Multi-parametric photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has emerged as a promising new technique for high-resolution quantification of hemodynamics and oxygen metabolism in the mouse brain. In this work, we ...have extended the scope of multi-parametric PAM to longitudinal, cortex-wide, awake-brain imaging with the use of a long-lifetime (24 weeks), wide-field (5 × 7 mm2), light-weight (2 g), dual-transparency (i.e., light and ultrasound) cranial window. Cerebrovascular responses to the window installation were examined in vivo, showing a complete recovery in 18 days. In the 22-week monitoring after the recovery, no dura thickening, skull regrowth, or changes in cerebrovascular structure and function were observed. The promise of this technique was demonstrated by monitoring vascular and metabolic responses of the awake mouse brain to ischemic stroke throughout the acute, subacute, and chronic stages. Side-by-side comparison of the responses in the ipsilateral (injury) and contralateral (control) cortices shows that despite an early recovery of cerebral blood flow and an increase in microvessel density, a long-lasting deficit in cerebral oxygen metabolism was observed throughout the chronic stage in the injured cortex, part of which proceeded to infarction. This longitudinal, functional-metabolic imaging technique opens new opportunities to study the chronic progression and therapeutic responses of neurovascular diseases.
Reliable epidemiological data on Alzheimer's disease are scarce. However, these are necessary to adapt healthcare policy in terms of prevention, care and social needs related to this condition. To ...estimate the prevalence rate in the Alpes-Maritimes on the French Riviera, with a population of one million, we present a capture-recapture procedure applied to cases of Alzheimer's disease, based on two epidemiological surveillance systems.
To estimate the total number of patients affected by Alzheimer's disease, a capture-recapture study included a cohort of patients with Alzheimer's disease or receiving medications only eligible for use for this condition, recorded by a specific health insurance information system (Health Insurance Cohort, HIC), and those registered in the French National Alzheimer's Data Bank ("Banque Nationale Alzheimer", BNA) in 2010 and 2011. We applied Bayesian estimation of the Mt ecological model, taking into account age and gender as covariates, i.e. factors of inhomogeneous catchability.
Overall, 5,562 patients with Alzheimer's disease were recorded, of whom only 856 were common to both information systems. Mean age and F/M sex ratio differed between BNA and HIC surveillance systems, 81 vs 84 years and 2.7 vs 3.2, respectively. A Bayesian estimation, with age and gender as covariates, yields an estimate of 15,060 cases of Alzheimer's disease 95%HPDI: 14,490-15,630 in the Alpes-Maritimes. The completeness of the HIC and BNA databases were respectively of 25.4% and 17.2%. The estimated prevalence rate among the population over 65 years old was 6.3% in 2010-2011.
This study demonstrates that it is possible to determine the number of subjects affected by Alzheimer's disease in a geographical unit, using available data from two existing surveillance systems in France, i.e. 15,060 cases in the Alpes-Maritimes. This is the first stage of a population-based approach in view of adapting available resources to the population's needs.
Abstract Purpose To determine whether social inequalities in new antidepressant treatment exist at the individual and/or neighborhood level; and their relation to access to prescribers and/or ...processes of care (treatment initiation and duration). Methods We followed 316,412 inhabitants of Marseilles (aged 18–64 years) covered by the National Health Insurance Fund for 2.5 years. We analyzed new treatments (≥1 purchase of antidepressants and none in the 6 months before the first one), and new long treatments (≥4 within 6 months after the first purchase). We tested their associations with high individual disadvantage and census block deprivation in a multivariate, multilevel logistic model adjusted for consultations with general practitioners and psychiatrists to control for access to care. Results High individual disadvantage was not associated with the probability of new treatments, but it was with lower odds of receiving new long treatments. Residing in deprived census blocks was associated with lower odds of receiving treatment for both dependent variables. Conclusions Our results suggest that social inequalities at the individual and neighborhood levels in new antidepressant treatment occur in access to specialty care and in treatment initiation and affect its duration. Further research is warranted to improve our understanding of their mechanisms.
Fourteen benzodiazepine (BZD) or BZD-like medications were analyzed with three data sources aiming to assess prescription drug abuse for the year 2008. After a descriptive analysis, a principal ...component analysis was carried out to explore correlations between seven indicators obtained by different methods using these three different data sources and to compute a composite score of diversion for these drugs. For all the indicators, flunitrazepam appears first with much higher values than the other drugs, whereas clonazepam appears in the second or third place. These methods produce globally correlated indicators and the composite score obtained from principal component analysis ranks the drugs with the highest diversion as follows: flunitrazepam, clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, and bromazepam. This study shows that these methods yield consistent results. Their integration into a single multi-indicator approach gives health authorities a global view of different behaviors regarding diversion of a given drug.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the extent of methylphenidate (MPH) abuse and characterize its patterns by following several cases involving intravenous administration of crushed MPH ...tablets. Methods: First, a drug reimbursement database (covering 4 million inhabitants) was explored to assess the magnitude of MPH abuse among the general population, and second, a specific study based on individuals with drug dependence was performed to describe abusers' characteristics (n = 64), patterns of abuse and clinical implications. Results: From 2005 to 2011, the number of patients who were dispensed MPH at least once increased by 166%. The patients with ‘deviant' patterns of MPH consumption were mainly male adults with opiate maintenance treatment reimbursements. MPH abusers had precarious living conditions. Half of them consumed MPH daily by intravenous route and reported amphetamine-like effects (cardiovascular events, weight loss, psychiatric adverse events). Conclusion: Given the increase of MPH use, it is important to warn the scientific community about possible MPH abuse, especially in individuals with drug dependence. This study has facilitated public health intervention and dissemination of information related to MPH abuse among health care professionals at local and national levels.
Introduction
The objective of this study was to estimate and to characterize the actual patterns of triptan use and overuse in France using a drug reimbursement database.
Methods
We included all ...people covered by the French General Health Insurance System (GHIS) from the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur (PACA) and Corsica administrative areas who had at least one dispensed dose of triptans between May 2010 and December 2011. All dispensed doses of triptans, migraine prophylactic treatment and psychotropic medications were extracted from the GHIS database. Triptan overuse was defined as triptan use >20 defined daily doses (DDD) per month on a regular basis for more than three consecutive months. Risk of overuse was assessed using logistic regression adjusted for gender and age.
Results
We included 99,540 patients who had at least one prescription of a triptan over the 20 months of the study. Among them, 2243 patients (2.3%) were identified as overusers and received 20.2% of the total DDD prescribed. Twelve percent of overusers and 6.9% of non-overusers were aged more than 65 years (OR: 1.81). Overusers did not have a greater number of prescribers and pharmacists than non-overusers. They were more frequently prescribed a prophylactic medication for migraine treatment (56.8% vs 35.9%, OR: 2.36), benzodiazepines (69.9% vs 54.7%, OR: 1.93) and antidepressants (49.4% vs 30.2%, OR: 2.33).
Conclusions
This work suggests that triptan overuse may be due to insufficient prescriber awareness of appropriate prescribing. The off-label prescription of triptans among the elderly necessitates investigating their cardiovascular risk profile in this sub-group.
This study aimed to test for social disparities in early discontinuation of antidepressant treatment and to explore associations with type of drug and composition of prescriber's clientele.
The ...cohort was 14,518 Marseille residents (ages 18-64 years) covered by the National Health Insurance Fund who had a new episode of antidepressant treatment (specifically, no prescription claim in the six months before the index claim) prescribed by a private general practitioner in 2008 or 2009. Factors associated with early discontinuation (prescription filled or refilled fewer than four times in the six months after the index claim) were analyzed with multilevel models that were adjusted for patient morbidity and number of consultations with private general practitioners and psychiatrists. Sensitivity analyses were conducted with different definitions of new treatment and early discontinuation.
Low income, type of antidepressant (tricyclics versus selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), and prescribers' clientele composition (specifically, a high proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients) were independently associated with an increased risk of early antidepressant discontinuation. A significant interaction was found between low income and gender. Low-income patients were more likely than other patients to receive tricyclic antidepressants.
These results add further evidence of inequalities in care for major depression and suggest that women are at greater disadvantage than men. Educational programs for general practitioners should focus on the risks of antidepressant discontinuation among disadvantaged patients. Enhancing therapeutic education of low-income patients may improve their treatment adherence.
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of long-term antipsychotic (AP) use in community-dwelling patients with dementia considering hospitalization periods as AP exposure or not. A ...retrospective study was carried out from 2009 to 2012 on a PACA-Alzheimer cohort (which included 31 963 patients in 2009 and 36 442 in 2012 from 5 million inhabitants). Three groups of patients were identified according to the longest exposure to APs without interruption: nonusers, short-term users (≤3 successive months without discontinuation), and long-term users. Sensitivity analyses on hospitalization periods were carried out. The percentage of patients with at least one AP dispensing was stable over the study period (25.6% in 2009 vs. 26.5% in 2012). In 2012, 27.6% were AP long-term users. This increased to 46.7% when hospitalization periods were counted as AP exposure. In comparison with nonusers, AP users took more benzodiazepines and antidepressants. Short-term users were men odds ratio (OR)=1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.1-1.3) older than 85 years old OR=1.2, 95% CI (1.1-1.2). Long-term users were more exposed to benzodiazepines OR=1.2, 95% CI (1.1-1.4). This study showed that long-term use of AP remained frequent in community-dwelling patients with dementia. It also showed that the prevalence of long-term users almost doubled when hospitalization periods were counted as AP exposure. This underlines the need to consider hospitalization periods when assessing medication exposure in populations with frequent periods of hospitalization.
IntroductionLong-term glucocorticoid therapy is the leading cause of secondary osteoporosis. The management of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) seems to be inadequate in many European ...countries.ObjectiveTo evaluate the rate of screening and treatment of GIOP.DesignInformation was collected from a national public health-insurance database in our geographic area of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and in Corsica, from September 2009 through August 2011.PatientsWe identified participants aged 15 years and over starting glucocorticoid therapy (≥7.5 mg of prednisone equivalent per day during at least 90 days consecutive). This cohort was compared with an age-matched and sex-matched population that did not receive glucocorticoids.Main outcome measuresBone mass, prescription of bone antiresorptive medication and use of calcium and/or vitamin D treatment.ResultsWe identified 32 812 patients who were prescribed glucocorticoid therapy, yielding 1% prevalence. Incidence of glucocorticoid therapy was 2.8/1000 inhabitants/year. Males represented 44%, the mean age was 58 years. The median prednisone-equivalent dose was 11 mg/day (IQR 9–18 mg/day). 8% underwent bone mass measurement. Calcium and/or vitamin D, and bisphosphonates were prescribed in 18% and 12%, respectively. Results were lower for the control population: 3% underwent bone mass measurement and 3% received bisphosphonate therapy. The rates of osteodensitometry and treatments were higher in women over 55 years of age than in men and women 55 years of age and younger, and also when glucocorticoid therapy was initiated by a rheumatologist versus other physician specialty.ConclusionsThe management of GIOP remains very inadequate, despite the availability of a statutory health insurance system. Targeted interventions are needed to improve the management of GIOP.
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