Ramón Leiguarda

A prospective longitudinal study of depression, cognitive decline, and physical impairments in patients with Parkinson's disease.

A consecutive series of 105 patients with Parkinsons disease were examined for the presence of affective disorders, cognitive deficits, and impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs); 92 received the same evaluation 12 months after the initial examination. On the basis of the initial psychiatric findings, patients were divided into major, minor, and non-depressed groups. Patients with major depression showed a significantly greater cognitive decline, deterioration in ADLs, and further advance through the Hoehn and Yahr stages than patients with either minor depression or no depression.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori in Human Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques

Background and Purpose — Several lines of evidence point toward a relationship between infection and atherosclerotic vascular disease. Thus, infection and inflammation often precede ischemic neurological events. Transient alterations in coagulation and direct arterial invasion by certain microorganisms have been reported. Helicobacter pylori infection is the major cause of peptic ulcer disease and appears to be a risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular disease. However, in contrast to other chronic infectious agents, H pylori has not been consistently isolated from atherosclerotic lesions. Methods — We investigated the presence of H pylori in 38 atherosclerotic plaques obtained at carotid endarterectomy by using morphological and immunohistochemical techniques and a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction method. We performed immunohistochemical detection of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, a marker related to inflammatory cell response. We also examined 7 carotid arteries obtained at autopsy from subjects without carotid atherosclerosis. Results — H pylori DNA was found in 20 of 38 atherosclerotic plaques. Ten of the H pylori DNA–positive plaques also showed morphological and immunohistochemical evidence of H pylori infection. None of 7 normal carotid arteries was positive for H pylori. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was expressed in 75% of H pylori–positive plaques and in 22% of H pylori–negative plaques. The presence of the microorganism was associated with male sex but was independent of age, vascular risk factor profile, and prior neurological symptoms. Conclusions — H pylori is present in a substantial number of carotid atherosclerotic lesions and is associated with features of inflammatory cell response. This study provides additional evidence of the relationship between H pylori infection and atherosclerotic disease.

Superficial cerebral astrocytoma attached to dura: Report of six cases in infants

Reported are six cases of meningocerebral astrocytomas attached to dura, involving the superficial cortex, in infants under 1 year of age. They represent 1.25% of 483 intracranial tumors in infancy studied at the Childrens Hospital in the last 12 years. Five were located in the frontal lobes, with variable extension to the parietal or the parietotemporal regions, and one was located in the parietal lobe. They were all composed of a solid portion and one or more cysts, and they measured approximately 6 to 12 cm in diameter. They had spindle cells, some more plump, arranged in areas in a storiform pattern. Tumors were very rich in reticulin fibers, mimicking a mesenchymal tumor. There was very slight pleomorphism. Bizarre giant cells were not observed and lipidization was not a prominent feature. Immunoperoxidase technique was performed in all of them and showed glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in most of the tumor cells. We believe their origin is from subpial astrocytes. They probably represent a separate entity whose diagnosis cannot be accurately established without immunohistochemical techniques.

Neuropsychological, Psychiatric, and Cerebral Blood Flow Findings in Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Psychiatric, neuropsychological, and cerebral blood flow differences between patients with ischemic vascular dementia (IVD) or Alzheimers disease (AD) were examined. METHODS A consecutive series of patients who met either the criteria of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimers Disease and Related Disorders Association for probable AD or the State of California AD Diagnostic and Treatment Centers criteria for probable IVD were included in the study. Twenty consecutive patients with IVD were matched for age, sex, and Mini-Mental State Examination scores with 40 consecutive patients with probable AD. Patients underwent a psychiatric interview, a neuropsychological assessment, and single-photon emission CT imaging with 99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime. RESULTS Patients with IVD showed significantly more severe anosognosia (P<.05) and emotional lability (P<.01) than AD patients, but no significant between-group differences were found in the frequency and severity of depression. IVD patients showed significantly more severe deficits in tests of planning, sequencing (P<.05), and verbal fluency (P<.05) as well as significantly more severe cerebral blood flow deficits in the basal ganglia (P<.01) and the frontal lobes (P<.001) than AD patients. CONCLUSIONS Patients with IVD showed a relatively more severe dysfunction of the frontal lobes as demonstrated by single-photon emission CT and expressed in specific psychiatric and neuropsychological changes than AD patients matched for age, sex, and severity of dementia.

THE NATURE OF APRAXIA IN CORTICOBASAL DEGENERATION

Although apraxia is one of the most frequent signs in corticobasal degeneration, the phenomenology of this disorder has not been formally examined. Hence 10 patients with corticobasal degeneration were studied with a standardised evaluation for different types of apraxia. To minimise the confounding effects of the primary motor disorder, apraxia was assessed in the least affected limb. Whereas none of the patients showed buccofacial apraxia, seven showed deficits on tests of ideomotor apraxia and movement imitation, four on tests of sequential arm movements (all of whom had ideomotor apraxia), and three on tests of ideational apraxia (all of whom had ideomotor apraxia). Ideomotor apraxia significantly correlated with deficit in both the mini mental state examination and in a task sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction (picture arrangement). Two of the three patients with ideomotor apraxia and ideational apraxia showed severe cognitive impairments. The alien limb behaviour was present only in patients with ideomotor apraxia. In conclusion, ideomotor apraxia is the most frequent type of apraxia in corticobasal degeneration, and may be due to dysfunction of the supplementary motor area. There is a subgroup of patients with corticobasal degeneration who have a severe apraxia (ideomotor and ideational apraxia), which correlates with global cognitive impairment, and may result from additional parietal or diffuse cortical damage.

Ischemic infarction in 25 children with tuberculous meningitis.

Twenty-five cases (38%) of ischemic infarction occurred among 65 cases of tuberculous meningitis in patients less than 14 years of age. The male:female ratio was 1.3:1. The most frequent clinical findings were meningeal signs, fever, alteration of consciousness, cranial nerve involvement, seizures, and focal neurologic deficit. Twenty-three patients had anterior circulation infarcts, and two more had infarcts in the vertebrobasilar territories. Distribution of infarcts in the anterior circulation was shown by computed tomography in the territories of the following arteries: lenticulostriate, 10 cases unilateral and 6 bilateral; middle cerebral, 3 cases; internal carotid, 1 case; multiple areas, 3 cases. Of the 25 ischemic infarction cases, 23 (92%) had hydrocephalus, 19 (76%) basal exudates, and 2 (8%) tuberculomas. Outcome was poor since no patient with infarction recovered completely. Six died and bilateral subcortical infarcts led to a considerably higher mortality than unilateral ones, whether cortical or subcortical.

Prevalence and clinical correlates of pathological affective display in Alzheimer's disease

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of pathological affect in Alzheimers disease. A consecutive series of 103 patients with Alzheimers disease were examined with a comprehensive psychiatric assessment that included the pathological laughing and crying scale (PLACS). Forty patients (39%) showed pathological affect: 25% showed crying episodes, and 14% showed laughing or mixed (laughing and crying) episodes. Patients with pathological affect crying showed significantly higher depression scores and a significantly higher frequency of major depression and dysthymia than patients with no pathological affect. Patients with mixed pathological affect showed significantly more subcortical atrophy on CT than patients with pathological affect crying. Forty seven per cent of the patients with pathological affect had no congruent mood disorder, and they showed a significantly longer duration of illness and more severe anosognosia than patients with pathological affect that was congruent with an underlying mood disorder. The study validates the PLACS, and shows the high prevalence of pathological affect in Alzheimers disease.

A SPECT study of delusions in Alzheimer's disease

Although delusions are a frequent finding in patients with Alzheimers disease (AD), their mechanism is not well known. We carried out Tc 99m HMPAO single-photon emission computed tomography studies in 16 AD patients with delusions and 29 AD patients without delusions comparable in age, years of education, duration of illness, and severity of dementia. Although we found no significant between-group differences in performance on neuropsychological tasks, AD patients with delusions had significantly lower mean cerebral blood flow in both the left and right temporal lobes.

Alzheimer's disease in a patient with posterior cortical atrophy.

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is characterised by slowly progressive dementia with cognitive and perceptual deficits suggestive of bilateral parieto-occipital disease. A case is reported of a patient with PCA and neuropathological findings consistent with Alzheimers disease.

Emotion processing in the minimally conscious state

As a newly described condition distinct from coma or the vegetative state, minimally conscious state (MCS) is characterised by a threshold level of consciousness, and diagnostic criteria have recently been proposed.1 In MCS, cognitively mediated behaviour occurs inconsistently, but is reproducible or sustained enough to be differentiated from reflexive behaviour. It is clinically essential to distinguish this condition from persistent vegetative state (PVS), due to a potentially more favourable outcome.1 So far, whether patients in MCS can process emotion is unknown. Cortical processing has been described in PVS using auditory and visual functional paradigms with positron emission tomography.2,3 However, to date hardly any functional imaging studies are available in patients in MCS.4 We used fMRI to assess brain activity induced by an emotional stimulus in a patient in MCS. A 17 year old man was riding his bicycle when he was hit by a train. The accident …