Patterns of Cognitive Impairment among Alcoholics: Are There Subtypes?

The mild generalized dysfunction hypothesis of alcohol abuse's deleterious effects on cognitive processes has gained support from a number of studies in which detoxified alcoholics have a lower mean performance level than peer controls on a variety of neuropsychological tests. This approach might obscure consistent but different patterns of preserved and impaired cognitive performance among subgroups of alcoholics, suggestive of alternative hypotheses. To test this possibility, neuropsychological test data from two large, independent samples of alcoholics (sample 1, n = 143; sample 2, n = 130) and controls (sample 1, n = 97; sample 2, n = 83) were subjected to separate centroid hierarchical cluster analyses. For both samples, the majority of alcoholics (94% and 94%) exhibited a pattern of impaired verbal and nonverbal performance and deficits in memory and perceptual motor skill, with normal motor skill. The alcoholics who did not fit this pattern showed more severe or wide-ranging impairments. These findings indicate that empirical support for the mild generalized dysfunction hypothesis of alcoholics' cognitive deficits is not an artifact of averaging.     

由肝肾相关理论探讨高血压病

高血压病是最常见的心血管疾病,当属中医的"眩晕""头痛""中风"等范畴,发病与肝肾有密切关系。中医对高血压病的认识多由肝肾相关理论进行阐述,该文具体从肝肾的病理改变以及肝肾阴阳失调对高血压病的病因病机进行探讨,为临床治疗高血压病提供理论依据。     

活血潜阳方对血瘀阳亢痰浊型SHR大鼠胰岛素抵抗及胰岛素信号通路的影响

目的:探讨活血潜阳方治疗高血压和改善胰岛素抵抗可能的作用机制。方法:将自发性高血压大鼠(SHR)随机分为SHR对照组、血瘀阳亢痰浊模型组及活血潜阳方治疗组,另设雄性京都大鼠(WKY)为正常对照组。治疗组予灌胃活血潜阳方混悬液(15 ml·kg-1·d-1,每毫升约含生药4.22 g),其余各组灌胃等量生理盐水,连续8周。检测各组大鼠血压、血脂、血糖及胰岛素代谢情况;RT-PCR测定胰岛素信号通路关键基因的mRNA表达水平,并用免疫印迹加以验证。结果:治疗组SHR大鼠的血压、三酰甘油、胆固醇、空腹血糖、空腹胰岛素及胰岛素抵抗指数均较SHR模型组显著下降(P0.01);且治疗组大鼠血浆葡萄糖激酶(GCK)、6-磷酸葡萄糖酶催化亚基(G6PC)表达明显上调(P0.01),丙酮酸脱氢酶激酶4(Pdk4)明显下调(P0.05)。结论:活血潜阳方可改善血瘀阳亢痰浊型SHR大鼠的血压、血脂、胰岛素抵抗的进行性发展,其机制可能与提高胰岛素PI3K信号通路GCK、G6PC的表达及降低Pdk4的表达有关。     

A Preliminary Study to Identify Locomotor-Cognitive Dual Tasks That Reveal Persistent Executive Dysfunction After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective

To identify different combinations of physical (level, obstacle avoidance, stepping down) and cognitive (visual, mental) demands within a locomotor navigational context that best discriminates between persons with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and control subjects for an eventual clinical tool to assess residual executive dysfunction.

Design

Group comparison study.

Setting

Rehabilitation facility.

Participants

Volunteer sample (N=14) of persons with MTBI (n=7) (6 women; age, 20±1.6y) and a comparison group (n=7) of subjects without neurologic problems (6 women; age, 22.4±1.4y).

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Gait speed (m/s) and dual-task cost calculated as the relative change in gait speed from single (no cognitive task) to dual tasks for the same gait condition.

Results

There were significant interactions between groups and cognitive tasks and between groups and cognitive and physical tasks for gait speed. Specifically, the MTBI group walked slower than control subjects in the dual-task conditions when stepping over an obstacle combined with each cognitive task. When gait speed was measured as dual-task costs, group differences were more evident, except for stepping down.

Conclusions

These preliminary results suggest that both absolute gait speed and calculated dual-task costs during the combination of stepping over an obstacle with a simultaneous cognitive task are sensitive to revealing executive dysfunction in persons with MTBI. Gait speed can be easily measured in the clinic to provide important information to make diagnoses and decide about return to play or function. Continued work building on these preliminary results is needed toward the development of a clinical tool.     

Griffiths发育评估量表-中文版在注意缺陷多动障碍儿童中的发展水平结构模式分析

目的　应用Griffiths发育评估量表-中文版（GDS-C）评估注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）儿童的发育水平,并对各个能区的结构模式进行分析,从而指导制定有效的康复干预方案。方法　选取2018年4月至2019年4月在浙江大学医学院附属儿童医院康复科就诊且符合美国《精神障碍诊断与统计手册（第5版）》（DSM-Ⅴ）关于ADHD诊断标准的28例儿童为ADHD组,将同性别、年龄±1个月1∶1配对的28名健康儿童为对照组。两组儿童均进行GDS-C发育评估,比较两组儿童在运动、个人-社会、听力-语言、手眼协调、表现、实际推理各个能区的得分和总发育商的差别,并分析各个能区的结构模式。结果　ADHD组儿童各个能区的得分和总发育商均低于对照组,且运动、个人-社会、手眼协调能区的得分和总发育商在两组比较中的差异具有统计学意义（t＝-7.07,-4.75,-7.60,-7.65,P＜0.05）。各能区结构模式的分析比较：ADHD组儿童运动能区的体能与力量、深度感觉、身体粗大协调能力、粗大视觉运动协调性,个人-社会能区的交际技巧、做家务技巧、穿衣和自我照顾,听力-语言能区的记忆,手眼协调能区的认识形状、创造性和双侧协调性以及表现能区的视觉空间推理方面均弱于健康对照组儿童,P值均＜0.05。结论　应用Griffiths发育评估量表-中文版（GDS-C）评估,ADHD儿童的总体发育落后于正常儿童,表现在运动、个人-社会和手眼协调能区,且根据GDS-C的评估结果和结构模式分析可以帮助制定ADHD儿童合适水平的个体化训练策略。     

Brain Monoamines and Metabolites in Hypertensive and Hyperactive Rat Strains

ABSTRACT

Monoamines and metabolites were measured by HPLC-EC in brain regions of four Wistar-Kyoto derived rat strains, in whom the traits of genetic hypertension or hyperactive behavior were expressed together (SHR), separately (WK-HT and WK-HA strains, respectively), or not at all (WKY). These genetically related inbred strains were used to allow more discrete correlations between neurochemical changes and the hypertensive and/or hyperactive state, than was hitherto possible using SHR and WKY alone. Numerous age and/or strain differences in monoamine and metabolite levels were present in the six brain regions examined, however, no correlations with hypertension were observed. Limited correlations were seen between hyperactivity and forebrain serotonergic systems. These findings demonstrate that neurochemical differences between SHR and WKY may be erroneously attributed to the hypertension and/or hyperactivity of the SHR, unless additional genetic control strains, such as WK-HT and WK-HA rats are utilized.