[Effects of glucocorticoids administration on memory. Cognitive impairment in Cushing's disease]. / Effets des glucocorticoïdes sur lá memoire. Troubles cognitifs dans la maladie de Cushing.

The case of a 85 years old woman is reported. She suffered from a partially reversible episodic memory dysfunction after i.m. injections of bethamethasone for acute lumbalgia. Cognitive impairments observed in Cushing's disease are reviewed as well as the deleterious effects of glucocorticoid treatments on episodic memory. They could be prevented by memantine.

Disturbance governs dominance of an invasive forb in a temporary wetland.

Dominance of invasive species is often assumed to be due to a superior ability to acquire resources. However, dominance in plant communities can arise through multiple interacting mechanisms, including disturbance. Inter-specific competition can be strongly affected by abiotic conditions, which can determine the outcome of competitive interactions. We evaluated competition and disturbance as mechanisms governing dominance of Phyla canescens (hereafter lippia), an invasive perennial forb from South America, in Paspalum distichum (perennial grass, hereafter water couch) meadows in floodplain wetlands of eastern Australia. Water couch meadows (in the study area) are listed under the Ramsar Convention due to their significance as habitat for migratory waterbirds. In the field, we monitored patterns of vegetation boundaries between the two species in response to flooding. Under controlled glasshouse conditions, we explored competitive interactions between the native water couch and lippia subject to different soil moisture/inundation regimes. We did this using a pairwise factorial glasshouse experiment that manipulated neighbor density (9 treatments) and soil moisture/inundation (4 treatments). In the field trial, inundation increased the cover of water couch. Under more controlled conditions, the invader had a competitive effect on the native species only under dry soil conditions, and was strongly inhibited by inundation. This suggests that dry conditions favor the growth of the invader and wetter (more historical) conditions favor the native grass. In this system, invader dominance is governed by altered disturbance regimes which give the invader a competitive advantage over the native species.

[Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in pregnancy]. / Inhibiteurs sélectifs de la recapture de la sérotonine (ISRS) et grossesse.

Recent studies suggest several problems associated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) when administered during pregnancy. During organogenesis, paroxetine (Deroxat, Paxil, or generics) was associated with a significantly increased risk of major congenital malformations. Such an increase had already been reported with clomipramine (Anafranil), a tricyclic antidepressant. After the time of organogenesis, SSRIs have also been associated to risks. Of these, the more frequent is neonatal toxicity, while pulmonary hypertension in the newborn is likely to be the more severe. These newly discovered side effects arouse questions about the treatment of depression during pregnancy.

[Some preconceptions and psychotropic drugs prescription]. / Quelques préjugés et la prescription des médicaments psychotropes.

Prescription of psychotropic drugs should follow evidence-based medicine, i.e. be founded on well-conducted randomised controlled trials. In fact, a number of prescriptions do not follow these rules and cannot be qualified as evidence-based psychiatry. In this article, some preconceptions concerning the drug prescription in psychiatry are evoked.

The reliability and validity of the French version of the Canberra Interview for the Elderly.

A French version of the Canberra Interview for the Elderly (CIE) was developed. This instrument is designed for lay administration and, using a computer algorithm, produces diagnoses of dementia and depression according to ICD-10 and DSM-III-R criteria. The reliability of this French version was found to meet or exceed the English version in a test-retest design. Validity, established by comparison with diagnoses made by an experienced clinician, was also found to be acceptable. The CIE is thus an appropriate instrument for the epidemiological study of these disorders in French-speaking populations.

Successful prophylaxis of experimental streptococcal endocarditis with single-dose amoxicillin administered after bacterial challenge.

Rats with catheter-induced aortic vegetations were challenged intravenously with various inoculum sizes of tolerant Streptococcus sanguis or Streptococcus faecalis. Single-dose amoxicillin (40 mg/kg) was given intravenously either 30 min before or 30-240 min after bacterial challenge. Prophylaxis of endocarditis against both strains was successful when the inocula used for challenge were in the range of the minimum inoculum producing bacterial endocarditis in 90% of control animals (ID90) but was less effective or failed with larger inocula or when amoxicillin administration was delayed up to 240 min after bacterial challenge with S. sanguis. In a group of rats profoundly depleted of neutrophils by a rabbit anti-rat neutrophil serum given 30 min after challenge with S. faecalis at ID90, single-dose amoxicillin administered simultaneously with the antiserum was protective, indicating that neutrophils were not required for successful endocarditis prophylaxis.