Discrimination ability of the Short Test of Mental Status (STMS) compared to the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in the spectrum of normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and probable Alzheimer's disease dementia: The Turkish standardization study

Background: The aim of the present study was to standardize the Short Test of Mental Status (STMS) in the general Turkish aging population and to find its discriminative ability along the continuum of normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and probable Alzheimer's disease dementia (probable AD). Method: The sample was composed of 161 participants older than 50, of which 56 were cognitively normal (CN), 42 had MCI, and 63 had probable AD. STMS, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered. Results: The mean STMS score in healthy participants was 33.44. With a cutoff score of 32, STMS had a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 74% to detect participants with MCI, whereas the MMSE did not have an optimal cutoff score to detect MCI. With a cutoff score of 24, STMS had a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 86% to detect participants with dementia. With a cutoff score of 24, MMSE had a good sensitivity (92%) and specificity (84%), as well. STMS significantly and positively correlated with MMSE, and significantly but inversely correlated with CDR. Reliability of the STMS was good (alpha coef?cient =.88). Conclusion: The results show that STMS is more sensitive than MMSE and can be used by clinicians to differentiate both normal cognition from MCI and MCI from probable AD

Hemifacial Spasm due to Compression of the Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm Treated with Botulinum Toxin Type-A: A Case Report

A 79-year-old female presented with five months history of progressive involuntary twitching movement on left face. Brain MR imaging revealed a heterogeneous T2 hyperintense lesion at left cerebellopontine angle. CT angiography showed a partially thrombosed saccular aneurysm of left PICA (posterior inferior cerebellar artery). The patient was treated with Botulinum toxin type A and almost total relief of symptoms was noticed during one month followup. Botulinium toxin injection is an effective symptomatic treatment option in nonsurgical secondary hemifacial spasm (HFS) cases

Clinical and polysomnographic features of a large Turkish pedigree with restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movements

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements (PLMS) are common neurological diseases often associated with insomnia. A familial aggregation in RLS has been identified since it was first described; however, inheritance patterns of RLS/PLMS are poorly understood and their exact pathophysiology is not well-known. We have identified a Turkish pedigree with RLS/PLMS, which is a rare condition, in five generations of a family, including nine affected family members

Differences Between Essential Tremor Developing Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor

ÖZET Amaç: Esansiel tremor (ET) en yayg›n ekstrapiramidal hastal›kt›r ve baz› ET hastalar› sonradan Parkinson Hastal›¤› (PH) gelifltirebilirler. Ancak bugüne kadar kesin bir birliktelik tan›mlanmam›flt›r. Biz ET ve PH aras›ndaki iliflkiyi anlamak için, ET ile ET sonras› PH gelifltiren hastalar aras›ndaki farkl›l›klar› demografik ve klinik aç›dan araflt›rd›k. Yöntemler: Yüz k›rk dört ET ve 336 PH hastas› retrospektif olarak klinik kay›tla-r›ndan de¤erlendirildi ve yafl, cinsiyet, ET bafllama yafl›, ailede ET öyküsü, asimetrik veya simetrik tremor REM-uyku davran›fl bozuklu¤u (REM-SBD) öyküsü kaydedildi. Bulgular: Otuz üç PH öncesi ET'si olan hasta önceki klinik kay›tlar›na dayanarak ETPD hastas› olarak de¤erlendirildi. ET'den PH'e dönme süresi ortalama 12±11.4 y›l idi (1-47). Gruplar aras›nda cinsiyet farkl›l›¤› yoktu. ET hastalar›nda ETPD hastalar› ile karfl›laflt›r›ld›¤›nda ortalama yafl, ET bafllama yafl›, asimetrik tremor ve REM-SBD öyküsü anlaml› olarak daha azd›. ET hastalar›nda ailede ET öyküsü ve bafl tremoru ETPD'den daha fazla idi. Sonuç: Bizim sonuçlar›m›z asimetrik tremor, geç bafllang›çl› ET ve REM-SBD öyküsü olan ET hastalar›n›n sonradan PH gelifltirebilece¤ine dikkati çekmifltir. ABSTRACT Objective: Essential tremor (ET) is the most prevalent extrapyramidal disorder and some ET patients may later develop Parkinson's disease (PD). However, up to date, precise association was not determined. To understand the relationship between ET and PD, we investigated differences between patients with ET and ET developing PD (ETPD) in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: One hundred forty-four patients with ET and 336 PD patients were retrospectively assessed from their clinical charts, and their current age, gender, onset age of ET, family history of ET, asymmetrical or symmetrical tremor and history of REM-Sleep Behavior Disorders (REM-SBD) were recorded. Results: Thirty-three patients who had ET prior to PD were evaluated as ETPD patients based on previous clinical records. The mean duration from ET to PD was 12±11.4 years (range: 1-47). There was no difference in gender between the groups. The mean age, the mean age at ET onset, asymmetrical tremor and REM-SBD history were significantly lower in ET patients compared to ETPD patients. The family history of ET and head tremor was more frequent in ET patients than in ETPD. Conclusions: Our results point out that some patients with ET, having asymmetrical tremor, late onset and REM-SBD history may develop PD

Frequency of the TREM2 R47H Variant in Various Neurodegenerative Disorders.

ObjectiveA rare variant in TREM2 (p.R47H, rs75932628) has been consistently reported to increase the risk for Alzheimer disease (AD), while mixed evidence has been reported for association of the variant with other neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we investigated the frequency of the R47H variant in a diverse and well-characterized multicenter neurodegenerative disease cohort.MethodsWe examined the frequency of the R47H variant in a diverse neurodegenerative disease cohort, including a total of 3058 patients clinically diagnosed with AD, frontotemporal dementia spectrum syndromes, mild cognitive impairment, progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome, corticobasal syndrome, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 5089 control subjects.ResultsWe observed a significant association between the R47H variant and AD, while no association was observed with any other neurodegenerative disease included in this study.ConclusionsOur results support the consensus that the R47H variant is significantly associated with AD. However, we did not find evidence for association of the R47H variant with other neurodegenerative diseases