Cognitive Impairment in Late-Life Depression: A Comparative Study of Healthy Older People, Late-Life Depression, and Mild Alzheimer's Disease Using Multivariate Base Rates of Low Scores.

Late-Life Depression (LLD) is often associated with cognitive impairment. However, distinction between cognitive impairment due to LLD and those due to normal aging or mild Alzheimer's Disease (AD) remain difficult. The aim of this study was to present and compare the multivariate base rates of low scores in LLD, mild AD, and healthy control groups on a battery of neuropsychological tests.

The RAPID Neuropsychological Test Battery for Subjects Aged 50-89: From Norms to Cognitive Profile.

Background/aims: It is well established that healthy adults obtain low performances when simultaneously interpreting the results of multiple tests. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of French-speaking healthy older adults with low scores for the RAPID (Réseau d'Aide au diagnostic et à la PrIse en charge des Détériorations cognitives et de maladies neurologiques chroniques en Franche-Comté et au niveau national) battery test and consider different combinations of test scores within a specific domain and across different domains.

Methods: The prevalence of low scores (i.

Long-term cognitive outcome of Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies: dual disease is worse.

Background: Longitudinal studies of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are rare. Clinically, DLB is usually considered to worsen into Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of our study was to compare the rate of the cognitive decline in DLB, AD, and the association of the two diseases (AD + DLB).

Large oesophageal varice screening by a sequential algorithm using a cirrhosis blood test and optionally capsule endoscopy.

Background & Aims: Large oesophageal varice (LEV) screening is recommended in cirrhosis. We performed a prospective study to improve non-invasive LEV screening.

Design: 287 patients with cirrhosis had upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (LEV reference), oesophageal capsule endoscopy (ECE), liver elastography and blood marker analyses.

Mnesic Profiles According to the Size of Pericerebral Hematoma in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: The study aims to assess mnesic performances of patients, following a head injury with pericerebral hematoma, according to the size of the hematoma.

Methods: Cognitive performances of a group of 25 patients with large (≥10 mm) pericerebral hematomas were compared with those of a matched group of 25 patients with small (<10 mm) ones and a matched group of patient with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury with no pericerebral hematoma.

Results: Executive function and information processing speed were not significantly different.

Spectrum Effect and Spectrum Bias in the Screening Test Performance for Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: What are the Clinical Implications?

Background: A single cutoff is widely used to screen amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). However, results of screening test performance are never adjusted for spectrum effect and spectrum bias.

Objectives: To assess the potential impact of spectrum effect and spectrum bias on screening test performance and clinical decision.

Screening of esophageal varices by esophageal capsule endoscopy: results of a French multicenter prospective study.

Background And Study Aim: Esophageal video capsule endoscopy (ECE) is a new technique that allows examination of the esophagus using a noninvasive approach. The aim of this study was to compare ECE with esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for the diagnosis of esophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis.

Patients And Methods: A total of 330 patients with cirrhosis and with no known esophageal varices were prospectively enrolled.

Treatment of GORD: Three decades of progress and disappointments.

The treatment of GORD has been revolutionized by the introduction, in the 1980s, of proton-pump inhibitors as the mainstay of medical therapy and by the development of laparoscopic antireflux surgery which has definitively replaced open surgery. However, despite these major advances, many unmet therapeutic needs still persist and justify novel therapeutic approaches. The aim of this historical review is to recall the main discoveries in the treatment of GORD that have occurred during the last three decades and to discuss why some initially promising drugs or techniques have not translated into clinical applications.

Initial neuropsychological profile of a series of 20 patients with logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia.

Background: Logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (LPPA) is classically considered as an isolated language disorder, but verbal short-term memory deficit induces difficulties in neuropsychological tests that are not intended to evaluate language.

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the initial symptoms and neuropsychological profiles of LPPA.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted with a series of 20 consecutive patients diagnosed with LPPA.

Fractional anisotropy in three variants of primary progressive aphasia.

Objective: Our aim was to report diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) patterns in three patients, each with a different primary progressive aphasia (PPA) variant.

Design: One agrammatic PPA, one semantic PPA, and one logopenic PPA subject underwent a magnetic resonance imaging examination including DTI sequences. The fractional anisotropy (FA) value was calculated in regions of interest (ROIs) involved in these three variants (perisylvian region, temporal pole, and parietotemporal junction) for each patient.

Multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of confocal laser endomicroscopy assessment of residual metaplasia after mucosal ablation or resection of GI neoplasia in Barrett's esophagus.

Background: Endoscopic ablation is an accepted standard for neoplasia in Barrett's esophagus (BE). Eradication of all glandular mucosa in the distal esophagus cannot be reliably determined at endoscopy.

Objective: To assess if use of probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) in addition to high-definition white light (HDWL) could aid in determination of residual BE.

Functional heartburn: definition and management strategies.

Functional heartburn (FH) is a functional gastro-intestinal disorder characterized by symptoms of heartburn not related to gastro-esophageal reflux. The absence of evidence of reflux-related symptoms relies on absence of esophagitis at endoscopy (including biopsies to exclude eosinophilic esophagitis), a normal esophageal acid exposure during esophageal pH-monitoring together with a negative symptom-reflux association analysis and an unsatisfactory response to proton pump inhibitor therapy. Addition of impedance measurement to pH-monitoring is likely to increase the number of patients with recognized reflux-related symptoms.

Enteric glia protect against Shigella flexneri invasion in intestinal epithelial cells: a role for S-nitrosoglutathione.

Background: Enteric glial cells (EGCs) are important regulators of intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) functions. EGC-derived S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) has been shown to regulate IEB permeability. Whether EGCs and GSNO protect the IEB during infectious insult by pathogens such as Shigella flexneri is not known.

Management of reflux symptoms with over-the-counter proton pump inhibitors: issues and proposed guidelines.

Background: Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux are widely prevalent. There is a continuum between subjects with mild reflux symptoms and those severely affected by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Both groups may at times access over-the-counter (OTC) therapies.

Characterisation of early mucosal and neuronal lesions following Shigella flexneri infection in human colon.

Background: Shigella, an enteroinvasive bacteria induces a major inflammatory response responsible for acute rectocolitis in humans. However, early effect of Shigella flexneri (S. flexneri) infection upon the human mucosa and its microenvironement, in particular the enteric nervous system, remains currently unknown.

Rapid screening of cognitive change in patients with questionable dementia using the Memory Impairment Screen and the Isaacs Set Test.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of combining the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS) and the Isaacs Set Test (IST) in predicting short-term development of dementia in a group of people with questionable dementia (QD) at baseline.

Design: Performances of the weighted sum of MIS and IST and the <> rule were compared with each other and with the Mini-Mental State Examination.

Setting: Database of the Regional Network for Diagnostic Aid and Management of Patients with Cognitive Impairment in the Franche-Comté geographical area in France.

Combining the Memory Impairment Screen and the Isaacs Set Test: a practical tool for screening dementias.

Objectives: To assess the accuracy of combining the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS) with the Isaacs Set Test (IST) in distinguishing subjects with dementia from controls without dementia.

Design: The weighted sum of MIS and IST scores was calculated, and the logical "or" rule combination was performed using two different patient and control samples. Combination results were compared with each test used alone and with Mini-Mental State Examination to detect all types of dementias.

Non-erosive reflux disease and atypical gastro-oesophageal reflux disease manifestations: treatment results.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a widespread complex disorder that may be responsible for a variety of different symptoms and clinical features. Despite the presence of symptoms, the majority of patients do not have endoscopic lesions of oesophagitis. Non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is a chronic, relapsing condition that can adversely affect the quality of life despite the absence of mucosal breaks at endoscopy.

Rabeprazole test for the diagnosis of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: results of a study in a primary care setting.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic value of the rabeprazole test in patients seen by general practitioners.

Methods: Eighty-three patients with symptoms suggestive of GERD were enrolled by general practitioners in this multi-centre, randomized and double-blind study. All patients received either rabeprazole (20 mg bid) or a placebo for one week.

Functional esophageal disorders.

Functional esophageal disorders represent processes accompanied by typical esophageal symptoms (heartburn, chest pain, dysphagia, globus) that are not explained by structural disorders, histopathology-based motor disturbances, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is the preferred diagnosis when reflux esophagitis or excessive esophageal acid exposure is present or when symptoms are closely related to acid reflux events or respond to antireflux therapy. A singular, well-defined pathogenetic mechanism is unavailable for any of these disorders; combinations of sensory and motor abnormalities involving both central and peripheral neural dysfunction have been invoked for some.

Pharmacological targets in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

Although proton pump inhibitors have become the mainstay of treatment in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), there are still unmet needs in the management of this very common disorder. For example, all current proton pump inhibitors have a relatively slow onset of action and their activity is limited mainly to the post-prandial period with far less effective inhibition of nocturnal acid secretion. In order to achieve more potent, rapid and sustained acid inhibition several compounds are currently under development, such as new proton pump inhibitors with a prolonged plasma half-life, potassium competitive ATPase blockers (PCABs), histamine H3 agonists, and gastrin antagonists.