Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2018
Review Meta AnalysisThe cognitive profile of behavioural variant FTD and its similarities with ALS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Approximately 30% of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have cognitive impairment and 8%-14% fulfil the criteria for behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bv-FTD). The cognitive profiles of ALS and bv-FTD have been reported to be comparable, but this has never been systematically investigated. We aimed to determine the cognitive profile of bv-FTD and examine its similarities with that of ALS, to provide evidence for the existence of a cognitive disease continuum encompassing bv-FTD and ALS. ⋯ When social cognition, verbal memory, fluency, executive functions, language and visuoperception were considered, i.e. the cognitive profile of ALS, Pearson's r was 0.73 (p=0.09), which raised to 0.92 (p=0.03), when language was excluded in this systematic analysis of patients with a non-language subtype of FTD. The cognitive profile of bv-FTD consists of deficits in social cognition, verbal memory, fluency and executive functions and shows similarities with the cognitive profile of ALS. These findings support a cognitive continuum encompassing ALS and bv-FTD.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2018
Neurofilament light chain and tau concentrations are markedly increased in the serum of patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and tau correlates with rate of disease progression.
A blood-based biomarker of neuronal damage in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) will be extremely valuable for both clinical practice and research aiming to develop effective therapies. ⋯ These findings independently replicate other recent studies using similar methods and offer novel insights. They show clear promise for these blood-based biomarkers in prion disease. Future work should aim to fully establish their potential roles for monitoring disease progression and response to therapies.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2018
Meta Analysis Comparative StudySystematic review and meta-analysis on outcome differences among patients with TICI2b versus TICI3 reperfusions: success revisited.
A reperfusion quality of thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI)≥2b has been set as the therapeutic angiography target for interventions in patients with acute ischaemic stroke. This study addresses whether the distinction between TICI2b and TICI3 reperfusions shows a clinically relevant difference on functional outcome. ⋯ TICI3 reperfusions are associated with superior outcome and better safety profiles than TICI2b reperfusions. This effect seems to be independent of time and collaterals. As reperfusion quality is the most important modifiable predictor of patients' outcome, a more conservative definition of successful therapy and further evaluation of treatment approaches geared towards achieving TICI3 reperfusions are desirable.