Rapidly progressive dementia: causes found in a Greek tertiary referral center in Athens.

Dementia is generally considered as rapidly progressive [rapidly progressive dementia (RPD)], in cases with overt cognitive impairment, established within months. Data about the relative frequency of underlying diseases in cases of RPD are few and extremely variable, depending on the clinical setting. We examined the relative frequency of the underlying causes of RPD, in a university tertiary referral center, in Athens.

Relationship of CSF neurotransmitter metabolite levels to disease severity and disability in multiple sclerosis.

Axonal degeneration and brain tissue loss occur during disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) and are expected to influence neurotransmitter activities, with consequences on neurologic and psychiatric symptomatology. We searched for relationships of disease duration, disability, and severity of MS patients to CSF levels of the major metabolites of noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin, MHPG, methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), homovanillic acid, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), respectively, in 39 patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS in remission, and 26 patients with progressive (PR) MS. Disability and Disease Severity were assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS).