Maladie de Parkinson : une maladie à forte composante environnementale ?

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common cause of the parkinsonian syndromes and the most frequent neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. Only a minority of PD cases is due to a single factor, in particular a genetic mutation. In the large majority of cases, it is considered that PD is a complex or multifactorial disease that results from the effect of multiple risk or protective factors, either genetic or environmental, and, possibly, from their interaction. Epidemiological studies, through a variety of approaches, have brought important evidence in favour of the contribution of environmental factors to the etiology of PD. In this review, we will present current evidence by focusing on specific illustrative examples.     

Les prises de risque sexuel liées au VIH-sida chez les homosexuels masculins : synthèse des recherches sociologiques et psychologiques,perspectives cliniques

The main object of this article is to introduce and critically discuss international research in sociology and psychology dealing with the issue of sexual risk behaviour in male homosexuals in context with HIV. Based on the example of France, epidemiological statistics in fact show that some homosexuals systematically abstain from safer sexual intercourse despite the information they possess about the modalities of HIV transmission. Considering that HIV prevalence is almost 120 times greater in the homosexual than it is in the heterosexual population, this relative failure of prevention is a major challenge to public health. This article reviews risk behaviour research and differentiates between studies basing their methods on preformed questionnaires which are passed on to cohorts of subjects and statistically evaluated on the one hand and studies allowing the subjects to detail on their subjective experience in a more particular manner. It is this second type of studies, which especially seems to be apt to produce heuristic data needed in clinical psychopathology. In order to complete this review, the article presents the results of clinical research performed on this subject by the two authors. Based on an atypical clinical case the relevance of a psychopathological analysis of male homosexuals’ risk behaviour taking the unconscious dimension of the psyche into account is shown.     

Prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia in patients presenting with premature acute coronary syndrome

Central illustration. Prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) among young adults with myocardial infarction (MI) (n = 457) and in the general control population (CARVAR 92 cohort) (n = 9900), and cardiovascular risk factors associated with premature acute MI.