The Effect of Antiepileptic Drugs on Cognition: Patient Perceived Cognitive Problems of Topiramate versus Levetiracetam in Clinical Practice

Summary:  Introduction: Neurocognitive complaints may interfere with long-term antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment and are an important issue in clinical practice. Most data about drug-induced cognitive problems are derived from highly controlled short-term clinical trials. We analyzed such cognitive complaints for the two most commonly used AEDs in a clinical setting using patient perceived problems as primary outcome measure.
Method: All patients of the epilepsy center Kempenhaeghe that received topiramate (TPM) or levetiracetam (LEV) from the introduction to mid 2004 were analyzed using a medical information system, an automated medical file. Patients were analyzed after 6, 12, and 18 months of treatment.
Results: Four hundred and two patients used either TPM (n = 260) or LEV (n = 142); 18 months retention showed a statistically significant difference, revealing 15% more patients that continued LEV compared to TPM: 18 months retention 46% for TPM and 61% for LEV [F (1.400) = 3.313, p = 0.043]. Neurocognitive complaints accounted for a significant number of drug discontinuations and especially the high frequency of neurocognitive complaints in the first period of TPM treatment appeared to be significant different from LEV [F(2,547) = 3.192, p = 0.042]. In the remaining patients, the difference in neurocognitive complaints was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: cognitive complaints are common in TPM treatment and frequently lead to drug withdrawal. The impact of LEV on cognitive function is only mild. This leads to a much higher (15%) drug discontinuation rate for TPM compared to LEV.     

口腔医学专业学生认知风格与口腔正畸学学习成绩关系的研究

目的提出对学习策略和教学方式的改进建议。方法测试口腔医学生的场依存/独立认知风格,并用统计学方法分析其与口腔正畸学学习成绩的关系。结果①场独立认知风格是口腔医学专业学生认知风格的主体;②不同性别口腔医学专业学生的场依存/独立认知风格无显著性差异;③学生场依存/独立认知风格与口腔正畸学理论考试成绩有负相关倾向,与口腔正畸学实习操作成绩有正相关倾向。结论学习策略和教学方式因受认知风格的影响而制约学生学习的效果。     

The Role of Instructional Set on Alcoholic Performance

This study was conducted to determine whether alcoholic and control subjects respond differently to manipulations that either enhance personal involvement (PI) or reduce negative affect (R, relaxation) on tests of neuropsychological function. In Phase 1, 48 male alcoholics and 36 male control subjects completed neuropsychological tasks under standard instructional sets. In Phase 2, subjects completed equivalent forms of these tests under one of three randomly assigned conditions; the PI condition in which subjects were encouraged to identify specific ways of improving their performance, the R condition in which subjects participated in a short relaxation exercise designed to reduce anxiety, or a No Treatment (NT) condition in which no attempt to manipulate the subjects' involvement or affect was made. Alcoholics were inferior to controls in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 [Fs (1,82) > 5.03, ps < 0.03]. The experimental manipulation differentially affected measures of negative affect and effort in the predicted direction. There were no group x condition interactions. Alcoholic and control subjects responded comparably to the experimental manipulations. This investigation, in combination with others using related manipulations, reinforces the hypothesis that alcohol-related cognitives dysfunction reflects an underlying deficit in brain states.     

老年轻度认知功能损害患者血清维生素E、超氧化物歧化酶和丙二醛的测定及临床意义

目的　了解轻度认知功能损害 (MCI)患者血清维生素E(VitE)、超氧化物歧化酶 (SOD)和丙二醛(MDA)的水平 ,探讨其变化的临床意义。方法　采用 1∶1配对病例对照设计 ,受试者均于晨 7时空腹抽静脉血 ,应用紫外分光光度法测定了 4 5例老年MCI患者和 4 5例健康老年人血清VitE ,SOD和MDA的含量。结果　老年MCI患者血清VitE含量及SOD活性显著低于健康老年人 (P <0 .0 1) ,血清MDA含量显著高于健康老年人 (P <0 .0 1)。结论　以MDA为代表的自由基代谢产物参与了MCI的病理生理过程 ;临床上应给予外源性VitE以进行早期干预治疗。     

An integrative psychophysiological approach to brain hemisphere functions in schizophrenia

The present paper proposes a new psychophysiological approach to the genesis of positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms. According to this approach, the initial factor in schizophrenic disorders is a functional insufficiency of the right hemisphere which can be determined by early emotional experience in combination with subtle brain damage. This functional insufficiency causes (a) the inability to grasp and select information before its realization; and (b) the inability to produce a polysemantic context which is crucial for creativity, psychological defense, and the restoration of search activity, all of which determine psychophysiological adaptation to the environment. Right hemisphere insufficiency causes left hemisphere hyperactivity as an ineffective attempt to compensate for this functional deficiency. As a result, normal search activity is replaced by artificial search activity which is represented by “positive” symptoms, and which uses the predisposition of the left hemisphere's catecholamine system for its increased activity. The suggestion is made that cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (the inability to use appropriate previous information in relation to current perceptual input) is related to the competition between information processing which requires left hemisphere activity, and the formation of positive symptoms, also based on left hemisphere activity.     

影像学分型与急性脑梗死患者认知功能关系的研究

目的探讨影像学分型与急性脑梗死患者认知功能关系。方法对136例急性大脑梗死患者于发病后24～72h内行颅脑MRI检查确定梗死部位、测量病灶大小并作出影像学分型，于发病1周内，在患者床前采用简易精神状态检查法（mini—mentalstate examination，MMSE），检测患者的认知功能，并同步进行事件相关电位P300的检测，判断患者认知功能的情况，对比分析应用MRI进行的影像学分型与认知功能关系。结果额叶、颞叶脑梗死患者的MMSE和WAIS—RC评分明显低于顶枕叶和基底节区梗死患者，P300潜伏时明显长于顶枕叶和基底节区梗死的患者，但其P300波幅低于顶枕叶和基底节区梗死的惠者；中梗死和多发性梗死患者的MMSE和WAIS—RC评分明显低于顶枕叶和基底节区梗死患者，B300潜伏时明显长于顶枕叶和基底节区梗死的患者，但其P300波幅低于顶枕叶和基底节区梗死的患者。结论影像学分型与急性脑梗死患者认知功能有相关性。     

恩必普软胶囊改善慢性脑供血不足患者认知功能的临床分析

目的:探讨dl-3-正丁基苯酞软胶囊(恩必普软胶囊)治疗慢性脑供血不足的临床疗效及对慢性脑供血不足病人认知功能改善的影响。方法:将60例慢性脑供血不足病人随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组30例,治疗组口服dl-3-正丁基苯酞软胶囊,每次200毫克,每日3次;对照组口服复方丹参片,每次4片,每日3次,疗程为8周,治疗前后进行疗效评价和P300数据采样,同时给予同步MMSE、HDS量表评分。结果:治疗组总有效率为70%,对照组总有效率为53.3%,2组治疗后比较差异有显著意义(P<0.05);治疗组治疗前、后MMSE和HDS量表得分情况比较,均有明显改善(P<0.01),与对照组治疗后比较差异有显著意义(P<0.05);治疗组治疗前、后P300波潜伏期及P300波幅差异均有显著意义(P<0.05),与对照组治疗后比较均有显著差异(P<0.05)。结论:dl-3-正丁基苯酞软胶囊对慢性脑供血不足病人安全有效。     

认知疗法并用文拉法新缓释剂治疗老年抑郁症的对照研究

目的探讨认知疗法在老年抑郁症治疗中的作用。方法将70例老年抑郁症患者随机分为两组,A组为认知疗法合并文拉法新缓释剂治疗组;B组为单纯用文拉法新缓释剂治疗组。于治疗前后分别用汉密顿抑郁量表(HAMD)、汉密顿焦虑量表(HAMA)、疗效总评量表(CGI-GI)评定疗效,半年后随访。结果A、B组的HAMD评分于治疗2周末呈非常显著下降(P<0.01),HAMA于治疗4周末出现这种变化(P<0.01)。A组治疗8周末的3个量表评分均显著低于B组(P<0.01),A组有效率达87.5%,高于B组的60.61%(P<0.05),半年复发率(6.25%)也显著低于B组(30.3%)。结论认知疗法是适合老年抑郁症的心理治疗方法。     

颈动脉血管重建术对颈动脉狭窄患者认知功能的影响

颈动脉狭窄会导致患者远期认知功能下降，而既往研究表明颈动脉内膜剥脱术和支架
置入术作为治疗颈动脉狭窄的主要术式，可以改善患者的认知功能，尤其是执行能力等特定领域的
认知水平。进一步研究发现颈动脉血管重建术中栓子的形成，术后脑血流灌注提高，以及神经代谢
水平等改变可能在机制上解释颈动脉重建术后认知功能的变化；此外，围术期炎症反应，血脂水平，
以及基因易感性等都是术后远期认知功能结局的临床预测因素，以上因素对于提高颈动脉狭窄患者
的生活质量、治疗术式的优化具有重要临床意义。