Motor, cognitive and mobility deficits in 1000 geriatric patients: protocol of a quantitative observational study before and after routine clinical geriatric treatment - the ComOn-study.

Background: Motor and cognitive deficits and consequently mobility problems are common in geriatric patients. The currently available methods for diagnosis and for the evaluation of treatment in this vulnerable cohort are limited. The aims of the ComOn (COgnitive and Motor interactions in the Older populatioN) study are (i) to define quantitative markers with clinical relevance for motor and cognitive deficits, (ii) to investigate the interaction between both motor and cognitive deficits and (iii) to assess health status as well as treatment outcome of 1000 geriatric inpatients in hospitals of Kiel (Germany), Brescia (Italy), Porto (Portugal), Curitiba (Brazil) and Bochum (Germany).

Functional movement disorders in neurogeriatric inpatients : Underdiagnosed, often comorbid to neurodegenerative disorders and treatable.

Background: The proportion of patients with functional movement disorders (FMD) is particularly high in neurology clinics. Treatment options have not been consistently developed, not well evaluated and not validated. This article presents the preliminary data on the prevalence and treatment response of patients with FMD who were treated within the framework of an early rehabilitative geriatric complex treatment at a university hospital for neurology.

Altered brain activation in a reversal learning task unmasks adaptive changes in cognitive control in writer's cramp.

Previous receptor binding studies suggest dopamine function is altered in the basal ganglia circuitry in task-specific dystonia, a condition characterized by contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles while performing specific tasks. Dopamine plays a role in reward-based learning. Using fMRI, this study compared 31 right-handed writer's cramp patients to 35 controls in reward-based learning of a probabilistic reversal-learning task.