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Journal Article 2015; 36(8): 771-778 PubMed PMID: 26921578 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Cohort Studies, Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe:psychology, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Radiosurgery, Retrospective Studies, Treatment Outcome,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to summarize our experience with neuropsychological changes after radiosurgical treatment for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and subsequent surgery due to insufficient seizure control.

METHODS: Between November 1995 and May 1999, 14 patients underwent radiosurgical entorhinoamygdalohippocampectomy with a marginal dose of 18, 20 or 25 Gy to the 50% isodose. 9 of these patients subsequently underwent surgery. We compared Memory Quotients and Intelligence Quotients before and after the interventions.

RESULTS: We found a slight, but nonsignificant decline in intelligence and memory quotients one year after GKRS. Two years after radiosurgery there were no significant changes in any of the quotients. After surgery, we found significant increase in Global and Visual MQ, (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant changes in verbal memory and intelligence performance after surgery.

CONCLUSION: Epilepsy surgery after unsuccessful radiosurgery could lead to improvements in cognitive functions in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(8): 780-786 PubMed PMID: 24522026 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Blood Proteins:metabolism, Cognition Disorders:metabolism, Depressive Disorder:metabolism, Female, Humans, Male, Memory:physiology, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Oxidative Stress:physiology, Recurrence, Severity of Illness Index, Stroop Te.   

BACKGROUND: Depressive disorders are multifactorial diseases in which cognitive impairments are one of typical features. Thiol protein groups (TPGs) are elements of chemical structure of compounds having antioxidative properties (glutathione peroxidase, metallothioneins) and their oxidation reflects the lost of compensatory capacity of antioxidative mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of TPGs in patients with recurrent depressive disorder (rDD) and to define relationship between plasma levels of TPGs and the cognitive performance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study comprised 76 subjects: patients with rDD (n=43) and healthy subjects (comparison group, CG - n=33). Cognitive function assessment was based on the following 4 tests: the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Stroop Test, Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT).

RESULTS: The level of TPGs was higher in patients with rDD. In rDD group, the elevated concentration of TPGs in plasma was associated with a decrease in efficiency of declarative-memory, working memory and verbal fluency. The higher was the concentration of plasma TPGs, the greater was the severity of depressive symptoms measured by 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), before and after pharmacotherapy. In CG group, the elevated TPGs levels were associated with worse cognitive test performance (AVLT and VFT tests).

CONCLUSIONS: 1) Our study confirms previous results showing increased TPGs level in depression. 2) Our data suggest relation between increased plasma TPGs level in depression and cognitive impairment. 3) The elevated levels of plasma TPGs are related to impairment of the short-term and delayed declarative memory, verbal fluency and working memory....

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Journal Article 2012; 33(3): 347-355 PubMed PMID: 22635096 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Age of Onset, Cognition:physiology, Cognition Disorders:diagnosis, Communication Disorders:diagnosis, Executive Function:physiology, Female, Humans, Language Disorders:diagnosis, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Phonetics, Schizophrenia:physiop.   

OBJECTIVE: Although formal thought disorder and cognitive impairment are key features of schizophrenia, only a few studies evaluated both in adolescent population.

METHOD: 32 inpatients with early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and 32 matched healthy controls were studied with Thought, Language and Communication Scale and battery of neurocognitive tests and SSD subjects were also assessed with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Clinical Global Impression Scale.

RESULTS: Patients presented impairment in both cognitive functioning and formal thought processes. Communication disturbances correlated with executive and verbal fluency dysfunction.

CONCLUSION: Communication disturbances in adolescent SSD patients may have both dysexecutive and dyssemantic origin....

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Journal Article 2011; 32(6): 836-840 PubMed PMID: 22286788 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Female, Humans, Impulsive Behavior:metabolism, Loneliness, Neuropsychological Tests, Saliva:chemistry, Testosterone:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVE: Adolescence is characterized by increases in loneliness, impulsiveness and circulating testosterone levels. We investigated the relationship between these characteristics in adolescent females.

METHODS: For this purpose, we measured impulsivity and loneliness by means of a Go/No-go task and the UCLA loneliness scale, respectively. Testosterone levels in saliva were measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

RESULTS: The results showed that testosterone and loneliness have a positive relevance to impulsivity in adolescent females, whereas there was no relationship between loneliness and testosterone levels.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that testosterone and loneliness modulate impulsivity via distinctive pathways....

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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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Comparative Study 2010; 31(6): 731-737 PubMed PMID: 21196930 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Depression:physiopathology, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Eye Movements, Female, Humans, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Nystagmus, Optokinetic, Oculomotor Muscles:physiopathology, Outpatients:psychology, Panic Disorder:physiopathology.   

OBJECTIVES: Abnormalities and disturbances of saccadic and pursuit eye movements were studied in several mental disorders and diseases. Certain irregularities in the particular oculomotor behaviour have been proposed they may correspond with specific type of mental disorder. It was our aim to contribute to this question by analyzing the bioelectrical correlates of the visual-oculomotor integration in patients suffering from panic disorder and from depressive symptoms.

METHODS: The horizontal saccadic eye movements, optokinetic nystagmus, saccadic eye movement evoked potentials as well as saccadic eye movement related potentials we recorded in the groups of outpatients suffering from depressive symptoms and panic disorder respectively. Groups of healthy volunteers served as control.

RESULTS: Saccadic eye movements were found to be significantly more inaccurate as compared to healthy subjects. The gain of the optokinetic nystagmus at middle and high velocities was significantly lower in panic patients. Preparation of motor plan for a saccade as well as the time of the maximal recruitment of the oculomotor muscle units was delayed in both groups of patients and their oculomotor event-related potentials were of the overall longer duration and higher variability as well.

CONCLUSION: The changes in oculomotor behavior as well as in its EEG correlates in the groups of above mentioned patients can not be taken as specific for the given disorder. On the other hand, they may help to follow up the course of the complex therapy....

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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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