The correlation among altering gray matter volume, cognition and gait disorder in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the impact of altering brain gray matter volume (GMV) on cognition and gait disorder in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).Methods:Thirty-six patients with aMCI, who admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from July 2018 to August 2020, were collected, and 33 normal controls (NC) matched with age, sex and education level were included in the same period. The neuropsychological assessment was done in all the subjects using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA), Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Chinese version (CAMCOG-C), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Activities of Daily Living scale (ADL). The timed up and go test (TUG), dual task of timed up and go test (D-TUG) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) were used in the subjects for assessment. The parameters such as stride length, gait speed, gait frequency were collected by intelligent device for energy expenditure and activity. All the subjects received 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging scan to obtain high-resolution T 1 structural images. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to compare the difference of GMV between aMCI patients and NC. Partial correlation analysis was performed among altering GMV in the regions of interest (ROI), cognitive score and gait parameters, respectively. Linear regression analysis was used between whole brain GMV and gait parameters. Results:The scores of MMSE, MoCA, CAMCOG-C and the subitems of CAMCOG-C in aMCI group were significantly lower than those in NC group ( P<0.05). In aMCI patients, both the test time of TUG and D-TUG increased, gait speed slowed down, stride length shortened, and stride frequency and BBS score decreased ( P<0.05).VBM analysis showed that the whole brain GMV in aMCI patients was obviously lower than that of NC. In the aMCI group, GMV in ROI1 (right hippocampus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right amygdala and right fusiform gyrus), ROI2 (right middle temporal gyrus), ROI3 (right angular gyrus), ROI4 (right occipital lobe), ROI5 (bilateral orbital frontal lobe), ROI6 (left middle frontal gyrus and rectus gyrus), ROI7 (left fusiform gyrus and left parahippocampal gyrus) was significantly decreased compared with the NC group [Gaussian random field (GRF) correction, two-tailed test, voxel level P<0.001, cluster level P<0.05). In the aMCI group, GMV in ROI1 was positively correlated with orientation ( r=0.437, P=0.012), memory ( r=0.360, P=0.043), execution ( r=0.414, P=0.019), and negatively correlated with ADL score ( r=-0.529, P=0.002). GMV in ROI2 was negatively correlated with ADL score ( r=-0.400, P=0.023). GMV in ROI4 and in ROI5 was positively correlated with the calculation ( r=0.370, P=0.037) and execution ( r=0.360, P=0.043), respectively. GMV in ROI6 was positively correlated with MMSE score ( r=0.357, P=0.045), CAMCOG-C total score ( r=0.503, P=0.003) and calculation ( r=0.395, P=0.025), and negatively correlated with ADL score ( r=-0.387, P=0.028). GMV in ROI5 was positively correlated with gait speed ( r=0.391, P=0.027). In the aMCI group, CAMCOG-C total score was negatively correlated with D-TUG results ( r=-0.387, P=0.035), executive function was negatively correlated with TUG results ( r=-0.450, P=0.013) and D-TUG results ( r=-0.553, P=0.002), and positively correlated with gait speed ( r=0.379, P=0.039). Attention was positively correlated with gait speed ( r=0.590, P=0.001), and computing was positively correlated with gait speed ( r=0.371, P=0.044). The linear regression of whole brain GMV and gait parameters showed negative correlation between the GMV of left occipital lobe and TUG results in the aMCI group. The GMV of bilateral prefrontal cortex, right occipital lobe and surrounding cortex was positively correlated with gait speed (GRF correction, two-tailed test, voxel level P<0.001, cluster level P<0.05). Conclusions:Patients with aMCI presented with gray matter atrophy, cognition impairment, and gait disorders. The cognition impairment was closely related to the atrophy of medial temporal lobe. Gait disorders were not only associated with cognition impairment but also with gray matter volume in the prefrontal lobe, occipital lobe and its surrounding cortex, and anterior central gyrus.

Impaired Parahippocampal Gyrus-Orbitofrontal Cortex Circuit Associated with Visuospatial Memory Deficit as a Potential Biomarker and Interventional Approach for Alzheimer Disease / 神经科学通报·英文版

The parahippocampal gyrus-orbitofrontal cortex (PHG-OFC) circuit in humans is homologous to the postrhinal cortex (POR)-ventral lateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC) circuit in rodents. Both are associated with visuospatial malfunctions in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we explored the relationship between an impaired POR-vlOFC circuit and visuospatial memory deficits through retrograde tracing and in vivo local field potential recordings in 5XFAD mice, and investigated alterations of the PHG-OFC circuit by multi-domain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients on the AD spectrum. We demonstrated that an impaired glutamatergic POR-vlOFC circuit resulted in deficient visuospatial memory in 5XFAD mice. Moreover, MRI measurements of the PHG-OFC circuit had an accuracy of 77.33% for the classification of amnestic mild cognitive impairment converters versus non-converters. Thus, the PHG-OFC circuit explains the neuroanatomical basis of visuospatial memory deficits in AD, thereby providing a potential predictor for AD progression and a promising interventional approach for AD.

Effect of electronic moxibustion on memory function in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electronic moxibustion on memory function in the patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).@*METHODS@#A total of 59 aMCI patients were randomized into an electronic moxibustion group (30 cases) and a placebo moxibustion group (29 cases). In the electronic moxibustion group, the electronic moxibustion was applied to Baihui (GV 20), Dazhui (GV 14), Mingmen (GV 4) and Taixi (KI 3), 45 ℃ in temperature, 20 min each time. The treatment was given once a day, 5 times a week. The treatment for 4 weeks was as one course and 2 courses were required totally. In the placebo moxibustion group, the moxa-free patch was used, 38 ℃ in temperature. The acupoint selection and the treatment frequency were same as the electronic moxibustion group. Before and after treatment, Rivermead behavior memory test (RBMT) was adopted to evaluate the global memory function of the patients in the two groups and the N-back task test was adopted to evaluate working memory function separately. Additionally, the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and its immediate memory, Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and its delay recall were adopted to evaluate the global cognitive function and memory function@*RESULTS@#In the electronic moxibustion group, after treatment, RBMT score, N-back accuracy rates, MMSE and MoCA scores and the scores of immediate memory and delay recall were improved significantly as compared with those before treatment (<0.01). In the placebo moxibustion group, the accuracy rates of 1-back and 2-back task and the scores of immediate memory and delay recall were improved obviously as compared with those before treatment (<0.05, <0.01). After treatment, the improvements of RBMT score, the accuracy rates of N-back task and MMSE and MoCA scores in the electronic moxibustion group were higher than those in the placebo moxibustion group (<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Electronic moxibustion improves memory function in the patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

A study on changes of the resting-state brain function network in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

This study aimed to explore the structural and functional characteristics of the neural network of resting-state brain activities in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology. Resting state fMRI scanning was performed on 10 clinically diagnosed aMCI patients and 10 healthy volunteers, and the difference in the resting-state brain activities between aMCI patients and healthy volunteers was compared using the brain function network regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis method. Results of the ReHo analysis of aMCI patients and healthy volunteers revealed that the ReHo value significantly increased in the posterior cingulate gyrus region, medial frontal lobe, medial cortex of the prefrontal lobe, and part of the parietal lobe. Compared with the normal elderlies, ReHo decreased in aMCI patients in the left temporal lobe (middle temporal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus), left parahippocampal gyrus, occipital lobe, lingual gyrus, precuneus, and other regions while ReHo increased in regions of the right frontal lobe (inferior frontal gyrus), left superior temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus (frontal lobe), right thalamus, left fusiform gyrus, and other regions. In the resting state, there may be regional abnormalities in brain functional areas in aMCI patients, which may be associated with cognitive impairment.

Effect of Amyloid Deposition in PET on Hippocampal Metabolism in Amnestic-Mild Cognitive Impairment : Pilot Study / 생물치료정신의학

OBJECTIVES: Most studies of hippocampal metabolism(HM) in amnestic mild cognitive impairment(aMCI) gave inconsistent results. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of amyloid-beta(Aβ) status on hippocampal metabolism in aMCI.METHODS: Overall, 23 aMCI underwent three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography(¹⁸FDG-PET) and ¹⁸F-Fluorbetaben amyloid positron emission tomography (amyloid-PET). According to Aβ status on amyloid PET, 23 aMCI were classified as either Aβ+aMCI(N=13) or Aβ−aMCI(N=10). The primary outcome was HM using ¹⁸FDG-PET and we investigate the difference on HM between Aβ+aMCI and Aβ−aMCI using analysis of variance(ANOVA) model, after controlling hippocampal volume.RESULTS: We found that HM was more decreased in Aβ+aMCI than Aβ−aMCI. This result was not changed after controlling hippocampal volume.CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that Aβ+ is associated with decreased HM, regardless of hippocampal volume, in aMCI.

The correlation of functional connectivity and structural connectivity between hippocampus and thalamus in Alzheimer′s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment / 中华内科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the correlation of functional connectivity (FC) and the integrity of connective fibres between hippocampus and thalamus in Alzheimer′s disease(AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).@*Methods@#Both resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data of 40 AD patients, 37 aMCI patients and 41 normal control subjects matching with age and educational level were collected. These subjects were all recruited from outpatient Department of Neurology in the Second Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, as well as poster, from May 2016 to January 2018. The FC strength between bilateral hippocampus and thalamus, as well as the parameters representing integrity of connective fibres, including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity(MD),were analyzed. Also, the correlations between FC strength and FA or MD strength were analyzed in the study.@*Results@#Compared to that of normal control subjects, the FC strength between billateral hippocampus and thalamus in patients with AD, aMCI were not significantly different(P>0.05). The integrity of bilateral connective fibres between hippocampus and thalamus were damaged in AD patients when compared to normal control subjects(P<0.01). A positive correlation of connective fibres integrity with FC strength between hippocampus and thalamus was found in the left side(r=0.25,P<0.05) but rather in the right side.@*Conclusion@#In AD and aMCI patients, structural connectivity between left hippocampus and thalamus affects the functional connectivity between them.

One year follow-up study of sleep duration and cognitive function changes in the elderly with normal cognitive function / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective: To analyze the effect of sleep duration on cognitive function of the elderly with normal cognitive function. Methods: A total of 572 elderly people with normal cognitive function (NC group), 224 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 48 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were selected as the subjects. A unified questionnaire was used to collect their general data including demographic information, daily life information and so on. At the baseline stage, the correlation between sleep duration and cognitive function of NC group, aMCI group and AD group were compared, respectively. The elderly in NC group were followed up for one year to confirm the change of their cognitive function and analyze the correlation between sleep duration and cognitive function. Results: In NC group, the sleep duration in adolescence was positively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (r=0.114, P=0.006) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score (r=0.116, P=0.006), while the sleep duration in old age was positively correlated with MMSE score (r=0.124, P=0.004). For 572 elderly people with normal cognition, 282 cases of one year follow-up data were available. Twenty-nine patients diagnosed as aMCI and 6 patients diagnosed as AD were classified into progressive (NC-P) group, while 224 normal elderly subjects and 5 successful elderly subjects were classified into stable (NC-S) group. The average age (P=0.000), female percentage (P=0.003) and heart disease rate (P=0.001) in NC-P group were higher than those in NC-S group, while the number of years of education (P=0.000), sleep duration in old age (P=0.001) and the smoking history rate (P=0.040) in NC-P group were lower than those in NC-S group, and the differences were statistically significant. Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that decreased sleep duration (P=0.001) and heart disease (P=0.003) were the main risk factors for cognitive impairment in normal elderly people within one year. Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between cognitive function level and sleep duration in the elderly with normal cognition. Reduced sleep duration in the elderly is a risk factor for aMCI.

Early Detection Program Development of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment in the Community : Preliminary Study

OBJECTIVE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has high conversion risk to dementia. However, it is not easy to detect amnestic MCI patient early in the community. This study aimed to evaluate the three-stage design for early detection of amnestic MCI in the community. METHODS: Overall 4,385 persons participated who were already registered with Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) evaluation. It was conducted in Nam-Gu district, one of the 5 districts of Gwangju, Korea from Jan 1, 2017 to May 31, 2017. We first screened them applying inclusion criteria of over 5-year education and age, gender, education adjusted norm based MMSE Z score between −1.5 and 0. Second stage assessments were done by telephone interviews with asking subjective memory complaints and 5 words list recall tests. And 3rd stage evaluation of neuropsychological tests and clinical interview with visit were performed. RESULTS: We screened 456 of the 4,385 persons and 2nd stage included 51 of the 211 participants telephone interview completed. Twenty-four individuals visited clinic center for 3rd stage evaluation. We finally diagnosed 17 MCI including 16 amnestic MCI and 1 non-amnestic MCI. CONCLUSION: Our three-stage evaluation detected 16 amnestic MCI patients of the 4,385 community dwelling persons with primary screening of MMSE. Our study suggests that this three-stage performance could be effective for early detection of amnestic MCI in large sample community.

Neuroimaging study of the amygdala functional connectivity network on the co-existence of depression and cognitive impairment in nondemented elderly / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the characteristics of amygdala neural circuitry in comorbidity of late-life depression (LLD) and cognitive impairment. Methods Twenty-four LLD,eighteen amnestic mild cognitive impairments (aMCI),thirteen aMCI with depression (dMCI) and thirty cognitive normal (CN) subjects completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Main effects of depression and MCI and their interactions on the intrinsic amygdala functional connectivity network ( AFCN) connectivity were examined. Behavioral significance of AFCN that voxel-wised amygdala connectivity correlating with de-pression severity and memory scores were also tested after controlling the effects of covariates,including age, gender,education, gray matter atrophy, and group. Results The immediate memory and delayed memory function in the aMCI group (-0. 75 ± 0. 77 and -1. 13 ± 0. 56) and the dMCI group (-1. 07 ± 0. 79 and-1. 00±0. 52) were significantly lower than those of the CN group (0. 46±0. 73 and 0. 60±0. 61),and the difference was statistically significant (P<0. 01). Depression and anxiety in the LLD group (1. 00±0. 53 and 0. 93±0. 98) and the dMCI group (0. 86±0. 80 and 0. 78±0. 82) were significantly higher than those of the CN group (-0. 92±0. 25 and -0. 74±0. 22),and the difference was statistically significant (P<0. 01). Brain network analysis showed that separated neural circuits were implicated in the depression and cognitive im-pairment. Importantly,interactive effects of depression and MCI on the AFCN were also identified,especially in the bilateral somatomotor area,inferior parietal cortex/precuneus,posterior cingulate cortex,right medial prefrontal cortex/dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Behavioral significance of AFCN also re-vealed the distinctive neural circuits involved in the depression severity and memory deficits,respectively. Conjunction analysis further identified the overlapped neural circuits associated with depression and memory deficits were primarily in the left DLPFC,insula,hippocampus,right inferior prefrontal cortex and dorsomedi-al prefrontal cortex. Conclusions Depression and cognitive impairment synergistically facilitate functional decoupling of AFCN and thus compromise the integrity of amygdala networks. Distinct depression-related or MCI-related neural constructs represent the characteristics of clinical phenotype of depression or MCI alone, while overlapped circuits probably reveal the neural basis of comorbidity of LLD and MCI.

Interhemispheric functional connectivity for Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment based on the triple network model / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in interhemispheric functional connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) based on a triple network model consisting of the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). The technique of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) analysis was applied to explore the aberrant connectivity of all patients. The results showed that: (1) the statistically significant connections of interhemispheric brain regions included DMN-related brain regions (i.e. precuneus, calcarine, fusiform, cuneus, lingual gyrus, temporal inferior gyrus, and hippocampus), SN-related brain regions (i.e. frontoinsular cortex), and ECN-related brain regions (i.e. frontal middle gyrus and frontal inferior); (2) the precuneus and frontal middle gyrus in the AD group exhibited lower VMHC values than those in the aMCI and healthy control (HC) groups, but no significant difference was observed between the aMCI and HC groups; and (3) significant correlations were found between peak VMHC results from the precuneus and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Scale (MOCA) scores and their factor scores in the AD, aMCI, and AD plus aMCI groups, and between the results from the frontal middle gyrus and MOCA factor scores in the aMCI group. These findings indicated that impaired interhemispheric functional connectivity was observed in AD and could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD. More specifically, the DMN was inhibited, while the SN and ECN were excited. VMHC results were correlated with MMSE and MOCA scores, highlighting that VMHC could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD and the progression from aMCI to AD.

Supervised locally linear embedding for magnetic resonance imaging based Alzheimer's disease classification / 生物医学工程学杂志

In order to solve the problem of early classification of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the conventional linear feature extraction algorithm is difficult to extract the most discriminative information from the high-dimensional features to effectively classify unlabeled samples. Therefore, in order to reduce the redundant features and improve the recognition accuracy, this paper used the supervised locally linear embedding (SLLE) algorithm to transform multivariate data of regional brain volume and cortical thickness to a locally linear space with fewer dimensions. The 412 individuals were collected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) including stable mild cognitive impairment (sMCI, = 93), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI, = 96), AD ( = 86) and cognitive normal controls (CN, = 137). The SLLE algorithm used in this paper is to calculate the nearest neighbors of each sample point by adding the distance correction term, and the locally linear reconstruction weight matrix was obtained from its nearest neighbors, then the low dimensional mapping of the high dimensional data can be calculated. In order to verify the validity of SLLE in the task of classification, the feature extraction algorithms such as principal component analysis (PCA), Neighborhood MinMax Projection (NMMP), locally linear mapping (LLE) and SLLE were respectively combined with support vector machines (SVM) classifier to obtain the accuracy of classification of CN and sMCI, CN and aMCI, CN and AD, sMCI and aMCI, sMCI and AD, and aMCI and AD, respectively. Experimental results showed that our method had improvements (accuracy/sensitivity/specificity: 65.16%/63.33%/67.62%) on the classification of sMCI and aMCI by comparing with the combination algorithm of LLE and SVM (accuracy/sensitivity/specificity: 64.08%/66.14%/62.77%) and SVM (accuracy/sensitivity/specificity: 57.25%/56.28%/58.08%). In detail the accuracy of the combination algorithm of SLLE and SVM is 1.08% higher than the combination algorithm of LLE and SVM, and 7.91% higher than SVM. Thus, the combination of SLLE and SVM is more effective in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Expressions of miRNAs related to accelerating senescence in serum of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and analysis on their biological information / 吉林大学学报(医学版)

Objective:To explore the expressions of miRNAs related to accelerating senescence in serum of the patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and to clarify their effects in the pathogenesis of aMIC.Methods:The levels of miRNAs related to accelerating senescence (miR-132, miR-193b, miR-130b, miR-20a, miR-296, miR-329 and miR-206) were measured in the serum of the patients with aMCI (aMCI group,n=66) and healthy controls(control group,n=76) using quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR).The genes targeted by the altered miRNAs were predicted by TargetScan 6.0.DAVID was used to analyze the function of miRNA target genes.The serum levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and silent in formation regulator 1(SIRT1) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.Results:The expression levels of miR-206 and miR-132 in serum of the patients in aMCI group were significantly higher than those in control group (P<0.05).BDNF and SIRT1 were both target genes of miR-206 and miR-132.The levels of BDNF (29.50 μg·L-1± 3.13 μg·L-1) and SIRT1 (1.86 μg·L-1± 0.25 μg·L-1) in serum of the patients in aMCI group were both obviously lower than those in control group (BDNF: 32.29 μg·L-1±3.66 μg·L-1;SIRT1: 2.10 μg·L-1± 0.29 μg·L-1, P<0.05).Conclusion:The expression levels of miR-206 and miR-132 in serum of the aMCI patients are significantly up-regulated.Both of them might be involved in the pathogenesis of aMCI through inhibiting the BDNF and SIRT1 expressions.

Development and Validation of the Way-Finding Ability Scale for Middle-Aged and Older Adults

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study was performed to newly develop the Way-Finding Ability Scale (WFAS) for middle-aged and older adults and validate its clinical utility. METHODS: The participants for verifying construct validity included 324 adults aged from 45 to 79 years, and 22 normal old adults without way-finding deficit (WFD), 41 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 35 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI) for verifying discriminant validity. All participants were administered the newly constructed 28-item WFAS. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis of the WFAS revealed a four-factor solution (sense of direction and inattention, spatial learning and memory, strategic ability, and cardinal direction). This four-factor structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. The discriminant validity was examined by administering the WFAS to normal older adults and two patient groups (aMCI & PD-MCI). The results showed that the total scores of two patient groups were lower than that of normal older adults. The patients with WFD had significantly lower total scores than those without WFD. Interestingly, the total scores of patients without WFD were significantly lower than those of normal older adults suggesting that the cognitive functions associated with way-finding ability (WFA) were partially impaired in aMCI and PD-MCI patients without apparent WFD. The patients with WFD had consistently lower scores in every four-factor than those without WFD. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that the WFAS assesses the WFD reliably as well as estimates the degree of decline in WFA.

Characterization of the brain gray matter in amnestic mild cognitive impairmentby diffusion tensor imaging / 医学研究生学报

Objective Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD)used to be evaluated by an-alyzing the characteristics of the brain gray matter via diffuse tensor imaging (DTI).This study was to characterize the damage to the mi-crostructural integrity of the brain gray matter in aMCI and AD patients using the mean diffusivity ( MD) of DTI and to investigateits transformation rules. Methods This retrospective study included 30 cases ofaMCI, 30 cases of AD, and another 30 normal controls. We measured the MD values of the whole brain gray matter , established the MD network of the water molecules in the gray matter , char-acterized the small-world network, and performed correlation analysis by neuropsychological assessment . Results Compared with the normal controls, the MDnetworks of the aMCI and AD groupsexhibited abnormal small world characteristics , namely, a higher clustering coefficient and a longer path , which reflected the damage to themicrostructure of the gray matter , and theaverage connectivity in the aMCI patients was lowerthan that in thenormal controls but higher than that in the AD group ( P<0.05) .The MD values of the gray matter were negatively correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale scores in the 11 hub regions of the brain , including the bilateral hippo-campus and the limbic system ( P<0.05) . Conclusion The diffusion feature of the water molecules in the brain gray matter of the aMCIpatient may help to detect early ADand reflect the damage to the brain microstructure in patients with neurodegenerative diseases .

Prevenção e monitorização do delirium no idoso: uma intervenção educativa / Prevención y monitorización del delirium en personas mayores: intervención educative / Prevention and monitoring of delirium in older adults: an educational intervention

RESUMO Objetivo: realizar uma intervenção educativa com membros da equipe de enfermagem de uma unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI), com vistas a ampliar o conhecimento e introduzir melhorias nas suas práticas de prevenção e monitorização do delirium nos pacientes idosos. Método: pesquisa-ação em que foram realizadas oficinas com onze enfermeiras e uma técnica em enfermagem de uma UTI de Salvador, Bahia-Brasil. Resultados: dez problemas relacionados a práticas de enfermagem para prevenção e monitorização do delirium foram identificados. Planejaram-se ações de caráter educativo, prático, técnico e gerencial, envolvendo a articulação intersetorial para o equacionamento desses problemas. O grupo relatou mudanças significativas nas práticas, com a implementação de medidas não farmacológicas para prevenção e gestão do quadro. Conclusão: a intervenção educativa contribuiu para a melhoria nas práticas da enfermagem da UTI pesquisada, assim como favoreceu o desenvolvimento da consciência crítica acerca da problemática levantada, possibilitando a revisão permanente do cuidado ofertado.

RESUMEN Objetivo: realizar intervención educativa en un personal de enfermería de una unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI), con el objetivo de ampliarles conocimiento e introducirles mejoras en sus prácticas de prevención y monitorización del delirium al tener a las personas mayores como pacientes. Método: investigación-acción en la que se llevaron a cabo talleres con 11 enfermeras y 1 técnica de enfermería de una UCI de Salvador de Bahía. Resultados: se identificaron diez problemas relacionados a las prácticas de enfermería en la prevención y monitorización del delirium. Se planearon acciones educativas, prácticas, técnicas y de gestión, que implican la articulación intersectorial en la resolución de los problemas. El grupo señaló cambios significativos en las prácticas, con la implementación de medidas no farmacológicas para prevenir y gestionar el cuadro clínico. Conclusión: la intervención educativa contribuyó a la mejora de las prácticas de enfermería en la UCI investigada, así como le permitió desarrollar al personal la consciencia crítica sobre el problema, lo que les posibilita una revisión permanente del cuidado prestado.

ABSTRACT Objective: to conduct an educational intervention with the nursing team members of an intensive care unit (ICU), aiming to increase knowledge and to introduce improvements in their practices regarding prevention and monitoring of delirium in older patients. Method: this is an action research, in which workshops were conducted with eleven nurses and a nursing technician from an ICU unit in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Results: ten problems regarding nursing practices for prevention and monitoring of delirium were identified. Educational, practical, technical, and managerial actions were planned, involving cross-sector connections for planning ways to solve these problems. The groups reported significant changes in the practices, with the implementation of drug-free measures for preventing and managing the situation. Conclusion: the educational intervention contributed to improve the nursing practices in the ICU unit studied, and it also favored the development of critical thinking about the problems mentioned, thus enabling permanent review of offered treatments.

The study of plasma levels of sCD40 and sCD40L in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

Objective To explore the plasma levels of soluble CD40 (sCD40) and soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) in the patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods The levels of plasma sCD40 and sCD40L were measured in 20 patients with AD, 35 patients with aMCI, and 32 cognitively normal controls (NC) using commercially available ELISAs. The cognitive function of AD and aMCI patients was mea?sured by mini-mental state examination (MMSE). Results There were significant differences in plasma sCD40 among AD, aMCI and NC groups (P<0.05) as the medians (the upper and lower quartiles) of plasma levels were 123.3 (97.4, 149.5) pg/mL, 102.9 (63.6, 124.0) pg/mL and 70.66 (51.0, 90.8) pg/mL, respectively. There were significant differences in plasma sCD40L among AD, aMCI and NC groups (P<0.05) as plasma levels were 537.0 (316.0, 1134.0) pg/mL, 316.0 (190.0,546.0) pg/mL and 167.0 (107.5,478.0) pg/mL. A negative correlation between the plasma concentrations of sCD40L and the MMSE scores was found in aMCI patients (r=-0.736, P<0.001). Conclusions There are relevant chang?es of plasma sCD40 and sCD40L levels in patients with AD and aMCI. The present results suggest that plasma levels of sCD40 and sCD40L may be appropriate biomarkers for AD patients and indicate that CD40-CD40L signaling may be in?volved in AD pathophysiology.

Guía de práctica clínica para la atención al adulto mayor hospitalizado con delirium / Clinical Practice Guideline for the Care of Elderly Patients Hospitalized with Delirium

El delirium es un trastorno frecuentemente encontrado en las personas de avanzada edad en el entorno hospitalario. En él sobresalen un trastorno agudo de la conciencia y alteraciones conductuales, que constituyen un reto diagnóstico y de manejo terapéutico para los médicos que atienden pacientes geriátricos. Se presenta una guía de práctica clínica, elaborada por consenso, que resalta los aspectos clínicos terapéuticos de este complicado síndrome. Se incluye un algoritmo que facilita el manejo de esta afección en el Hospital General Universitario Gustavo Aldereguía Lima, de Cienfuegos.

Delirium is a frequent disorder found in people of advanced age in the hospital setting. It is characterized by an acute disorder of consciousness and alterations in behavior, posing a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the doctors that look after geriatric patients. A clinical practice guideline drawn up by consensus is presented. It highlights the clinical and therapeutic aspects of this complex syndrome. An algorithm that facilitates the management of this condition at Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima University General Hospital of Cienfuegos is included.

Individual identification research of amnestic mild cognitive impairment based on support vector machine / 医学研究生学报

Objective In recent years , multivariate pattern analysis ( MVPA) method was proposed and considered to be a promising tool for automated identification of various neuropsychiatric populations .Support vector machine ( SVM) is one of the most widely used methods of MVPA .Using SVM classifier for MVPA of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and normal control (NC) group, the present study aims to build an individual diagnostic model with significant discriminative power and investigate the gray matter abnor-malities of aMCI patients . Methods Fifty-one aMCI patients and 68 normal controls were scanned on the 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for high-resolution T1-weighted images.Gray matter volume map was calculated for each subject and used as features for subsequent discriminative analysis .We first applied feature selection to remove redundant information and reduce feature dimension , and then trained an SVM classifier . Leave-one-out cross validation ( LOOCV) was used to estimate the performance of the classifier , and finally the most discriminative features were identified . Results The proposed classifier achieved a classification accuracy of 83.19%with a sensitivity of 76.47%and a specificity of 88.24%.In ad-dition, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.8368.Further analysis revealed that the most discrimi-native features for classification included bilateral parahippocampal gyri , bilateral hippocampi , bilateral amygdala , bilateral thalamus , right cingulate , right precuneus , left caudate , left superior temporal gyrus , left middle temporal gyrus , left insula and left orbitofrontal cortex. Conclusion The proposed classification model has achieved significant accuracy for aMCI prediction , and it also displayed the whole brain gray matter atrophy pattern in aMCI patients .It suggests that the proposed method may have important implications for early clinical diagnosis of aMCI patients .

The multiple linear regression analysis of the factors of long delayed recall of the old people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment in community / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective To establish a multiple regression equation of long delayed recall of the amnestic mild cognitive impairment,in order to predict the scores.Methods 248 old people were investigated by convenience sampling.Auditory verbal learning test (AVLT) was used to evaluate the ability of memory of the old people,and their general demographic data were collected.Multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted,the regression model was established and AVLT-long delayed recall scores (N5) to the predicted value got from the 3 times scores of study stage scores (N1,N2,N3) and short delayed recall (N4) of Auditory Verbal Learning Test were compared.Results The multiple linear regression equation between the variables was established.There was no significant difference between N5 and the predicted value.Conclusions N2,N3,N4 could be used to predict N5 during screening of amnestic mild cognitive impairment to make the screening process faster and briefer.When the score ≤4 points,the screening continues,if the score ＞5 points,the screening ceases in order to improve the efficiency of screening.

Features of Semantic Language Impairment in Patients with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

BACKGROUND: To elucidate the earliest changes of language function in patients with dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT), performance on the various semantic language tasks were compared between patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) (n=20), mild DAT (n=20) and normal cognition elderly individuals (NC, n=20). METHODS: Language tasks included levels of word, sentence and discourse. In the word level, confrontation naming test (Korean version-Boston Naming Test, K-BNT) and the verbal fluency (semantic and phonemic fluency) tasks were used. In the sentence level, the verbal definition tasks including 24 nouns four categories were used. In the discourse level, the Boston Cookie-Theft picture description task was used. The picture description task was analyzed for both productive aspect (total number of sentences, total number of phrases and phrases per sentence) and semantic aspect (ratio of CIU: Correct Information Unit). RESULTS: The results from this study are as follow: 1) In the confrontation naming test, mild DAT group showing worse performances than the NC and aMCI group. However, no differences were observed between the NC and aMCI group. 2) The performances of verbal fluency task showed significantly differences between the all groups. 3) In the verbal definition task, performances of NC group showing better performances than aMCI and mild DAT group. However, no differences were observed between the aMCI and mild DAT group. 4) In the picture description task, performances of the aMCI and mild DAT group were non-informative and inefficient in semantic aspect compared to the NC group. However, no differences were observed between the three groups on productive aspect. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that the deficit of semantic language is readily identified in the aMCI stage, and it can be revealed by tasks of sentence and discourse level.