Metric properties of the mini‐mental Parkinson and SCOPA‐COG scales for rating cognitive deterioration in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that causes cognitive impairment and dementia in ～30% of patients. Objective: Compare metric qualities of Mini‐Mental Parkinson (MMP) and scales for outcomes in Parkinson's disease‐cognition (SCOPA‐COG) with respect to their relative reliability, validity and ability to predict symptoms (mobility, quality of life, social repercussions, and mood) in PD patients. Outpatients (n=123, 78 males/45 females) diagnosed with PD were included in the study. A multilevel (hierarchical) modeling analysis was performed along with tests of reliability and validity to ascertain which of the two models better predicts symptoms related to PD. Results: The MMP differed significantly between patients with Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stages 1, 2 or versus 4/5 (grouped together). The SCOPA‐COG showed differences only between patients in H&Y stages 2 versus 4/5. Both scales were dependent on educational background and age. The SCOPA‐COG had a higher coefficient of variation (0.303) than the MMP (0.184), indicating that it was the more discriminative of the two. Conclusions: The SCOPA‐COG has some advantages over the MMP, the most important being a greater discriminative ability. Multilevel hierarchical analysis clarified the necessity of stratifying the PD population according to educational background, years of illness, and H&Y stage when using these scales. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society     

Popper and the problem of induction in epidemiology

In this article we are discussing a few of the contributions by the Austro-British philosopher Karl R. Popper, one of our most influential contemporary thinkers, whose epistemological and socio-political theories have also penetrated the sphere of epidemiology. We are focusing mainly on the so-called problem of induction. We sustain, in line with Popper, that the scientific method does not use inductive reasoning, but rather hypothetical-deductive reasoning. Although the movement from the data evaluating a hypothesis to a conclusion on the latter goes from the specific to the general, that is, in an inductive direction, the induction does not exist as a reasoning process or inference. That is, there is no method that enables us to infer or to verify hypotheses or theories (we cannot explore all of the possible situations to see whether the theory stands up), or even to render them very probable. Besides, scientists look for highly informative theories, not highly probable ones. What we actually do is to propose a hypothesis as a tentative solution to a problem, to confront the prediction deduced from the hypothesis with actual experience, and evaluate whether the hypothesis is rejected or not by the facts. As theories cannot be verified, we can only accept them if they withstand an attempt to reject them. Consequently, the test of a theory consists of criticism or a serious attempt at falsification, that is, the elimination of error within a theory, in order to reject it if it is false. The objective is, thus, the search for true theories. For this purpose, the scientific method uses a systematic set of methodological (not logical) rules, that is, decisions. These methodological rules or principles can be summed up in two: [symbol: see text]be inventive and critical!, that is, propose bold hypotheses and subject them to severe tests of experience. Logic plays its role mainly by allowing us to deduce from a hypothesis the predictions to be confronted with the facts or evidence. This is applicable both to statistical inference as well as to causal inference. We argue that the criteria of causality used in epidemiology are none other than rules of the method designed for the same purpose: they are concerned with eliminating or reducing errors (chance, bias...) on testing a causal hypothesis. Consequently, the so-called ausal inference, the step from evidence to causal theory, is not a logical inductive or probabilistic process but rather a decision based on the evaluation of a causal hypothesis thanks to methodological rules such as the criteria of causality. We believe that the interest of the debate between the Popperian and the inductivist epidemiologists is not merely a matter of words, as, if we are aware that we do not operate inductively, that we cannot establish firmly hypotheses, not even affirm them probabilistically, we will presumably adopt a humbler attitude and look more for the errors in our theories than for their facile examples of confirmation.     

Deletion of the Ink4-locus (the p16ink4a, p14ARF and p15ink4b genes) predicts relapse in children with ALL treated according to the Nordic protocols NOPHO-86 and NOPHO-92.

Inactivation of the Ink4 gene locus locus on 9p comprising the tumour suppressor gene p16ink4a and its neighbours p14ARF and p15ink4b is common in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), but the prognostic significance is controversial. DNA from 230 patients was retrospectively analysed by Southern blotting, single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and sequencing techniques. The results were correlated with clinical characteristics and outcome. One hundred and ninety-four fully analysed patients, similarly treated using the Nordic NOPHO-86 or the current NOPHO-92 protocols, were included in the outcome analysis. Deletions approached a minimally deleted region between the p16ink4a and p15ink4b genes, making the p14ARF gene the most commonly deleted coding sequence. Bi-allelic deletion was associated with high white blood cell count (WBC) (P < 0.001), T cell phenotype (P < 0.001) and mediastinal mass (P < 0.001). Patients with Ink4 locus bi-allelic deletions had an inferior pEFS (P < 0.01) and multivariate analysis indicated that bi-allelic deletion of the p16ink4a and the p14ARF genes was an independent prognostic risk factor (P < 0.05). Sub-group analysis revealed a pronounced impact of deletion status for high-risk patients, ie with high WBC. Deletion-status and clinical risk criteria (WBC) could thus be combined to further differentiate risk within the high-risk group. The analysis of the Ink4 locus adds independent prognostic information in childhood ALL treated by Nordic protocols and may help in selection of patients for alternative treatment.     

Abordaje conservador del embarazo ectópico cervical

Cervical pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy with a high risk of hemorrhage. Early diagnosis is an important prognostic factor for survival and preserved fertility in these patients. We present the case of a patient diagnosed with cervical ectopic pregnancy in her seventh week of gestation. The therapeutic management was conservative and involved the combination of systemic and intra-amniotic methotrexate Because of the lower associated morbidity and mortality and the possibility of maintaining the patient’s fertility, conservative treatment is a viable therapeutic approach in cases such as that presented herein.     

Renal artery calcified aneurysm in a female patient with solitary kidney, rare pathology

Renal artery aneurysm are uncommon. The true prevalence of renal aneurysms in the general population is unknown (less than 0.4%). Because of more widespread use of Angiography and CT as well as improved imaging techniques, they are diagnosed more frecuently. Fibromuscular dysplasia and arteriosclerotic occlusion of the renal artery are believed to be the most frecuent causes. In general, there are no pathognomonic signs and symptoms of renal aneurysm. Nonspecific complaints include flank pain, hematuria, hypertension and hypotension (suspect rupture of aneurysm). We report a case of a woman with a renal artery calcified aneurysm in a solitary kidney.