title: Semantic memory assessment in 15 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A total of 30 to 50% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients suffer from cognitive disorders. The aim of the study is to characterize these disorders and to assess semantic memory in non-demented ALS patients. The secondary aim is to look for a link between disease type and neuropsychological characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were followed in an ALS center in Dijon. The following neuropsychological tests were used in this study: Folstein test, BREF test, verbal fluency, Isaac test, GRESEM test and TOP 30 test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen ALS patients were included. Nine of them (60%) were suffering from a semantic memory disorder. There was no correlation between ALS characteristics and the semantic memory disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to reveal a semantic memory disorder in ALS. This result accentuates the hypothesis that ALS and semantic dementia are two phenotypes of the same degenerative process linked to TDP 43 proteinopathy.
authors.affiliation: Service de neurologie, CHU de Dijon, 14, rue Gaffarel, 21000 Dijon, France. Electronic address: mariehervieu1024@aol.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hervieu-Bègue
authors.affiliation: Service de neurologie, CHU de Dijon, 14, rue Gaffarel, 21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rouaud
authors.affiliation: Service de neurologie, CHU de Dijon, 14, rue Gaffarel, 21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Graule Petot
authors.affiliation: Service de neurologie, centre hospitalier William-Morey de Chalon-Sur-Saône, 4, rue Capitaine-Drillien, 71321 Chalon-Sur-Saône, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Catteau
authors.affiliation: Service de neurologie, CHU de Dijon, 14, rue Gaffarel, 21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giroud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Semantic memory