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Although some studies have described the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of donepezil in the peripheral compartment, studies focused on drug transport across the blood-brain barrier are still very rare. To our knowledge, the fluctuation in the cerebrospinal fluid concentration of donepezil after administration of the drug has not been described in the literature so far. We recruited 16 patients regularly taking a standard therapeutic dose of donepezil (10 mg per day). All patients (Caucasian race) were treated for at least three months with a stable dose of 10 mg per day prior to sample collection. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the time of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid sampling: 12 h ( n = 9; 4 M/5F aged 78.68 ± 7.35 years) and 24 h ( n = 7; 3 M/4F aged 77.14 ± 5.87 years) after donepezil administration. The cerebrospinal fluid sample was collected by standard lumbar puncture technique using a single-use traumatic needle. The samples were analysed on an Agilent 1260 Series liquid chromatograph comprising a degasser, a quaternary pump, a light-tight autosampler unit set, a thermostated column compartment, and a UV/VIS detector. Agilent ChemStation software, the statistical software Prism4, version 5.0 (GraphPad Software, USA), and IBM SPSS Statistics were used for the analysis of the results. The difference in plasma concentration of donepezil after 12 h (mean ± SEM; 39.99 ± 5.90 ng/ml) and after 24 h (29.38 ± 1.71 ng/ml) was nonsignificant. In contrast, the donepezil concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid was significantly higher in the 24-h interval (7.54 ± 0.55 ng/ml) compared with the 12-h interval (5.19 ± 0.83 ng/ml, which is ~70 % based on mean cerebrospinal fluid values). Based on these data, it is plausible to predict that donepezil might produce a stronger AChE inhibition in the brain at 24 h compared with 12 h following the administration. This information may help physicians individually adjust the time of drug administration in the patients according to time course of the disease symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Psychiatric disorders and treatment with conventional antipsychotic medications have been associated with venous thromboembolism, but only a few data on recent antipsychotics such as olanzapine are available. Methods: We describe four subjects treated with olanzapine who developed venous thromboembolism, and were hospitalized at the University Hospital in Hradec Kralove during the period 2004–2006. Results: We found a combination of several clinical and laboratory risk factors in our patients. Conclusions: A cohort study or case–control studies are needed to better elucidate the possible role of olanzapine in etiopathogenesis of venous thromboembolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports of visual functional impairment in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) have been studied previously using pattern reversal visually evoked potentials (VEPs) with contradictory results. To provide additional evidence to this area, visual functions were studied using VEPs and event-related potentials (ERPs) in a group of ten patients with genetically verified SCA2. The electrophysiological examination included pattern reversal and motion-onset VEPs as well as visually driven oddball ERPs with an evaluation of a target and a pre-attentive response. In six patients, we found abnormal visual/cognitive processing that differed from normal values in latency, but not in the amplitude of the dominant VEP/ERP peaks. Among the VEPs/ERPs used, the motion-onset VEPs exhibited the highest sensitivity and showed a strong Spearman correlation to SCA2 duration (from r = 0.82 to r = 0.90, p < 0.001) and clinical state assessed by Brief Ataxia Rating Scale (from r = 0.71 ( p = 0.022) to r = 0.80 ( p < 0.001)). None of the VEP/ERP latencies showed a correlation to the triplet repeats of the SCA2 gene. In three patients, we did not find any visual/cognitive pathology, and one subject showed only a single subtle prolongation of the VEP peak. The observed visual/cognitive deficit was related to the subjects' clinical state and the illness duration, but no relationship to the genetic marker of SCA2 was found. From the VEP/ERP types used, the motion-onset VEPs seems to be the most promising candidate for clinical state monitoring rather than a tool for early diagnostic use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Present demographic trends show a considerable rise in elderly populations with aging disorders, such as dementia. The current article focused on the exploitation of e-learning as an informal support for caregivers of people with dementia and considered its benefits and limitations to provide proper and relevant care for this target group of people as well as maintain the quality of life of their caregivers.Methods: The methodology of this study is based on a literature review of accessible peer-review articles from three recognized databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. The findings of the selected studies were compared and evaluated.Results: The findings showed that e-learning educational programs/courses helped caregivers feel more confident about dementia care, reduced their perceived stress and enhanced their feelings of empathy, understanding and concern.Conclusions: The findings of this study reveal that the exploitation of e-learning as a support tool, especially for informal caregivers, in the management of dementia may be a promising method, but its implementation requires professional training of informal caregivers in the use of this technology. More evidence-based studies are needed on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]