We carried out a double-blind and placebo-controlled study of the efficacy of bromocriptine in the treatment of nonfluent aphasia. Seven patients received bromocriptine (up to 60 mg/d) and an identical placebo in a randomized order. End points were the number of content words, content units, and pauses > 3 seconds during the description of a figure; verbal naming; and verbal fluency. There were no significant benefits of bromocriptine over placebo in any of the variables examined.

The authors examined the severity and type of deficits in remote memory in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the first study, 40 AD patients showed significantly more severe deficits on both the free-recall and the recognition sections of the Remote Memory Scale (which measures memory for famous people and well-known events) compared with normal control subjects. In the second study, 25 AD patients showed significantly more deficits on the free-recall section of the Autobiographical Memory Scale compared with normal control subjects. Remote memory deficits in AD may be related to both retrieval deficits and damage to memory traces.

We examined the prevalence of the catastrophic reaction (CR) in 146 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Sixteen percent showed a CR during the neuropsychological evaluation. A factor analysis of the CR scale demonstrated an anxious/angry factor that was significantly associated with higher irritability scores and a longer duration of illness, as well as a depressive factor that was significantly associated with more severe cognitive impairments and older age.

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