Stress and dementia: the role of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis.

Hippocampus plays a crucial role in learning and memory and, in spite of its remarkable plasticity, it is also particularly sensitive to stress hormones due to its high concentration of corticosteroid receptors. Indeed, adrenal steroids modulate hippocampal plasticity, acting on excitability and long term potentiation or depression. By a chronobiological approach, we studied the cortisol and DHEAS secretion in clinically healthy old subjects and in age-matched demented patients, including both the degenerative and the vascular type.

Survival of 793 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosed over a 28-year period.

We reviewed retrospectively 793 consecutive patients discharged with ALS diagnosis between 1971 and 1998 to identify survival predictors. Vital status in July 2001 was known for all patients. Mean age at onset was 56 (SD 11.

Reliability of the El Escorial diagnostic criteria for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: The El Escorial diagnostic criteria are the most commonly used in clinical studies and therapeutic trials in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The accuracy of the El Escorial criteria was tested in clinical practice, but the reliability is unknown when the diagnosis of ALS must be assessed on the basis of medical records.

Objective: To assess the reliability of the El Escorial criteria for the diagnosis of ALS in different settings.