| 21. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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A 76-year-old man with cognitive and neurological symptoms
- 2009
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Ingår i: Brain Pathology. - : Wiley. - 1750-3639 .- 1015-6305. ; 19:4, s. 4-731
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A 76-year-old man presented with cognitive symptoms, followed by headache and weakness of the lower limbs and left arm. The clinical course was progressive but fluctuating. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a contrast-enhancing lesion 1 cm in diameter was seen in the left temporal lobe. This lesion became attenuated and a new contrast-enhancing lesion 1 x 2 cm was seen in the left frontal lobe on a subsequent MRI. Following additional tests, treatment with corticosteroids for presumptive neurosarcoidosis was started, however, he soon expired. At autopsy, there was a tumor-like mass in the left frontal lobe. Pathologic evaluation revealed a primary T-cell lymphoma of the central nervous system (CNS). CNS T-cell lymphomas may be difficult to diagnose, even histologically, due to their frequent small cell morphology and lack of significant atypia.
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| 22. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Cause of death in patients with dementia disorders.
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Neurology. - : Wiley. - 1351-5101 .- 1468-1331. ; 16, s. 488-492
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Investigations on cause of death may provide valuable information about life expectancy and on conditions of terminal dementia care, which perhaps can be ameliorated. Methods: The autopsy reports were studied on all patients (n = 524; 55.3% females; median age 80 years) with a clinically and neuropathologically diagnosed dementia disorder who underwent a complete autopsy at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, during 1974-2004. Results: The two most common causes of death were bronchopneumonia (38.4%) and ischaemic heart disease (23.1%), whilst neoplastic diseases were uncommon (3.8%). In a general population of elderly studied for comparison, bronchopneumonia accounted for 2.8%, ischaemic heart disease for 22.0%, and neoplasm for 21.3% of the deaths. Amongst the demented patients, circulatory and respiratory system diseases were the causes of death in 23.2% and 55.5% of the Alzheimer patients, respectively, whilst the corresponding figures were 54.8% and 33.1% for the patients with vascular dementia. Conclusions: In patients with dementia, pneumonia as the immediate cause of death may reflect a terminal stage in which patient care and feeding is difficult to manage well. Knowledge about what actually causes death is of value in the terminal care of patients with dementia disorders.
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| 23. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker results in relation to neuropathological dementia diagnoses.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's & dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5279 .- 1552-5260. ; 6:2, s. 104-109
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Clinical dementia diagnoses are not always consistent with neuropathological findings. As correct diagnosis is important for treatment and care, new diagnostic possibilities for dementia are in demand. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers should ideally be able to identify ongoing processes in the brain, but need to be further compared with neuropathological findings for evaluation of their diagnostic validity. METHODS: This study included 43 patients with a clinical dementia disorder. All patients were neuropathologically examined at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, during the years 2001-2008, and all had a lumbar puncture carried out as part of the clinical investigation during the time of cognitive impairment. RESULTS: Of eight patients, five with Alzheimer's disease had elevated total tau protein (T-tau) and decreased amyloid beta 1-42 protein (Abeta42), while both values for the other three patients were normal. Slightly elevated T-tau and/or decreased Abeta42 were also seen in several patients with other dementia diagnoses such as Lewy body disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and vascular dementia. Furthermore, T-tau levels did not differ markedly between patients with morphologically tau-positive and tau-negative frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Also, seven of nine patients with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease exhibited pronounced elevation in T-tau concentration. CONCLUSION: From this rather limited study, being the first of its kind in Sweden, we may conclude that there is no perfect concordance between cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels and pathological findings, which should be taken into account in the clinical diagnostic setting.
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| 24. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Clinicopathological concordance in dementia diagnostics.
- 2009
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Ingår i: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - 1545-7214. ; 17:8, s. 664-670
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Accurate distinction between dementia subtypes is important for patient care and pharmacological treatment. Continuing systematic comparisons of clinical and neuropathological dementia diagnoses may provide a basis for further improvement of the diagnostic procedure. The purpose of this study was to investigate concordance between clinical dementia diagnosis and neuropathological findings in the specialized dementia care. METHODS: Inclusion required 1) a clinical dementia disorder diagnosed at a hospital-based memory clinic and 2) a neuropathological examination within the Department of Pathology at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, during the years 1996-2006. A total of 176 consecutive patients fulfilled the criteria and were thus included. Clinical dementia diagnoses were obtained from the medical records and compared with the neuropathological findings. RESULTS: The clinical and pathological dementia diagnoses were in full accordance in 86 (49%) of the patients (kappa 0.37). In an additional 24 (14%) cases, the clinical diagnosis corresponded with some but not all pathological components judged to contribute to the dementia disorder. Of the patients with clinical Alzheimer disease, 84% (46/55) had a significant Alzheimer component with or without other significant pathology at neuropathological examination. The corresponding figure for vascular dementia (VaD) was 59% (24/41), for frontotemporal dementia 74% (20/27), for combined Alzheimer and VaD 25% (4/16), and for dementia with Lewy bodies 67% (6/9). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that clinical dementia diagnoses do not always correspond with neuropathological changes. It stresses the importance of neuropathological examination in research and in daily clinical practice.
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| 25. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of four neuropathological scales for Alzheimer's disease.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Clinical Neuropathology. - 0722-5091. ; 30:2, s. 56-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: There are several neuropathological scales for staging of Alzheimer pathology. The system proposed by Braak and Braak is based on the topographic distribution of neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads, while that of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) is based on the quantity of neocortical neuritic plaques. A combination of the Braak and CERAD staging scales was recommended by the National Institute on Aging and Reagan Institute (NIA-RI). The Poly-Pathology Alzheimer's Disease assessment, nine areas (PPAD9) is a staging system based on the extent of neuronal degeneration, microvacuolization, cytoarchitectural disorder and gliosis, in addition to neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques, in nine cerebral regions. The aim of the present study was to critically compare these four neuropathological staging scales. Methods: We assessed the Alzheimer pathology, using the four scales, in 43 patients with various dementia disorders, with focus on concordance and differences between the staging systems. Results: Comparing the staging systems, the Spearman's rho value for PPAD9 vs. Braak was 0.65, for PPAD9 vs. CERAD 0.72, for PPAD9 vs. NIA-RI 0.67, and for Braak vs. CERAD 0.46. Conclusion: The correlation between the neuropathological staging systems was suboptimal, and we conclude that the choice of staging system affects the evaluation of Alzheimer pathology, and hence the final diagnosis.
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| 26. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Differential degeneration of the locus coeruleus in dementia subtypes.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Clinical Neuropathology. - 0722-5091. ; 30:3, s. 104-110
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Neuronal loss in the locus coeruleus (LC) is common in Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). The aims of the present study were to investigate LC degeneration in different dementia disorders including vascular dementia (VaD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), to compare LC degeneration with severity of pathology in AD and DLB/PDD, to further evaluate the usefulness of a previously presented scoring system and to examine the predictive value of macroscopic assessment of the LC. Methods: A horizontal mid-level section of the pons was examined in 200 neuropathologically examined cases with clinical dementia. A previous macroscopic assessment of the LC was performed in 149 of the cases. Results: Cases with DLB/ PDD and AD presented with the highest microscopic LC degeneration scores, with significant differences compared to combined AD + VaD, in turn with a higher score than VaD, FTLD and other dementia disorders. Interrater agreement (weighted kappa;) for LC degeneration scoring was 0.83 - 0.91. DLB/ PDD, AD and AD + VaD were the diagnoses for 85% of the cases with macroscopic LC depigmentation. Conclusion: LC degeneration, which may be macroscopically noted, often indicates synuclein and/or Alzheimer pathology among demented. When clinical information is scarce or inconsistent, a macroscopic assessment of the LC may facilitate focusing of the subsequent neuropathological investigation. Also, the semiquantitative scoring system is a reliable tool for histological assessment of LC degeneration.
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| 27. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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History of depression prior to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia verified post-mortem.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-6976 .- 0167-4943. ; 56:1, s. 80-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to analyze the medical history, with regards to previous remote depression, in patients with neuropathologically verified Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD) and mixed AD/VaD. The 201 patients included (115 AD, 44 VaD and 42 mixed AD/VaD) had been referred to the Psychogeriatric/Psychiatric Department, Lund University Hospital, for psychogeriatric investigation and were followed-up with clinical records and detailed information on psychiatric history prior to the onset of dementia. Depression was considered to exist when the patient had consulted a psychiatrist or physician and had been diagnosed with a "depressive episode" or "depression" and when anti-depressants and/or other specific treatments had been prescribed. Twenty patients (10%) had suffered from depression earlier in life well before the onset of dementia. Eight of the 9 AD patients with a previous diagnosis of depression had suffered from only one depressive episode and all had responded well to treatment, with complete recovery. In the VaD group, 8 out of 9 patients suffered two or more depressive episodes and only two recovered completely. Events with a possible significant relationship to depression were seen in 8 of the 9 AD patients but in only 1 of the 9 VaD patients. Psychotic symptoms were more common in VaD than in the AD group. The treatment modality of depression was similar in the groups. In conclusion, a history of depression prior to dementia is more common and more therapy-resistant in VaD than in AD.
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| 28. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of dementia subtypes: A 30-year retrospective survey of neuropathological reports.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-6976 .- 0167-4943. ; Aug 7, s. 146-149
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated the distribution of neuropathologically defined dementia subtypes among individuals with dementia disorder. The neuropathological reports were studied on all patients (n=524; 55.3% females; median age 80, range 39-102 years) with clinically diagnosed dementia disorder who underwent complete autopsy including neuropathological examination within the Department of Pathology at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, during the years 1974-2004. The neuropathological diagnosis was Alzheimer's disease (AD) in 42.0% of the cases, vascular dementia (VaD) in 23.7%, dementia of combined Alzheimer and vascular pathology in 21.6%, and frontotemporal dementia in 4.0% of the patients. The remaining 8.8% of the patients had other dementia disorders, including combinations other than combined Alzheimer and vascular pathology. The registered prevalence of dementia subtypes depends on many variables, including referral habits, clinical and neuropathological judgments and diagnostic traditions, all of these variables potentially changing over time. This, however, does not seem to obscure the delineation of the major dementia subgroups. In this material of 30 years from Lund in the south of Sweden, AD by far dominated among dementia subtypes, while cerebrovascular pathology corresponded with the dementia disorder, either entirely or partly, in almost half of the demented patients.
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| 29. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Response to letter to the editor.
- 2010
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Ingår i: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - 1545-7214. ; 18:1, s. 92-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 30. |
- Brunnström, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Staging of Lewy-related pathology in dementia
- 2012
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Ingår i: Clinical Neuropathology. - 0722-5091. ; 31:4, s. 216-223
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Lewy-related pathology is the characteristic feature of Parkinson's disease with and without dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). There are two neuropathological staging systems for Lewy-related pathology commonly employed today: the staging system for Parkinson-related pathology by Braak et al., and the staging system by the Consortium on DLB. There are also several modified systems based on these two scales. Methods: We applied a total of eight different staging systems for Lewy-related pathology to 36 consecutive demented patients with various dementia disorders. Results: The staging systems varied considerably in number of unclassifiable cases (range 0 - 16 out of 36 cases), while the diagnostic agreement between the systems that were able to classify all or the very majority of cases varied only slightly (weighted kappa 0.86 - 0.92 and Spearman's sigma 0.80 - 1.0). Conclusion: The different staging systems for Lewy-related pathology that exist today vary in staging procedure and proportion of unclassifiable cases. The choice of system may affect the stage of Lewy-related pathology and ultimately final diagnosis.
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