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Biomedical subjects

F Pasquier

Publications and source records attributed to F Pasquier.

136 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The cognitive syndrome of vascular dementia: implications for clinical trials.

Dementia is common among patients with cerebrovascular disease, particularly in a setting of one or more clinically evident strokes. Prior cohort and case studies have suggested that the cognitive syndrome of vascular dementia is characterized by predominant executive dysfunction, in contrast to the deficits in memory and language function that are typical of patients with Alzheimer disease. The course of cognitive decline may also differ between those dementia subtypes, with many, but not all, patients with vascular dementia exhibiting a stepwise course of decline caused by recurrent stroke and most patients with Alzheimer disease exhibiting a gradually progressive course of decline. The findings of prior studies of the cognitive syndrome of vascular dementia must be interpreted with caution, however, because of (1) possible inaccuracies in the determination of the dementia subtype and the loss of precision that might result from pooling heterogeneous subgroups of patients with vascular dementia, (2) difficulties inherent in identifying a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in patients who are required to have memory impairment and other deficits to meet operationalized criteria for dementia, and (3) the use of limited test batteries whose psychometric properties are incompletely understood. Specific questions that should be addressed by future studies are discussed.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Memory: therapeutic approach. Clinical evaluation].

Memory assessment in pharmaceutical trials has to date been mainly performed in Alzheimer's disease. North American and European Medical Evaluating Agencies recommend guidelines. Tests need to be simple and short, and sensitive enough to assess changes over a wide range of severity to avoid floor or ceiling effect. They require inter-rater reliability and face validity. They should be at least appropriate for different languages and culture, correlate well with universally accepted estimates of a function and have several parallel forms available to avoid a training effect. Memory is assessed with sub-tests of composite scales assessing a number of cognitive functions including episodic memory. The ADAS-Cog has become the standard instrument since it was used for the approval of tacrine and other cholinesterase inhibitors. Some studies have assessed more specifically different sub-systems of memory. However, autobiographical, remote or prospective memory, as well as metamemory, has not been explored in pharmaceutical trials.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Severe hypoglycorrhachia after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Two cases with spontaneous recovery in adults.

We report two patients with severe hypoglycorrhachia after a subarachnoid hemorrhage. They had no obvious meningeal infection, and they spontaneously recovered within a few weeks. Such cases have previously been reported in neonates, but exceptionally in adults. Contrary to detailed cases from the literature, our patients recovered without antibiotics, and hypoglycorrhachia was very severe.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychometric study in Huntington disease].

Thirty-two patients suffering from Huntington's disease (HD) were tested with a short neuropsychological tests battery in order to make a global evaluation of their cognitive functions, and to ascertain whether the tests would be sensitive enough, even in the first stages of the disease, and whatever the individual neuropsychological profile, to be, possibly, an assessment tool for treatment efficacy. Nineteen HD presented with a "mild" form of the disease [stage I and II of Shoulson and Fahn (1979)], 7 men and 12 women, with a duration of illness of nearly 5 years and 13 HD presented with a "moderate" form (stage III and IV), 5 men and 8 women, with a duration of illness of nearly 8 years. These 2 groups had a comparable age at the assessment time (nearly 47) and did not differ, significantly, for the age at onset (39 and 43 respectively), duration of illness or psychiatric disorders. Each test result was reduced to its number of standard-deviations apart the normal mean-value for the same sex, age and study level group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
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[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. Diseases range from memory complaint to very serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, vascular or post-traumatic dementia. Therapy includes cognitive stimulation and drug clinical trials. Evaluation requires medico-psycho-social analysis of the patient and his/her family. Memory consulting units could be integrated in a caring network organised in a modular fashion or like a geriatric hospital.

Follow-Up Studies↗