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Background: Although FD may affect up to 10% of the general population, the therapy for FD is not standard. Recently, ginger-based food supplements have been proposed in order to restore FD symptoms. Our aim was to assess the efficacy of a new nutraceutical formulation containing extract of gingerol and thymus as a possible natural treatment in managing the symptoms of functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety profiles of a nutraceutical formulation containing Zingiber officinalis root extract and a standardized Thymus extract. It was administered as 1 ml/day twice a day for 90 days. Patients were assessed at baseline and after 1, 2 and 3 months of treatment, following a month of pharmacological washout by completing a questionnaire reporting the trend of the following symptoms: epigastric pain, epigastric heaviness, early satiety, belching, and regurgitation. Every symptom was assessed by a Visual Analogic Scale (VAS), ranging from 0= absence to 10= maximal severity. Results: We enrolled 272 patients (99 males and 173 females; median IQR age 49.5, 36-64 yrs). Obesity (BMI>30) was present in 28 (12.5%) patients; smokers were 83 (30.5%); and comorbidities were present in 107 (39.3%) patients. Improvement of symptom scores during treatment and one month after its suspension was extremely significant (p Conclusion: This large study found that nutraceutical formulation could be one of the tools for an empirical approach to treat patients with FD, especially when a non-conventional drug treatment is preferable for the patient and considered suitable by the physician.

Introduction. An easily accessible and inexpensive neurophysiological technique such as conventional electroencephalography may provide an accurate and generally applicable biomarker capable of differentiating dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease-associated dementia (PDD). Method. We carried out a retrospective visual analysis of resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) recording of 22 patients with a clinical diagnosis of 19 probable and 3 possible DLB, 22 patients with probable AD and 21 with PDD, matched for age, duration, and severity of cognitive impairment. Results. By using the grand total EEG scoring method, the total score and generalized rhythmic delta activity frontally predominant (GRDAfp) alone or, even better, coupled with a slowing of frequency of background activity (FBA) and its reduced reactivity differentiated DLB from AD at an individual level with an high accuracy similar to that obtained with quantitative EEG (qEEG). GRDAfp alone could also differentiate DLB from PDD with a similar level of diagnostic accuracy. AD differed from PDD only for a slowing of FBA. The duration and severity of cognitive impairment did not differ between DLB patients with and without GRDAfp, indicating that this abnormal EEG pattern should not be regarded as a disease progression marker. Conclusions. The findings of this investigation revalorize the role of conventional EEG in the diagnostic workup of degenerative dementias suggesting the potential inclusion of GRDAfp alone or better coupled with the slowing of FBA and its reduced reactivity, in the list of supportive diagnostic biomarkers of DLB.

Parkville, Australia; Mental Health Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Edith Cowan University, Perth, New York, Australia; CogState Ltd, Melbourne, Australia; University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; National Ageing Research Institute Inc. (NARI), Melbourne, Australia; Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia; Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia; St Georges Hospital, Kew, Australia; Mental Health Research Institute, Perth, Australia. Contact e-mail: c.restrepo@student.unimelb.edu.au

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of treatment with different cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) on mental status and every day function in a natural outpatient clinic setting, so that this evaluation could more realistically reveal the effects which are likely to be observed in patients attending ordinary dementia clinics rather than in the context of a randomised controlled drug trial.Long term outcome of treatment with the ChEIs donepezil and rivastigmine was retrospectively evaluated in 147 patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease of mild to moderate level of severity who had been monitored for a period of nine months. Measures included Mini Mental State Examination, Activity of Daily Living and Instrumental Activity of Daily Living scales.Response rate was similar to that of other published clinical trials on ChEIs. Patients who responded well to treatment with ChEIs better maintained their improved performance.Treatment with both ChEIs resulted in improved performance in those patients responding to therapy. Greater response was observed in previously untreated patients who had a shorter disease history but overall the findings in this unselected clinical sample confirmed that patients gain some benefit from intervention with ChEI treatment.