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Le front est le casque protecteur du cerveau, si l'on se réfère à l'étymologie du mot calvaria. Détruit, il convient de le reconstruire ; en priorité son infrastructure osseuse, quand bien même l'on peut vivre sans elle, dès lors que les autres tissus (peau, muscle, aponévrose, méninge) sont intègres. Chantier chirurgical complexe dont il sera fait mention quand la multiplicité des techniques décrites témoigne de leur imperfection et que jusqu'à présent la meilleure restauration d'un tissu manquant impose sa substitution par le même tissu. Invitation à inventer une véritable chirurgie régénératrice. The forehead is the protective helmet of the brain, if we refer to the etymology of the word calvaria. Destroyed, it must be rebuilt; priority is given to its bone infrastructure, even though we can live without it, as long as the other tissues (skin, muscle, aponeurosis, meninge) are intact. Complex surgical project which will be mentioned when the multiplicity of techniques described demonstrates their imperfection and until now the best restoration of a missing tissue requires its replacement by the same tissue. Invitation to invent a true regenerative surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forehead is the protective helmet of the brain, if we refer to the etymology of the word calvaria. Destroyed, it must be rebuilt; priority is given to its bone infrastructure, even though we can live without it, as long as the other tissues (skin, muscle, aponeurosis, meninge) are intact. Complex surgical project which will be mentioned when the multiplicity of techniques described demonstrates their imperfection and until now the best restoration of a missing tissue requires its replacement by the same tissue. Invitation to invent a true regenerative surgery., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

• We assessed the possible relationship between BMI and cognitive defects. • We observed that PD had significant lower BMI value compared to HC group. • Results showed that BMI correlated with disease duration and prefrontal functioning. • Non-tremor dominant PD showed a lower BMI value compared to tremor dominant PD. Weight loss is common in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). It has been reported that low Body Mass Index (BMI) is associated with disease progression in these patients, but only a few data are available on the relationship between BMI and cognitive dysfunctions in PD patients. In the present study we systematically assessed the possible relationship between BMI index and specific cognitive defects. We enrolled a prospective sample of 37 PD individuals and 30 healthy controls (HC) of similar age, sex, and education. The BMI was calculated in each participant, who underwent a neuropsychological assessment exploring the general cognitive skills, frontal/executive, visuo-spatial, visuo-constructional and memory abilities. We showed that PD group had significant lower BMI value compared to HC group. In PD patients, the BMI was negatively correlated to disease duration and number of errors at the Stroop-Color Word Test, and positively to score on Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Moreover, a regression analysis revealed that, the BMI in PD patients was associated with disease duration and score on FAB. Our findings contribute to reveal that the relationship between height and weight is strongly related to frontal cognitive dysfunctions in PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective In visuo-constructional tasks, patients may reproduce drawings near-to or superimposed on a model, showing the so-called "Closing-in" (CI), often ascribed to a defect in inhibitory control. CI has been described in neurological conditions, but no studies have explored CI in Huntington's disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disorder often involving the frontal cortical–subcortical circuits. We searched for the occurrence of CI in HD patients and systematically investigated its correlates to find a clinical marker of the frontal/executive dysfunctions in the early examination of HD patients. Method We assessed 130 HD participants, who performed a graphic coping task and a neuropsychological, psychiatric, motor, and functional assessment. Results CI occurred in 52/130 (40%) HD patients, with 43/52 (82.7%) superimposing their copy directly on the model. MANOVA showed that HD patients with CI scored significantly poorer on Symbol digit modality test, Stroop-color word – reading test, Stroop-color word – interference test, Trail making test – part B, and Phonological verbal fluency test. However, a logistic regression analysis revealed that the significant predictor of the occurrence of CI was the score on Stroop-color word – interference test. Conclusions HD patients may show CI in graphic tasks, and it could be related to a defect in inhibitory control impeding the switch of attention from the model to the copying space, and releasing a default tendency which causes an attraction of hand movement towards the focus of visual attention. CI might be a useful clinical marker for the early detection of frontal/executive defects in HD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients may show the Closing-in (CI), a tendency to reproduce figures close to or superimposed on the model. AD patients with CI might manifest reduced functional independence compared to AD patients without CI, but no study directly assessed if CI can hamper common daily living activities. To address this issue here we investigated whether AD patients with CI veer their walking trajectory toward irrelevant objects more often than AD patients without CI. Methods: Fifty AD individuals, and 20 age- and education-matched healthy adults, underwent a graphic copying task to detect CI and a newly developed walking task to assess the tendency to veer toward irrelevant objects and to bump into them. All participants also completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to assess dementia severity; impairments in frontal/executive, visuo-spatial, visuo-constructional, and memory domains; and functional independence in daily living activities. Results: Graphic CI occurred in 34/50 (68%) AD patients (AD-CI group) who achieved significantly lower scores on frontal/executive abilities, and daily living functioning than AD individuals not showing CI. Most AD-CI patients (20/34; 58.8%) also showed at least one veering error in the walking task. Participants with CI and veering errors showed significantly poorer performance on Stroop test, and lower level of functional independence than AD individuals with CI in isolation. Conclusions: CI on graphic tasks can identify difficulties in walking and in complying with everyday activities in AD patients. These observations demonstrate the value of assessing CI in copying tasks. (JINS, 2018, 24, 437–444) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Perseveration is the involuntary production of iterative responses. This study explored graphic perseverative errors in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, to comprehend the neuropsychological correlates of this behavior.Method: We performed a retrospective analysis of graphic productions in 114 individuals with clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and in 63 individuals with clinical diagnosis of vascular dementia, who completed frontal-executive, visuo-spatial, visuo-constructional, and verbal memory tests. For assessing perseverative behavior, we considered recurrent perseverations (inappropriate re-drawing of a figure drawn in a previous trial) and continuous perseverations (inappropriate replication of the same figure or of its element within one trial) produced in a standard copying task.Results: Two or more graphic perseverative errors occurred in 66/114 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (57.9%) and in 31/63 individuals with vascular dementia (49.2%). Participants with moderate-to-severe dementia produced a significantly higher number of perseverations than individuals with mild dementia. Logistic regression revealed a significant relationship of graphic perseverations with frontal and visuo-constructive impairments, in both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.Conclusions: Graphic perseverations are frequent in both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Frontal-executive defects can hamper inhibition of iterative graphic productions. Identification of graphic perseverations can be useful for detection and monitoring of frontal-executive impairments throughout the disease course in individuals with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction Closing-in (CI) is a peculiar phenomenon consisting in the tendency to copy drawings close to or superimposed on a model. Recent findings showed that CI can be associated with frontal/executive dysfunctions, likely determining a failure in high-level monitoring of attention-action circuits. CI has been often observed in demented patients, but scarce data are available about CI in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, we detected occurrence of CI and investigated the cognitive processes associated to this phenomenon in a large sample of non-demented PD patients. Methods We retrospectively analysed graphic reproductions in a copying task of 100 non-demented PD patients who had also completed cognitive, behavioural, and motor screening assessment. Results CI phenomenon occurred in 50/100 non-demented PD patients (50%; 118/700 drawings). Among these patients, 46/50 patients copied drawings close to the model (near-CI), 2/50 patients superimposed their copy directly on the model (adherent-CI), whereas 2/50 patients showed both near-and adherent-CI. MANOVA showed that non-demented PD patients with CI showed more severe impairment on frontal/executive functions and visuo-constructional abilities than non-demented PD patients without CI. However, the logistic regression model revealed that occurrence of CI was significantly associated to lower scores on frontal/executive tasks only. Conclusion CI can be found in a large proportion of non-demented PD patients, and it is related to frontal monitoring defects that could hamper inhibition of action and attention toward a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Apathy and depression are behavioral manifestations that may occur often in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. AD patients may also show Closing-in (CI) phenomenon, in graphic copying tasks. Recent evidence would suggest that apathetic symptoms are related to frontal dysfunctions in AD patients, whereas the cognitive bases of depressive symptoms in AD are still unclear. Recent studies demonstrated that frontal dysfunctions are also involved in the genesis of CI in AD patients. Objective: Since frontal dysfunctions are thought to be more strongly related to apathetic than depressive symptoms, here we tested the hypothesis that CI is significantly associated with apathy in AD patients. Methods: Forty-four AD patients were enrolled for this study. All patients completed a neuropsychological evaluation of visuo-spatial, frontal/executive, visuo-constructional, and memory skills. Moreover, graphic copying tasks were employed to detect CI, and behavioral scales to assess apathetic and depressive symptoms. Results: CI and apathetic and depressed symptoms occurred in more than half of the present AD sample, but regression models revealed that the number of CI was significantly related to apathy only. The number of CI was also significantly correlated with severity of apathetic but not of depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that CI and apathy are correlated with each other in mild to moderate AD, likely because they share common pathogenic mechanisms related to frontal/executive dysfunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]