Atypical conduction aphasia and the right hemisphere: Cross-hemispheric plasticity of phonology in a developmentally dyslexic and dysgraphic patient with early left frontal damage.

We report the rare case of a patient, JNR, with history of mixed handedness, developmental dyslexia, dysgraphia, and attentional deficits associated with a Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and a small subcortical frontal lesion involving the left arcuate fasciculus. In adulthood, he suffered a large right perisylvian stroke and developed atypical conduction aphasia with deficits in input and output phonological processing and poor auditory-verbal short-term memory. Lexical-semantic processing for single words was intact, but he was unable to access meaning in sentence comprehension and repetition. Reading and writing deficits worsened after the stroke and he presented a combination of developmental and acquired dysgraphia and dyslexia with mixed lexical and phonological processing deficits. This case suggest that a small lesion sustained prenatally or early in life could induce a selective rightward shift of phonology sparing the standard left hemisphere lateralisation of lexical-semantic functions.

Prevalencia y comorbilidad de síntomas neuropsiquiátricos en la enfermedad de Alzheimer / Prevalence and comorbidity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease

Introducción. Se describe la frecuencia y gravedad de los síntomas conductuales y psicológicos (SCP) en un grupo de125 pacientes diagnosticados con enfermedad de Alzheimer(EA) siguiendo criterios diagnósticos DSM-IV-TR y NINCDSADRDA. Metodología. La evaluación de los SCP se realizó mediante el Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI; Cummings et al., 1994). Se recogieron los datos sociodemográficos y antecedentes personales de los pacientes y se estableció el estadio de la demencia mediante la Global Deterioration Scale (GDS; Reisberg, 1982). Resultados. Un total de 122 pacientes (98%) presentaron SCP, con una media de cinco síntomas por paciente. La frecuencia de su presentación fue la siguiente: apatía (75%), irritabilidad (66%), depresión (60%), agitación (55%), ansiedad (54%), actividad motora aberrante (47%), delirios (38%), alteraciones del sueño (36 %), desinhibición (29 %), alteraciones del apetito (28%), alucinaciones (20%) y euforia (4%). Conclusiones. Estos resultados demuestran la alta incidencia de los SCP en los pacientes con EA y muestran la necesidad e importancia de tratar adecuadamente estas alteraciones (AU)

Introduction. The objective of this study is to describe the frequency and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPS) in a group of 125 patients diagnosed of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (DSM-IV-TR and NINCDSADRDA criteria). Methods. The evaluation of the BPS was carried out using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI; Cummings et al., 1994). The sociodemographic and personal background data of the patients were gathered and the dementia stage was established with the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS Reisberg, 1982). Results. A total of 122 patients (98%) presented BPS, with an average of five symptoms per patient. Frequency of presentation was the following: apathy (75%), irritability (66 %), depression (60 %), agitation (55 %), anxiety (54 %), aberrant motor activity (47 %), delirium (38 %), sleeping disorders (36%), disinhibition (29%), eating disorders (28%), hallucinations (20%) and euphoria (4%). Conclusions. These results show the high incidence of BPS in AD patients and point to the necessity and importance of treating these disorders appropriately (AU)

[Prevalence and comorbidity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease]. / Prevalencia y comorbilidad de síntomas neuropsiquiátricos en la enfermedadde Alzheimer.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study is to describe the frequency and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPS) in a group of 125 patients diagnosed of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (DSM-IV-TR and NINCDSADRDA criteria). METHODS: The evaluation of the BPS was carried out using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI; Cummings et al., 1994). The sociodemographic and personal background data of the patients were gathered and the dementia stage was established with the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS Reisberg, 1982). RESULTS: A total of 122 patients (98%) presented BPS, with an average of five symptoms per patient. Frequency of presentation was the following: apathy (75%), irritability (66%), depression (60%), agitation (55%), anxiety (54%), aberrant motor activity (47%), delirium (38%), sleeping disorders (36%), disinhibition (29%), eating disorders (28%), hallucinations (20%) and euphoria (4%). CONCLUSIONS: These results show the high incidence of BPS in AD patients and point to the necessity and importance of treating these disorders appropriately.