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Biomedical subjects

C Junqué

Publications and source records attributed to C Junqué.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Biological significance of iron-related magnetic resonance imaging changes in the brain.

Iron, an essential element for basic cellular metabolism, regularly accumulates in certain brain areas in normal subjects and in patients with certain diseases. Magnetic resonance imaging can depict iron deposition, offering a singular opportunity to correlate the regional iron content with the functional status of the human brain in vivo. We studied the relationship between age and the iron-related signal loss on T2-weighted images in basal ganglia, and observed a strongly significant signal decrease in the globus pallidus at the age of brain development (first two decades of life), but we found no such decrease in later years. Moreover, in healthy adults, subject-to-subject variability was relevant in changes due to iron deposition in magnetic resonance imaging. We found increased signal loss to be associated with poor performance on motor and specific cognitive tasks, suggesting that these image changes can provide functional information with respect to the brain in normal subjects.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Reduction of the substantia nigra width and motor decline in aging and Parkinson's disease.

We studied the functional significance of the involutional and degenerative changes in the substantia nigra as seen on magnetic resonance imaging. The width of the pars compacta correlated with motor performance in both healthy elderly subjects and idiopathic Parkinson's disease groups. Patients exhibited significant reduction of the width of the pars compacta and the level of this reduction correlated strongly with the clinical status evaluated by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. These results suggest that pars compacta shrinkage may account for a substantial part of the structural substratum of motor decline in the elderly. Moreover, an analysis of the relationship of the midbrain damage with specific symptoms in Parkinson's disease could contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of this degenerative process.

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PubMed1992

Pallidal hyperintensity on magnetic resonance imaging in cirrhotic patients: clinical correlations.

Patients with cirrhosis show increased signal intensity in the globus pallidus on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. This abnormal appearance of the basal ganglia has been related to the severity of liver failure and to the presence of portal-systemic shunting, although its cause and clinical significance remain unknown. We prospectively assessed the metabolic, neurological and neuropsychological statuses of 30 stable cirrhotic patients and correlated these clinical variables with computed measurements of globus pallidus signals. Some metabolic variables denoting disease severity appeared to be significantly related to image changes, although the strongest association was found with plasma ammonia levels. After adjustment for ammonia level, on multiple regression analysis, the other variables were not significant. Furthermore, pallidal changes were associated with specific neurological symptoms and neurological functions, symptoms and functions that also had a significant correlation with ammonia levels. Our findings suggest that globus pallidus signal abnormality could arise as a marker of brain impairment related to hyperammonemia.

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PubMed1992

[Memory changes in Parkinson's disease. Relation with clinical variables].

We studied verbal and visual short term memory, learning capabilities and long term retention in a sample of 96 patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and 42 controls matched by sex, age, years of education and verbal intelligence. We found significant differences between groups in visual short term memory and verbal learning, but not in verbal short term memory and long term retention. Performance in visual short term memory and learning correlated with the severity of disease and motor performance. Forty-one per cent of patients had impairment in visual short term memory, and this impairment is related with bradykinesia and correlated with age of onset. These results suggest that two forms of memory failure are closely related to motor symptoms and other clinical variables probably reflecting the same neuropathological substrate.

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PubMed1991

Left-ear extinction in patients with MRI periventricular lesions.

A dichotic listening test was administered to 22 elderly vascular patients with periventricular white matter changes on magnetic resonance imaging. We found four patients with a moderate-to-severe extent of these changes who showed a pattern of left-ear extinction. These findings suggest that periventricular lesions in patients with vascular risk factors may be associated with a functional disconnection of the interhemispheric auditory pathways.

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PubMed1991

Cognitive correlates of ventricular enlargement in vascular patients with leuko-araiosis.

We studied the cognitive significance of ventricular enlargement in 40 vascular patients with leuko-araiosis on MRI. We obtained significant differences between patients and normal controls without vascular risk-factors regarding ventricular measures. Ventricular size of the patients correlated with several neuropsychological tests measuring abstract reasoning, comprehension of language, constructional skills, speed and attention. These results suggest that ventricular enlargement in vascular patients reflects global deterioration of complex cognitive functions. Information proceeding from ventricular size is complementary to that coming from the degree of leuko-araiosis and probably has more clinical significance. Both leuko-araiosis and ventricular size may be neuroimaging parameters capable of reflecting the cognitive deterioration in vascular patients without large lesions.

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PubMed1990

Leuko-araiosis on magnetic resonance imaging and speed of mental processing.

The clinical significance of white matter abnormalities seen in brain imaging studies, termed leuko-araiosis (LA), still remains uncertain. Leuko-araiosis has been associated with a global decline in cognitive performance, although little is known about the cognitive functions that LA may account for. We present the correlates between LA severity on magnetic resonance imaging and mental deterioration in a selected sample of 41 elderly patients with vascular risk factors. We found that LA was related to performance on tasks measuring the speed of information processing and, in particular, on those that involve complex processes. This impairment can be important in producing reduction in daily living activities as it is in the support to the relationship found with some commonly used behavioral rating scales. Leuko-araiosis is also related to the presence of some primitive reflexes, suggesting that their disinhibition may be due to diffuse corticofugal fibers damage.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Auditory ear extinction in lacunar syndromes.

A dichotic listening test was administered to 28 patients with lacunar syndromes in order to contribute to the investigation of the subcortical route of interhemispheric auditory pathways. Topographic study showed that lesions in the external capsule or in the anterior limb of the internal capsule in both hemispheres produced left ear extinction. The possibility that some of the auditory fibres travel through the external capsule, as well as the anterior limb of the internal capsule, before crossing the contralateral cerebral lobe is suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Wallerian degeneration of the pyramidal tract in capsular infarction studied by magnetic resonance imaging.

Using magnetic resonance imaging, we studied 24 patients with ischemic infarction of the internal capsule. Magnetic resonance imaging detected wallerian degeneration of the pyramidal tract below the capsular lesion in 11 patients (45.8%); all 11 had clinical evidence of pyramidal tract damage. In six additional patients magnetic resonance imaging findings, present only on axial slices, were considered to indicate possible wallerian degeneration. When motor deficit was associated with posterior limb lesions, magnetic resonance imaging detected wallerian degeneration of the pyramidal tract in 78.6% (11) of 14 patients.

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PubMed1989

Differential recovery in naming in bilingual aphasics.

Language performance in a sample of 30 Catalan-Spanish bilingual aphasics was studied using three nominal tasks (naming, pointing, and translation). We compared performance between the two languages before and after therapy and also compared the improvements made in each language. Therapy was carried out in only one language, namely Catalan. Significant differences between the two languages were initially seen in the naming and translation tasks while after treatment significant differences were observed in the naming and pointing tasks. Analysis of covariance was carried out to control the influence of the initial performance on improvements. Performance in the naming task improved more in the treated language (Catalan) than in the nontreated language. We conclude that both differential impairment and recovery of languages in bilingual aphasics is seen not only in rare cases but also in studies of larger samples.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Multiple memory deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis. Exploring the working memory system.

Some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) demonstrate impaired memory. A group of 16 patients with MS who were mildly to moderately affected (Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale Score = 3.8) were studied, and they were compared with a matched control group on tests of "working memory." The working memory system was explored by evaluating the amount of information that can temporarily be held in a buffer system during encoding. Results indicated that patients with MS have difficulty in processing information at the level of a hypothesized articulatory loop in working memory. This deficit was correlated with their retrieval of verbal information from long-term memory, as well as how accurately they processed verbal information presented at a rapid rate. There was no significant relationship between ratings of MS severity or number of plaques visualized on magnetic resonance imaging scans and the degree of working memory deficit.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Does reversed laterality really exist in dextrals? A case study.

We report a case of a right-handed patient who, after a massive left-hemisphere infarction, had neuropsychological disturbances compatible with a right-hemisphere lesion. This has been previously called 'reversed laterality'. Two new aspects of this pattern are described: the right hemisphere is as capable as the left in processing complex syntactic and higher psycholinguistic stimuli; reversed laterality is not complete, ideomotor praxis is the only function that does not follow an inverted representation. The existence of different forms of cerebral organization in dextrals is discussed.

Agraphia↗
PubMed1986

Arterial line filtration during cardiopulmonary bypass. Neurologic, neuropsychologic, and hematologic studies.

One hundred patients who underwent elective cardiac operations were randomized into two groups. Group 1 had a 20 micron nylon screen filter in the arterial line. In Group 2 no filter was used in the arterial line. Neurologic and neuropsychologic examination of the patients was performed with seven psychometric tests of the Wechsler Memory Scale and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. These tests were conducted before and a mean of 10 days after the operation. Platelet counts and hemoglobin and total protein levels were measured at the onset and at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass. Two patients died during their hospital stay. Neurologic damage with focal signs was found in the postoperative examination in six patients (three in each group). Twenty-eight patients (28.5%) exhibited signs of mild cerebral dysfunction as assessed by the presence of archaic (primitive) reflexes. Fifteen were in Group 1 and 13 in Group 2 (no significant difference). Sixty patients (61%) had decrements greater than one standard deviation in at least one of the three tests that showed most decreased postoperative scores. There were 32 in Group 1 and 28 in Group 2 (no significant difference). When each test was analyzed individually, there were no significant differences between the two groups. Platelet counts decreased, during cardiopulmonary bypass, a mean of 33% in Group 1 and 34.5% in Group 2 (no significant difference). Both hemoglobin and total protein levels remained virtually unchanged. These results indicate that the addition of a small-pore filter in the arterial line does not prevent the neurologic and neuropsychologic disturbances frequently encountered after cardiopulmonary bypass. The filter itself does not appear to have a direct effect on the blood components. Routine use of an arterial line filter remains questionable.

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