title: [The significance of quantified EEG in Alzheimer's disease. Changes induced by piracetam].
abstract: One study was performed in 12 patients with presenile Alzheimer's disease (group I), the other one in 16 patients with mild senile dementia of Alzheimer type (group II). In each study, patients were divided into two randomized parallel groups, one receiving placebo, the other piracetam (9 g daily in group I piracetam and 2.4 g daily in group II piracetam) during three months, piracetam induced a decrease in EEG power on the 2-6 Hz range (group I piracetam), 3-5 Hz and 7 Hz (group II piracetam) and an increase of EEG power in the 9-11 Hz range (group I piracetam) and in the 10 Hz and 13 Hz frequencies (group II piracetam). There was also a significant improvement in the Trail Making Test part A in group II piracetam. Correlations between decreased EEG low frequency components and improvement in some psychometric tests were found significant in the two groups. It seems that the main effect of piracetam was to induce increased alertness. The same results were found in both studies; the good reproducibility suggests that EEG spectral analysis is a reliable tool in the assessment of psychotropic drug effects.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'explorations fonctionnelles du système nerveux, CHU Timone, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pierlovisi-Lavaivre
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sebban
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tesolin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chave
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sambuc
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melac
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gastaut
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poitrenaud
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Millet
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010889:Piracetam / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D010889:Piracetam
vernacular_title: Intérêt de l'EEG quantifié dans la maladie d'Alzheimer. Modifications induites par le piracétam.