Twelve months effect on voiding function of retropubic compared with outside-in and inside-out transobturator midurethral slings.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study is to compare retropubic tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) with transobturator out-in TOT and in-out TVT-O for female stress urinary incontinence. Uroflow rate was primary; continence rates, quality of life (QoL) and complication pattern were secondary endpoints. METHODS: A prospective randomised trial with 2:1:1 randomisation at two Swiss teaching hospitals. Patients were followed up at 12 months. RESULTS: Eighty TVT, 40 transobturator tape (TOT) and 40 TVT-O were randomised. At 12 months, there was no difference in Qmax among the groups. Continence was comparable (≥ 89%). QoL was improved significantly in all groups (P < 0.05). Five vaginal tape exposures occurred (one TVT, four TOT, zero TVT-O; P = 0.028). Two percent (1/52) of sexually active patients after TVT, 17% (5/29) after TOT, but 0% (0/25) after TVT-O reported de novo female sexual dysfunction (P = 0.011). We considered this clinically important enough to stop enrolment. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference for Qmax at 12 months between TVT, TOT and TVT-O. Female sexual dysfunction and tape exposure may be higher with a transobturator tape.

Efficacy of a cognitive training programme for mild cognitive impairment: results of a randomised controlled study.

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of cognitive training in a 10-week randomised controlled study involving 22 individuals presenting with mild cognitive impairment of the amnestic type (MCI-A). Participants in the experimental group (n = 11) learned face-name associations using a paradigm combining errorless (EL) learning and spaced retrieval (SR) whereas participants in the control group (n = 11) were trained using an errorful (EF) learning paradigm. Psycho-educational sessions on memory were also provided to all participants. After neuropsychological screening and baseline evaluations, the cognitive training took place in 6 sessions over a 3-week period. The post-training and follow-up evaluations, at one and four weeks respectively, were performed by research assistants blind to the participant's study group. The results showed that regardless of the training condition, all participants improved their capacity to learn face-name associations. A significant amelioration was also observed in participant satisfaction regarding their memory functioning and in the frequency with which the participants used strategies to support memory functions in daily life. The absence of difference between groups on all variables might be partly explained by the high variability of scores within the experimental group. Other studies are needed in order to verify the efficacy of EL learning and SR over EF in MCI-A.

Vascular risk factors and cognitive functions in nondemented elderly individuals.

BACKGROUND: The brain-at-risk stage is the earliest phase of the vascular cognitive impairment continuum and includes individuals with vascular risk factors (VRF). However, there is still no clear definition of this concept. The aim of the study is to characterize the neuropsychological profile of elderly individuals by 3 levels of VRF. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging baseline data; 577 nondemented elderly individuals > or =65 years old were divided into 3 groups: reference group (0 VRF; n = 82); intermediate brain-at-risk group (1-2 VRF; n = 360); high brain-at-risk group (> or =3 VRF; n = 135). A principal component analysis (PCA) and univariate/multivariate analyses of variance were performed to examine the relationships between the groups and various cognitive measures. MAIN FINDINGS: The PCA produced a 2-component solution (1) executive/psychomotor functions including measures of abstraction and (2) verbal memory. The high brain-at-risk group performed significantly worse than the reference group on the first component. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly individuals presenting with > or =3 VRF are more impaired on measures of executive functions/ processing speed than participants without any VRF.

Comparability of the clinical diagnostic criteria for vascular dementia: a critical review. Part I.

This review is the first of a two-part series focusing on the comparability of eight clinical criteria used for the diagnosis of vascular dementia: the Hachinski Ischemic Scale; the Ischemic Scale of Rosen; the criteria proposed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-Third Edition (DSM-III), DSM-III-R, DSM-IV; International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10); State of California Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers (ADDTC); and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences (NINDS-AIREN). The authors discuss the critical issues related to the definition of the cognitive syndromes as well as the vascular causes and associated heterogeneity of symptomatology across these criteria.

Validity of the clinical diagnostic criteria for vascular dementia: a critical review. Part II.

This review is the second of a two-part series focusing on the validity of eight clinical criteria for vascular dementia. Sixteen studies were selected according to their purposes and quality of experimental design. The analysis revealed that criteria for vascular dementia are not interchangeable; the eight criteria sets yielded different sensitivity and specificity results, as well as marked variability in incidence, prevalence, and frequency rates. Although the State of California Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers (ADDTC) were the most sensitive and useful criteria in clinical settings and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences (NINDS-AIREN) were the most specific and useful criteria in research, all criteria shared similar flaws. A definition of the cognitive syndrome, associated vascular causes or lesions, and methods of assessment should be clearly specified in the future. Suggestions for improvement are made.