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Biomedical subjects

P Charpentier

Publications and source records attributed to P Charpentier.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Clinical and electrophysiological features of "cortical tremor"].

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to one particular variant of tremor named "cortical tremor," which corresponds to rhythmic cortical myoclonus whose principal differential diagnosis is essential tremor. Diagnosis may be established with electrophysiological explorations (electromyography, accelerometry, electroencelography with back averaging, long latency reflexes, giant somesthesic evoked potentials). Clinical and electrophysiological features of 15 patients are reported and compared to cases previously published. Association with generalized or partial seizures is possible. Other cases in the family are often mentioned with a dominant autosomal transmission. The therapeutic approach is based on the use of antiepileptic drugs.

Adolescent↗

Efficacy and tolerance of calcium alginate versus vaseline gauze dressings in the treatment of diabetic foot lesions.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed at comparing the efficacy and tolerance of an alginate wound dressing with a vaseline gauze dressing in the treatment of diabetic foot lesions. METHODS: This open-label randomized multicenter controlled study was designed to assess the effect of an up to 6-week treatment with either calcium alginate or vaseline gauze dressings. Lesions were either acute or chronic, under cleansing, and with a surface area of 1-50 cm(2); osteomyelitis and severe hypovascularization were non-inclusion criteria. Dressings were changed every day then, once granulation had occurred, every 2 to 3 days. Primary outcome was the proportion of patients with granulation tissue over 75% of the wound area and having a 40% decrease in wound surface area; secondary outcomes were pain on dressing changes, the number of dressing changes, and adverse events. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients were enrolled. Due to the premature cessation of treatment in 13 patients, it was decided to reduce the period of the efficacy analysis to 4 weeks (without revising the criteria of efficacy). The success rate was of 42.8% in the calcium alginate group and of 28.5% in the vaseline gauze group (not significant difference). A subsequent analysis of granulation tissue surfaces covering the wounds at week 4 (all surfaces taken together) showed a superiority of calcium alginate (p=0.04). Pain on dressing change was lower in the calcium alginate group (p=0.047) and the total number of dressing changes tended also to be lower (p=0.07). Adverse events, which occurred 4 times in the calcium alginate group and 6 times in the other, were judged independent of the treatments. CONCLUSIONS: As compared with vaseline gauze, calcium alginate appears to be more appropriate for topical treatment of diabetic foot lesions in terms of both healing and tolerance.

Age of Onset↗

Routine use of adjusted low-dose oral anticoagulants during the first three postoperative months after hip fracture in patients without comorbidity factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study reports the efficacy of adjusted low-dose oral anticoagulants in the prevention of fatal pulmonary embolism after hip fracture. STUDY DESIGN: Consecutive clinical study. PATIENTS: Five hundred patients with hip fracture received oral anticoagulants as exclusive treatment. These patients were considered preoperatively not to have an increased risk for the development of postoperative pulmonary embolism; they had no poorly controlled systemic illness and were followed-up for at least three months. The average age was seventy-four years (range, 65-80). Anticoagulant therapy was begun on the evening of the operation and continued for three months. The dose was adjusted to keep the prothrombin time between seventeen and twenty seconds. Neither phlebography, sonography, nor lung scan was done routinely. RESULTS: Among the 500 patients, 476 continued to take low-dose oral anticoagulant for three months after the operation. Eight pulmonary embolisms were observed, but none was fatal. Only one patient developed a postoperative hematoma requiring surgical reoperation. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of poorly controlled systemic illness, low-dose oral anticoagulants can be used after hip fracture.

Administration, Oral↗

Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia are differentiated by discriminant analysis applied to (99m)Tc HmPAO SPECT data.

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are the most frequent neurodegenerative cognitive disorders. However, FTD remains poorly recognised clinically. The use of (99m)HmPAO-single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has been demonstrated in the differentiation of AD and FTD. Nethertheless, there are very few comparative studies designed to assess its precise value in this differential diagnosis. The aim was to determine a simple decision rule, deduced from statistical analysis, which, if applied to regions of interest (ROIs) and mini mental state examination (MMSE), could improve the predictive value of SPECT in differential diagnosis between AD and FTD. METHODS: Forty patients, 20 with probable AD and 20 with probable FTD were included. All patients underwent brain SPECT imaging, after an intravenous injection of (99m)Tc HmPAO-(555mBq). For each patient, 20 ROIs were determined on the Fleishig's slice and their activity was normalised to the mean cerebellar activity. Bivariate analysis (Wilcoxon rank tests) and multivariate analysis (stepwise discriminant analysis) were performed to determine the subgroup of variables able to give the highest predictive value for this differential diagnosis. A simple decision rule was built from a predictive score derived by factorial discriminant analysis. RESULTS: As previously described, the fixation defect was found in frontal regions of interest (ROIs) in FTD and in the left temporoparietal-occipital ROIs in AD. Among the 21 variables, five were finally selected: right median frontal, left lateral frontal, left tempoparietal, left temporoparietal-occipital areas, and MMSE. One hundred per cent of patients with FTD were correctly classified by the decision rule (20/20 patients) and 90% of patients with AD (18/20). CONCLUSION: AD and FTD are differentiated by SPECT. Automatic classification based on a decision rule deduced from factorial discriminant analysis could enhance its performance.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Systematic home-based physical and functional therapy for older persons after hip fracture.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the development, implementation, and results of a home-based rehabilitation protocol for older persons after hip fracture. DESIGN: Demonstration study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty-eight community-living, nondemented participants at least 65 years of age who underwent repair of a fractured hip at two local hospitals. INTERVENTION: A linked assessment-intervention, home-based rehabilitation strategy. The physical therapy (PT) component of the intervention was designed to identify and ameliorate impairments in balance, strength, transfers, gait, and stair climbing; the functional therapy (FT) component was designed to identify and improve unsafe and/or inefficient performance of specific activities of daily living (ADL). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The percentage of participants able to complete each component and the extent of progress noted in strength, balance, transfers, gait, and daily functioning. RESULTS: A total of 104 of the 148 participants (70%) completed the 6-month PT and FT program; 4 completed only PT and 6 refused both PT and FT. The remaining 32 participants (22%) received partial PT and FT that was terminated by death, hospitalization, or institutionalization. Seventy-seven percent of participants reported performing at least half of the recommended daily exercise sessions. Ninety-four percent and 96% of participants progressed in upper and lower extremity conditioning respectively; 33% progressed to the highest level in the graduated resisted exercise program. All participants progressed in the competency-based graded balance program, with 55% progressing to the fifth (most difficult) level. Similarly, the majority progressed in transfer maneuvers, stair climbing, and outdoor gait. One repetition maximum (RM) elbow extension increased from a mean of 5.8 (SD 4.6) pounds at baseline to 7.2 (SD 3.8) pounds at 6mo (t 2.22; p < .02). One RM knee extension increased from 5.8 (SD 5.8) pounds to 10.8 (SD 5.4) pounds (t = 8.06; p < .0001). The number of gait deviations decreased from 2.1 (SD 1.3) to 0.6 (SD 0.9) (p < .0001), while the mean modified Berg Balance Scale Score increased from 13.0 (SD 4.8) to 20.5 (SD 6.8) (t = 16.6; p < .0001). Finally, the Total ADL Score increased from a mean of 48.2 (SD 15.0) to 77.7 (SD 18.8) (t = 17.03; p = .0001). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic assessment and intervention protocol, targeting impairments and ADL, was feasible, safe, and effective. Protocols such as the one presented should enhance the ability to implement rehabilitation programs for the increasing number of multiply impaired older persons receiving home-based therapy and to document the process and outcomes of this care.

Activities of Daily Living↗

[The deviated nose. Classification and treatment. Apropos of 100 cases].

We present a series of 100 deviated noses treated over 5-year period. A classification into four groups was proposed and used to determine preoperative strategy according to the type of deformation. The main corrective methods were lateral cartilage grafts for C-shaped noses and removal and reinstallation of the nasal cartilage for S-shaped nose and "lay down" noses. The best results were obtained for trauma-induced deformations occurring after puberty. Lay-down nose were more difficult to treat than C- and S-shaped noses. Good results can be expected in 80% of the cases. Good nasal flow was obtained in 90% of the patients and secondary surgery was successful in the other 10%.

Adolescent↗

[Evaluation of transcutaneous electrostimulation in the management of post-tonsillectomy pain in adults].

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), has been known for many years, especially in neurosurgery for the treatment of chronic pain syndromes. The authors report the results of the use of this technique in 45 adults feeling acute pain after tonsillectomy. Spontaneous pain and odynophagia were both studied. TENS was effective in 40 out of 45 patients, with full control or significant decrease of the pain. This harmless treatment appears to be attractive and needs larger studies.

Adult↗

Gender differences in patterns of HPA axis response to challenge: Macarthur studies of successful aging.

Previous research has suggested that women may have greater and more prolonged hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response to challenge at older ages. Data on patterns of ACTH and cortisol responses to a "naturalistic" driving simulation challenge were examined to test the hypothesis that older women (aged 70-79 years) would show greater response than a comparable group of older men. Analyses of mean ACTH or cortisol responses in terms of maximal increase, area under the curve and repeated measures ANOVA did not reveal significant gender differences. By contrast, analyses of the joint occurrence of ACTH and cortisol responses above the respective sample medians indicated that women were significantly more likely to respond to the challenge with elevated ACTH and cortisol responses. The lack of significant gender difference in the analyses of mean scores resulted from the sensitivity of this measure of typically (or average response) to outliers in the data, thereby substantially distorting the report of typical (or average) responses for the male population. Analyses of the temporal patterns of ACTH and cortisol response in terms of the stability of the subject's relative rank at each sampling time indicated that: (1) there was considerable stability of rankings based on the initial cortisol response (though not ACTH) through the recovery period; and (2) women exhibited greater instability than men, being more likely to exhibit shifts in rank from high to low over time. These findings suggest that: (1) as a group, older women are more likely to show larger responses than comparably healthy older men to a "naturalistic" driving simulation challenge; (2) there is considerable stability in patterns of cortisol response from initial response at 20 min through the recovery period, indicating that those showing greater initial response continue to experience higher levels of cortisol during the post-challenge recovery period; and (3) instability is more common among women than men.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

[Surgical anatomy of the parathyroid glands. Apropos of 200 cases. Practical implications].

An operative procedure aimed at decreasing the risk of post-surgery hypothyroidism was proposed on the basis of parathyroid gland surgical anatomy described from a retrospective study of 200 thyroidectomies performed by the same operator It is almost always possible to visualize 1 or parathyroids during thyroid procedures. This fact makes it possible to reduce the rate of definitive hypoparathyroidism to less than 5% in surgery for invasive cancer of the thyroid and to 1% for non-invasive cancers requiring total thyroidectomy and uni or bilateral mediastinorecurrent curettage.

Humans↗

[Contribution of cartilage grafts to lateral reinforcement of the nose].

Cartilage grafts were used for lateral reinforcement of the nasal pyramid in a series of 67 patients undergoing surgery for nasal deviation. Septal cartilage, used for all grafts, is a well vitalized, highly flexible tissue allowing remodelling to the desired form. Lateral wall reinforcement with cartilage grafts plays an important role in surgical cure of deviated noses. In our series of 67 patients, this procedure was used in 61. Results were good in 83%.

Adult↗

[Removal and replacement of the septal cartilage in noses with traumatic injuries, causing deviation. Technique--results].

The nasal septum in 44 patients with deviated noses due to trauma and complex lesions of the septal cartilage leading to bilateral or unilateral nasal obstruction underwent removal then reinstallation of the nasal cartilage. The results of the surgical technique were evaluated according to the access route, external or endonasal, and demonstrated the advantages and disadvantages of this technique which is a crucial step in the treatment of severe traumatic lesions of the nasal septum.

Adult↗

[Hemorrhagic complications of lower turbinectomy].

Concerning 52 inferior turbinectomies, the authors analyse the haemorrhagic complications of these surgical operations. They deplore 4% of serious haemorrhages. These ones may immediately occur during the surgical operation or in the next 15 days. No technique can prevent an haemorrhage. So that the patient must be notified of the risks he runs and the indications have to be seriously discussed.

Adult↗