Background: Non-linguistic cognitive training has been suggested to improve the communication skills of patients with post-stroke aphasia (PSA). However, the association between language and non-linguistic cognitive functions is not fully understood. In this study, we used the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) to evaluate the characteristics of non-linguistic cognitive impairments in Chinese PSA patients. Methods: A total of 86 stroke patients were recruited in this study. Language and non-linguistic cognitive impairments were evaluated by the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and LOTCA, respectively. The patients were divided into two groups (PSA and non-PSA), and the Chinese norm (the data came from 44 Chinese individuals without neurological disorders in a previous study) was used as the control group. The LOTCA scores were compared among the three groups. Patients in the PSA group were subdivided into the fluent aphasia group (FAG) and the non-FAG according to the Chinese aphasia fluency characteristic scale. The LOTCA scores were also compared between the PSA subdivisions. Potential confounders were adjusted in the analysis of covariance. Partial correlation analysis between the subscores of WAB and LOTCA was also performed. Results: The total LOTCA scores in the PSA group (75.11 ± 17.08) were significantly lower compared with scores in the non-PSA (96.80 ± 7.75, P < 0.001) and the control group (97.65 ± 16.24, P < 0.001). The PSA group also had lower orientation, visual perception (VP), spatial perception (SP), visuomotor organization, thinking operation, and attention scores.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairments in multiple cognitive domains and it is hard to diagnose in early stage because it's not easy to recognize and develop slowly. In this study, we try to evaluate the difference of white matter between AD and health volunteers using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and try to provide some evidence for diagnose AD in early stage. Twelve elderly Chinese patients with AD and twelve healthy volunteers were recruited and underwent DTI. The raw diffusion data were dealt with the toolkit of FSL image post-processing. Fractional anisotrogy (FA) data were then carried out by using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). The result showed that the FA of cingulum, hippocampus, corticospinal tract, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus significantly reduced in AD patients than that of volunteers. This indicated that the integrity of white matter tracts in these regions with AD was disturbed. On the other hand, the FA of other encephalic regions had no discrepancy compared with that of healthy volunteers. FA values were found reduced significantly in AD patients, especially in the posterior of the brain. These findings may provide image methods to diagnose patients with early stage of AD.