Distribution of Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarker Profiles in Patients Explored for Cognitive Disorders.

Background: CSF Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers allow classifying individuals based on their levels of amyloid and neurodegeneration pathologies.

Objective: To investigate the distribution of AD biomarker profiles from patients suffering from cognitive disorders.

Methods: We analyzed 3001 patients with cognitive disorders and referred by 18 French memory clinics located in and around Paris.

What are the preferences of patients attending a memory clinic for disclosure of Alzheimer's disease?

Background/aims: This report shares and discusses the collected personal preferences of patients attending a memory clinic for disclosure of a potential Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis.

Methods: In this prospective study of outpatients attending a single memory clinic over a 6-year period (March 2004-October 2010), doctors collected their patients' wishes (willingness to be informed, motivation, presence of the family) through a standardized procedure.

Results: Of the 1005 patients questioned throughout the study period-with a final diagnosis of dementia for 480 of them-858 (85.

[Vitamin D and neuropsychological assessment of cognitive functions: a study of their relationships in a sample of 244 patients attending a memory clinic].

There is evidence of a role of vitamin D in cognitive functioning, but little is known about the type of functions involved. To describe vitamin D status in a population of old patients with memory complaints and its relationships with cognitive performance and white matter lesions. A retrospective single-centre observational study from the medical records of 244 patients who had a measurement of serum 25OHD together with a battery of neuropsychological tests during a complete geriatric and memory assessment in a day care hospital.

[Increase of serum procalcitonin levels during a neuroleptic malignant syndrome].

When fever occurs in a patient treated with a neuroleptic, the diagnosis of a neuroleptic malignant syndrome is difficult to differentiate to that of an infectious event. Among inflammation biomarkers of inflammation, serum procalcitonin levels increase both quickly and specifically during a bacterial infection. We report the first case of a neuroleptic malignant syndrome associated with a significant increase of serum procalcitonin levels, without concomitant septic syndrome.

Brain perfusion SPECT with an automated quantitative tool can identify prodromal Alzheimer's disease among patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: To improve diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease (AD), i.e., prodromal AD, by an automated quantitative tool combining brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images and memory tests scores in order to be applied in clinical practice.

Early detection of patients in the pre demented stage of Alzheimer's disease: the Pre-Al Study.

Objectives: The aim of the Pre-Al study is to evaluate and compare the predictive value of different tools for an early identification of Alzheimer's disease.

Design And Participants: Patients coming for consultation to memory clinics without dementia were included if they had an objective memory or attention trouble assessed by a MMSE score > 25 (with at least one missing item at the words recall) and / or an Isaac set test score < 28. All were examined by a neuropsychological battery (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, digit ordering test, WAIS-R digit symbol, Trail making test, Benton visual retention test, verbal fluency, confrontation naming and Baddeley's double task test).

[Relationships between weight loss and circulating cytokines in patients with Alzheimer's disease].

106 consecutive patients with Alzheimer's disease living in the community were examined in a memory clinic from a neurological department. They were screened for weight loss over the last 2 years. Age, duration of the disease, behavioral disorders, mini mental status examination, body mass index were recorded.

Neuropsychological performance in mild cognitive impairment with and without apathy.

Objective: To investigate the neuropsychological characteristics of patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with and without apathy.

Methods: A cohort of 245 MCI patients (mean age = 72 +/- 5.5 years; mean MMSE = 27.

[Hippocampal sclerosis and dementia].

Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is characterized by a severe loss of neurons and gliosis in the CA 1 sector of hippocampus. HS was found in several post mortem series of demented patients either in association with specific pathologies, such as Alzheimer disease (AD) or isolated. The symptomatology and etiology of HS remain unclear, but, in the cases of pure HS, the usual clinical diagnosis was AD.

Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: a follow-up study.

To study prevalence of hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) during a 1-year period, and identify factors predictive of the onset of hallucinations in patients who were hallucination-free at baseline, 141 unselected outpatients with PD were evaluated prospectively for a set of demographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables and the presence of hallucinations during the previous 3 months. Patient groups were compared with nonparametric tests, and logistic regression was applied to significant data. Follow-up data were available for 127 patients.

[Hallucinations and dementia. Prevalence, clinical presentation and pathophysiology].

Hallucinations are a common feature of certain degenerative diseases with a risk of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Obtaining valid epidemiological data is nevertheless quite difficult because of methodological problems. As a rule, hallucinations are more prevalent in Lewy body disease than Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease.

[Memory clinics: value and limitations].

Concept: Memory clinics have developed since the early 1980s. Their main objective is the diagnosis of dementia for early multiple disciplinary management.

Interest: Memory clinics serve an expert center, allowing early diagnosis in the predementia phase and a precise diagnosis of the cause.

Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: prevalence, phenomenology and risk factors.

Hallucinations, mainly of a visual nature, are considered to affect about one-quarter of patients with Parkinson's disease. They are commonly viewed as a side-effect of antiparkinsonian treatment, but other factors may be involved. The aim of this study was to determine the phenomenology, prevalence and risk factors of hallucinations in Parkinson's disease.

Mapping of a complicated familial spastic paraplegia to locus SPG4 on chromosome 2p.

Autosomal dominant familial spastic paraplegia (AD-FSP) is a degenerative disorder of the central motor system characterised by progressive spasticity of the lower limbs. AD-FSP has been divided into pure and complicated forms. Pure AD-FSP is genetically heterogeneous; three loci have been mapped to chromosomes 14q (SPG3), 2p (SPG4), and 15q (SPG6), whereas no loci responsible for complicated forms have been identified to date.

[Memory clinics: long-term follow-up].

Follow-up of patients in memory units raises problems of structure, team, diseases, evaluation and organization. Structures could be within the hospital, for early diagnosis, or outside hospital for prevention. The medical team is organized around the neurologist, must integrate different medical specialists (neurologist, psychiatrist, geriatrician) and be composed minimally of a clinician and a psychologist.

Neuropsychological prediction of dementia in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: To identify neuropsychological characteristics predictive of later dementia in Parkinson's disease.

Methods: A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to a cohort of 89 initially non-demented patients with Parkinson's disease consecutively enrolled at a specialised Parkinson's disease clinic. They were reassessed after a mean of 3.

[Neuropsychological testing of 5 patients with Parkinson's disease before and after neuron graft].

Five patients with idiopathic PD were followed by neuropsychological tests after brain fetal neuronal transplantation. The following tests were used in order to assess memory as well as visuospatial and frontal functions: MMSE, Mattis Scale, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop task, word fluency tasks, 15-objects test, WAIS-R (Digit span, Arithmetic, Block design, Pictures completion, Pictures arrangement), learning of 15 words of Rey, WMS-R (Logical memory) and Visual memory of L. Israël.

[Isoform 4 of apolipoprotein E and Alzheimer disease. Specificity and clinical study].

We studied apolipoprotein E (apoE) phenotype in 113 patients with possible and probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 49 patients with Parkinson's disease (including 11 patients with dementia) and 23 patients with mixed and vascular dementia. Normal controls were 498 young, healthy blood donors previously recorded. All patients were assayed for blood lipid parameters.

Mini-Mental Parkinson: first validation study of a new bedside test constructed for Parkinson's disease.

We have developed a brief screening test aimed at identifying cognitive disorders in Parkinson's disease. The Mini-Mental Parkinson derives from the Mini-Mental State Examination of Folstein. It includes seven ordered subsections, with a total score of 32.