Walking stabilizes cognitive functioning in Alzheimer's disease (AD) across one year.

AD is a public health epidemic, which seriously impacts cognition, mood and daily activities; however, one type of activity, exercise, has been shown to alter these states. Accordingly, we sought to investigate the relationship between exercise and mood, in early-stage AD patients (N=104) from California, over a 1-year period. Patients completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Blessed-Roth Dementia Rating Scale (BRDRS), while their caregivers completed the Yale Physical Activity Survey (YALE), Profile of Mood States (POMS), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and Functional Abilities Questionnaire (FAQ). Approximately half of the participants were female, from a variety of ethnic groups (Caucasian=69.8%; Latino/Hispanic Americans=20.1%). Our results demonstrated that the patients spent little time engaged in physical activity in general, their overall activity levels decreased over time, and this was paired with a change in global cognition (e.g., MMSE total score) and affect/mood (e.g., POMS score). Patients were parsed into Active and Sedentary groups based on their Yale profiles, with Active participants engaged in walking activities, weekly, over 1 year. Here, Sedentary patients had a significant decline in MMSE scores, while the Active patients had an attenuation in global cognitive decline. Importantly, among the Active AD patients, those individuals who engaged in walking for more than 2 h/week had a significant improvement in MMSE scores. Structured clinical trials which seek to increase the amount of time AD patients were engaged in walking activities and evaluate the nature and scope of beneficial effects in the brain are warranted.

Anterior cruciate ligament tear: prospective evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of middle- and high-field-strength MR imaging at 1.5 and 0.5 T.

PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic efficacy of current-generation middle- and high-field-strength magnetic resonance (MR) imagers in the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 114 of 230 patients referred for knee imaging, MR imaging at 0.5 and 1.5 T was performed with identical sequences but with a slightly longer total imaging time and bandwidth optimization at 0.5 T. Radiologists were blinded to diagnosis and field strength. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were determined, and ACL tear was confirmed by means of arthroscopy and pathology. RESULTS: There was no difference between the field strengths in accuracy, sensitivity, or specificity for the diagnosis of ACL tears in 86 patients with disrupted ACLs and 28 patients with intact ACLs. Accuracy for all ACL tears was 90% at 0.5 T and 91% at 1.5 T. Similarly, there were no differences in diagnosis of meniscal tears (79 with, 149 without) or posterior cruciate ligament tears (seven with, 107 without). CONCLUSION: Higher field strength does not confer higher accuracy in the diagnosis of ACL tears at MR imaging.

MR imaging field strength: prospective evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of MR for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at 0.5 and 1.5 T.

PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic efficacy of middle-field-strength and high-field-strength magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred thirty-two patients with suspected multiple sclerosis underwent MR imaging at 0.5 and 1.5 T. Imaging parameters were identical except for band width optimization at middle field strength. Images were interpreted by radiologists expert in MR imaging who were blinded to diagnosis and field strength. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis was made by experienced neurologists, and indeterminate cases and patients without clinical evidence of multiple sclerosis were followed up for 6 months to 1 year. RESULTS: There was no difference in accuracy, sensitivity, or specificity between scanners in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis or white matter disease. Equal numbers of lesions were detected at both field strengths in all parts of the brain. Image quality was always good or adequate at middle field strength. CONCLUSION: Higher field strength does not confer higher accuracy in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis with current-generation MR imagers.

Verbal fluency deficits in female alcoholics.

Verbal fluency deficits in female alcoholics (n = 48) were investigated using Thurstone's Word Fluency Test (TWFT) and a category fluency test. Overall, alcoholics performed less well than did controls (n = 36). Simple effects indicate that although controls performed less well on category fluency than on the TWFT, alcoholics did not differ between the two tests. Simple effects also show that controls' performance was superior to that of alcoholics on the category fluency test, but the groups did not differ on the TWFT. The pattern of results suggests that the process of shifting rapidly between categories is more difficult than perusing a mental lexicon. Correlations between these tasks and other tests of cognitive functioning suggest that the TWFT and the category fluency test may be assessing different types of verbal fluency.