Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 01.08.2003, Side 42

■ ABSTRACTS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS
FLS and fvFTD. These were diagnosed blindly to the diagnosis of
dementia according to DSM-III-R.
Rcsults: We found that 86 individuals (19%) fulfilled the criteria for
FLS, and 14 of them (3% of the population) fulfilled criteria for
fvFTD. There were no differences between men and women.
Among those with FLS, 75 (87%) fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for
other types of dementia, mainly Alzheimer's disease and vascular
dementia. Among the 14 fvFTD cases, only 5 were demented accor-
ding to DSM-III-R. Moderate-severe frontal atrophy was found in
93% of those with FLS (and in all cases with fvFTD), but also in
49% of those without FLS. FLS was found in 35% of those with
moderate-severe frontal atrophy, and in 3% of those without these
changes.
Condusions: The prevalence of fvFTD was 3% in 85-year-olds,
which is higher than previously expected in this age group. Only a
minority of those with fvFTD were detected by the DSM-III-R
criteria for dementia. FLS was even more common, especially in
those diagnosed with a dementia disorder.
S-XVI/4 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Update on clinical characteristics and neurochemistry of
frontotemporal dementia
Sjögren M, Associate Professor, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, SE413 45 Göteborg,
Sweden
miignus.sjogren@medfak.gu.se
Itackground: Research on frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is in an
active and developing stage. During the last few years, several
disorders have been recognised as being part of the FTD-spectrum.
For example, semantic dementia and progressive non-fluent apha-
sia as well as corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuc-
lear palsy, are now recognised as FTD-disorders. The characteristics
of FTD, e.g. personality change and loss of empathy, are in focus of
modern neurobiological as well as neuropsychological research.
For example, loss of empathy has been explored in the realms of
theory of mind. Several studies have shown that FTD-disorders are
difficult to identify early in the course of the disease. In this respect
diagnostic markers are needed and some have been suggested, e.g.
cerebrospinal fluid markers such as tau, phosphotau and neuro-
filament protein that improves the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis
of FTD. Furthermore, much research on the pathophysiology of
these disorders have recently been published, the most reckoned is
the identification of tau-gene mutations in hereditary FTD (FTDP-
17). The presentation will focus on nosology, some recent clinical
and neurochemical findings, and relate these to putative patho-
physiological mechanisms of FTD.
S-XVI/5 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Cognitive function in restless legs syndrome
lljördís B. TryKRvadótlir, Sleep Laboratory, Dept. of Psychiatry, Landspítali-University
Hospital, Hringbraut, 101 Reykjavík, MK Jónsdóttir, K Kristjánsson, D Rye. T Sig-
mundsson.
Background: Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a common and
clinically significant sensorymotor disorder which is often either
misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. Its pathophysiology remains un-
known but is believed to involve central dopaminergic dysfunction.
Patients with other motor syndromes linked to dopamine dys-
regulation including Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome and
attention deficil hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show deficits on
tests of attention and executive functioning.
We compared RLS patients to healthy volunteers on tests
assessing these areas of cognitive functions. To our knowledge this
is the first neuropsychological study of RLS.
Method: Nineteen patients (16 drug naive) and 18 controls matched
on age, sex and occupation underwent neuropsychological testing
which focused on planning, selective and sustained attention, flexi-
bility of attention, spatial working memory, verbal fluency, and re-
action time. In addition, matrix reasoning and similarities from the
WAIS-III were administered.
Results and discussion: The RLS patients performed significantly
worse than the healthy controls on tests of verbal fluency, reaction
time and sustained and selective attention. There was also a trend
towards worse performance on other tests of executive functioning.
These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the patho-
physiology of RLS involves the dopamine system. This study awaits
replication with a larger sample of patients.
S-XVII/1 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in lceland
Páll Magnússon, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National University Hospi-
tal, Reykjavík, Iceland. Evald Sæmundsen, State Diagnostic and Counselling Center
Kópavogur, Iceland
pama@landspitalL is
Background: Previous knowledge of the prevalence of autism in
Iceland stems from two studies evaluating the rate of autism in
three birth cohorts; individuals born in the periods 1964-1973,1974-
1983, and 1984-1993. The results showed an increased rate of autism
in the youngest cohort.
Aims: The objective of the present study is to evaluate the preva-
lence of autism spectrum disorders in a new cohort, i.e., children
born in the five-year period 1994-1998.
Method: Tlie data were collected from the records of the State
Diagnostic and Counselling Center, a tertiary service charged with
the surveillance of serious neuro-developmental disorders in the
whole country. Diagnosis was based on the results of the Autism
Diagnostic Interview-Revised, the Autism Diagnostic Observation
Schedule, and/or the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and a consen-
sus of an interdisciplinary team of clinicians. All the children were
tested for cognitive development.
Results: The results are presented in terms of ICD-10 diagnoses, as
well as age, gender, and cognitive level.
Conclusion: The rates found in the age groups studied parallel re-
cent findings in population-based studies.
42 L/EKNABLAÐIÐ / FYLGIRIT 48 2003/89