A Quantitative, Digital Method to Analyze Human Figure Drawings as a Tool to Assess Body Representations Distortions in Stroke Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Human figure drawings are widely used in clinical practice as a qualitative indication of Body Representations (BRs) alterations in stroke patients. The objective of this study is to present and validate the use of a new app called QDraw for the quantitative analysis of drawings and to investigate whether this analysis can reveal distortions of BRs in chronic stroke patients. RESULTS: QDraw has proven to generate reliable data as compared to manual scoring and in terms of inter-rater reliability, as shown by the high correlation coefficients. Moreover, human figure drawings from chronic stroke patients demonstrated a distortion of upper limb perception, as shown by a significantly higher arm length asymmetry compared to legs, whereas no difference was found in healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The present study supports the use of quantitative, digital methods (the QDraw app) to analyze human figure drawings as a tool to evaluate BRs distortions in stroke patients.

A progranulin mutation associated with cortico-basal syndrome in an Italian family expressing different phenotypes of fronto-temporal lobar degeneration.

Cortico-basal syndrome (CBS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterised by movement and cognitive disorders. It occurs along the spectrum of fronto-temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which also includes fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). FTLD has recently been shown to be associated with mutations in GRN gene, coding for progranulin, a multifunctional secreted glycoprotein involved in cell cycle, inflammation and tissue repair. We describe the case of a 73-year-old man suffering from CBS with a family history of cognitive disorders belonging to the clinical spectrum of FTLD. Sequencing analysis of GRN in this patient revealed that the C157KfsX97 null mutation has been already described by Le Ber et al. in a French patient affected by an apparently sporadic form of FTD. This report confirms the variability of clinical phenotypes associated with the same mutation and emphasises the importance of genetic analysis in cases with a clear familiarity, as well as in apparently sporadic forms.

Post-anoxic vegetative state: imaging and prognostic perspectives.

Prognostic determination of patients in coma after resuscitation from cardiac arrest is a common and difficult requirement with significant ethical, social and legal implications. We set out to seek markers that can be used for the early detection of patients with a poor prognosis, so as to reduce uncertainty over treatment and non-treatment decisions, and to improve relationships with families. We reviewed the medical literature from 1991 to 2010, using key words such as post-anoxic coma, post-anoxic vegetative state, vegetative state prognosis, recovery after cardiac arrest. Neurological examination, electrophysiology, imaging, and biochemical markers are all useful tools for estimating patients' chances of recovery from cardiac arrest. It seems unlikely that any single test will prove to have 100% predictive value for outcome; but the combination of various prognostic markers, as shown in some articles, could increase the reliability of outcome prediction. However, further research is needed.