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Journal Article 2011; 32(3): 354-359 PubMed PMID: 21712788 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Age of Onset, Attention:physiology, Cognition:physiology, Cognition Disorders:etiology, Executive Function, Female, Humans, Learning:physiology, Male, Memory:physiology, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance:physiology, Spi.   

OBJECTIVES: Cognitive disorders and dementia occur in 19 to 42% of patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2). Neuropsychological tests can reveal executive dysfunction, impaired visual and verbal memory, tongue and speech impairment, attention disorders and impaired verbal fluency.

METHODS: We performed psychiatric and neuropsychological examinations in 12 patients diagnosed with genetically confirmed SCA2 and 12 healthy volunteers matching the patients in age, gender, and length of education. The level of motor impairment was determined using the brief ataxia rating scale (BARS). The neuropsychological examination focused on testing executive functions, short-term visual and verbal memory, attention, psychomotor tempo, visual motor coordination, learning ability and comprehension ability. The tests were divided into two subgroups according to the difficulty of motor tasks. The cognitive abilities composite score (CACS) was determined by calculating the arithmetic mean of T scores of the respective tests.

RESULTS: Patients with SCA2 had significantly lower CACSs (p=0.00005) compared to the healthy volunteers. Patients exhibited impaired performance in both difficult and simple motor tests. The severity of cognitive impairment was related to the age at the onset of the disease (p=0.002) but not to the duration or to the overall BARS score.

CONCLUSIONS: Compared to healthy volunteers, patients with SCA2 exhibited significantly worse cognitive performance in all areas tested, including the tests of simple motor tasks. Moreover, the cognitive performance of patients worsened as the difficulty of the motor tasks increased....

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Journal Article 2011; 32(3): 279-285 PubMed PMID: 21712772 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Anxiety:psychology, Cognition:physiology, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Depression:psychology, Female, Humans, Hypothyroidism:blood, Male, Memory, Short-Term:drug effects, Neuropsychological Tests, Pilot Projects, Psychomotor Performance:physio.   

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our pilot study was to explore the relationship between serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels during overt hypothyroidism (OH) and hypothyroid-related neuropsychological symptoms. We hypothesized that TSH level may reflect the degree of 'brain hypothyroidism' such that an inverse correlation may exist between serum TSH and cognitive function in patients experiencing overt hypothyroidism (OH), and sought to explore this hypothesis.

METHODS: Eleven thyroidectomized patients underwent neuropsychological and thyroid function testing while overtly hypothyroid, and again following thyroid hormone replacement. Their test performance was compared with that of eleven healthy controls at a similarly separated two points in time, and the change over time for the patient group and the controls was likewise assessed and compared. The patients' neuropsychological test scores were then correlated with their serum TSH levels while hypothyroid.

RESULTS: The patients' performance while hypothyroid was worse than that of the controls in only one neurocognitive measure--Working Memory Index. The subjects improved similarly or to a greater degree than the controls, when the subjects were thyroid hormone replaced, on all but one neurocognitive measure - Thurstone Word Fluency. TSH level during hypothyroidism was inversely proportional to the patients' performance on these same two measures, but no others.

CONCLUSION: Serum TSH level during hypothyroidism was inversely proportional to performance on the only two neurocognitive measures evidencing an adverse effect from hypothyroidism in our cohort. This suggests that serum TSH level may reflect the severity of 'brain hypothyroidism' during the overt stage of this condition....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(6): 747-753 PubMed PMID: 21196923 Citation  Keywords:  Anisotropy, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:diagnosis, Case-Control Studies, Child, Cognition, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Executive Function, Female, Frontal Lobe:pathology, Functional Laterality, Humans, Male, Neuropsychological Tests,.   

UNLABELLED: Abnormalities of frontal white matter (WM) have been found in some children with ADHD. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in WM in child patients with ADHD by DTI, which detects changes in WM microstructure based on properties of diffusion. We also expect to investigate the relationship between the changes in WM and executive function in child patients with ADHD. DTI was performed on 24 patients with ADHD and 20 healthy controls. A series of neuropsychological tests and a structural interview were conducted to assess the cognitive functions and clinical data of the ADHD patients and controls. Firstly, child patients with ADHD have higher fractional anisotropy (FA) values in WM in the right frontal region. Secondly, FA in right frontal WM is positively correlated with scores in the Stroop test.

CONCLUSIONS: Increased FA of right frontal WM implies a higher degree of myelination and lower degree of neural branching in WM, contributing to the neurological deficits of ADHD....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(3): 399-405 PubMed PMID: 20588250 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Cognition Disorders:complications, Depression:complications, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2:complications, Female, Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated:metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychomotor Performance,.   

OBJECTIVES: The most important factors in the pathogenesis of cognitive disorders in diabetes mellitus (DM) are metabolic changes directly caused by hyperglycemia. Impairment of cognitive function is accompanied by a decrease in cerebral insulin. Insulin improves cognitive processes, including somatosensoric cognitive functions. Cognitive disorders are especially pronounced if diabetic patients suffer also from depression.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The evaluation of cognitive functions, especially sensomotoric skills were obtained from three study groups (aged 37-52 years): 30 healthy subjects, 40 diabetic patients with clinically documented depression and 30 depressive patients without DM. The sensomotoric skills were carried out using a SPS-2001E apparatus - a computer working stress simulator. The examination with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were also performed in all the investigated persons.

RESULTS: Sensomotoric skills investigation revealed slight cognitive disorders in the early stages DM (subgroup IA) and its intensification according to increasing BDI scores and HbA1c blood concentration (from subgroup IA to IC). Intensification of sensomotoric cognitive disorders was significantly higher (p<0.001) in the depressive patients with DM (group I), than in these without DM (group III).

CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results suggest that coincidence of aggravating factors, such as depression and metabolic disorders in DM, may cause mutual interactions leading to premature and more intense cognitive impairment. The method proposed by the authors may serve as a screening examination in early diagnosis of CNS disorders reflected by somatosensoric cognitive disorders. The presented work indicates importance of sensomotoric skills investigation for the early diagnosis of the nervous system damage related to DM....

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Journal Article 2010; 31(2): 265-269 PubMed PMID: 20424578 Citation  Keywords:  Acromegaly:complications, Adult, Arthralgia:drug therapy, Cognition:drug effects, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Growth Hormone:antagonists & inhibitors, Headache:drug therapy, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Motor Activity:drug effects, O.   

OBJECTIVES: Acromegaly is a chronic disease caused by excessive growth hormone secretion resulting in bone and soft tissue overgrowth. Body image changes as well as systemic complications may considerably influence patients' psychological health and disturb everyday activities. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of octreotide treatment on somatic and psychological symptoms of acromegaly, and thus on patients' quality of life.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 15 patients with acromegaly. The average duration of octreotide therapy was 5.6 years (1-10 years). The respondents created a list of subjective signs and symptoms of acromegaly before treatment and reported changes observed during therapy. The psychological examination was performed with appropriate test scales assessed patients' self-efficacy, emotional control, psychological gender and their life satisfaction.

RESULTS: The most important changes observed during octreotide therapy were associated with head and joint pain relief and reduction of physical limitations. The patients also noticed the improvement of cognitive functions and interpersonal relations. The study revealed average life satisfaction in the group. The patients on the one hand demonstrated high self-efficacy and on the other hand - intensive repression of emotions. The undifferentiated sex-role schema dominated in group.

CONCLUSIONS: The study proved a significance of octreotide therapy in acromegalic patients' life. In spite of chronic disease, all the respondents reported good quality of life (average life satisfaction). Additionally, their high self-efficacy helps to cope with the disease. Nevertheless, undifferentiated sex role schema in the study group suggests lack of behavioral flexibility and high emotional repression predicts negative somatic consequences....

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Controlled Clinical Trial 2009; 30(1): 125-130 PubMed PMID: 19300388 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Diet, Dietary Supplements, Female, Humans, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual:drug effects, Photic Stimulation, Phytoestrogens:administration & dosage, Psychological Tests, Rotation, Sex Characteristics, Soy Foods, Space Perception:drug effects, Tas.   

INTRODUCTION: It is well known that men outperform women in tests of spatial cognition, such as mental rotation, and that performance in these tasks is influenced by sexual hormones. Phytoestrogens are plant substances chemically similar to estradiol, capable of binding estrogen receptors. In a previous study, one-week phytoestrogen-rich diet improved performance in mental rotation in women, but it remained unclear whether this was due to direct binding of phytoestrogens to estrogen receptors or by modulating testosterone blood levels.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether one week consumption of phytoestrogens will equally affect performance in mental rotation in women and men. We expected improved performance in women, but unchanged skill in men, if the effects were mediated by changes of testosterone level. On the other hand, direct modulation of estrogen receptors should yield comparable improvement in both genders.

METHODS: Thirty-six healthy adult young volunteers (16 females) were divided into the control and soy groups. During 7 consecutive days, in addition to their usual diet, subjects in the soy group consumed a daily dose of 2 g of soybeans per kilogram body weight (about 170 mg/kg of isoflavones). The control group members stayed on their usual diet. The subjects were tested on mental rotation of letters and digits at the baseline and after 7 days of soy consumption.

RESULTS: Consumption of soy had no influence on performance in the mental rotation task. For the intermediate stimulus rotation angle (60 deg), irrespective of soy intake, improvement of response latencies was greater in women than in men.

CONCLUSION: The results indicate that soy phytoestrogens have little impact on mental rotation skill. The findings also suggest that women, in contrast to men, more readily engage memory mechanisms to solve the mental rotation task....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(4): 470-476 PubMed PMID: 20010505 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Autonomic Nervous System:physiology, Cognition Disorders:metabolism, Coronary Artery Disease:mortality, Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic:metabolism, Female, Heart Failure:metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oxidative Stress:physiology, Risk Factors, Ub.   

INTRODUCTION: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a medical illness characterized by disorders in inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative (IO&NS) pathways.

METHODS: This paper examines the role of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a mitochondrial nutrient which acts as an essential cofactor for the production of ATP in mitochondria and which displays significant antioxidant activities. Plasma CoQ10 has been assayed in 58 patients with ME/CFS and in 22 normal controls; the relationships between CoQ10 and the severity of ME/CFS as measured by means of the FibroFatigue (FF) scale were measured.

RESULTS: Plasma CoQ10 was significantly (p=0.00001) lower in ME/CFS patients than in normal controls. Up to 44.8% of patients with ME/CFS had values beneath the lowest plasma CoQ10 value detected in the normal controls, i.e. 490 microg/L. In ME/CFS, there were significant and inverse relationships between CoQ10 and the total score on the FF scale, fatigue and autonomic symptoms. Patients with very low CoQ10 (<390 microg/L) suffered significantly more from concentration and memory disturbances.

DISCUSSION: The results show that lowered levels of CoQ10 play a role in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS and that symptoms, such as fatigue, and autonomic and neurocognitive symptoms may be caused by CoQ10 depletion. Our results suggest that patients with ME/CFS would benefit from CoQ10 supplementation in order to normalize the low CoQ10 syndrome and the IO&NS disorders. The findings that lower CoQ10 is an independent predictor of chronic heart failure (CHF) and mortality due to CHF may explain previous reports that the mean age of ME/CFS patients dying from CHF is 25 years younger than the age of those dying from CHF in the general population. Since statins significantly decrease plasma CoQ10, ME/CFS should be regarded as a relative contraindication for treatment with statins without CoQ10 supplementation....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(6): 822-830 PubMed PMID: 19112414 Citation  Keywords:  Anesthesia, General:psychology, Animals, Brain:drug effects, Cognition:drug effects, Consciousness:drug effects, Humans, Psychophysiology,.   

: An explanation of consciousness is one of the major unsolved problems of modern science. The modern view of consciousness arose in the nineteenth century; the view presumed that mental activity correlates with distinct physical states. Is the problem of consciousness real? Crick and Koch made a tentative assumption that all different aspects of consciousness (pain, seeing, thinking, emotion, self-consciousness) are connected by a basic common mechanism. The next step towards understanding involved the neuronal theories of consciousness (correlates of consciousness), often referred as the NNC (neural correlates of consciousness). Many neuroscientists presume that consciousness must have a neuronal correlate. The neuroscience of anaesthesia can be defined as studying the effect of anaesthetic agents on consciousness and the preconsciousness brain mechanisms of cognitive function. Some of these mechanisms, such as recognition of the novel stimuli, are still present in deep anaesthesia, during continuous suppression. Anaesthesia is not "an all or nothing" phenomenon and consciousness awareness with explicit memory represents only one part of the spectrum of cognitive functions. The introduction of safe general anaesthesia represents one of the most important, although under-appreciated, advances in modern surgery. There is some difficulty in defining the term "consciousness" in relation to the anaesthetic state. The difference in brain activity between those under anaesthesia and those not under any such influence....

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