Determinación de la temperatura de respuesta nociceptiva sobre la cola de ratones albinos de la cepa Balb/c

IntroductionDesigns for determining nociceptive response in rodents are of great use in neurology and experimental neuroscience. Immersing mice's tails in warm water is one of the most widely used procedures to evaluate this response; however, a wide range of temperatures are used in different studies. Knowing the temperature that produces a powerful nociceptive response in the tail of BALB/c mice is extremely useful.MethodsEight 2-month-old male BALB/c mice were used. A 14-cm high beaker was filled with water up to 13 cm. The animals’ tails were immersed in the container with a starting temperature of 36 °C. The water temperature was raised in 1 °C increments until we identified the temperatures that produced nociceptive responses. That response was determined by counting the time taken before the mouse shook its tail to remove it from the water.ResultsSix of the 8 mice began shaking their tails at the temperature of 51 °C. All animals removed their tails from the water at the temperatures of 54 °C, 55 °C, and 56 °C, taking a mean time of 8.54, 7.99, and 5.33 seconds, respectively. ANOVA applied to the response times for each of the 3 temperatures indicated revealed a value of F=2.8 (P=.123).ConclusionsThe response time was statistically similar for the temperatures of 54 °C, 55 °C, and 56 °C; however, the data were less dispersed for the latter temperature.     

La alteración de la mielina en la enfermedad de Alexander

Introduction

Alexander disease (AxD) is a type of leukodystrophy. Its pathological basis, along with myelin loss, is the appearance of Rosenthal bodies, which are cytoplasmic inclusions in astrocytes. Mutations in the gene coding for GFAP have been identified as a genetic basis for AxD. However, the mechanism by which these variants produce the disease is not understood.

Pourquoi la clinique de la douleur est-elle une clinique de la complexité ?

Easily understood on a daily basis as a signal for somatic disturbance, pain cannot be apprehended so easily. Definition and clinical of pain remind us of a key principle: there is no physical pain without psychological counterpart, and vice versa; and there is no psychological disorder without a physical correlation. However, the complex nature of the pain clinic does not stop there. We can distinguish is at least six dimensions allowing us to answer the uncertainty and the difficulty of its apprehension: through language, through culture, through representation, through personality organization, through pain's functions and other additional complications due to the confusion taking place in the designations, and through the different nosographic classifications. Pain is the limit of all knowledge, may it be medical, nursing, psychology, and invites us all to confront with other schools of thought and to work together to hear what is said and not said by the subject. In this singular clinic, the specificity of the psychologue and the importance of his view reside precisely in an appreciation of the psychic dynamics of the patient which interact with pain and which express itself within pain beyond somatic aspects.     

Les progrès dans la réalisation de la classification quantitative de la psychopathologie

Shortcomings of approaches to classifying psychopathology based on expert consensus have given rise to contemporary efforts to classify psychopathology quantitatively. In this paper, we review progress in achieving a quantitative and empirical classification of psychopathology. A substantial empirical literature indicates that psychopathology is generally more dimensional than categorical. When the discreteness versus continuity of psychopathology is treated as a research question, as opposed to being decided as a matter of tradition, the evidence clearly supports the hypothesis of continuity. In addition, a related body of literature shows how psychopathology dimensions can be arranged in a hierarchy, ranging from very broad “spectrum level” dimensions, to specific and narrow clusters of symptoms. In this way, a quantitative approach solves the “problem of comorbidity” by explicitly modeling patterns of co-occurrence among signs and symptoms within a detailed and variegated hierarchy of dimensional concepts with direct clinical utility. Indeed, extensive evidence pertaining to the dimensional and hierarchical structure of psychopathology has led to the formation of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) Consortium. This is a group of 70 investigators working together to study empirical classification of psychopathology. In this paper, we describe the aims and current foci of the HiTOP Consortium. These aims pertain to continued research on the empirical organization of psychopathology; the connection between personality and psychopathology; the utility of empirically based psychopathology constructs in both research and the clinic; and the development of novel and comprehensive models and corresponding assessment instruments for psychopathology constructs derived from an empirical approach.     

Place de la toxine botulique dans le traitement de la spasticité de l’enfant

IntroductionSpasticity is a motor disorder, which can be treated by botulinum toxin (BT). We found no studies describing BT management of spasticity in Tunisian children. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of spastic children treated with BT in the Tunisian hospital population and to evaluate treatment efficacy.MethodsWe conducted a prospective study over a 5-year period including all children diagnosed with spasticity treated with BT and attending the “Movement Disorders and Botulinum Toxin” outpatient clinic of the National Institute of Neurology of Tunis.ResultsHundred and fifteen patients were included (31% of patients attending the “Movement Disorders and Botulinum Toxin” outpatient clinic). Mean age was 7.6 years and M:F sex ratio 1.7. Main clinical features were: spastic quadriplegia (48%), equinus deformity (70.4%) and cerebral palsy (88%). All patients were evaluated with the modified Ashworth score and were treated with BT. Other treatments were associated with BT: baclofene, physiotherapy, ortheses, plaster, and sometimes surgical treatment. The average percentage of improvement after BT was > 50%. The Ashworth score was significantly lower for the majority of injected muscles.Discussion and conclusionOur study is the first to describe BT management of spasticity in Tunisian children. Treatments of spasticity are numerous and vary according to location and extent of spasticity. BT is the main treatment for focal spasticity. Associated with physical therapy, BT allows optimal management of spastic children.     

Corrélats anatomocliniques au cours de la démence de la maladie de Parkinson

IntroductionCognitive disorders such as deficit of attention and executive and visuoconstructive dysfunctions occur in Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Memory impairment is not an early feature and statement not well delimited.Case reportA 78-year-old man with PDD underwent neuropsychological assessment and moreover demonstrated memory decline. After death, pathology examination of the brain and immunohistochemy analysis confirmed PD and showed Lewy body pathology (LBP) in the insula, limbic and especially in CA3 hippocampus areas. Hippocampus and gyrus parahippocampic also exhibited neurofibrillary tangles. Lack of senile plaque and lack of beta A4 amyloid deposition were noticeable in the whole brain examination.ConclusionSevere executive dysfunctions are probably related to LBP and dysfunction in memory process may be related to DNF lesions in medial temporal area.     

Influencia de la estimulación cerebral profunda en la carga de cuidadores de pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson

Introduction

Our aim is to assess the burden on caregivers of patients with Parkinson's disease treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) compared to those caring for patients at advanced stages and undergoing other treatments. We have also assessed the variables associated with presence of caregiver overload.

Uso de la polipíldora cardiovascular en la prevención secundaria de la enfermedad cerebrovascular

IntroductionThere is little control of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in secondary prevention after an ischaemic stroke, in part due to a lack of adherence to treatment. The CV polypill may contribute to proper treatment adherence, which is necessary for CV disease prevention. This study aimed to establish how and in what cases the CV polypill should be administered.MethodsA group of 8 neurologists drafted consensus recommendations using structured brainstorming and based on their experience and a literature review.ResultsThese recommendations are based on the opinion of the participating experts. The use of the CV polypill is beneficial for patients, healthcare professionals, and the health system. Its use is most appropriate for atherothrombotic stroke, lacunar stroke, stroke associated with cognitive impairment, cryptogenic stroke with CV risk factors, and silent cerebrovascular disease. It is the preferred treatment in cases of suspected poor adherence, polymedicated patients, elderly people, patients with polyvascular disease or severe atherothrombosis, young patients in active work, and patients who express a preference for the CV polypill. Administration options include switching from individual drugs to the CV polypill, starting treatment with the CV polypill in the acute phase in particular cases, use in patients receiving another statin or an angiotensin ii receptor antagonist, or de novo use if there is suspicion of poor adherence. Nevertheless, use of the CV polypill requires follow-up on the achievement of the therapeutic objectives to make dose adjustments.ConclusionsThis document is the first to establish recommendations for the use of the CV polypill in cerebrovascular disease, beyond its advantages in terms of treatment adherence.     

Le réseau de surveillance de la maladie de Creutzfeldt-Jakob

IntroductionTransmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) have been under epidemiological surveillance in France and in Europe since the early 1990s. The observation of iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (ESB) and its probable transmission to many species gave rise to the surveillance which remains warranted by the emergence of a variant of CJD (vCJD), in 1996.State of artIn France, epidemiological surveillance is coordinated by the InVS which receives input from cases notifications addressed to INSERM Unit 708 directly by clinicians or more often following requests for 14-3-3 detection in CSF. All suspected cases are followed up until a final diagnosis is established. Thanks to the effectiveness of the French network of neuropathology, autopsies are performed in more than half of patients who die with a diagnosis of suspected CJD. Diagnostic criteria allow comparison of the incidence of the different forms of the disease in all countries with a system of surveillance. Sporadic CJD is the most frequent form of the disease with more than 80% of the cases. Its origin remains unknown. To date, cases of iatrogenic CJD referred to the French surveillance network have been caused by dura mater grafts or human growth hormone treatments administrated in the 1980s. Ten percent of TSE are of genetic origin with an autosomic dominant transmission of a mutation or an insertion located on the PRNP gene. The most recent form of the disease is vCJD which is a new form, first described in the United Kingdom in 1994.Prospect and conclusionActive epidemiological surveillance remains a timely issue, particularly in France, because of the development of new cases of iatrogenic CJD after human growth hormone treatment. It is of importance in France and worldwide because of the emergence of post-transfusional cases of vCJD and the possible appearance of vCJD in persons with valine-valine or methionine-valine genotypes at codon 129.     

Les programmes de soins ambulatoires contraints dans le cadre de la loi de 2011, modifiée. Point de vue de la direction

A Compulsory Outpatient Treatment (COT) can be organized by the consulting psychiatrist, at the end of the period of 72 hours of observation and care, if the patient requires no longer constant but regular monitoring. It may include exclusive ambulatory care, or short sequences of hospitalization if needed. This modality raises several questions concerning the psychiatrist, the Director of the facility, and the legal status of the patient in COT. The use of force is excluded if the patient does not comply with his compulsory treatment. At the same time, the COT is not subject to systematic control of the judge. The issues are both practical and legal, especially if the doctor decides that the patient needs urgently the return in inpatient facility for medical reasons. The quality of the information issued to the patient is fundamental, in this area where the Director's decision is bound by the decision of the psychiatrist, putting them both in an area of legal uncertainty.     

Le fonctionnement émotionnel lors de la douleur chronique : état de la question

Pain mobilizes numerous psychological variables, which involve the interaction of cognitions (attention, interpretation of the situation), feelings (fear, anger, anxiety) and behaviors (immobilization, avoidance). These various aspects generally have an adaptive role, necessary for the conservation of the body. However, in chronic pain, these mechanisms can become dysfunctional and cannot answer their initial function, and can even influence the appearance of psychopathologies. In this framework, feelings and emotional processing play an important role in the modulation of the intensity of sensory and emotional aspects of pain. In this particular case, suppression, emotional avoidance and alexithymia are associated with a greater intensity of the sensory or emotional aspects of pain. Although recent studies have employed relatively rigorous methodological devices, sometimes they used many tools which do not yet measure the dysfunction directly. Furthermore, emotional suppression was mainly studied during anger, which constitutes a specific phenomenon that cannot be generalized to all emotions. New studies are to be envisaged which would allow in particular the study of the effect of unregulated (insufficient control of experience or emotional expression) and untreated (arousing intrusive thoughts and the obstinacy of the emotional experience) emotions, defined by Baker et al. (2007), and the use of a tool permitting the differentiation and measurement of all possible dysfunctions. They could also allow for the control of the concomitant presence of various emotional dysfunctions in participants. Ideally, the realization of forward-looking studies could define the nature of the links between emotional dysfunctions and chronic pain.     

Phénoménologie de la curiosité comme rupture temporelle : sur la route de la Beat Generation

Jack Kerouac's famous autobiographical novel “On the Road” tells the epic journey through the magnificent landscapes of the American continent through frantic, jazz-rhythmic writing. In this book, beyond the classical framework of a travel journal, Kerouac aspires to tell a style of existence through a style of writing. The perpetual feast of the senses and the erotic evokes the exalted adventure of the Beat Generation and testify to this style of existence characteristic of what phenomenology calls existential curiosity. In the midst of unexplored landscapes, unexpected encounters, in the aftermath of a flight to be pursued without ceasing, Kerouac aimed at the permanent improvisation, that of the “bebop”, that of the “instant literature”. The writing of a road that takes shape at the moment under the wheels of the car that traces its way as fast as it does erase it. And this is a perpetual quest for novelty, in openness to curiosity. It appears then that the phenomenological notion of this experience of curiosity, makes possible to approach the foundations and the wanderings of the beat generation, and more broadly the experience of the generations, which have succeeded.