Showing papers by "Giuliano Binetti published in 1998"

Object and action naming in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

Abstract: To assess noun and verb processing in different dementia types, we tested object and action naming in three groups of subjects: probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) with mild to moderate dementia; age- and education-matched normal subjects; and a group of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. AD and FTD patients were impaired in naming compared with control subjects; action naming was more severely impaired. However, the discrepancy between object and action naming was significantly greater in FTD than in AD patients, independent of the severity of dementia or of overall language impairment. The latter finding is compatible with the hypothesis that the frontal lobe plays a crucial role in action naming. A relatively selective impairment in action naming might be a characteristic neuropsychological feature of FTD.

Peripheral markers in testing pathophysiological hypotheses and diagnosing Alzheimer's disease

Abstract: Alterations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism, calcium regulation, oxidative metabolism, and transduction systems have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Limitations to the us...

Behavioral disorders in Alzheimer disease: a transcultural perspective

Abstract: Objectives To compare 2 samples of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), from Italy and the United States, in order to determine transcultural differences in the manifestation of noncognitive symptoms To analyze the concurrent validity, internal consistency reliability, between-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Scale (NPI) Methods The NPI was given to 50 Italian and 50 US patients with AD To demonstrate the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the instrument, several different methods of analysis were used The total score on the NPI and the score of single items in the different stages of the disease were compared in the 2 samples of patients Results A high level of internal consistency reliability was confirmed, the between-rater reliability was very high, and the test-retest reliability was significantly correlated Apathy was the most frequently recorded behavior in the Italian sample Five of 10 NPI item scores showed a significant relation with the Mini-Mental State Examination scores in both samples The Italian patients showed an increasing and significantly higher mean NPI total score at all levels of dementia severity when compared with the US patients The scores on some NPI subscales, such as apathy, aberrant motor behavior, disinhibition, and agitation, were significant higher in Italian patients at different levels of severity covarying with educational level Conclusions These results indicate that NPI is a reliable instrument with which to study transcultural differences in the presentation of neuropsychiatric disturbances in patients with AD The described similar pattern of behaviors between Italians and US patients with AD suggests a biological origin of the disorders However, cultural influences must be taken in account when the focus of the study is on psychopathological aspects of dementia

Visual and spatial perception in the early phase of Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract: A battery of visuospatial perception tests was administered to 27 mild probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients; 21 were reassessed after 8 months. At the first evaluation, AD patients were impaired only in an object-naming task. After 8 months, the performance in the subtests of object perception was unchanged, while there was a significant decline in the total score of the items tapping space perception. A significant worsening was also observed in the Rey's figure copy score and was correlated with the decrease in the spatial perception score. This study confirms that an impairment in visual perceptual tests requiring access to semantic and lexical knowledge is present in the earliest phase of AD, whereas visuospatial and constructional impairments became evident only later. This pattern of progression may represent the clinical correlate of increasing pathological involvement of posterior associative cortex.

The prevalence of apoE-ε4 in Alzheimer’s disease is age dependent

Abstract: The e4 allele of apolipoprotein E is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease However, other yet unidentified factors might be involved It has been suggested that the e4 allele might be relatively less relevant in Alzheimer's disease with onset before age 60 and after age 80 The aim was to evaluate the association of the e4 allele with Alzheimer's disease across a wide range of ages at onset 156 patients with age at onset between 46 and 89 and 120 cognitively unimpared subjects aged 53 to 89 as controls were studied Age at onset in the cases and age in the controls were stratified into six groups (60 and younger, 60 to 64, 65to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79, and 80 and older) Multivariable sex adjusted probit regression analysis was used to model e4 prevalences in cases and controls across age The sex adjusted relation of e4 with age in controls was slightly negative with prevalence of 016 in the youngest and 009 in the oldest age groups The sex adjusted relation in cases with Alzheimer's disease had a bell shaped curve with prevalence of 023 in the youngest age group, rising to 054 and 051 in the age groups 65 to 69 and 70 to 74, and decreasing to 012 in the oldest age group It is concluded that the relation of the e4 allele with Alzheimer's disease is age dependent, indicating that other risk factors might be relevant in the younger and older ages

Bradykinin-induced amyloid precursor protein secretion: a protein kinase C-independent mechanism that is not altered in fibroblasts from patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract: We treated human skin fibroblasts with bradykinin (BK) and observed a concentration-dependent increase in the release of soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP). The estimated EC50 for the observed effect is 2.8 nM, which is of the same order of magnitude as the reported Kd of BK binding in human skin fibroblasts. The effect of BK on sAPP secretion appears to be dependent on interaction of the ligand with the B2 type of BK receptors but independent of activation of protein kinase C. We also show that sAPP release after BK treatment in fibroblasts from patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease is not different from control cells and is paralleled by equivalent levels of inositol trisphosphate production. A discussion of the differences from previously published work focuses on the possible divergent alterations in transduction systems in fibroblasts from patients with familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Our results are the first example of receptor-mediated sAPP release in human skin fibroblasts and the first demonstration of the co-existence of protein kinase C-dependent and -independent mechanisms in these cells.