Computer aided self-regulation learning and cognitive training improve generalization ability of patients with poststroke cognitive impairment.

Emerging studies suggest the application of self-regulation learning (SRL) to improve generalization abilities in poststroke patients. SRL has been proposed to have an added effect on computer-aided cognitive training (CACT). This study aimed to examine the efficacy of an intervention combining computer-aided SRL (CA-SRL) training and CACT for generalization abilities and cognitive function in patients with poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). A total of 75 patients recruited from a rehabilitation centre were randomly assigned to a CA-SRL group, demonstration learning (DL) group and traditional learning (TL) group. Finally, 72 patients were included in the analysis. Over 3 weeks, the patients in these three groups underwent CA-SRL or DL training combined with cognitive training. After the intervention, all outcomes significantly improved (P < 0.05). The CA-SRL group showed better improvements in all trained tasks among the groups, especially in "wash the dishes" and "change the bed". The results of the analysis for generalization abilities showed that CA-SRL group patients obtained the highest scores among the groups in untrained tasks. The mean changes in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment in both the CA-SRL and TL groups were significantly higher than those in the DL group (P < 0.001, P = 0.002) after adjusting for education level and Lawton Instrumental ADL Scale score. In general, the combination of CA-SRL and CACT is effective for PSCI patients and has a better effect on promoting skill generalization from cognitive gains than traditional training.

Therapeutic effect of integrated traditional Chinese and Western Medicine on occupational noise-induced deafness / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of integrated Chinese and Western medicine for the treatment of occupational noise-induced deafness( ONID). METHODS: A total of 80 ONID patients were selected and randomly divided into control group and treatment group by judgment sampling method,with 40 cases in each group. The control group received routine western medicine treatment using mecobalamin tablets,vitamin B complex,nerve growth factor and hyperbaric oxygen. The treatment group received routine western medicine as the control group,plus acupuncture,moxibustion and auricular point pressing. The patients in both groups were treated continuously for 30 days. The questionnaire of conscious,the selfconscious symptoms such as tinnitus,headache,dizziness and insomnia were recorded in these two groups before and after treatment. Pure tone audiometry was performed on the patients at the same time. RESULTS: After treatment,the binaural high frequency threshold average( BHFTA) and threshold of weighted value of the left and right ears in the treatment group were better than that in the same group before treatment( P < 0. 05). The difference of the BHFTA and threshold of weighted value of the right ear in the treatment group before and after treatment was higher than that in the control group( P < 0. 05). After treatment,the symptoms of tinnitus,headache,dizziness and insomnia in the two groups were better than those in the same group before treatment. The total improvement rate of tinnitus and dizziness symptoms in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group( P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: The treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine for ONID can improve the hearing level of patients,effectively alleviate the accompanying self-conscious symptoms,and is suitable for promotion in clinical use.

Perfusion imaging of brain gliomas using arterial spin labeling: correlation with histopathological vascular density in MRI-guided biopsies.

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to determine if cerebral blood flow (CBF) derived from arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging could be used to quantitatively evaluate the microvascular density (MVD) of brain gliomas on a "point-to-point" basis by matching CBF areas and surgical biopsy sites as accurate as possible. METHODS: The study enrolled 47 patients with treatment-naive brain gliomas who underwent preoperative ASL, 3D T1-weighted imaging with gadolinium contrast enhancement (3D T1C+), and T2 fluid acquisition of inversion recovery (T2FLAIR) sequences before stereotactic surgery. We histologically quantified MVD from CD34-stained sections of stereotactic biopsies and co-registered biopsy locations with localized CBF measurements. The correlation between CBF and MVD was determined using Spearman's correlation coefficient. P ≤ .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 47 patients enrolled in the study, 6 were excluded from the analysis because of brain shift or poor co-registration and localization of the biopsy site during surgery. Finally, 84 biopsies from 41 subjects were included in the analysis. CBF showed a statistically significant positive correlation with MVD (ρ = 0.567; P = .029). CONCLUSION: ASL can be a useful noninvasive perfusion MR method for quantitative evaluation of the MVD of brain gliomas.

Molecular epidemiological study of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in Shenzhen / 中华传染病杂志

Objective To study the epidemiological features of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii isolated from clinical samples in Shenzhen and to elucidate the distribution of species,varieties,genotypes and mating types within the strains tested.Methods The strains involved in this study were 55 cryptococcal strains isolated from our clinical samples.The canavanine-glycine bromthymolblue (CGB) culture was performed to distinguish Cryptococcus neoformans from Cryptococcus gattii.The genotype was characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting with primer M13.The Cryptococcus gattii species and varieties of grubii and neoformans together with two opposite mating type α and a were identified by PCR with variety-specific and mating type-specific primers.The GEF1-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was conducted to simultaneously determine the genotype and mating types of strains tested.The sequence type of IGS1 region was analyzed for the VG Ⅱ genotype.Results Of the 55 tested cryptococcal strains,52 were Cryptococcus neoformans,all of which were var.grubii,genotype VN Ⅰ and mating type α.The remaining 3 strains were Cryptococcus gattii,among which,one was genotype VG Ⅰ and mating type α,and two were genotype VG Ⅱ and mating type α.The two VGⅡ genotype strains belonged to the sequence type Ⅱ.Conclusions The strains belonging to the Cryptococcus neoformans var.grubii,genotype VN Ⅰ and mating type α predominate in causative pathogens of cryptococcosis in Shenzhen.Cryptococcus gattii accounts for minority of the cryptococcal isolates,and the highly pathogenic VG Ⅱ genotypes in foreign countries are also characterized.The sequence types of IGS1 region of the two VG Ⅱ strains are in accord with VG Ⅱb sub-genotype.