European Society of Anaesthesiology.

BackgroundCortical and subcortical cognitive impairments have been found in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Roughly, they comprise visuoconstructive and executive dysfunction, whereas memory would remain relatively spared. However, the cognitive profile of patients with prodromal DLB remains poorly illustrated to date.MethodsWe included 37 patients with prodromal DLB (age 67.2 ± 8.6 years, 18 men, Mini Mental State Examination [MMSE] score 27.4 ± 2) and 29 healthy control subjects (HCs; age 68.8 ± 7.9 years, 15 men, MMSE score 29.0 ± 0.9). They were presented with an extensive neuropsychological test battery to assess memory; speed of processing; executive function; visuoperceptual, visuospatial and visuoconstructive abilities; language; and social cognition.ResultsCompared with HCs, patients had lower scores on a visual recognition memory test (Delayed Matching to Sample-48 items; p ≤ 0.021) and lower free recall (all p ≤ 0.035), but not total recall, performance on a verbal episodic memory test (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test). Short-term memory (p = 0.042) and working memory (p = 0.002) scores were also lower in patients. Assessment of executive function showed no slowing but overall lower performance in patients than in HCs (all p ≤ 0.049), whereas assessment of instrumental function yielded mixed results. Indeed, patients had lower scores on language tests (p ≤ 0.022), apraxia for pantomime of tool use (p = 0.002) and imitation of meaningless gesture (p = 0.005), as well as weakened visuospatial abilities (p = 0.047). Visuoconstruction was also impaired in patients. However, visuoperceptual abilities did not differ between groups. Finally, theory of mind abilities were lower in patients than in HCs (p < 0.05), but their emotion recognition abilities were similar.ConclusionsThis study presents the cognitive profile in patients with prodromal DLB. In line with the literature on DLB with dementia, our results show lower performance on tests of executive function and visuoconstruction. However, we found, from a prodromal stage of DLB, memory (free recall and visual recognition) and social cognition deficits, as well as weakened visuospatial and praxic abilities.

Background: The serologic response of individuals with mild forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection is poorly characterized. Methods: Hospital staff who had recovered from mild forms of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using two assays: a rapid immunodiagnostic test (99.4% specificity) and the S-Flow assay (~99% specificity).The neutralizing activity of the sera was tested with a pseudovirus-based assay. Results: Of 162 hospital staff who participated in the investigation, 160 reported SARS-CoV- 2 infection that had not required hospital admission and were included in these analyses. The median time from symptom onset to blood sample collection was 24 days (IQR: 21-28, range 13-39). The rapid immunodiagnostic test detected antibodies in 153 (95.6%) of the samples and the S-Flow assay in 159 (99.4%), failing to detect antibodies in one sample collected 18 days after symptom onset (the rapid test did not detect antibodies in that patient). Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) were detected in 79%, 92% and 98% of samples collected 13-20, 21-27 and 28-41 days after symptom onset, respectively (P=0.02). Conclusion: Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were detected in virtually all hospital staff sampled from 13 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. This finding supports the use of serologic testing for the diagnosis of individuals who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. The neutralizing activity of the antibodies increased overtime. Future studies will help assess the persistence of the humoral response and its associated neutralization capacity in recovered patients.

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