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Query: UMLS:C0085632 (apathy)
 4,089 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The neuropsychological observations of 63 patients undergoing surgery for "normal pressure hydrocephalus" (NPH) have been analyzed retrospectively. To make a semiological picture of mental disturbances in NPH, the level of consciousness, behaviour and cognitive functions were studied. A neuropsychological investigation of the main cognitive functions (language, gnosis, praxis, calculation, memory) enables us to specify the characteristics of dementia shown by these patients. A mental picture of the most frequent neuropsychological signs is described. The mental syndrome which characterized NPH reveals an alteration of alertness and concentration, a deficiency in memory, a disorganization of graphism (writing and drawing), a dyscalculia and behaviour problems (bradypsychy, apathy, indifference). Such a syndrome points out a bilateral frontal lesion. On the other hand, the less frequent signs are largely verbal and show different stages of aphasia. These signs can usually be found in patients who don't improve after ventricular drainage and are more suggestive of a degenerative disease of the Alzheimer type. The results are compared with the psychometric and neuropsychological data of the literature. More specific attention is accorded to differential diagnosis.
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PMID:[Neuropsychological symptomatology in normal pressure hydrocephalus]. 242 4

Although observed in various brain disorders, dementia is particularly frequent in neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the association of progressive amnesia with either instrumental (aphasia, apraxia, agnosia) or behavioral (apathy, indifference, anosognosia) disorders, depending upon the location of the underlying neuronal lesions. By contrast, memory, linguistic, praxic, visuo-spatial or comportemental impairments are dissociated in more focal "lobar" atrophies, while planning and retrieval deficits predominate in movement disorders with dementia. Alzheimer's and non-Alzheimer's neurodegenerative diseases can therefore be distinguished insofar as the severity and location of the associated neuronal lesions differ. Dementia may be observed in various brain diseases, either vascular, metabolic, demyelinating, traumatic, infectious, inflammatory, neoplastic or hydrocephalus (Chui, 1989). It is particularly frequent in neurodegenerative diseases. The recent clinical description of focal lobar atrophies (Weintraub and Mesulam, 1993) and the analysis of cognitive impairment observed in diseases with movement disorders (Cummings and Benson, 1984) have changed the conception of dementia, that may no more be defined as a global deterioration of higher cortical functions. The relative specificity of the cognitive picture of each disease depends on the location of the underlying neuronal lesions. Together with other tools, such as the neurological examination or the functional imagery, the neuropsychological exam may contribute to characterize the clinical picture of a patient with non-Alzheimer's degenerative disease and therefore to determine a clinical diagnosis, that remains probable till the neuropathological confrontation.
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PMID:Cognitive deficits in non-Alzheimer's degenerative diseases. 884 57

Parkinson's disease is primarily considered a motor disease characterized by rest tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural disturbances. However, neuropsychiatric complications, including mood and anxiety disorders, fatigue, apathy, psychosis, cognitive impairment, dementia, sleep disorders and addictions, frequently complicate the course of the illness. The pathophysiologic features of these complications are multifaceted and include neuropathophysiologic changes of a degenerative disease, exposure to antiparkinsonian treatments and emotional reactions to having a disabling chronic illness. Changes in mental status have profound implications for the well-being of patients with Parkinson's disease and of their caregivers. Treatment is often efficacious but becomes a challenge in advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. In this article, we review the key clinical features of neuropsychiatric complications in Parkinson's disease as well as what is known about their epidemiologic characteristics, risk factors, pathophysiologic features and management.
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PMID:Recognition and management of neuropsychiatric complications in Parkinson's disease. 1714 92