Relevance of 10-min delayed recall in dementia screening

Within the context of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is a growing interest in neuropsychological screening tests. Amongst these tests, we focused on the largely used Memory Impairment Screen (MIS). The objective of the present work was to show that adding a 10-min delayed recall to the MIS, improves the test psychometric characteristics in order to detect dementia in the earliest stages. A prospective study was carried out on a cohort of 270 consecutive elderly ambulatory subjects attending the Broca Hospital Memory Clinic: normal controls ( n  = 67), mild cognitive impairment subjects ( n  = 98) and mildly demented patients [ n  = 105, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) = 23 ± 4]. This study consisted in testing the advantage of the 10-min delayed recall entitled MIS-D compared with the MIS. At a cut-off score of 6, the MIS-D revealed satisfying psychometric characteristics with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 91%, whilst the MIS alone indicated a sensitivity of 60% and a specificity of 88% in detecting dementia. In demented patients with MMSE score ≥26, MIS-D properties still remained satisfying (sensitivity: 75%, specificity: 92%). MIS-D is a more relevant screening test than MIS alone at very early stages of dementia.     

Recognition Impairment Correlated with Short Bisynchronous Epileptic Discharges

The occurrence of transitory cognitive impairment during diffuse subclinical electroencephalographic (EEG) discharges has been widely documented but the role of the parameters influencing the cognitive performance and the involvement of motor or verbal response in the tasks used is still under debate. Fifteen patients suffering from primary generalized epilepsy with frequent bisynchronous EEG epileptic bursts underwent a shape recognition task during EEG monitoring. The test sequence was as follows: memorandum, pause, and multiple choice set. After pressing the response button, the patient was asked to confirm the choice verbally. The following parameters were considered: geometrical complexity of the shape, chronological position of the burst occurring during the single test, and the duration of discharge ranging from 1 to 3 s. Results showed a significant increase in incorrect responses during the test when discharges occurred, with more errors occurring for difficult than for easy shapes. Neither the discharge position nor the duration of the epileptic burst influenced the performance. Diffuse epileptic activity of short duration produced selective effects on the cognitive process regardless of the motor component of the response.     

Piracetam and fipexide prevent PTZ-kindling-provoked amnesia in rats

Deficit in active and inhibitory avoidance behaviour has been found in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-kindled rats. This supports the view that memory deficit is an integral part of epilepsy. In the present study we examined the effect of the nootropic drugs piracetam and fipexide on memory deficit induced by PTZ-kindling in shuttle-box- and step-down-trained rats. The retention in piracetam- and fipexide-treated animals was significantly improved compared to the kindled controls. The mechanisms of action of the two drugs are considered. The favourable effects of nootropic drugs in cases of amnesia provoked by PTZ-kindling might be of interest in clinical practice.     

Effects of scopolamine,trimipramine and diazepam on explicit memory and repetition priming in healthy volunteers

The effects of scopolamine, an anticholinergic drug, of trimipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant with both anticholinergic and sedative properties, of diazepam and a placebo, on explicit memory and repetition priming were assessed using a free-recall task and a word-stem completion task. Forty-eight healthy volunteers took part in this double-blind study. Diazepam provoked a dissociation between free recall, which was profoundly impaired, and word completion, which was spared. No significant changes in memory performances were observed in the scopolamine group; however, a significant correlation between explicit and implicit memory performances was observed in this group. At the low dose used, the effects of trimipramine on memory were mild. The results suggest that the cholinergic system is involved in the priming effect.     

Glucose attenuation of atropine-induced deficits in paradoxical sleep and memory

When administered systemically, glucose attenuates deficits in memory produced by several classes of drugs, including cholinergic antagonists and opiate agonists. Glucose also enhances memory in aged rats, mice, and humans. In addition, glucose ameliorates age-related reductions in paradoxical sleep. Because deficits in paradoxical sleep are most marked in those individual aged rats that also have deficits in memory, treatments which improve one of these functions may similarly improve the other. The present experiments show that glucose attenuates deficits in paradoxical sleep and memory after atropine administration, with similar dose-response curves for both actions. In the first experiment, rats received saline, atropine (1 mg/kg), glucose (100 mg/kg) or combinations of atropine + glucose (10, 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg) 30 min before assessment on a spontaneous alternation task. In the second experiment, 3-h EEGs were assessed for spontaneous daytime sleep in rats administered saline, atropine (1 mg/kg), glucose (100 mg/kg) or combinations of atropine + glucose (10, 100 and 250 mg/kg). In both experiments, glucose significantly attenuated deficits at an optimal dose of 100 mg/kg. A third experiment assessed blood glucose levels after injections of atropine + glucose (100 mg/kg) and determined that blood glucose levels were similar to those produced by other treatments which enhance memory. These results are consistent with the view that paradoxical sleep and at least one test of memory are similarly influenced by atropine and glucose.     

The Relationship Between Quantitative MRI and Neuropsychological Functioning in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Summary: Purpose: Quantitative MRI techniques provide an unparalleled opportunity to examine in vivo the relationship between the extent and laterality of hippocampal pathology and associated neuropsychological deficits. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the relationship between quantitative measures of hippocampal pathology and neuropsychological measures, using a multivariate approach. Methods: We examined the relationship between two MRI measures of hippocampal structure; hippocampal volumes (HCvol) and T2 relaxation times (HCT2), and memory performance, in 80 presurgical temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Results: As a group, patients with left hippocampal sclerosis (LHS) performed more poorly that those with right hippocampal sclerosis (RHS) on immediate and delayed prose recall. In the group as a whole, right hippocampal volume was significantly correlated with the delayed recall of a complex figure. None of the verbal memory test scores were significantly correlated with the right or left HCvol or HCT2 measures. However, stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that up to a third of the variation in specific test scores could be explained by the quantitative MRI hippocampal measures in conjunction with chronological age, and age at onset of habitual epilepsy. Left hippocampal measures explained 24% of the variance in the story-recall tasks, while right hippocampal measures explained 18% of the variance in a design-learning task and 32% of the variance in a figure-recall task. Conclusions: Our results provide some support for the lateralised model of material specific memory deficits, but suggest that a number of demographic and epilepsy-related factors may interact with the extent and laterality of hippocampal pathology in shaping the nature of the associated neuropsychological deficit.     

新型胫骨髓内钉的研制与生物力学研究

目的　研制新型胫骨串孔型髓内钉并对其进行生物力学研究。方法　用TAMZ合金制造远端锁孔由一个三个同样直径的串孔所替代的 9根新型胫骨髓内钉。将髓内钉安装在自行设计的夹具中 ,先将 3根新钉进行静态垂直压缩实验 ,根据静态实验结果 ,分别测试 6根新钉的动态疲劳强度。结果　新钉的静态压缩破坏载荷为 2 1 33N ,是人平均体重的 3倍多 ;通过 5 0万次压缩循环的条件疲劳强度为 1 2 0 0N ,约是人体重的 2倍。结论　新钉不仅能够方便临床使用 ,而且拥有较好的力学特性     

形状记忆合金环抱接骨板治疗锁骨骨折

目的 探讨形状记忆合金环抱接骨板治疗锁骨骨折的手术方法及疗效。方法 采用西脉记忆合金环抱接骨板治疗锁骨骨折54例。结果 54例病人全部获得随访，优良率96.3％。结论 形状记忆合金环抱接骨板治疗锁骨骨折是一种方便有效的方法，具有手术操作简便、内固定确实等优点，但应加强术后管理。     

闭合性脑外伤患者恢复后期的记忆研究

目的探讨闭合性脑外伤患者恢复后期的记忆障碍特点。方法用临床记忆量表对 2 0例闭合性脑外伤患者恢复后期及 2 0例正常人进行记忆测验。结果闭合性脑外伤患者恢复后期 5项分测验及记忆商均明显低于正常人对照组 ,MQ≤ 79的比例较正常人明显增高。结论闭合性脑外伤患者恢复后期有非常严重的记忆障碍 ,其回忆比再认受损更严重     

数学障碍儿童的工作记忆研究

目的：探讨数学障碍儿童的工作记忆状况。方法：采用智力测睑、成就测验、教师提名、学业成绩相结合的综合标准甑选数学障碍儿童，在长沙市三所小学随机选取4～6年级共12个班，从中抽取24名数学障碍儿童和24名学习正常儿童。采用工作记忆成套测验对2组被试进行评估。结果：数学障碍组除空间排序、空间后退以及数字划销3个分测验外，在工作记忆成套测验其它各分测验及各维度上的成绩均显著低于学习正常组（P〈0．001～0．05）。结论：数学障碍儿童工作记忆存在普遍缺陷。