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Biomedical subjects

F Latour

Publications and source records attributed to F Latour.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

[Cognitive functions and hypertension].

The prevention of cognitive disorders and dementia represents a major challenge in the coming years. Hypertension is one of the principal risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases and is also closely correlated with cognitive decline and dementia. Most longitudinal studies have shown that cognitive functioning is often inversely proportional to blood pressure values measured 15 or 20 years previously. The higher blood pressure was, the poorer cognitive function is. Data from recent therapeutic trials (SYST-EUR, PROGRESS) open the way toward the prevention of dementia (vascular or Alzheimer's type) by antihypertensive treatments. In this context, the effect of antihypertensive treatment on cognitive functions should represent one of the primary criteria of assessment in future morbidity and mortality studies in hypertensive patients.

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed2005

Evolution of blood pressure in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a one year survey of a French Cohort (REAL.FR).

OBJECTIVES: To determine the evolution of blood pressure in patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease among a one year longitudinal survey and to evaluate the relationship between blood pressure and cognitive functions. METHODS: In 327 subjects selected from the French research program on Alzheimer's disease (REAL.FR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were measured at the time of inclusion (M0), after 6 months (M6) and after 12 months (M12). All subjects were assessed to determine both cognitive functions and capabilities in the activities of daily living using validated cognitive scales [Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale--Cognitive part (ADAS-Cog), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)], at M0, M6, M12. RESULTS: In this population of patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease, mean age was 78 +/- 7 years and 242 subjects were females (74%). After adjustment for age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and antihypertensive therapy, a significant decrease of blood pressure was observed between M0 and M12, for SBP (139.1 +/- 18 to 136.5 +/- 17 mmHg, p < 0.05) and DBP, (77.6 +/- 12 to 75.8 +/- 10 mmHg , p < 0.05). Demented subjects with the worst cognitive impairment at baseline (tertile1 MMSE, tertile 3 ADAS-Cog, ADL scores between 0 and 4, CDR scores between 10 to 18) showed a larger decrease in SBP and DBP after 12 months. The worst impairment in dementia at baseline was associated with the highest SBP decrease between M0 and M12 (delta SBP tertile 1 MMSE vs tertile 3 MMSE = -5.9 vs + 1.0 mmHg , p < 0.05; Delta SBP tertile 3 ADAS-Cog vs tertile 1 ADAS-Cog = - 5.98 vs + 2.98 mmHg, p < 0.05, Delta SBP ADL 0-4 vs ADL -6 = - 8.7 vs -1.5 mmHg, p < 0.05, delta SBP CDR 10-18 vs CDR 0.5-9.5 = - 6.9 vs -1.7 mmHg, p < 0.05). All these results persisted after adjustment for age, gender and the antihypertensive therapy. Baseline SBP [OR 95% CI = 1.05 (1.02-1.08), BMI [OR 95% CI = 0.88 (0.81-0.95)], ADL score [OR 95% CI = 0.42 (0.22-0.81)] and ADAS-Cog score [OR 95% CI = 1.07 (1.01-1.14)] were significantly associated with the decrease of blood pressure after one year of follow up, independently of age, gender and antihypertensive therapy. In contrast, patients with larger blood pressure decrease (over 10 mmHg reduction of SBP and/or 5 mmHg of DBP) did not demonstrate a more significant worsening of dementia at 12 months in the different scales used. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates a significant decrease in blood pressure in patients with Alzheimer's disease after one year of follow up, independently of age, gender, BMI and antihypertensive therapy. The largest decrease in blood pressure was observed in patients with the most severe impairment in dementia at baseline, suggesting that blood pressure decrease seems to be mainly a secondary phenomenon in Alzheimer's disorders.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2003

[Relationship between arterial pressure and cognitive functions. Data for the French Network on Alzheimer's disease (REAL.FR)].

UNLABELLED: The relationships between arterial hypertension and cognitive decline are complex and studies indicate controversial results. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate, in a cross sectional study, the relationships between cognitive functions and blood pressure in a population of subjects with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: In 520 subjects of a survey in a French population with Alzheimer's disease, relationships between the severity of cognitive decline and a history of hypertension or blood pressure level have been searched. Cognitive functioning was assessed with validated neuropsychological tests evaluating cognitive functions and the capacities in the activities of daily living (Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale--Cognitive part (ADAS-Cog), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) of Reisberg). In 456 subjects blood pressure was measured during the consultation. RESULTS: The results indicate that after adjustment on age, sex, education level, and the other cardiovascular risk factors, subjects with a history of hypertension have a more marked cognitive decline than subjects without history of hypertension. Indeed, in subjects with a history of hypertension, the cognitive impairment and its consequences on activities of daily living are more important than in subjects without history of hypertension (ADAS-cog 19.02 +/- 8.48 vs 17.49 +/- 8.53 p = 0.06, MMSE 19.55 +/- 4.41 vs 20.30 +/- 4.42, p = 0.08, score ADL 5.31 +/- 0.86 vs 5.51 +/- 0.87, p = 0.01, CDR 6.94 +/- 3.29 vs 6.19 +/- 3.26 p = 0.03; global CDR 1.18 +/- 0.62 vs 1.05 +/- 0.60, p = 0.03, GDS of Reisberg 4.41 +/- 0.74 vs 4.27 +/- 0.75, p = 0.05). In contrast, no relation between blood pressure measurements and cognitive function is observed, and moreover an inverse correlation between blood pressure and consequences on activities of daily living is found. CONCLUSIONS: This work indicates that relationships between blood pressure and cognitive functions are more complex than a simple linear relation. The present results show that a history of arterial hypertension is associated with a more marked cognitive decline in subjects with Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, when the Alzheimer's disease is already developed no relation between blood pressure and cognitive functions appears and moreover an inverse correlation with the consequences on activities of daily living is found.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

[Cognitive decline and hypertension].

The prevalence and incidence of degenerative and vascular dementia increase exponentially with age. Several studies in recent years have implicated hypertension as a risk factor not only for vascular dementia but also for degenerative dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. This is an important finding because it suggests that the treatment of hypertension could reduce the incidence of dementia. In particular, the results of the Syst-Eur study, showing that a calcium inhibitor, nitrendipine, could reduce not only the incidence of stroke but also that of dementia, should be confirmed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Does vascular endothelial growth factor in the rheumatoid synovium predict joint destruction? A clinical, radiological, and pathological study in 12 patients monitored for 10 years.

OBJECTIVE: Synovial angiogenesis is at the epicenter of rheumatoid pannus development and is largely dependent on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We sought to determine whether the VEGF level in rheumatoid synovial tissue is a marker for disease severity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) underwent a clinical and radiological evaluation at the time of a synovial biopsy done during joint surgery required by RA progression (T1) and, on average, 10 years later (T2). Immunohistochemistry was used to detect and quantitate VEGF in the synovial biopsy taken at T1. RESULTS: VEGF labeling was seen on endothelial cells and macrophages in all 12 synovial biopsies. The amount of endothelial-cell VEGF labeling (assessed semi-quantitatively) was significantly correlated with Larsen score progression during the 10-year follow-up. The amounts of endothelial cell or macrophage VEGF labeling was not correlated with the joint count, radiological stage of the biopsied joint or progression of this stage, Larsen scores at T1 or T2, presence of rheumatoid factor, or presence of extra-articular manifestations. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the amount of VEGF in the rheumatoid synovium may be a marker for joint destruction in patients with RA.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Association of the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele with late-onset depression.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) phenotyping was determined in 42 subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 49 with depression, including 26 with early-onset depression (EOD) and 23 with late-onset depression (LOD), and 49 controls. In the EOD group, the frequency of the ApoE epsilon4 allele was not different from the control frequency (p = 0.532) but was significantly lower than in AD (p < 0.001). In the LOD group, the ApoE epsilon4 frequency was significantly higher than in the controls (p = 0.034) but was not different from that in the AD group (p = 0.229). Individuals with ApoE epsilon4 were at greater risk of getting AD (odds ratio, OR = 5.5, 95% confidence interval, CI, 2.0-14.0) or LOD (OR = 6.1, 95% CI, 1.9-19.0) than of EOD (OR = 0.7, 95% CI, 0.2-2.5). These results suggest an association between the ApoE epsilon4 allele frequency and LOD. Patients with LOD could be at risk of developing AD by an epsilon4-dependent pathway.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed2000

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, and aging: contribution of the DHEAge Study to a sociobiomedical issue.

The secretion and the blood levels of the adrenal steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester (DHEAS) decrease profoundly with age, and the question is posed whether administration of the steroid to compensate for the decline counteracts defects associated with aging. The commercial availability of DHEA outside the regular pharmaceutical-medical network in the United States creates a real public health problem that may be resolved only by appropriate long-term clinical trials in elderly men and women. Two hundred and eighty healthy individuals (women and men 60-79 years old) were given DHEA, 50 mg, or placebo, orally, daily for a year in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. No potentially harmful accumulation of DHEAS and active steroids was recorded. Besides the reestablishment of a "young" concentration of DHEAS, a small increase of testosterone and estradiol was noted, particularly in women, and may be involved in the significantly demonstrated physiological-clinical manifestations here reported. Bone turnover improved selectively in women >70 years old, as assessed by the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) technique and the decrease of osteoclastic activity. A significant increase in most libido parameters was also found in these older women. Improvement of the skin status was observed, particularly in women, in terms of hydration, epidermal thickness, sebum production, and pigmentation. A number of biological indices confirmed the lack of harmful consequences of this 50 mg/day DHEA administration over one year, also indicating that this kind of replacement therapy normalized some effects of aging, but does not create "supermen/women" (doping).

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed2000

The apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele and the response to tacrine therapy in Alzheimer's disease.

The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) phenotype and gender on the response to tacrine treatment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). ApoE phenotyping was performed on 76 patients treated with tacrine for AD. This group comprised 33 ApoE epsilon4 allele carriers (epsilon4+) and 43 non-epsilon4 carriers (epsilon4-). Patients were treated blindly in relation to the ApoE phenotype, with incremental tacrine dosages ranging from 40 mg/day up to the highest dosage (160 mg) tolerated without side-effects. At least 6 weeks elapsed between each increase. Changes in the scores for the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Component (ADAS-Cog) between baseline and each increment in dosage were assessed in the epsilon4- and epsilon4+ groups. The cut-off point for being considered as responsive to tacrine treatment was a 4-point decrease in the ADAS-Cog score. There was no tendency for the epsilon4- carriers to respond better than the epsilon4+ carriers. When patients were stratified by gender, no differences were found between the effects of the treatment on men and women. Consequently, these results do not support the hypothesis that the ApoE phenotype and gender are predictors of the response to tacrine in AD patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Detection of cerebral aging, an absolute need: predictive value of cognitive status.

Cognitive performance is predictive of functional status, morbidity and mortality in the elderly. In the SYST-EUR study, the Vascular Dementia Project run on 3,111 subjects 60 years old and over, with isolated systolic hypertension, has shown that the cognitive status as measured by the MMSE was inversely correlated with systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) and age (p < 0.001) and positively correlated with the level of education (p < 0.001). It is significantly lower in patients with cardiovascular complications (p = 0.0001). Moderate alcohol consumption is linked to a higher MMSE score in women (p < 0.001) but not in men. In this study, the incidence of dementia is low and significantly related to the baseline value of the MMSE score and further analysis will show the influence of the treatment of systolic hypertension with calcium antagonists as first step on this incidence.

Aging↗
PubMed1995

[Rotablator and endoprosthesis on the left main coronary trunk].

A 78 year old woman with unstable angina due to significant stenosis of the left main coronary artery and occlusion of the right coronary artery was treated medically for 29 months because of a surgical contraindication. Resistance to drug therapy led to referral for complex angioplasty of the left main, left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries, successively by rotablator and balloon angioplasty. An immediate elastic recoil on the left main coronary artery led to implantation of a Palma-Schatz stent. There were no complications and the patient is asymptomatic twenty months later.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[Thromboembolic disease in patients aged 80 and over. Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies].

The aim of this retrospective study of 50 deep vein thromboses (DVT) of the lower limbs in patients aged 80 and over (35 women, including 2 with bilateral DVT and 13 men), mean age 83.37 +/- 2.72, hospitalised in a department of cardiology, was to assess the diagnostic value of ultrasound investigations, clinical parameters and results of treatment of thrombo-embolic disease in this age group. High DVT were found in 76 per cent of cases and pulmonary embolism occurred in 52.1 per cent of cases, its incidence increasing with age. One third of DVT were asymptomatic and presented as pulmonary embolism, the predominant clinical feature being edema in the absence of other signs. The existence of atrial fibrillation was associated in 90 per cent of cases with a pulmonary embolism. Venous Echo-Doppler is also the key investigation in the diagnosis of thrombo-embolic disease. Cardiac Echo-Doppler seems particularly useful in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism when more than 40 per cent of the vascular bed is cut off. Thrombolytic treatment remains possible after the age of 80 in life-threatening situations. Overall hospital mortality remains high (10.4 per cent) and appears to be due chiefly to the onset of a pulmonary embolism which is not thrombolyzed since considered insufficiently serious or occurring in a situation in which fibrinolysis is theoretically contra-indicated.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Spontaneous dissection of the distal anterior interventricular artery during intravenous thrombolysis].

A case is reported of spontaneous coronary dissection in a 55-year-old patient with an anterior myocardial infarction treated by intravenous thrombolysis. The angiographic appearance was highly characteristic with successive opacification of the true then the false channel involving the entire distal third of the anterior interventricular artery. The outcome was immediately favourable. Spontaneous dissection of coronary arteries is rare. The etiology is discussed and there is not standard management approach.

Aortic Dissection↗
PubMed1991

[Apical hypertrophic pseudocardiomyopathy: nosological problems].

The classification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathies remains a thorny nosological problem. Within this extensive diagnostic group, it is felt that the very special sub-group of "Japanese" apical hypertrophic forms must be subject to the strictest possible criteria in order to avoid improper use. The case reported here of biventricular apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a 60-year-old woman with a family history of HCM, in whom the clinical, ECG and above all angiographic features were typically those of AHCM but where the existence of an intraventricular gradient was found during challenge manoeuvres emphasises this classification problem. Pseudo-AHCM in a context of OCM or pseudo-OCM in a context of AHCM? The discussion is not merely of nosological interest in view of the recently documented clear prognostic differences between these two conditions. Main series from the literature are reviewed.

Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic↗
PubMed1986

Myelolipoma arising from ectopic adrenal cortex: case report and review of the literature.

A myelolipoma was surgically removed following its identification by computed tomography scan. The presenting symptom was abdominal pain, associated with an enlarging mass in the lower abdomen. Histological review found the myelolipoma to be arising from ectopic adrenocortical tissue. Myelolipomas arising from extra-adrenal locations are rare. The literature was reviewed and various presentations of this benign tumor were discussed.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1984

[The heart and hyperkalemia].

Hyperkalaemia is a common and serious clinical condition in medical and surgical intensive care units. It is mainly encountered in patients with overt or latent cardiac and/or renal failure, and often aggravated by dietetic and therapeutic mismanagement. Hyperkalaemia depresses cardiac contractility, automaticity, conductivity and excitability, leading to ECG changes which must be recognized before clinical cardiovascular deterioration occurs if treatment is to be given to reverse an irremediably fatal evolution: ST-T changes and widening of the QRS with axial deviation shortly precede sinoatrial, intraatrial and atrioventricular block, the characteristic appearances of atrial standstill and ventricular and junctional hyperexcitability. The ECG changes faithfully follow the rise in serum potassium with few exceptions, such as associated electrolytic and acid-base disturbances (usually acidosis). Treatment must be administered as soon as a rise in potassium is observed. It may be administered intravenously (hypertonic glucose and insulin, calcium gluconate, furosemide, buffer solution and, above all, sodium bicarbonate or hypertonic saline) or orally (cation exchange resin). Renal dialysis may be required secondarily.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMed1984

Portal hypertension complicating sarcoid liver disease: case report and review of the literature.

A rare case of severe liver disease in a patient with systemic sarcoidosis is reported. The liver pathology progressed from sarcoid granulomas early in the course to chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis with complicating portal hypertension and bleeding esophageal varices. The literature on portal hypertension due to hepatic sarcoidosis is reviewed and the role of coexisting disease, portasystemic shunts, and steroid therapy is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Esophageal perforation. An unusual presentation of esophageal lymphoma.

A primary histiocytic lymphoma arising in the esophagus and its resultant spontaneous perforation is reported in a 69-year-old female. To our knowledge esophageal perforation occurring as a complication of a primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the esophagus has not been previously reported.

Aged↗