Gray matter morphology and the level of functioning in one-year follow-up of first-episode schizophrenia patients

Schizophrenia is a condition with a highly variable course that is hard to predict. The aim of the present study was to investigate if local gray matter volume (GMV) can differentiate poor (PF) and good (GF) functioning patients using voxel-wise analysis in a group of first-episode schizophrenia subjects (FES).     

Development and validation of the Montreal cognitive assessment for people with hearing impairment (MoCA-H)

Background

Hearing impairment is common among older adults and affects cognitive assessments for identification of dementia which rely on good hearing function. We developed and validated a version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for people with hearing impairment.

Methods

We adapted existing MoCA 8.1 items for people with hearing impairment by presenting instructions and stimuli in written rather than spoken format. One Attention domain and two Language domain items required substitution by alternative items. Three and four candidate items respectively were constructed and field-tested along with the items adapted to written form. We used a combination of individual item analysis and item substitution to select the set of alternative items to be included in the final form of the MoCA-H in place of the excluded original items. We then evaluated the performance and reliability of the final tool, including making any required adjustments for demographic factors.

Results

One hundred and fifty-nine hearing-impaired participants, including 76 with normal cognition and 83 with dementia, completed the adapted version of the MoCA. A further 97 participants with normal hearing completed the standard MoCA as well as the novel items developed for the MoCA-H to assess score equivalence between the existing and alternative MoCA items and for independence from hearing impairment. Twenty-eight participants were retested between 2–4 weeks after initial testing. After the selection of optimal item set, the final MoCA-H had an area under the curve of 0.973 (95% CI 0.952–0.994). At a cut-point of 24 points or less sensitivity and specificity for dementia was 92.8% and 90.8%, respectively. The intraclass correlation for test–retest reliability was 0.92 (95%CI 0.78–0.97).

Conclusion

The MoCA-H is a sensitive and reliable means of identifying dementia among adults with acquired hearing impairment.     

Delays in oral cavity cancer

While the prognosis for early-stage oral cavity cancer is relatively good; the majority of patients are still diagnosed with advanced-stage disease on presentation with an associated poorer prognosis. The aims of this review are to summarize our current understanding of delays in oral cavity cancer and their impact on stage at diagnosis and survival. The delays pathway can be subdivided into three components: patient, professional, and treatment delays. Patient delay represents the longest interval in the delays pathway usually lasting between 2 and 5 months and being most influenced by cognitive and psychosocial factors. Professional and treatment delays are shorter in most studies, but highly variable depending on the respective healthcare system. Most studies indicate that advanced stage at diagnosis, primary treatment with radiotherapy, treatment at an academic center, and transitions in care are associated with an increased treatment delay. Based on our current understanding, a delay between definitive diagnosis and treatment of 4–6 weeks seems acceptable from an oncologic perspective. Further studies are needed to better define what a ‘safe’ waiting time is and to understand the psychological impact of delays for patients.     

Early and Late Results in Pulmonary Atresia

The early and long-term results following surgical treatment of 24 infants with pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum were reviewed. Pulmonary valvotomy was the operation most often performed, and we came to realize that this was effective when the preoperative right ventricular angiogram had shown an open conus up to the atretic valve. By contrast, no infant without a patent conus survived pulmonary valvotomy. We suggest that this subgroup of patients (8 of the 24 in this series) should have a systemic-pulmonary shunt followed later by reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract.Diminutive right ventricles will grow and dilate if a reasonable passageway is formed from right ventricle to pulmonary artery. Thus the long-term results have been excellent when this has been carried out, with normal right ventricular pressures and appearance on angiography in 7 patients followed up to 13 years.     

Depletion of BAFF cytokine exacerbates infection in Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected mice

BackgroundCystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the lungs that is ineffective at clearing pathogens. B-cell activating factor (BAFF), a cytokine involved in the development of B-cells, is known to be elevated in CF patients with subclinical infections. We postulate that the elevated BAFF levels in CF patients might be triggered by Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and it might play a protective role in the regulation of lung responses to infection.MethodsTo address this hypothesis, we used a well characterized model of CFTR.KO mice infected with a clinical strain of P. aeruginosa (PA508). We quantified cell types with flow cytometry, concentration of cytokines by ELISA tests, bacterial load by colony counting and lung physiology by metacholine-induced lung resistance.ResultsOur data demonstrates that BAFF is not elevated in uninfected CF mice, and infection with Pseudomonas leads to significant induction of this regulatory cytokine. We also demonstrate that the maintenance of BAFF levels and its induction during the infection is important for clearance of Pseudomonas infection as its depletion during the course of infection leads to decrease in the resolution of infection both in WT and CFTR-KO mice. Interestingly, the depletion of BAFF not only results in a depletion of B cells numbers but also to a significant decrease in the number of regulatory T cells in the non-infected lungs.ConclusionsOverall, our data demonstrate for the first time that BAFF is an important regulatory molecule helping to maintain the immunological response to infection and clearance of lung infection.     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病伴认知功能障碍患者血清lipocalin-2表达及意义

目的分析血清脂质运载蛋白-2(lipocalin-2)在慢性阻塞性肺疾病(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD)稳定期伴认知障碍患者血清中的表达变化及其意义。 方法依据蒙特利尔认知评估量表(Montreal cognitive assessment, MoCA)评分,MoCA分值<26分者为认知受损,将43例COPD稳定期的患者分为认知障碍组23例及认知正常组20例,并选取20例健康体检者做对照组;采用酶联免疫吸附实验(ELISA)分别检测患者外周静脉血清脂质运载蛋白-2(lipocalin-2)水平;分析血清脂质运载蛋白-2与认知功能的相关性,根据血清lipocalin-2水平预测认知障碍的受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线。 结果与健康对照组相比(60.37±10.77)μg/ml,COPD稳定期伴认知障碍患者血清lipocalin-2水平(82.76±12.90)μg/ml显著增加(P<0.05);与COPD稳定期认知正常组(69.70±11.51)μg/ml相比,认知功能障碍组血清lipocalin-2水平显著升高,差别有统计学意义(P<0.05)。Pearson相关分析结果显示血清lipocalin-2水平与MoCA评分呈负相关(r＝-0.749,P<0.001);血清lipocalin-2水平预测COPD稳定期患者认知功能障碍的ROC曲线下面积分别为0.804(95%CI 0.664~0.945,P<0.001)。 结论血清lipocalin-2表达水平与COPD稳定期患者认知功能障碍密切相关。血清lipocalin-2水平检测可能成为COPD患者出现认知功能障碍的一个重要诊断指标。     

The Active Ingredient of Cognitive Restoration: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Sequential Combination of Aerobic Exercise and Computer-Based Cognitive Training in Stroke Survivors With Cognitive Decline

Objective

To investigate the efficacy of a sequential combination of aerobic exercise and cognitive training on cognitive function and other health-related outcomes in stroke survivors with cognitive decline.