Tissue remodeling in periplaque regions of multiple sclerosis spinal cord lesions.

Our knowledge of multiple sclerosis (MS) neuropathology has benefited from a number of studies that provided an in-depth description of plaques and, more recently, diffuse alterations of the normal-appearing white or grey matter. However, there have been few studies focusing on the periplaque regions surrounding demyelinated plaques, notably in MS spinal cords. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the molecular immunopathology of periplaque demyelinated lesions (PDLs) in the spinal cord of patients with a progressive form of MS.

Impaired cognition and attention in adults: pharmacological management strategies.

Cognitive psychology has provided clinicians with specific tools for analyzing the processes of cognition (memory, language) and executive functions (attention-concentration, abstract reasoning, planning). Neuropsychology, coupled with the neurosciences (including neuroimaging techniques), has authenticated the existence of early disorders affecting the "superior or intellectual" functions of the human brain. The prevalence of cognitive and attention disorders is high in adults because all the diseases implicating the central nervous system are associated with cognitive correlates of variable intensity depending on the disease process and the age of the patient.

Procedural memory in recent-onset Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is accompanied by cognitive disorders which may affect procedural memory. Procedural memory uses a specific knowledge resource that expresses itself through pre-established acting procedures. The aim of this study was to better define the characteristics of procedural memory, first of all, by trying to determine the level of involvement of that memory in the acquisition process (during learning and/or during procedure maintenance), then by specifying the effect of the type of resource involved (verbal or motor).

Effect of normal aging and of Alzheimer's disease on, episodic memory.

Performances of 12 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 15 healthy elderly subjects and 20 young healthy volunteers were compared on two episodic memory tests. The first, a learning test of semantically related words, enabled an assessment of the effect of semantic relationships on word learning by controlling the encoding and retrieval processes. The second, a dual coding test, is about the assessment of automatic processes operating during drawings encoding.

Assessment of procedural memory in Parkinson's disease.

1. Findings in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology have led to consider the existence of several mnestic systems. This study focuses on a now clearly established distinction between the procedural and the declarative memories.

[Randomized double-blind comparative study of minaprine (200mg/j) and of placebo on memory loss].

Thirty five subjects (age: 45-69 years) with subjective memory loss, without any other neuropsychiatric or somatic disease, were recruited in a phase II study. This double blind randomized versus placebo controlled study compared the effects of minaprine (200 mg/d) with placebo, in two parallel groups, during 2 months, on memory, attention and vigilance. Three psychometric tests were the main criteria of assessment: a standardized battery of memory tests (SM 5), the dual-coding test, the analysis of choice reaction times (CRT) and the critical flicker fusion point (CFF).

[Study of correlations between self-estimation of memory, psychometric test (SM9) and test of memory in daily life].

Assessment of memory performance is now well established. However, the normal form of assessment does not evaluate memory problems encountered during daily activities, a situation relevant to the evaluation of drug effects on memory components. The present study examines the ecological validity of psychometric tests.

Procedural memory and Parkinson's disease.

A detailed analysis of the mnestic deficits associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) contributes to explaining the cognitive disorders and their well documented consequences. This study was designed to show that, in PD declarative as well as procedural memory is severely impaired. Three tests designed to explore this aspect of mnestic functioning were proposed to a group of 16 parkinsonian patients whose motoricity was controlled: inverted reading, braille reading, sound form association.

Comparative study of the effects of zopiclone (7.5 mg), zolpidem, flunitrazepam and a placebo on nocturnal cognitive performance in healthy subjects, in relation to pharmacokinetics.

The effect of zopiclone (7.5 mg) on attention, vigilance and memory components was evaluated during a nocturnal period in comparison to a placebo, to zolpidem (10 mg) and to flunitrazepam (1 mg) in a double blind, randomized study, after administration of a single dose in 16 young healthy volunteers. It appears that there is a clear effect on attention and vigilance; this effect is apparent during the kinetic phase of the absorption of the medication.

Explicit and procedural memory in Parkinson's disease.

One of the aims of cognitive psychology is to breakdown complex tasks into their most basic components. The components of explicit (declarative) and implicit (procedural) memory were thus analyzed in undemented, non-depressed Parkinsonian patients under anti-Parkinsonian treatment, and compared with young and elderly healthy subjects. Three series of experiments were conducted in 61 patients in total.

Effect of two doses of ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) on the dual-coding test in elderly subjects.

The subjects of this double-blind study were 18 elderly men and women (mean age, 69.3 years) with slight age-related memory impairment. In a crossover-study design, each subject received placebo or an extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761) (320 mg or 600 mg) 1 hour before performing a dual-coding test that measures the speed of information processing; the test consists of several coding series of drawings and words presented at decreasing times of 1920, 960, 480, 240, and 120 ms.

[Memory deficit in Parkinson's disease. Precocious aging of recall processes].

In this study, the various components of the memory process were analysed in 25 non-demented parkinsonian patients (PP). A battery of tests was used to explore words, drawings and semantic organization of items. Results were compared with young (n = 22) and elderly (n = 11) healthy controls.

Antidepressants and cognition: comparative effects of moclobemide, viloxazine and maprotiline.

The respective effects of three antidepressant drugs (moclobemide, 450 mg/j; viloxazine, 300 mg/j; maprotiline, 150 mg/j) on vigilance, attention, and memory were compared. Young depressed outpatients (n = 46) entered a double-blind, randomized, monocentre clinical trial lasting for 6 weeks. Drug actions were assessed through the regular determination of critical flicker fusion point (CFF), reaction times (SRT), and a battery to measure memory components.

[Development of memory-improving drugs].

Knowledge on the diverse processes involved in memory has been gained from multiple approaches, all necessary for the development of molecules aimed at enhancing memory. However, the neurobiological aspects of apprenticeship and memory remain to be fully elucidated. Long-term storage of information in the nervous system is under the control of glycoprotein synthesis.

Pharmacology of the memory process.

Rather than reviewing once again the published literature on drugs which are capable of modifying the memory process, the authors stress the methodological difficulties which impede the development of such products. At the moment, substances which act on neurotransmission systems, and in particular cholinergic and gabaergic agents, seem to be good candidates. The choice of the molecule to be studied in man depends on the neurochemical physiopathology of the memory disorder which one seeks to correct.