The Difference of Verbal Fluency Task Performance between Alzheimer's Disease and Subcortical Vascular Dementia: CREDOS (Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea) Study

BACKGROUND: The verbal fluency test consists of two separate tests of semantic fluency and phonemic fluency. The performance patterns of these tests differ with the type of dementia. We studied the patterns of verbal fluency between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD), and assessed the clinical utility of these tests. METHODS: The 1,475 selected participants comprised 73 normal control subjects, 673 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), 535 AD patients, 42 patients with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI), and 152 SVaD patients. We analyzed the z-score for the total number of animal items as a semantic fluency index and the z-score of the phonemic total score as a phonemic fluency index. RESULTS: The performance of semantic fluency was lower than that of phonemic fluency in all groups. The SVaD group showed the worst scores and abnormal performances on both tests, while the AD group presented abnormal performance only for semantic fluency. Dividing the patients with dementia according to severity revealed a different pattern between AD and SVaD for the clinical dementia rating (CDR) stage of 0.5. The performance of the AD group declined gradually with CDR. However, the SVaD group performed very poorly in both tests even for very mild dementia (CDR stage of 0.5). The aMCI and svMCI groups exhibited similar performance patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of semantic and phonemic fluency was not clinically useful at the MCI stage, but it could be helpful in differentiating AD and SVaD in the early stage of dementia.

Factors Influencing Skin Tolerability to the Rivastigmine Patch in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The one-day rivastigmine patch is reportedly well tolerated and has minimal side effects. However, Asian patients show more side effects than those in Western countries. We evaluated tolerability of the rivastigmine patch in South Korean patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the specific factors affecting adverse events of the skin. METHODS: A 6-month, open labeled, multi-centered, observational study was carried out in 440 patients with probable AD from July 2009 to September 2010 (NCT01312363). RESULTS: A total of 25.9% of the patients experienced adverse skin events at the rivastigmine patch application site and 17.0% discontinued treatment due to adverse events at the skin application site. The most common adverse events were itching and erythema. Patients with an allergic history and users of electric heating appliances reported skin discomfort. Older age was associated with discontinuing treatment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the rivastigmine patch induced some adverse skin events and may contribute to understanding and improving skin tolerability to the rivastigmine patch.

Fatal ischemic stroke in a case of progressive moyamoya vasculopathy associated with uncontrolled thyrotoxicosis

No abstract available.

Sleep Disturbances and Predictive Factors in Caregivers of Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We examined the characteristics of sleep disturbances and sleep patterns in the caregivers of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and dementia. METHODS: We prospectively studied 132 patients (60 with aMCI and 72 with dementia) and their caregivers, and 52 noncaregiver controls. All caregivers and controls completed several sleep questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The patients were administered neuropsychological tests and the neuropsychiatric inventory to evaluate their behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia (BPSD). RESULTS: The PSQI global score was 6.25+/-3.88 (mean+/-SD) for the dementia caregivers and 5.47+/-3.53 for the aMCI caregivers. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and short form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-S) predicted higher PSQI global scores in aMCI caregivers, and higher scores for the ISI, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and GDS-S in dementia caregivers. BPSD, including not only agitation, depression, and appetite change in dementia patients, but also depression, apathy, and disinhibition in aMCI patients, was related to impaired sleep quality of caregivers, but nighttime behavior was not. Age and gender were not risk factors for disturbed sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: Dementia and aMCI caregivers exhibit impaired quality of sleep versus non-caregivers. ISI, GDS-S, and ESS scores are strong indicators of poor sleep in dementia caregivers. In addition, some BPSD and parts of the neuropsychological tests may be predictive factors of sleep disturbance in dementia caregivers.

Clinical Characteristics of a Nationwide Hospital-based Registry of Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease Patients in Korea: A CREDOS (Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea) Study

With rapid population aging, the socioeconomic burden caused by dementia care is snowballing. Although a few community-based studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been performed in Korea, there has never been a nationwide hospital-based study thereof. We aimed to identify the demographics and clinical characteristics of mild-to-moderate AD patients from the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of Korea (CREDOS) registry. A total of 1,786 patients were consecutively included from September 2005 to June 2010. Each patient underwent comprehensive neurological examination, interview for caregivers, laboratory investigations, neuropsychological tests, and brain MRI. The mean age was 74.0 yr and the female percentage 67.0%. The mean period of education was 7.1 yr and the frequency of early-onset AD (< 65 yr old) was 18.8%. Among the vascular risk factors, hypertension (48.9%) and diabetes mellitus (22.3%) were the most frequent. The mean score of the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) was 19.2 and the mean sum of box scores of Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR-SB) 5.1. Based on the well-structured, nationwide, and hospital-based registry, this study provides the unique clinical characteristics of AD and emphasizes the importance of vascular factors in AD in Korea.

Clinical practice guideline for dementia by Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea

The Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS), a nation-wide clinical dementia research group, has prepared clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for dementia tailored to the Korean population. In this article, a summary of the CREDOS CPG is presented with the Korean and English version of full report included in the appendix. The CREDOS CPG in intended not only for psychiatrists and neurologists, but also internists, family physicians, and other primary care physicians involved in the prevention and early diagnosis of dementia. While our CPG for dementia mainly covers Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD), it also includes mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and vascular MCI, which are currently known to be the preclinical stages of AD or VaD, respectively, with emphasis placed on early diagnosis. The CREDOS CPG aims to achieve the following goals by developing CPG for dementia: to establish evidence-based, objective and clear clinical standards for dementia; to improve the clinical decision-making process for patients with dementia; to provide scientific and systematic scales to aid in the work of dementia specialists; to suggest comprehensive and systematic healthcare services tailored to each dementia subtype. The CREDOS CPG focuses on diagnosis and evaluation of clinical practice available domestically, and provides useful concepts of dementia. Its emphasis is on etiologies and epidemiology, diagnostic criteria and evaluation, neuropsychological tests, behavioral and psychological symptoms, the activities of daily living, laboratory tests, and brain imaging.

Skull Base Tumor Presenting as Dysarthria and Tongue Deviation

No abstract available.

Change of Serum Neuron Specific Enolase Level During Acute Stage of Cerebral Infarction

BACKGROUND: Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a useful indicator of neuronal injury in acute cerebral infarction. We investigated the changes in serial serum NSE levels in patients with acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: We measured serial serum NSE levels at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours, and 2 weeks after the onset of cerebral infarction in 30 patients (15 territorial and 15 lacunar infarctions). We also measured the NSE levels in age-matched controls (n=15) who had no evidence of acute stroke or other neurological disorders. The NSE level was measured using a radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The initial serum NSE level was significantly higher in the cerebral infarction group than in the control group (6.6+/-2 vs 4.7+/-1.6 ng/mL [mean+/-SD], p=0.006). This difference was also observed between the territorial and lacunar infarction groups until 72 hours after the cerebral infarction. The serum NSE level peaked at 72 hours after the infarction in both lacunar and territorial infarction groups. The correlation between the NSE level and the score on the NIH Stroke Scale was strongest at 48 hours after the cerebral infarction (r=0.469). CONCLUSIONS: Serum NSE level can be a good indicator for distinguishing lacunar from territorial infarction during the acute stage of cerebral infarction.

Dementia With Lewy Bodies Diagnosed by Cognitive Fluctuation After Anticholinergic Medication

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) usually presents with progressive cognitive decline and parkinsonism. We report a 68-year-old man who showed parkinsonism including resting tremor and mild cognitive decline. After anticholinergic medication, he showed recurrent visual hallucination. Neuropsychological tests revealed frontal and memory impairments. PET showed hypometabolism in the primary visual and visual association cortices. It is necessary to consider the possibility of DLB as well as anticholinergic side effect when visual hallucination occurs during the treatment of parkinsonism.

Successful Treatment of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura with Recurrent Transient Ischemic Attacks in Old Age

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura(TTP) is an uncommon fatal disorder of young adults characterized by thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, fluctuating neurologic dysfunction, fever, and renal dysfunction. The fluctuating neurologic dysfunction, which is mainly due to small arteriolar or capillary ischemic vasculopathy, suggests impending stroke. We report a 72-year-old woman who has had recurrent and progressive transient ischemic attacks and confusion after a large amount of bloodletting. She recovered completely after intensive plasmapheresis and immunosuppressant treatment. This case illustrates that aggressive treatment, even in old age, may prevent permanent neurologic deficits when stroke is impending and complicated by TTP.

Relapsing Herpes Simplex Encephalitis Resulting in Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

Relapse of herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis rarely occurs after acyclovir treatment. We experienced a case of relapsing HSV encephalitis in the contralateral temporal lobe, resulting in Kluver-Bucy syndrome, after a full dose acyclovir treatment. Sudden behavioral and emotional changes after HSV encephalitis treatment suggest relapsing HSV encephalitis as well as temporal lobe epilepsy.

In Vivo Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Findings in Brain Abscess: A Case Report

No abstract available.

Amnesic Syndrome in a Mammillothalamic Tract Infarction

It is controversial whether isolated lesions of mammillothalamic tract (MTT) produce significant amnesia. Since the MTT is small and adjacent to several important structures for memory, amnesia associated with isolated MTT infarction has been rarely reported. We report a patient who developed amnesia following an infarction of the left MTT that spared adjacent memory-related structures including the anterior thalamic nucleus. The patient s memory deficit was characterized by a severe anterograde encoding deficit and retrograde amnesia with a temporal gradient. In contrast, he did not show either frontal executive dysfunction or personality change that is frequently recognized in the anterior or medial thalamic lesion. We postulate that an amnesic syndrome can develop following discrete lesions of the MTT.

Cerebral Infarction Producing Sudden Isolated Foot Drop

Foot drop usually results from lesions affecting the peripheral neural pathway related to dorsiflexor muscles, especially the peroneal nerve. Although a central nervous system lesion is suspected when there is a lack of clinical evidence for a lower motor neuron lesion, such cases are extremely rare. We describe a patient with sudden isolated foot drop caused by a small acute cortical infarction in the high convexity of the precentral gyrus. This report indicates that a cortical infarction may have to be considered as a potential cause of foot drop.