Recommendations of the Sleep Study Group of the Italian Dementia Research Association (SINDem) on clinical assessment and management of sleep disorders in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a clinical review.

Clinical assessment and management of sleep disturbances in patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia has important clinical and social implications. Poor sleep results in an increased risk of morbidities and mortality in demented patients and is a source of stress for caregivers. Sleep disturbances show high prevalence in mild cognitive impairment and dementia patients and they are often associated one to another in the same patient. A careful clinical evaluation of sleep disorders should be performed routinely in the clinical setting of individuals with cognitive decline. The Sleep Study Group of the Italian Dementia Research Association (SINDem) reviewed evidence from original research articles, meta-analyses and systematic reviews published up to December 2013. The evidence was classified in quality levels (I, II, III) and strength of recommendations (A, B, C, D, E). Where there was a lack of evidence, but clear consensus, good practice points were provided. These recommendations may not be appropriate for all circumstances and should therefore be adopted only after a patient's individual characteristics have been carefully evaluated.

Comparison of MRI based and PET template based approaches in the quantitative analysis of amyloid imaging with PIB-PET.

RATIONALE: [(11)C]Pittsburgh compound-B (PIB) has been the most widely used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent for brain amyloid. Several longitudinal studies evaluating the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and numerous therapeutic intervention studies are underway using [(11)C]PIB PET as an AD biomarker. Quantitative analysis of [(11)C]PIB data requires the definition of regional volumes of interest. This investigation systematically compared two data analysis routes both using a probabilistic brain atlas with 11 bilateral regions. Route 1 used individually segmented structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) for each subject while Route 2 used a standardised [(11)C]PIB PET template. METHODS: A total of 54 subjects, 20 with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 14 with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and 20 age-matched healthy controls, were scanned at two imaging centres either in London (UK) or in Turku (Finland). For all subjects structural volumetric MRI and [(11)C]PIB PET scans were acquired. Target-to-cerebellum ratios 40 min to 60 min post injection were used as outcome measures. Regional read outs for grey matter target regions were generated for both routes. Based on a composite neocortical, frontal, posterior cingulate, combined posterior cingulate and frontal cortical regions, scans were categorised into either 'PIB negative' (PIB-) or 'PIB positive' (PIB+) using previously reported cut-off target-to-cerebellar ratios of 1.41, 1.5 and 1.6, respectively. RESULTS: Target-to-cerebellum ratios were greater when defined with a [(11)C]PIB PET template than with individual MRIs for all cortical regions regardless of diagnosis. This difference was highly significant for controls (p<0.001, paired samples t-test), less significant for MCIs and borderline for ADs. Assignment of subjects to raised or normal categories was the same with both routes with a 1.6 cut-off while with lower cut off using frontal cortex, and combined frontal cortex and posterior cingulate demonstrated similar results, while posterior cingulate alone demonstrated significantly higher proportion of controls as amyloid positive by Route 2. CONCLUSIONS: Definition of cortical grey matter regions is more accurate when individually segmented MRIs (Route 1) were used rather than a population-based PET template (Route 2). The impact of this difference depends on the grey-to-white matter contrast in the PET images; specifically seen in healthy controls with high white matter and low grey matter uptake. When classifying AD, MCI and control subjects as normal or abnormal using large cortical regions; discordance was found between the MRI and template approach for those few subjects who presented with cortex-to-cerebellum ratios very close to the pre-assigned cut-off. However, posterior cingulate alone demonstrated significant discordance in healthy controls using template based approach. This study, therefore, demonstrates that the use of a [(11)C]PIB PET template (Route 2) is adequate for clinical diagnostic purposes, while MRI based analysis (Route 1) remains more appropriate for clinical research.

Can target-to-pons ratio be used as a reliable method for the analysis of [11C]PIB brain scans?

RATIONALE: (11)C]PIB is the most widely used PET imaging marker for amyloid in dementia studies. In the majority of studies the cerebellum has been used as a reference region. However, cerebellar amyloid may be present in genetic Alzheimer's (AD), cerebral amyloid angiopathy and prion diseases. Therefore, we investigated whether the pons could be used as an alternative reference region for the analysis of [(11)C]PIB binding in AD. The aims of the study were to: 1) Evaluate the pons as a reference region using arterial plasma input function and Logan graphical analysis of binding. 2) Assess the power of target-to-pons ratios to discriminate controls from AD subjects. 3) Determine the test-retest reliability in AD subjects. 4) Demonstrate the application of target-to-pons ratio in subjects with elevated cerebellar [(11)C]PIB binding. METHODS: 12 sporadic AD subjects aged 65 ± 4.5 yrs with a mean MMSE 21.4 ± 4 and 10 age-matched control subjects had [(11)C]PIB PET with arterial blood sampling. Three additional subjects (two subjects with pre-symptomatic presenilin-1 mutation carriers and one probable familial AD) were also studied. Object maps were created by segmenting individual MRIs and spatially transforming the gray matter images into standard stereotaxic MNI space and then superimposing a probabilistic atlas. Cortical [(11)C]PIB binding was assessed with an ROI (region of interest) analysis. Parametric maps of the volume of distribution (V(T)) were generated with Logan analysis. Additionally, parametric maps of the 60-90 min target-to-cerebellar ratio (RATIO(CER)) and the 60-90 min target-to-pons ratio (RATIO(PONS)) were computed. RESULTS: All three approaches were able to differentiate AD from controls (p<0.0001, nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum test) in the target regions with RATIO(CER) and RATIO(PONS) differences higher than V(T) with use of an arterial input function. All methods had a good reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient>0.83); RATIO(CER) performed best closely followed by RATIO(PONS). The two subjects with presenilin-1 mutations and the probable familial AD case showed no significant differences in cortical binding using RATIO(CER), but the RATIO(PONS) approach revealed higher [(11)C]PIB binding in cortex and cerebellum. CONCLUSION: This study established 60-90 min target-to-pons RATIOs as a reliable method of analysis in [(11)C]PIB PET studies where cerebellum is not an appropriate reference region.

Prevalence of sleep disturbances in mild cognitive impairment and dementing disorders: a multicenter Italian clinical cross-sectional study on 431 patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Sleep disturbances are common in the elderly and in persons with cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to describe frequency and characteristics of insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep-disordered breathing, REM behavior disorder and restless legs syndrome in a large cohort of persons with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. METHODS: 431 consecutive patients were enrolled in 10 Italian neurological centers: 204 had Alzheimer's disease, 138 mild cognitive impairment, 43 vascular dementia, 25 frontotemporal dementia and 21 Lewy body dementia or Parkinson's disease dementia. Sleep disorders were investigated with a battery of standardized questions and questionnaires. RESULTS: Over 60% of persons had one or more sleep disturbances almost invariably associated one to another without any evident and specific pattern of co-occurrence. Persons with Alzheimer's disease and those with mild cognitive impairment had the same frequency of any sleep disorder. Sleep-disordered breathing was more frequent in vascular dementia. REM behavior disorder was more represented in Lewy body or Parkinson's disease dementia. CONCLUSION: A careful clinical evaluation of sleep disorders should be performed routinely in the clinical setting of persons with cognitive decline. Instrumental supports should be used only in selected patients.

Second-line chemotherapy with bleomycin, methotrexate, and vinorelbine (BMV) for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head, neck and esophagus (SCC-HN&E) pretreated with a cisplatin-containing regimen: a phase II study.

We evaluated the toxicity and activity of bleomycin, methotrexate and vinorelbine (BMV) combination chemotherapy in cisplatin-pretreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head, neck and esophagus (SCC-HN&E) with the aim of identifying a second-line therapy combination and schedule that might offer an improved therapeutic index. BMV (bleomycin 15 I.U., total dose, methotrexate 30 mg/m2, and vinorelbine 30 mg/m2) was administered intravenously every 2 weeks until disease progression, to 26 consecutive patients. Clinical and CT-scan evaluations revealed 7 partial responses (PR) 127%, 95% confidence interval: 9.6%-44.4%], and 13 patients with stable disease (SD) [50%]. The mean progression-free survival for patients who achieved a PR or SD was 6.47 months (range 4-13 months), with 75% of these patients experiencing partial relief of symptoms, mainly pain and dysphagia. BMV, administered second-line in an outpatient setting, has activity similar to that of the taxanes, but with a more acceptable toxicity profile including an absence of alopecia.

[Latero-cervical metastasis of N0 laryngeal cancer]. / Le metastasi laterocervicali nel cancro laringeo N0.

The authors report a pathological study of functional neck dissection performed on 145 N0 laryngeal carcinoma patients from 1982 to 1988. The incidence of occult latero-cervical metastases in N0 was evaluated in relation to site and extension of the primitive tumor. A total of 108 supraglottic, 25 glottic and 12 transglottic tumors were observed. Among the cases treated the incidence of occult metastases was 28.3% while capsular rupture accounted for 3.4%. Diagnostic error, calculated on the number of neck dissections, was 20.2%. A greater incidence of occult metastases was found in supraglottic tumors (29.6%) than in either glottic (24%) or transglottic (25%) tumors. Furthermore, incidence of occult metastases proved proportional to the extension of the primitive tumor. There was a single metastases in 35 cases while only 6 cases proved multiple. Some final considerations are given on the importance of performing precautionary functional neck dissection in N0 laryngeal cancer.

[Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands: histologic grading as prognostic factors]. / Il carcinoma mucoepidermoide delle ghiandole salivari: il grading istologico come fattore prognostico.

Mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) make up 32% of the heterogeneous cases of malignant epithelial neoplasm of salivary glands observed in our Department. From 1980 to 1990, 270 patients with salivary gland tumefaction, which had previously been treated surgically, were studies. Thirty-four proved to be cases of malignant epithelial neoplasms while 12 oh these 34 were MEC. The biological behaviour of MEC appears to be closely linked to histological grading: a tumor with a low grading has good prognosis while in the case of tumors with a high grading there is a rapid development of local as well as distant metastases. At appears that, with regard to malignancy, localization is an important factors as well submandibular neoplasms are more aggressive the other cancers, probably because they attack periglandular tissue so promptly.

Narrowing the window for 'senile chorea': a case with primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Several apparently idiopathic cases of so called 'senile chorea' have been recently redefined by the availability of brain MRI scan and the clinical introduction of genetic testing for Huntington's disease. Cases currently still regarded as idiopathic might yet be attributed to other medical conditions. Chorea as a unique manifestation of a primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) has so far been described only in young and middle-aged subjects. Here, we report a typical case of 'senile chorea' associated with PAPS, thus expanding the potential underlying etiologies and further narrowing the window of primary 'senile chorea'.