Personality Changes With Dementia From the Informant Perspective: New Data and Meta-Analysis

Objective

To examine changes in personality in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia as observed by family members using both new data and a meta-analysis with the published literature.

Mindfulness and psychoeducation to manage stress in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A pilot study

Objectives: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) often corresponds to the prodromal stage of Alzheimer disease (AD). The aMCI stage represents a crucial time window to apply preventive interventions in an attempt to delay cognitive decline. Stress, one of AD’s modifiable risk factors frequently co-occurring with aMCI, stands out as a key intervention target. The goal of this study was to assess the impacts of two non-pharmacological interventions, mindfulness and psychoeducation, on stress at the psychological and physiological levels among aMCI older adults.

Methods: Forty-eight aMCI participants were randomized between a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) and a psychoeducation-based intervention (PBI) for eight weekly sessions. Anxiety symptoms, perceived stress levels, cortisol awakening response (CAR), and coping strategies were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Mindfulness attitudes and time dedicated to at-home meditative practices were evaluated in the MBI group.

Results: The main results revealed a slight reduction of the CAR among MBI participants who practiced meditation at home the most and a decrease in perceived stress levels in the PBI group. Both interventions enhanced problem-focused coping strategies.

Conclusion: In sum, this pilot study supports the potential of MBI and PBI to reduce stress at the physiological and psychological level, respectively, and increase coping strategies in older adults at risk for AD.     

Child and parent perspectives of life quality of children with physical impairments compared with non-disabled peers

Background: Life quality has become a widely used concept within rehabilitation and occupational therapy practice.

Aim: This study explored child and parent perspectives of life quality of children with physical impairments compared with a group of non-disabled children.

Method: Data were collected with the Icelandic self- and proxy-reported versions of the KIDSCREEN-27. For children with physical impairments, reports from 34 children and 40 parents were included in the analyses, and in control group reports from 429 children and 450 parents were included.

Results: Children with physical impairments evaluated their life quality within the average range on four out of five life quality dimensions. The lowest scores were within the physical well-being dimension. Self-reported scores of children with physical impairments were higher than those of their parents on all dimensions except autonomy and parent relations. Thus, the parents considered more environmental and personal factors to negatively influence their child’s life quality than children did themselves.

Conclusion: Children with physical impairments experience their life quality similarly to non-disabled children.

Significance: Focus on life quality can help occupational therapists to identify what circumstances positively or negatively influence client well-being and to focus more on contextual factors that contribute to disablement.     

Chronic brain stimulation rewarding experience ameliorates depression-induced cognitive deficits and restores aberrant plasticity in the prefrontal cortex

Background

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifactorial disease which often coexists with cognitive deficits. Depression-induced cognitive deficits are known to be associated with aberrant reward processing, neurochemical and structural alterations. Recent studies have shown that chronic electrical stimulation of brain reward areas induces a robust antidepressant effect. However, the effects of repeated electrical self-stimulation of lateral hypothalamus - medial forebrain bundle (LH-MFB) on depression-induced cognitive deficits and associated neurochemical and structural alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are unknown.

Cognitive rehabilitation for individuals with opioid use disorder: A randomized controlled trial*

Aim: To examine the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation treatment (CRT) for people with opioid use disorder who were recruited into a methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programme.

Method: 120 male subjects were randomly assigned to (1) MMT plus CRT in two months or (2) MMT plus a control intervention. Subjects were assessed at the beginning, mid-point and post-intervention as well as at 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-up time points.

Results: Analysis with repeated measure ANOVA showed that the CRT group performed significantly better in tests of learning, switching, processing speed, working memory and memory span. Moreover, the CRT group had significantly lower opiate use over the control group during 3-months follow-up. Analysis including only those with a history of methamphetamine use showed that the CRT group had significantly lower amphetamine use. No group differences were observed for treatment retention.

Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that adding CRT as an adjunct intervention to MMT can improve cognitive performance as well as abstinence from both opiates and stimulants.     

丁苯酞对轻度血管性认知障碍患者执行功能的影响

目的 评估口服丁苯酞对血管性轻度认知障碍患者执行能力的影响。 方法 选择轻度血管性认知功能障碍患者48例，分为观察组24例，对照组24例。观察组服用丁苯 酞200 mg，每日3次，对照组服用维生素E 100 mg，每日3次，共90 d。比较两组治疗前及治疗后连线A 和连线B测试、数字广度顺背倒背、言语流畅性测验（verbal fluency test，VFT）、画钟测验量表评分， 评价丁苯酞对患者执行功能的影响。 结果 治疗前，两组认知和执行功能差异无统计学意义。治疗后，观察组连线A（[ 53.65±0.88）vs （56.22±0.87）]和连线B（[ 174.95±1.99）vs（177.41±1.44）]测试评分低于对照组，差异有统计学意义； 数字广度顺背倒背测试（[ 5.05±1.22）vs（4.59±0.33）]和VFT（[ 13.29±0.88）vs（12.43±1.02）]评分 高于对照组，差异有统计学意义；两组画钟测试差异无统计学意义。 结论 丁苯酞可以改善轻度血管性认知障碍患者执行功能。