Five-year change scores in old age for six neuropsychological tests and normative data for the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test: The influence of physical health

Introduction: Neuropsychological assessment of cognitive change over time is often conducted in clinical settings, but whether neuropsychological change scores are influenced by physical health has, as far as we know, not been examined previously.

Method: In a sample of 153 older Swedish adults (age range, 72–86 years), we evaluated the influence of common age-related diseases, terminal decline pathology, age, education, and gender, to provide (a) preliminary test-specific regression weights and 90% confidence intervals to assess significant change in performance after five years on tests of visual scanning, mental shifting, visual spatial ability, memory, reaction time, and selective attention, and (b) normative data for the Useful Field of View test (UFOV) from a single testing occasion.

Results: Multiple regression analyses showed that test–retest changes were affected by physical health for mental shifting, visual spatial ability, memory, and reaction time, by age for mental shifting and visual reaction time, by education for visual spatial ability, and by Age × Education for auditory reaction time. Gender did not affect any of the change scores. The overall average of variance explained was 2.5%: up to 8.1% for physical health, 4.4% for age, and 3.6% for education. The UFOV scores were mostly influenced by age, but also by physical health and education.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that considering the influence of health on normative change scores in old age in addition to demographic factors leads to more accurate predictions of whether true change has occurred.     

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.     

Therapeutic efficacy of intense pulsed light in patients with refractory meibomian gland dysfunction

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intense pulsed light (IPL) combined with meibomian gland expression (MGX) for treatment of refractory meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex enhances reflective judgment and decision-making

Background

Accounts of cognitive processes in judgment and decision-making are frequently based on a dual-process framework, which reflects two qualitatively different types of processing: intuitive (Type 1) and analytical (Type 2) processes.

Effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis: a meta-synthesis of patient perspectives

While previous randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses offer only limited evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation, qualitative studies examining patient perspectives report more positive outcomes. This meta-synthesis of qualitative studies examined patient perspectives of cognitive rehabilitation for memory, attention, and executive function problems in people with multiple sclerosis. Using set eligibility criteria, we screened electronic databases, reference lists, and academic networks for relevant papers. Seven papers (195 participants) were selected. Two independent researchers conducted quality appraisals of papers. Data analysis, guided by the thematic synthesis approach, yielded six main themes. These suggested that patients benefitted from the group environment in rehabilitation. Cognitive rehabilitation facilitated the participants’ reflection and awareness of their cognitive deficits, and was associated with increased knowledge and understanding of their illness. Increased strategy use was reported and associated with improvements in cognitive functioning and greater confidence and perseverance. Participants reported emotional and social improvements, and felt more optimistic. Overall, these changes had a positive impact on participants’ quality of life. This synthesis of qualitative studies indicates that people with multiple sclerosis who experience cognitive deficits benefit from cognitive rehabilitation programmes. This finding must, however, be viewed in light of the limitations of this meta-synthesis. The meta-synthesis was registered in the PROSPERO database under CRD42017040148.     

肌萎缩侧索硬化伴认知功能障碍的研究进展

认知功能障碍在肌萎缩侧索硬化（ALS）患者中是普遍存在的，ALS伴认知功能障碍常提示预后不良。近年来对ALS患者认知功能障碍的研究取得了一定的进展，本文对ALS伴认知功能障碍的临床特点、生物标志物、遗传学特征和最新治疗进展进行综述，以期为ALS伴认知功能障碍的临床诊疗提供新思路。     

COVID-19 and hemolysis,elevated liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia syndrome in pregnant women - association or causation?

Pregnant women are among the high-risk population for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with unfavorable peripartum outcomes and increased incidence of preterm births. Hemolysis, the elevation of liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome and severe preeclampsia are among the leading causes of maternal mortality. Evidence supports a higher odd of pre-eclampsia in women with COVID-19, given overlapping pathophysiology. Involvement of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) for the entry to the host cells and its downregulation cause dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The overexpression of Angiotensin II mediated via p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase pathways can cause vasoconstriction and uninhibited platelet aggregation, which may be another common link between COVID-19 and HELLP syndrome. On PubMed search from January 1, 2020, to July 30, 2022, we found 18 studies on of SARS-COV-2 infection with HELLP Syndrome. Most of these studies are case reports or series, did not perform histopathology analysis of the placenta, or measured biomarkers linked to pre-eclampsia/HELLP syndrome. Hence, the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and HELLP syndrome is inconclusive in these studies. We intend to perform a mini-review of the published literature on HELLP syndrome and COVID-19 to test the hypothesis on association vs causation, and gaps in the current evidence and propose an area of future research.     

糖尿病肾病患者认知功能障碍与血清β淀粉样蛋白的关系

目的 探讨糖尿病肾病(diabetic kidney disease,DKD)患者认知功能障碍与人β淀粉样蛋白1-42(human β Amyloid 1-42,Aβ1-42)的关系。方法 选取2020年5月至2021年5月在徐州医科大学附属医院内分泌科治疗的2型糖尿病(type 2 diabetes mellitus,T2DM)患者161例,根据尿白蛋白/肌酐比值(urine albumin creatine ratio,UACR)水平分为正常白蛋白尿(DM)组(n=60)、微量白蛋白尿(DKD1)组(n=58)和大量白蛋白尿(DKD2)组(n=43)。采用蒙特利尔认知评估(Montreal Cognitive Assessment,MoCA)量表评估患者认知功能。检测患者Aβ1-42、UACR、胱抑素C(Cystatin C,CysC)、估算肾小球滤过率(estimated glomerular filtration rate,eGFR),并分析上述指标与MoCA评分的关系。结果 与DM组比较,DKD1和DKD2组CysC、Aβ1-42均升高(P<0.05),eGFR降低(P<0.05)。与DKD1组比较,DKD2组CysC升高(P<0.05),eGFR降低(P<0.05)。与DM组相比,DKD1组、DKD2组MoCA评分均降低(P<0.05)。与DKD1组比较,DKD2组MoCA评分降低(P<0.05)。3组MoCA评分与Aβ1-42、UACR、CysC呈负相关(均P<0.01),与eGFR呈正相关(P<0.01)。3组Aβ1-42与UACR、CysC呈正相关(均P<0.01),与eGFR呈负相关(P<0.01)。多因素线性回归分析结果显示,Aβ1-42、UACR是影响DKD患者MoCA评分的影响因素,Aβ1-42、UACR水平越高,MoCA评分越低,患者认知功能越差。结论 DKD患者存在认知功能障碍,与Aβ1-42水平及肾损害严重程度密切相关。