Caudate nucleus volume and cognitive performance: Are they related in childhood psychopathology?

BACKGROUND: Impaired neuropsychological test performance, especially on tests of executive function and attention, is often seen in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Structures involved in fronto-striatal circuitry, such as the caudate nucleus, may support these cognitive abilities. However, few studies have examined caudate volumes specifically in children with ASD, or correlated caudate volumes to cognitive ability. METHODS: Neuropsychological test scores and caudate volumes of children with ASD were compared to those of children with bipolar disorder (BD) and of typically developing (TD) children. The relationship between test performance and caudate volumes was analyzed. RESULTS: The ASD group displayed larger right and left caudate volumes, and modest executive deficits, compared to TD controls. While caudate volume inversely predicted performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in all participants, it differentially predicted performance on measures of attention across the ASD, BD and TD groups. CONCLUSIONS: Larger caudate volumes were related to impaired problem solving. On a test of attention, larger left caudate volumes predicted increased impulsivity and more omission errors in the ASD group as compared to the TD group, however smaller volume predicted poorer discriminant responding as compared to the BD group.     

学习困难儿童智力及记忆力特征分析

目的探讨学习困难儿童的智力、记忆力特征。方法学习困难(LD)根据ICD-10五条诊断标准,精神发育迟滞(MR)根据国际疾病分类第10版(ICD-10)诊断标准,分为实验组LD组;对照组a.正常组,b.弱智组。采用中国韦氏儿童智力量表进行智力测验,记忆力测验采用中国科学研究院编制的临床记忆量表。结果LD组与正常对照组在语言智商、操作智商、总智商[(86.23±10.65)分,(87.44±12.59)分,(84.09±13.96)分vs(102.27±10.21)分,(103.22±11.65)分,(103.28±9.88)分]及分测验值差异均有显著性(P<0.01);LD组儿童VIQ与PIQ相距一个标准差以上的比率明显高于对照组(2=9.29,P<0.01),也较MR对照组多(2=4.29,P<0.05)。LD组记忆商(MQ)明显低于正常对照组(P<0.01)。结论LD儿童智商、记忆商水平低于正常儿童,且存在明显智力结构发展不平衡。     

阿尔茨海默病患者脑白质损害与认知功能的关系

目的用磁共振扩散张量成像(DTI)研究阿尔茨海默病(AD)患者脑白质损害的特点及其与认知功能改变的相关性。方法对16例AD患者和12名年龄及性别相当的健康老年人行DTI、T1液体衰减反转恢复序列(FLAIR)及T2-FLAIR检查,测量胼胝体膝部和压部、内囊前肢和后肢、额颞顶枕叶白质的部分各向异性分数值(FA)和平均弥散度(MD),分析FA、MD值与简易精神状态量表(MMSE)评分之间的相关关系。结果AD患者胼胝体压部、额叶、顶叶、颞叶FA值分别为0.602±0.043、0.270±0.034、0.294±0.043、0.302±0.032,与健康老人组相比显著下降(P<0.05),且与MMSE评分呈正相关关系,而内囊前后肢、枕叶、胼胝体膝部的FA值则无明显变化(P>0.05);胼胝体压部、顶叶白质的MD值分别为(0.918±0.029)、(0.826±0.015)×10-9m2/s,与健康老人组相比显著升高(P<0.01),且与MMSE评分呈负相关,而内囊前后肢、额叶、颞叶、枕叶和胼胝体膝部的MD值则无明显变化(P>0.05)。结论AD患者表现为脑白质的选择性损害,且损害程度与认知功能密切相关;这种选择性损害反映了AD病理机制中皮质-皮质及皮质-皮质下联系的丢失;DTI技术可以用来监测疾病的进展情况及评价AD治疗药物的临床疗效。     

脑膜病变MRI异常强化类型与病因的相关性分析

目的 探讨各种脑膜病变脑膜MRI强化类型与病因的关系。方法 回顾性分析78例资料完整，MRI增强扫描脑膜异常强化的非脑膜瘤。结果 78例中，脑膜癌病16例（硬脑膜-蛛网膜型2例，软脑膜-蛛网膜下腔型11例，混合型3例）；感染性脑膜炎18例（硬脑膜-蛛网膜型3例，软脑膜-蛛网膜下腔型13例，混合型2例）；脑梗死22例（软脑膜-蛛网膜下腔型18例，混合型4例）；开颅术后15例（硬脑膜-蛛网膜型10例，混合型5例）；硬膜下积液（血肿）7例，均为硬脑膜-蛛网膜型。结论 MRI双倍剂量Gd-DTPA增强扫描对脑膜病变敏感性高，脑膜强化类型与各种病因侵犯脑膜三层结构的方式和程度有关。     

急性脑血管病肿瘤坏死因子-α的临床研究

目的：探讨肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）在急性脑血管病（ACVD）中的作用及其变化的临床意义。方法：选取95例ACVD患者，并设性别及年龄相匹配的血清对照组（20例）及脑脊液对照组（10例）。应用酶联免疫吸附法（ELISA）于发病后第1、3、7、14d测定血清和脑脊液中TNF-α。结果：①三种脑血管病患者血清TNF-α动态变化存在差异，脑出血和脑梗死组的峰值单间为发病后第3d，而蛛网膜下腔出血（SAH）组为第1d。②脑梗死患者血清TNF-α水平与梗死面积、神经功能缺损程度及病情恶化与否相关。③SAH组于发病后第1d、3d、7d脑脊液TNF-α值高于血清，14d时降至对照组水平并与血清无差异。结论：①脑梗死患者血清TNF-α的动态观察，可为临床预测梗死灶大小、神经功能缺损程度及病情恶化与否提供依据。②发病早期的脑梗死患者若CT未能显示病灶时，血清TNF-α的明显升高有助于临床诊断和治疗。③SAH患者脑脊液中TNF-α水平明显高于血清，进一步提示脑内神经组织可产生TNF-α。脑脊液中TNF-α的持续明显升高可能与SAH后脑血管痉挛有关。④TNF-α参与了ACVD的炎性反应过程，早期抑制TNF产生及抗炎性反应的治疗可能具有潜在的临床价值。     

慢性老年精神分裂症患者认知功能及其与日常生活能力的比较研究

目的 :了解慢性老年精神分裂症患者认知功能和日常生活能力状况 ,探讨此类患者在额叶执行功能和记忆方面的神经心理功能障碍及其特征。方法 :采用简易智力状态检查 (MMSE)、日常生活能力量表 (ADL)、威斯康星卡片分类测验 (WCST)及韦氏记忆量表 (WMS)对 31例慢性老年精神分裂症和 31例正常对照组进行比较研究。结果 :慢性老年精神分裂症组MMSE得分明显低于正常对照组 (P <0 .0 1) ;而该组ADL总分明显高于正常对照组(P <0 .0 5 )。除非持续错误外 ,慢性老年精神分裂症患者的威斯康星卡片分类测验和韦氏记忆量表的各项测验成绩均差于对照组 (P <0 .0 5 )。结论 :慢性老年精神分裂症患者认知功能的障碍决定了患者日常生活能力的减退 ;这类患者有明显的额叶执行功能障碍和记忆障碍     

Validating the eating disorder inventory (EDI‐2) in two danish samples: A comparison between female eating disorder patients and females from the general population

The Eating Disorder Inventory, Version 2 (EDI‐2) is a questionnaire used clinically and in research all over the world. EDI‐2 is cross‐culturally valid, yet normative values may depend on culture. Norms and reliability of the Danish version have to date been lacking, and will be presented in this article, comparing patients (N = 575) and controls (N = 881). Also, internal reliability of scales is tested for both groups. Differences between norms of the Danish and the North American version of EDI were small but significant for all scales except asceticism (eating disorder patients) and ineffectiveness, interpersonal distrust and maturity fears (normal controls). For both groups the internal consistency was >0.70 for all subscales except asceticism. Although differences across the eating disorder diagnostic groups were dubious, the EDI‐2 is useful to screen for eating problems in the general population as well as to rate progress and outcome among eating disorder patients. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.