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Biomedical subjects

J F Menard

Publications and source records attributed to J F Menard.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Initial approach of an electroencephalographer to statistics].

About concrete examples set by an electroencephalographist (determination of normal values, comparison of data, realization of trial), different methods of uni- or bi-dimensional statistical analysis using qualitative and quantitative variables were presented and the conditions of the tests applications were emphasized. The authors have insisted especially on the necessity of a precise methodology. It has to be elaborated by the statistician together with the physician before the beginning of any trial: statistics cannot be summarized to a simple formula application at the time of final exploitation of data.

Adult↗

[Topographic aspects of visual evoked potentials recorded after flash-pattern stimulation in normal subjects].

Visual evoked responses have been recorded on 14 leads placed on the scalp. They were localised on the central, parietal, temporal and occipital regions. The common reference was linked-ears. The stimulus consisted of a flash pattern. The size of the pattern and of each square was respectively of 20 degrees and 30 min. The stimulation of the total visual field had evoked two families of curves. One of these types of curves was posterior (occipital, temporal and parietal) and consisted in a positive, negative, positive wave (100, 136, 200 msec on average) and the second type was localised on the central leads and much more rhythmic than the posterior response. The initial complex (negative, positive, negative, positive: 70, 92, 120, 178 msec) was followed by a slow after-discharge. The half-field stimulation evoked a P100 component on the contralateral posterior leads, but this P100 was less prominent on the ipsilateral posterior leads. The modifications were particularly evident at the level of the temporal posterior electrodes. This P100 component was the only wave to be modified by half-field visual stimulation. The posterior N136 and P200 wave and all the rhythmic central response were exactly the same with half or total visual field stimulation. The results have obviously shown that the different waves of the visual evoked responses are not coming from the same sources. The interpretation of multichannel evoked recordings was therefore very difficult.

Adult↗

[Methodology, limitations and value of mapping in electroencephalography].

Data processing is mandatory for EEG mapping. After having used a correct filter and ADC, spectral analysis is completed by interpolating between the spectral values obtained on each recording point to allow a sufficient number of values to be expressed in a grey or color scale on the skull projection plane. The obtention of valid results implies extreme care in data recording and processing. Transitory events (paroxysmal bursts) cannot be detected by spectral analysis. Nevertheless, EEG spectral data mapping is a very good technique to show abnormal EEG focuses in neurology, to study all sorts of neuropsychological reactivities, to follow the evolution of tracings during normal or abnormal aging, metabolic diseases or drug effects.

Aging↗

Biometrical study of flexion of the long fingers joints in prehension.

The angles of flexion of the three digital joints were measured in 112 hands while grasping test cylinders the diameter of which ranged from 8 to 90 mm. Based on the average of several measurements, the angles of overall and joint-by-joint flexion were determined for each cylinder size. Studied finger by finger, it was shown the each digit has its individual pattern of flexion, the angles of flexion of each joint being different for each finger. Flexion is prevalent in the proximal interphalangeal joint of the index while it is prevalent in the metacarpophalangeal joint of the little finger. When the standard deviation values were calculated, they showed that the individual variations were relatively small in cylindrical grasps. This is the opposite of what was observed in two of the pinches between the thumb and the other fingers. In these cases, the values of the angles of flexion were remarkably dispersed according to the individuals, especially in the proximal interphalangeal joint.

Adolescent↗

[Comparison of the Doppler examination and arteriography in 209 cases of carotid stenosis and thrombosis].

The comparison of the results of continuous emission Doppler examinations and arteriographic examinations concerned 316 internal carotid arteries in 209 patients presenting a history of one or more ischemic accidents involving the carotid. This work confirms the unreliability of Doppler examination in the diagnosis of atheromatous plaques or moderate stenotic lesions of the internal carotid. However, it confirms the validity of this technique in the diagnosis of obstructive carotid stenoses since all the parameters measuring reliability (sensibility, specificity, predictive value) are around 90%. This reliability associated with the non-traumatic nature of the test justifies its important role in the diagnosis and prevention of cerebrovascular accidents.

Aged↗

[Dissociation of visual evoked responses to hemi-field or full-field flash-checkerboard stimulation].

Unexpected visual evoked responses (VERs) were recorded in 5 subjects with tumoral, ischemic or hemorrhagic lesions of the retrochiasmatic visual pathways. The flash pattern stimulation was always binocular and involved full-field and half-field stimuli. In these 5 cases, the total field VER was asymmetrical with anomalies on the affected occipital region. However half-field VERs P100 contralateral to the stimulus were noted both on the normal and on the affected occipital region. One can ask if this is not an electrophysiological equivalent of the clinical relative hemianopsia.

Adult↗

[Combination chemotherapy with vincristine, melphalan, CCNA, cyclophosphamide, prednisone in myeloma].

The authors report the results of a prospective, multi-centre trial involving 87 patients with previously untreated myeloma who were treated by combination chemotherapy consisting of melphalan, cyclophosphamide, CCNU, prednisone and vincristine. 83.1% of patients had a high tumour mass (stage III on Durie and Salmon's classification). The response to treatment could be evaluated in 76 patients and 70% were found to respond. The median actuarial survival of the whole population is 30 months. The survival is significantly longer (p less than 0.001) in responders (median 40 months) than in non-responders (median: 17 months); the survival is significantly shorter (p less than 0.01) in subjects with renal failure (median: 10 months) than in subjects without renal failure (median: 36 months). This treatment is sufficiently well tolerated to be administered on an outpatient basis. One case of acute monoblastic leukaemia was observed. These results are similar to those reported in the literature.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

[Spectral analysis of fast EEG rates in normal 6-to-16-year-old children].

Spectral analysis of EEGs from 208 school children aged from 6 to 16 shows two types of beta activity: anterior beta which is low in amplitude but increases in energy in response to eye opening and posterior beta which, like alpha, decreases in response to eye opening. After reviewing the role of the FFT in frequency analysis we conclude that anterior beta activity corresponds to the classic beta rhythm of visual analysis, while posterior beta activity probably represents harmonics of alpha or even theta activity. In any case, beta activity in the normal child is very low in amplitude and energy.

Adolescent↗

Delta, theta, alpha and beta power spectrum of sleep electroencephalogram in infants aged two to eleven months.

Automatic sleep EEG analysis was performed on infants from 2 to 11 months of age. Partial power spectra of delta, theta, alpha, and beta 1 bands were studied as function of sleep stages, age, and time of the night. beta 1, alpha, and delta power spectra are significantly lower in paradoxical sleep (PS) than in quiet sleep (QS) whatever the age; but theta is lower in PS than in QS only after 5 months of age. delta, theta, and alpha power increase with age in QS. Only delta and theta are greater in the first half of the night than in the second half. beta 1 power does not differ significantly in stages 2 and 3 of QS, during the course of the night or as a function of age. Thus delta, theta, alpha may be the best spectral parameters for the maturation of quiet sleep EEGs during the first year of life.

Alpha Rhythm↗

[Several cases of EEG registration of epilepsy induced by television].

We present 6 cases of television epilepsy; there appear to be 2 distinct populations. The first group has seizures only when near the screen, is sensitive to the alternating appearance of odd and even lines and most often is not sensitive to photic stimulation at 50 Hz; the second group has seizures far from the screen and is sensitive to photic stimulation at 50 Hz. Therapeutic approaches are discussed for both groups.

Adolescent↗

[Visual evoked responses with flash pattern in normal subjects (author's transl)].

Visual evoked responses to flash pattern simulations have been observed in young healthy adults. Stimulations of whole visual fields (37 subjects) and half-fields (11 subjects) have been performed. These responses are reproductible from one subject to another and show very clear waves in the occipital and central regions. On central leads, whatever the stimulation (stimulation of total visual fields or half-fields), the responses are always the same: a negative peak at 70 msec. followed by a positive peak at 90 msec, then a negative peak at 116-120 msec. On occipital leads, stimulation of the whole visual field shows a diphasic response: a positive wave at 100 msec and a negative wave at 140-150 msec. However, half-field stimulation shows different responses on the ipsi- and contralateral hemispheres, with a disappearance of the positive 100 msec wave in the ipsilateral occipital region. Thus, flash pattern stimulations seem to be useful in clinical practice because they evoke different types of responses in occipital and central regions.

Adult↗

[EEG analysis and prognosis in 125 cases of non-hyperpyretic seizures occurring in children under three (author's transl)].

Between 1955 and 1970 recordings were made from 125 children aged 1-36 months who had had a first epileptic seizure (non-hyperthermic). 100 of these children were followed up for from 5 to 20 years: 35 had had their first seizure before 1 year of age and 65 between the age of 1 and 3. Hypsarrythmia was more frequent under 1 year of age, whereas short diffuse spike and wave bursts were observed only after 1 year. However, localized spikes, asymmetrical or slow tracings as well as normal tracings were observed in both groups, without significant difference. A fatal outcome is more frequent when the first seizure took place before the age of 1 year. However, in our sample the intellectual development of the surviving children does not depend on the time of the first seizure. In any case the prognosis is unfavorable, since only 31 of the children followed up developed normally.

Age Factors↗

Treatment of multiple myeloma with etidronate: results of a multicentre double-blind study. Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Myélome (GERM).

OBJECTIVES: Because osteoclastic bone resorption is stimulated in multiple myeloma, we evaluated the efficacy of etidronate in this disease, in a multicentre controlled study. METHODS: Ninety-four previously untreated patients with stage II or III multiple myeloma received, in addition to the same chemotherapy, 10 mg/kg/day etidronate per os (n = 49) or placebo (n = 45) for 4 months. The evaluation was clinical (pain, Karnofsky, survival), biological and radiological. Forty-one patients had iliac bone biopsy before the treatment and 34 patients also at the end of the study. Histologic bone parameters were compared with 49 normal controls. RESULTS: No statistical difference was found between etidronate and placebo treated patients for clinical, biological and radiological parameters. Compared with controls, pretreatment biopsies showed markedly increased bone resorption and decreased trabecular bone volume. Bone resorption decreased significantly in patients with etidronate compared with those with placebo (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Though we found no clinical, biological and radiological difference with placebo, etidronate inhibited the increased bone resorption in multiple myeloma.

Aged↗