[Depression and Parkinson's Disease: study of a series of 135 Parkinson's patients]. / Depression et maladie de Parkinson: étude d'une série de 135 parkinsoniens.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of depression in Parkinson's disease (PD) raises the issues of the difficulties of diagnosing the condition and of the relationships between depression and the natural history of the disease. METHODS: A cohort of 135 consecutive patients with idiopathic PD underwent psychiatric (DSM-III-R, Goldberg depression scale), neurological (distinguishing "axial" signs from other signs of parkinsonism), and neuropsychological (particularly frontal tests) evaluations. RESULTS: Depression is present in more than half of the patients and it seems to be more frequent in patients with the akinetic and fluctuating forms of the disease. The subjects who are depressed do not have a greater degree of cognitive impairment, but their scores on frontal tests are higher. Moreover, the axial signs of the disease (postural instability, axial rigidity) are more severe in depressed parkinsonians suggesting a link between depression and the non-dopaminergic lesions of the disease. Even though slowness, appetite and sleep disturbances, and fatigue may be encountered in non-depressed parkinsonian patients, separation of the parkinsonian population into subgroups shows that certain symptoms are never seen in parkinsonians who are not depressed: it is thus evident that "the impression that life is not worth living", "the hopelessness", "the impression of being worthless and incompetent", "the low level of energy", "the morning sadness" are characteristic of parkinsonian depression. Parkinsonian depression has two major clinical forms. The first one is associated with a greater number of somatic manifestations: sleep disturbances, morning fatigue. corresponding to more severe depression with hopelessness and loss of self confidence. The second exhibits few somatic manifestations with apathy and slowness as frequent complaints. CONCLUSIONS: This study defines the symptoms of parkinsonian depression which should be better recognised in order to be treated. The link between depression and axial signs of the disease may explain why L-dopa and dopaminergic agonists improve the motor signs of depression without influencing depressive manifestations in most cases.

[Crossed aphasia disclosed by central auditory disorder]. / Aphasie croisée révélée par un trouble central de l'audition.

A 80-year-old woman, right-handed, suddenly felt the impression to be deaf. Besides, she presented language disorders of aphasic type relating to a sensorial transcortical aphasia. The case meets the diagnostic criteria for crossed aphasia. The magnetic resonance imaging showed a right temporo-parietal infarct. There was no sensorial or peripheral auditive disorder and no auditory agnosia of non verbal modality. During the evolution, the aphasic symptoms diminished partially and the subjective auditory deficit of the left ear continued. The integrated auditory evaluation (neuroacoustic test, study of auditory gnosia, dichotic listening test, evoked cortical auditory potentials) allowed the evidence of the characteristic disturbances of a right hemianacousia: loss of left hear in dichotic audition, decrease of amplitude of evoked right cortical auditory potentials. In the light of theories concerning auditory integration, one can explain this evolution. The initial aphasic comprehension disturbance expresses the alteration of the linguistic treatment of auditory information of the dominant hemisphere, here the right hemisphere. Subsequently, the linguistic disturbance regresses largely, letting persist the change of general auditory treatment. The representation of this general auditory treatment is hemispheric bilateral, the only right hemispheric damage shall result in hemianacousia.