[Self-evaluation of physical, cognitive and mood symptoms in a cohort of traumatic and vascular brain injury patients participating in social and neuropsychological remediation programmes].

Introduction: We studied 23 vascular or traumatic head injury subjects, five years after their injury.

Methods: Neuropsychological testing included language tests, memory performance, frontal lobe tests and standard tests of intelligence (QI). Behavior was evaluated with the neuropsychiatric interview (NPI).

Rating of different olfactory judgements in Alzheimer's disease.

Using simple successive tasks we assessed the influence of Alzheimer's disease on the processing of different odours. Fifteen patients with Alzheimer's disease, 15 old control subjects and 15 young control subjects were tested. The experiment included two sessions.

The relation of putamen and caudate nucleus 18F-Dopa uptake to motor and cognitive performances in Parkinson's disease.

The contribution of striatal (caudate nucleus-putamen) dopaminergic deficiency to the severity of motor signs is well established in Parkinson's disease (PD), while its role in the occurrence of cognitive and mood changes remains unresolved. We therefore measured in 27 non-demented PD patients and 10 age-matched controls striatal uptake of [18F]-6-fluoro-L-Dopa (F-Dopa) with PET, and mood (Beck depression), memory (Grober-Buschke), frontal executive functions (verbal fluency and Wisconsin card sorting), and attentional processing of sensory stimuli (N2-P3 auditory event-related potentials--ERPs). Locomotor disability of patients was assessed by Hoehn and Yahr score and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS).

[Rehabilitation of memory: strategies, indications and limits].

The rehabilitation of memory must be defined in terms of patient selection, therapist support and techniques as accurately as for language therapy. Three objectives can be offered for organic amnesia: reorganizing the memory by using alternative intact routes; working with remaining intact memory as the implicit focus, modification of surroundings with 'mnemonics protheses' such as a diary, alarms. The approach must be cognitive for the theoretical support of therapists, but also pragmatic to respect the patient's needs and wishes in the context of family and job.

[Group memory therapy in neurologic amnesia].

The aim of our approach was to improve the memory of head injured memory impaired people without associated intellectual deterioration. Subjects participated in group each weekday during ten weeks. The aim of strategies was to help the patient of recovery learning strategies.

[Visuo-constructional disorders and alexia-agraphia associated with posterior cortical atrophy].

A 57 year-old woman developed a slowly progressive environmental agnosia and dressing apraxia without disturbances of language, memory, orientation and social activities. Two years later, alexia, agraphia, visual agnosia, constructional apraxia, simultagnosia and imitation apraxia of nonsymbolic gestures were also noted. Ophthalmic examination demonstrated a left inferior quadranopsia.