Assessment of cognitive function in heart failure patients.

BACKGROUND: Research on the cognitive capacity of heart failure patients is limited, with a paucity of benchmark information available for this population. It is highly likely that cognitive deficits affect patients' understanding of disease and treatment requirements, as well as limiting their functional capacity and ability to implement treatment plans, and undertake self-care. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive neurocognitive profile of the heart failure patient through systematic neurocognitive assessment and to determine whether an association existed between severity of heart failure and cognitive abilities. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients were recruited from the heart failure patient databases of two metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were individually assessed using four standardised, internationally recognised neuropsychological tests that examined current and premorbid intelligence, memory and executive functioning. RESULTS: Although there was no significant decline from premorbid general intellectual function, other specific areas of deficit, including impaired memory and executive functioning, were identified. There were no significant correlations between heart failure severity and the neurocognitive measures used. CONCLUSION: The results support the need to recognise cognitive impairment in people with heart failure and to develop an abbreviated method of assessing cognitive function that can be easily implemented in the clinical setting. Identifying cognitive deficits in this population will be useful in guiding the content and nature of treatment plans to maximise adherence and minimise worsening of heart failure symptoms.     

Cognitive deficits in patients with heart failure: a review of the literature

PURPOSE: Chronic heart failure (HF) and cognitive impairments (CI) are common problems in the elderly. Both are associated with increased mortality and disability, decreased quality of life, and increased health care costs. While these conditions may occur by chance in the same individual, there is increasing evidence that HF is independently associated with CI. The purpose of this article is to review and critique the literature addressing the prevalence, type, and severity of CI in HF patients, the clinical factors associated with CI, and the potential pathophysiology underlying the development of CI, and to recommend priority areas for future research. RESULTS: Memory and attention deficits are the most frequently occurring CI in this patient population, followed by slowed motor response times and difficulties in problem solving. Prevalence rates range from 30% to 80% depending upon the age of the patients and the characteristics of the sample being studied. Most patients have mild impairments, although as many as one fourth may have moderate to severe CI. The relationship between left ventricular ejection fraction and cognition is inconsistent and may be nonlinear. The pathophysiology underlying the development of CI in HF patients may be related to both cerebral infarction and cerebral hypoperfusion either alone or in combination. CONCLUSIONS: The current literature is limited by studies with sometimes small or nonrepresentative samples, few matched control studies, and lack of longitudinal data that could indicate the conditions that favor the development of CI over time. Future research needs to focus on (1) determining the types, frequency, and severity of impairments in cognitive functioning among a representative sample of HF patients, (2) explicating the pathological mechanisms and the clinical factors that underlie the development of cognitive deficits, and (3) identifying the ways CI influences quality of life. Interventions can then be developed to prevent or delay the occurrence of CI or to minimize their effect on patient self-management and quality of life.     

Assessment of disability and quality of life in patients with cognitive disorders]

OBJECTIVE: To identify disability, handicap and quality of life questionnaires available for patients with cognitive impairment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically reviewed the literature in Medline using the keywords assessment, evaluation, deficiency, disability, disadvantage, handicap, quality of life, scale, index, questionnaire, ICIDH-1, and ICIDH-2, combined with the cognitive deficits dysexecutive syndrome, memory deficits, attention deficits, neglect, apraxia, aphasia, agnosia and mood disorders. We focused on validated scales and distinguished scales dedicated to assess disability, handicap and quality of life. RESULTS: At the level of disability, global and specific scales are available. Specific scales exist for dysexecutive syndrome, memory deficits, attention deficits, unilateral neglect, aphasia and mood disorders. French adaptations of foreign language tests and original tests developed in French have been validated in these areas. No specific tool is available for isolated apraxia or agnosia. Generic scales and pathology-specific scales (for stroke, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis) are available for quality of life. For aphasia, specific tools are available for incapacity handicap and quality of life. CONCLUSION: Previous results show the impact of the ICIDH-1 framework on functional outcome assessment of cognitive impairments. This approach is often limited by the lack of theoretical background and by the difficulty to assess the involvement of environment and anosognosia.     

Alzheimer’s dementia: pathogenesis and impact of cardiovascular risk factors on cognitive decline

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia manifesting as alterations in cognitive abilities, behavior, and deterioration in memory which is progressive, leading to gradual worsening of symptoms. Major pathological features of AD are accumulations of neuronal amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, with early lesions appearing primarily in the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in memory and learning. Cardiovascular-related risk factors are believed to play a crucial role in disease development and the acceleration of cognitive deterioration by worsening cerebral perfusion, promoting disturbances in amyloid clearance. Current evidence supports hypertension, hypotension, heart failure, stroke and coronary artery diseases as potential factors playing a role in cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia. Although dementia due to cardiovascular deficits is more strongly linked to the development of vascular dementia, a stepwise decline in cognition, recent researches have also discovered its deleterious influence on AD development.     

帕金森病的认知障碍及康复治疗

帕金森病是一个运动系统的疾病 ,但也有认知功能的障碍 ,研究发现帕金森病患者的认知障碍主要表现为 :言语流畅性障碍、视空间障碍、额叶功能记忆障碍、智能障碍等。其中最引起人们关注和最引起病人丧失生活能力的是智能障碍 ,即痴呆。病人的认知功能障碍尤其是痴呆对其生活造成了极大的影响 ,因此有必要对帕金森病患者的认知障碍进行康复治疗。本文在总结了国内外的文献的基础上 ,对帕金森病的认知障碍及其康复治疗做一简单综述     

An overview of nonpathological geroneuropsychology: implications for nursing practice and research

One aspect of successful aging is maintaining cognitive functioning, which includes both subjective cognitive functioning and objective cognitive functioning even in lieu of subtle cognitive deficits that occur with normal, nonpathological aging. Age-related cognitive deficits emerge across several domains including attention, memory, language, speed of processing, executive, and psychomotor, just to name a few. A primary theory explaining such cognitive deficits is cognitive reserve theory; it posits that biological factors such as demyelination and oxidative stress interfere with neuronal communication, which eventually produces observable deficits in cognitive functioning. Therefore, it is important to maintain or improve cognitive reserve to augment cognitive functioning in later life. This article provides a general overview of the principles of geroneuropsychology along with implications for nursing practice and research.     

Poor sleep and impaired self-care: Towards a comprehensive model linking sleep, cognition, and heart failure outcomes

Background

Persons with heart failure (HF) have significantly lower sleep quantity and quality than persons without HF. The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual model describing how poor sleep may contribute to inadequate self-care and untoward outcomes in persons with HF.

Aims

Our overarching hypothesis is that sleep affects self-care and outcomes through its effects on cognition. Building on the work of others, we outline a conceptual model that illustrates that even transient sleep disruption prevents sleep-related restorative processes and contributes to cognitive dysfunction—especially in the 25-50% of HF patients with existing cognitive impairment. Poor sleep may be sufficient to impair cognition to a level that interferes with higher order functions involved in effective HF self-care practices. Through these mechanisms, inadequate sleep may contribute to poor outcomes such as low health-related quality of life and greater risk of unplanned hospitalization.

Conclusion

The proposed model (1) bridges physical, neuropsychological and behavioral phenomena, (2) suggests a mechanism by which poor sleep affects daytime behavior, and (3) is empirically testable. Exploring factors that interfere with sleep may improve self-care and outcomes in persons with HF.     

Ethics of involving children in health-related research: applying a decision-making framework to a clinical trial

Purpose: This paper explores ethical issues related to the involvement of children in health-related research through the application of a conceptual model (the Miller and Kenny framework) to a current clinical trial on casting protocols for equinus gait of children with cerebral palsy (CP).Summary of key points: The direct involvement of children in health-related research is important for maintaining and improving standards of paediatric clinical care. Ethical considerations around investigations involving this highly vulnerable population are complex, however, requiring the involvement of many levels of decision makers-government, research ethics boards (REBs), health care providers, parents, and children. The Miller and Kenny framework is useful in distinguishing these levels and heightening awareness of the complexities of the issues around engaging children in research. Considerations include the role of parents/caregivers in decision making, individual assessment of the child's decisional capacities, close attention to the child's context and life experience, provision of developmentally appropriate information about the research study, and careful assessment of dissent prior to withdrawing the child from the study.Recommendations: Physical therapists involved in paediatric clinical practice and/or research must be knowledgeable about ethical principles, policies, and REB requirements. The Miller and Kenny framework is a helpful guide to clarify decision-making roles around children's participation in research.     

Cognitive Outcome in Children with Myelomeningocele and Perinatal Hydrocephalus: A Longitudinal Perspective

Myelomeningocele, a form of spina bifida where the vertebrae fail to fuse during foetal development, is often associated with sensory deficits, reduced motor function and hydrocephalus. These complications may interfere with the development of the central nervous system affecting myelination of axons and formation of synaptic connections, and development of cognitive skills, particularly where complications occur within the first twelve months of life. This paper examines the long-term cognitive outcome in nineteen children with myelomeningocele, who were shunted for hydrocephalus within the first year of life. In comparison to a healthy control group matched for age and gender, the clinical sample were found to have globally compromised cognitive skills, including reduced intellectual and educational skills. Specific impairments were noted on measures of speed of processing, immediate registration of information, learning and memory, organisation and high level language, with greatest deficits on more complex, less structured tasks. Within the clinical group, there was a fall in IQ over time, suggesting a failure to acquire cognitive skills in the expected time frame. These results, reflecting a cumulative pattern of deficits over time, highlight the importance of long-term follow up in children with myelomeningocele and perinatal hydrocephalus.     

Health, self-regulation of bodily signals and intelligence: Review and hypothesis

Childhood IQ and adult morbidity and mortality are known to be linked even beyond socioeconomic variables. Yet, their interrelations are insufficiently understood. It has been suggested that bodily sensations play a fundamental role in health-related self-regulation and that intelligence can influence the information processing of these somatic signals. This assumption is supported by reports on the influence of IQ on the exteroceptive (e.g. visual and auditory) and interoceptive (e.g. autonomic nervous system and posture) perception and processing of somatic information. Based on these findings the hypothesis of Psychosomatic Intelligence (PI) is introduced as an additional conceptual framework to probe the link between childhood IQ and adult health status. It implies a specific cognitive ability concerning the perception, interpretation, and self-regulation of bodily sensations. In this model, somatic signals are considered to reflect both intra-individual processes and individual-environment interactions. Based on this hypothesis the influence of intelligence on cognitive efforts to self-regulate somatic phenomena is amenable to systematic testing.     

Relationship of age and sex to health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Although health-related quality of life is diminished among patients with chronic heart failure, few investigators have examined interactions of age and sex with health-related quality of life longitudinally. OBJECTIVES: To examine differences in health-related quality of life among 4 groups of patients with heart failure on the basis of age (< 65 years and > or = 65 years) and sex and to evaluate relationships of age and sex to changes in health-related quality of life during 6 months. METHODS: Patients from 2 outpatient clinics in an urban county hospital were interviewed at baseline and 26 weeks later Health-related quality of life was measured by using the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire and the Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 165 patients (52% women; mean age, 57.6 years) completed interviews at baseline and 26 weeks later. At baseline, patients younger than 65 years had poorer health-related quality of life scores on total scales and some subscales than did older patients. Women had poorer scores than did men on some scales, particularly the emotional subscales. At 26 weeks, patients younger than 65 had poorer total health-related quality of life on 1 scale than did patients 65 and older, and women had poorer scores than did men on 1 total scale. With demographic and clinical factors controlled for, women younger than 65 had improvements in health-related quality of life on some scales. CONCLUSIONS: Women younger than 65 years had relatively poorer initial health-related quality of life that improved after 26 weeks.     

The international classification of functioning, disability and health and its application to cognitive disorders

PURPOSE: This paper describes the conceptual foundation and systematic framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a mechanism for understanding the course and consequences of various health related states. The specific application of the ICF with persons with cognitive dysfunction is also presented. METHOD: A comprehensive literature review related to the conceptualization of the ICF, its classification scheme and coding process is presented. Information on cognitive disorders including prevalence, functional manifestations and the assessment of a person's cognitive functioning and the applicability of the ICF's holistic classification and coding of cognitive dysfunction within the components of body structure and function, activity and participation, and environmental attributes is also reviewed. CONCLUSION: The ICF has the potential to classify and interpret cognitive deficits on a global level and thereby reflects upon the overall health and functioning of the individual in major life activities. The coding system systematically organizes measures related to the person's cognitive status and the resulting functional outcomes. The ICF focuses on individuals' performance of activities in all aspects of life and validates the independence and well-being of persons with disabilities making it an important instrument to be used by rehabilitation professionals.     

慢性病和功能障碍老年人身体活动的健康效果：系统综述的系统综述

目的 基于世界卫生组织国际分类家族(WHO-FICs)构建身体活动对慢性病和功能障碍老年人健康及健康相关状况的干预效果范畴及架构。方法 运用《国际疾病分类第十一次修订本》(ICD-11)和《国际功能、残疾和健康分类》(ICF)对老年人的健康及健康状况进行系统分析。检索PubMed、CBM、Scopus、Web of Science、Embase、中国知网、维普、万方等数据库,收集建库至2022年8月8日关于身体活动干预对慢性病和功能障碍老年人健康及健康相关状况康复效果的系统综述进行综述。结果 最终纳入系统综述11篇,来自6个国家,共涉及316项相关随机对照试验和28 169名参与者,主要包括老龄化、公共健康、康复、身体锻炼等领域。与老年人健康状况相关的疾病主要集中于痴呆、帕金森病、精神分裂症、抑郁症、认知障碍,骨质疏松症、关节炎、肌少症,慢性心力衰竭、冠心病、高血压、脑卒中,2型糖尿病,慢性肺病。干预方案中,活动形式有平衡、功能和耐力训练、灵活性训练,步行、伸展、上下肢训练、瑜伽、气功、太极拳等,活动频率每周1～7次,活动强度为中度,活动持续时间4周～10年。健康结局涉及降低疾病风险,...     

Post-stroke recovery of high-level cognitive function

This research explored the post-stroke cognitive ability of a 52-year male, KM, who suffered a left middle cerebral artery stroke. KM received no rehabilitation post-stroke, as clinic assessments suggested that mental functioning had returned to an acceptable level. However, KM believed that his cognitive ability had not returned to pre-stroke levels. Comparisons with pre-stroke data from an unrelated study and additional testing using sensitive cognitive measures supported his observations. This research concludes that patient observations and more sensitive testing of post-stroke cognitive functioning may reveal additional high-level cognitive deficits.     

Memory training and multiple sclerosis: A case study

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive neurological disorder often accompanied by significant cognitive deficits. Some research suggests that recent memory is the most commonly affected cognitive ability in MS. However, there is only one empirical investigation examining the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation in individuals with MS. We report the application of a memory training program to remediate memory deficits in a patient with MS. The program focused on teaching mnemonic strategies to increase list learning ability and ability to recall names of faces. Results suggested that memory training improved visual and verbal memory abilities. The most marked improvement was present on tests assessing verbal memory abilities. These results contribute to a growing body of literature indicating that teaching mnemonic strategies is one method of improving memory functioning in individuals with mild to moderate memory impairment.     

Autobiographical memory and future thinking impairments in multiple sclerosis: Cognitive and neural mechanisms,functional impact and rehabilitation

Learning and memory impairments are common in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and have pervasive effects on everyday life functioning. Hence, memory and learning have received particular attention in the cognitive rehabilitation literature in MS. The effectiveness of memory rehabilitation on memory performance is supported by several studies, but the generalisability of the benefits to daily life and memory for real-life events has rarely been examined. Recently, a new line of research focusing on memory for personal life events (i.e., autobiographical memory) has emerged in the MS literature. This approach is complementary to classical learning and memory paradigms and also allows for approaching memory in a broader context, one that considers memory as the ability to remember past episodes and imagine events that may occur in one's personal future (i.e. future thinking). This review provides an overview of the findings in this line of work. The first part summarises current evidence regarding the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying autobiographical memory and future thinking impairments in MS. It points out that these domains are frequently and early impaired in individuals with MS because of an executive/frontal-related deficit. Individuals with MS are generally aware of these deficits and their negative impact on everyday life, so the development of strategies to alleviate such deficits seems of paramount importance. Thus, in the second part, I present the main outcomes of a cognitive intervention developed by our research group, which has been specifically designed to alleviate autobiographical memory and future thinking impairments in individuals with MS. The implications of these findings for neuropsychological care and well-being of individuals with MS are discussed in the final section, with an emphasis on the functional role of autobiographical memory and future thinking in various domains, including personal identity.     

Predictors and effect of physical symptom status on health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure

BACKGROUND: Physical symptoms are common and distressing problems for patients with heart failure and may be the strongest predictor of health-related quality of life. Identification of variables predictive of physical symptom status is needed to develop effective interventions to improve health-related quality of life. METHODS: A total of 84 patients discharged after being hospitalized for exacerbation of heart failure were followed up for 3 months. The Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire and the Dyspnea-Fatigue Index were used to assess health-related quality of life and physical symptom status, respectively. Relationships of health-related quality of life and physical symptom status to baseline demographic, behavioral, biophysiological, and psychological variables were examined with bivariate correlations and stepwise multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: Patients with better physical symptom status and those who worked, were older, and were less anxious at baseline reported better health-related quality of life (F=12.4, P<.001); physical symptom status was the strongest predictor. Patients who had less depression, worked, had higher perceived control, and were younger at baseline reported better physical symptom status (F=14.4, P<.001); depression was the strongest predictor. CONCLUSIONS: Physical symptom status is the most important predictor of health-related quality of life, and baseline depression and perceived control are the best predictors of physical symptom status. Interventions targeted to improve psychological status may improve physical symptom status and thereby improve health-related quality of life.     

Adequacy of health-related quality of life measures in children under 5 years old: systematic review

AIM: This paper is a report of a systematic review to assess the adequacy of measures evaluating generic health-related quality of life outcomes in children less than 5 years old. BACKGROUND: Evaluating generic health-related quality of life outcomes in children is important to assess the effectiveness of interventions, nursing care and services. METHODS: A methodological systematic review was carried out for the period 1980-2005 in accord with the UK Centre of Reviews and Dissemination guidelines on systematic reviews. We searched multiple electronic databases, hand-searched key texts, and contacted investigators. We included all English language publications describing primary empirical research of generic health-related quality of life, health status, functional status or wellbeing measures, with published psychometric evidence. All measures (proxy and/or self-complete) for use in children under 5 years were included; single dimension measures were excluded. RESULTS: Seventy-six papers (70 studies) referring to 16 generic health-related quality of life measures met our inclusion criteria. None of the 16 measures were adequate in terms of their conceptual content or psychometric criteria; quality scores were poor (0-8). No current, generic health-related quality of life measure is both psychometrically and conceptually robust, although the Health Utilities Index has the most comprehensive psychometric data published. However, not all dimensions of health are assessed, with little evidence of reliability in children under 5 years of age. CONCLUSION: There is a need to develop empirically robust and conceptually comprehensive health-related quality of life measures, particularly in the context of proxy-completion measures for very young children.