title: [Clinical-electrophysiological characteristics of Alzheimer's dementia and cerebrovascular dementia based on determination of cerebral refraction time].
abstract: The aim of the study was an electrophysiologic assessment of cerebral refractory period in relation to chosen clinical parameters, EEG and CT in patients with dementia of various origin. The study included 30 patients (11 female, 19 male) aged 50-75: 15 with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) and 15 with vascular dementia (VD), and 15 age-matched healthy controls. Cerebral refractory period (CRP) was assessed by means of somatosensory evoked potentials with the use of paired stimulation with varying interstimulus interval, applied to the median nerve. Interstimulus interval, with which one somatosensory response was obtained to paired stimuli, was determined as absolute refractory period. CRP was significantly prolonged in demented patients, when compared to the control group, with no significant difference between groups with DAT and VD. CRP correlated negatively with age and positively with Mini Mental State Examination results, assessing the degree of mental deterioration. Prolonged CRP was noted in patients with vast lesions shown in CT. No relationship between CRP and EEG changes was found. CRP is a sensitive parameter, which may contribute to electrophysiological assessment of cerebral function.
authors.affiliation: Katedra i Klinika Neurologii AM we Wrocławiu.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pokryszko
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Podemski
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bilińska
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012032:Refractory Period, Electrophysiological; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed