscopic hysterectomy receive an indwelling catheter during surgery. The optimum timing of removal of the catheter is uncertain. A possible advantage of leaving the catheter in up to 12 h after surgery is to reduce the risk of urinary retention.

Rare urological manifestation of Henoch-Schönlein purpura: testicular torsion.

The Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a systemic vasculitis that mostly occurs in children. Besides the most common clinical manifestations such as palpable purpura, arthralgia, abdominal pain and renal disease, it can have urological manifestations. We report a rare case of a 2-year-old boy with the HSP who developed a testicular torsion under corticosteroid treatment.

Cognitive functioning in young and middle-aged unmedicated out-patients with major depression: testing the effort and cognitive speed hypotheses.

Background: Cognitive deficits are common in major depressive disorder, but their nature is unclear. The effort hypothesis states that performance on effortful tasks is disproportionately impaired compared with the performance on automatic tasks. The cognitive speed hypothesis states that depression is characterized by cognitive slowness, which is a source of cognitive dysfunctioning.

[Effects of emotion-oriented care on elderly people with cognitive impairment and behavioral problems in residential homes].

This study investigates the effects of emotion-oriented care on the behavior of elderly people with cognitive impairment and behavioral problems. This approach is mainly based on the validation approach, but uses also insights from other approaches like reminiscence and sensory stimulation. Sixteen homes for the aged with structured day care units were randomly allocated to an intervention or control group.

Cross-national comparisons of the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-revised: the CAMCOG-R: results from the European Harmonization Project for Instruments in Dementia.

Background: Transnational and psychometrically appropriate versions of instruments used in the diagnosis of dementia are essential for comparing information between different countries. The Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly incorporates a brief neuropsychological test battery, Cambridge Cognitive Examination (recently revised version), which provides objective data on performance across a number of cognitive domains.

Objective: To harmonise the Cambridge Cognitive Examination between seven European countries.

Salivary cortisol patterns and cognitive speed in major depression: a comparison with allergic rhinitis and healthy control subjects.

Few studies have investigated the relationship between cortisol and cognitive functions other than memory in depression. This study investigated daily salivary cortisol patterns (basal cortisol levels at 08:00, 16:00, and 21:00 h and flatness of the diurnal curve) in relation to cognitive speed and memory. Twenty-seven unmedicated outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) were compared with 36 healthy controls and with 20 allergic rhinitis patients, to determine whether effects should be ascribed to MDD or to more general disease-related processes.

Effects of emotion-oriented care on work-related outcomes of professional caregivers in homes for elderly persons.

Objectives: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on the effects of emotion-oriented care on professional caregivers in homes for elderly persons. Emotion-oriented care is used in the care for cognitively impaired elderly persons and is mainly based on the validation approach.

Methods: Sixteen homes for the aged were randomly allocated to an intervention or control group.

Effects of emotion-oriented care on elderly people with cognitive impairment and behavioral problems.

Objective: This study investigates the effects of emotion-oriented care on the behavior of elderly people with cognitive impairment and behavioral problems. This approach is mainly based on the validation approach, but also uses insights from other approaches like reminiscence and sensory stimulation.

Methods: 16 Homes for the aged with structured day care units were randomly allocated to an intervention or control group.

Test-retest stability of the behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome in a sample of psychiatric patients.

The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS) is a relatively new test battery designed to measure disorders of executive functions. We studied the temporal stability of the BADS in a sample of 22 adult psychiatric patients. All patients were administered the BADS twice with an interval of 3 weeks.

[Consensus on the concepts of cortical, subcortical and frontal dementia. Research by national and international dementia experts].

The level of agreement concerning the concepts cortical, subcortical and frontal dementia. The level of agreement between experts in the field of dementia concerning cortical, subcortical and frontal dementia was established. Nowadays these syndromes are implemented in clinical practice; the discussion about the validity and reliability of these concepts however has diminished.

CAMDEX, can it be more efficient? Observational study on the contribution of four screening measures to the diagnosis of dementia by a memory clinic team.

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of the CAMDEX by exploring the contribution of its four main screening measures to the diagnosis of dementia at a memory clinic.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on the diagnostic practice in a memory clinic regarding all consecutively referred patients who came for a first assessment. A standardised examination based on the CAMDEX included three cognitive tests (CAMCOG, MMSE, IMCT) and a test for functional competence (BDS).

Cognitive performance in relation to MRI temporal lobe volume in schizophrenic patients and healthy control subjects.

The aim of this study was to identify whether specific deficits in cognitive processing are present in schizophrenia and whether these are related to the volume of temporal and limbic structures. Twenty-seven schizophrenic outpatients were compared with 19 matched control subjects. Compared with control subjects, patients performed complex tasks disproportionately worse than they performed simple tasks.

Cognitive dysfunctions and white matter lesions in patients with bipolar disorder in remission.

Objective: To compare cognitive functioning in relation to white matter lesions in bipolar disorder in remission and schizophrenia.

Method: Cognitive performance and the occurrence of white matter lesions on MRI images of the brain were assessed in 22 patients with bipolar disorder in remission, 22 patients with schizophrenia and 22 healthy volunteers.

Results: Performance of tests of memory, speed and cognitive flexibility was significantly impaired in both patient groups.

The behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome as a tool to assess executive functions in schizophrenia.

Recent research into the cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia has focused on executive deficits. This study investigates performance of patients with schizophrenia on the recently developed Behavourial Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS). Matched groups of 24 patients with schizophrenia and 17 healthy volunteers were administered the BADS, the Modified Card Sorting Test (MCST), the Tower of London (TOL), a test of general intelligence, and measures of daily functioning.

Normal cognitive performance in patients with chronic alcoholism in contrast to patients with Korsakoff's syndrome.

This study investigated which cognitive deficits are associated with chronic alcoholism. Neuropsychological profiles and MRI brain structure volumes of 14 patients with Korsakoff's syndrome, 15 patients with chronic alcoholism, and 16 healthy control subjects were compared. The patients with alcoholism had a normal cognitive performance and normal brain structure volumes.

The interview for deterioration in daily living activities in dementia: agreement between primary and secondary caregivers.

Inability to perform activities of daily life is inherent to dementia and an essential component of its severity. Examination of this disability is crucial for diagnosis, management of the patient and family, and evaluation of treatment effects. To examine everyday disability in community-dwelling patients with mild dementia, we developed the Interview for Deterioration in Daily living Activities in Dementia (IDDD) at the memory clinic of the Academic Medical Center at Amsterdam.

Feasibility of cognitive screening of patients with ischaemic stroke using the CAMCOG. A hospital-based study.

Brief screening tests would be convenient for the measurement of cognitive impairment in stroke patients. In these patients aphasia can interfere with test procedures. To evaluate the feasibility of examining cognitive functions in stroke patients we examined 129 patients with an ischaemic stroke using the CAMCOG, a standardised neuropsychological screening test, after an interval of at least 3 months.

Are white matter lesions directly associated with cognitive impairment in patients with lacunar infarcts?

Forty-four patients (mean age 66, SD 8 years) with either clinical evidence of a focal lacunar syndrome (n = 36) or with disorders of memory or gait (n = 8) in the presence of a lacunar infarct on CT were studied for cognitive functioning and for the presence of white matter lesions on MRI. MR images were assessed by a neurologist and a neuroradiologist blinded to the clinical data. Thirty-six patients had one or more lacunar infarcts on CT or MRI (in the thalamus in 5, in the caudate nucleus in 3 and in the internal capsule or corona radiata in the remaining patients).

Presentation and course of AIDS dementia complex: 10 years of follow-up in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Objective: To assess the clinical presentation and course of the AIDS dementia complex (ADC).

Design: Retrospective study of a consecutive series of symptomatic HIV-1-infected patients [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stages IVA, B, C and D] evaluated for neurological symptoms between 1982 and 1992.

Setting: An academic referral centre for AIDS.

[An outpatient clinic for memory disorders; initial experiences].

The department of neurology of the Academisch Medisch Centrum started an outpatient memory clinic in 1987 for patients aged 65 and older. Its specific aims are: assessment of elderly patients with memory problems, treatment where appropriate, and advice; clinical research; teaching and training. The clinic has run full-time since 1990.

Hypertension in the elderly is associated with white matter lesions and cognitive decline.

Forty-two elderly patients (mean age, 66.2 +/- 5.1 yr) with hypertension, treated for an average of 17.

[CAMDEX-N: the Dutch version of the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly with automatic data processing].

In the study of dementia four distinct categories of instruments can be distinguished: instruments to examine cognitive dysfunction, to measure the severity of dementia, to assess disturbances in daily behaviour, and instruments to make a differential diagnosis of dementia. The Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly (CAMDEX), published in 1988, incorporates these four categories in a single comprehensive interview schedule. Items related to the diagnosis of clouded/delirious state, depression and other psychiatric symptoms are also included.

[Measurement of activities of daily living in patients with dementia living at home: development of a questionnaire].

In clinical practice and for scientific research a method is needed for the assessment of changes in functioning in daily life of dementia patients living at home. As existing methods have their limitations, a questionnaire was developed (the Interview for Deterioration in Daily life in Dementia: IDDD), to be answered by caregivers. The questionnaire concerns self-care and complex activities, that are usually performed by men as well as women.

Assessing the severity of dementia. Patient and caregiver.

In dementia there is cognitive impairment, disability in daily life, and sometimes behavioral disturbance. These changes are a burden for the caregivers of patients with dementia. Few studies are available that examine all these aspects and their interrelationships in a single patient group.