Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T07:21:50.830Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Primary Presenile Dementia: The Use of the Visual Evoked Potential as a Diagnostic Indicator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Graham F. A. Harding ,
Christine E. Wright  and
Arnold Orwin
Graham F. A. Harding*
Affiliation:
Department of Vision Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET
Christine E. Wright
Affiliation:
Department of Vision Sciences, Aston University
Arnold Orwin
Affiliation:
Woodbourne Clinic, Birmingham, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The use of the flash and pattern reversal visual evoked potential (VEP) in the diagnosis of primary presenile dementia was investigated. The results from 20 patients with primary presenile dementia were compared with those from a control group of normals of equivalent age and from a control group of 20 patients with cortical atrophy but no dementia. Presenile dementia caused a slowing of the major positive (P2) component of the VEP to flash stimulation. However, the VEP to pattern reversal stimulation (P100) was of normal latency. The difference between these two latencies characterises this unusual combination of results and is found to be a more specific diagnostic indicator of primary presenile dementia than the EEG or CT scan.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 5 , November 1985 , pp. 532 - 539
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boxel, Van P., Bridges, P. K., Bartlett, J. R. & Trauer, T. (1978) Size of cerebral ventricles in 66 psychiatric patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 500–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
British Medical Journal (1980) Alzheimer's disease. British Medical Journal, 281, 1374–1375.Google Scholar
Brun, A. & Gustafson, L. (1976) Distribution of cerebral degeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Archives of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences. 233, 15–33.Google Scholar
Coben, L. A., Danziger, W. L. & Hughes, C. P. (1983) Visual evoked potentials in mild senile dementia of Alzheimer type. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 55, 121–130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cosi, V., Vitelli, E., Gozzoli, A., Corona, M., Ceroni, M. & Callieco, R. (1982) Visual evoked potentials in ageing of the brain. In Clinical Applications Of Evoked Potentials In Neurology. (eds. Courjon, J., Mauguiere, F. and Revol, M.) New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Gordon, E. B. & Sim, M. (1967) The EEG in presenile dementia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 30, 285–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halliday, A. M., McDonald, W. I. & Mushin, J. (1977). Visual evoked potentials in patients with demyelinating disease. In: Visual Evoked Potentials in Man: New Developments (ed. Desmedt, J. E.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Harding, G. F. A. (1974) The visual evoked response. Advances in Ophthalmology, 28, 2–28.Google Scholar
Harding, G. F. A. (1982a) The flash evoked visual response and its use in ocular conditions. Journal of Electrophysiological Technology, 8, 63–78.Google Scholar
Harding, G. F. A. (1982b) The flash evoked visual response and its use in neuro-ophthalmology. Journal of Electrophysiological Technology, 8, 79–99.Google Scholar
Harding, G. F. A., Doggett, C. E., Orwin, A. & Smith, E. J. (1981) Visual evoked potentials in presenile dementia. In Documenta Opthalmologicu. Proceedings Series Vol. 27 (eds. Spekreijse, H. and Apkarian, P. A.). The Hague: Junk Publishers.Google Scholar
Huckman, M. S., Fox, J. & Topel, J. (1975) The validity of criteria for the evaluation of cerebral atrophy by computed tomography. Radiology, 116, 85–92.Google Scholar
Johannesson, G., Brun, A., Gustafson, L. & Ingvar, D. H. (1977) EEG in presenile dementia related to cerebral blood flow and autopsy findings. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 56, 89–103.Google Scholar
Kaszniak, A. W., Garron, D. C., Fox, J. H., Bergen, D. & Huckman, M. (1979) Cerebral atrophy, EEG slowing, age, education and cognitive functioning in suspected dementia. Neurology, 29, 1273–1279.Google Scholar
Lee, R. G. & Blair, R. D. G. (1973) Evolution of EEG and visual evoked response changes in Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 35, 133–142.Google Scholar
Marsden, C. D. & Harrison, M. J. C. (1972). Outcome of investigation of patients with presenile dementia. British Medical Journal, 2, 249–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nott, P. N. & Fleminger, J. J. (1975) Presenile dementia: the difficulties of early diagnosis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 52, 210–217.Google Scholar
O'Connor, K. P., Shaw, J. C. & Ongley, C. O. (1979) The EEG and differential diagnosis in psychogeriatrics. British Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 156–62.Google Scholar
Ron, M. A., Toone, B. K., Garralda, M. E. & Lishman, W. A. (1979) Diagnostic accuracy in presenile dementia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 161–168.Google Scholar
Sim, M., Turner, E. & Smith, W. T. (1966) Cerebral biopsy in the investigation of presenile dementia. I Clinical aspects British Journal of Psychiatry, 112, 119–125.Google Scholar
Sjogren, T., Sjorgren, H. & Lindren, A. G. H. (1952) Morbus Alzheimer and morbus Pick. Genetic, clinical and patho-anatomical study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 82, 1–152.Google Scholar
Swain, J. M. (1959) Electroencephalographic abnormalities in presenile atrophy. Neurology, 9, 722–727.Google Scholar
Visser, S. L., Stam, F. C., Tilburg, Van W., Velde Op Den, W., Blom, J. L. & Rijke De, W. (1976). Visual evoked response in senile and presenile dementia. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 40, 385–392.Google Scholar
Wright, C. E., Harding, G. F. A. & Orwin, A. (1984) Presenile dementia—the use of the flash and pattern VEP in diagnosis. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 57, 405–415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.