Objective: To describe the frequency of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson disease (PD) in a cohort of newly diagnosed incident PD cases and the associations with a panel of biomarkers.Methods: Between June 2009 and December 2011, 219 subjects with PD and 99 age-matched controls participated in clinical and neuropsychological assessments as part of a longitudinal observational study. Consenting individuals underwent structural MRI, lumbar puncture, and genotyping for common variants of COMT, MAPT, SNCA, BuChE, EGF, and APOE. PD-MCI was defined with reference to the new Movement Disorder Society criteria.Results: The frequency of PD-MCI was 42.5% using level 2 criteria at 1.5 SDs below normative values. Memory impairment was the most common domain affected, with 15.1% impaired at 1.5 SDs. Depression scores were significantly higher in those with PD-MCI than the cognitively normal PD group. A significant correlation was found between visual Pattern Recognition Memory and cerebrospinal b-amyloid 1-42 levels (b standardized coefficient 5 0.350; p 5 0.008) after controlling for age and education in a linear regression model, with lower b-amyloid 1-42 and 1-40 levels observed in those with PD-MCI. Voxel-based morphometry did not reveal any areas of significant gray matter loss in participants with PD-MCI compared with controls, and no specific genotype was associated with PD-MCI at the 1.5-SD threshold. Conclusions:In a large cohort of newly diagnosed PD participants, PD-MCI is common and significantly correlates with lower cerebrospinal b-amyloid 1-42 and 1-40 levels. Future longitudinal studies should enable us to determine those measures predictive of cognitive decline.
Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection frequently report fatigue, lassitude, depression, and a perceived inability to function effectively. Several studies have shown that patients exhibit low quality-of-life scores that are independent of disease severity. We therefore considered whether HCV infection has a direct effect on the central nervous system, resulting in cognitive and cerebral metabolite abnormalities. Twenty-seven viremic patients with biopsy-proven mild hepatitis due to HCV and 16 patients with cleared HCV were tested with a computer-based cognitive assessment battery and also completed depression, fatigue, and quality-of-life questionnaires. The HCV-infected patients were impaired on more cognitive tasks than the HCV-cleared group ( C hronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection is estimated to affect 170 million people worldwide 1 and constitutes a major public health problem. It causes a fluctuating chronic hepatitis that may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Attempts to understand the natural history of this infection have largely focused on the viral and host factors that predict progression of liver pathology from necroinflammation and fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Consequently, the decision to treat patients is normally based on an assessment of these factors, including staging of disease with a liver biopsy, 2 rather than on particular symptoms. There is, however, emerging literature suggesting that, even in the absence of clinically significant liver disease, chronic HCV infection causes a substantial reduction in quality of life 3 that improves following successful antiviral treatment. 4 These findings are in agreement with the clinical observation that patients with chronic HCV infection frequently report fatigue, lassitude, depression, and a perceived inability to function effectively. 5,6 The etiology of these symptoms is unknown. The symptoms do not appear to be associated with the degree of hepatitis, the presence of autoimmune disorders 5 or cirrhosis, 3 a history of intravenous drug usage (IVDU), 3 or the level of circulating cytokines. 7 We have previously reported cerebral metabolite abnormalities in patients with histologically proven mild HCV infection using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H MRS). 8 These abnormalities are similar to the 1 H MRS changes reported in cerebral human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in both cognitively impaired 9,10 and asymptomatic individuals. 11 In this study, we address the hypothesis that HCV infection can result in cerebral dysfunction, which may underlie both the neuropsychological symptoms and the 1 H MRS abnormalities described. We used a cognitive assessment battery to determine whether cognitive impairment exists in patients with histologically defined mild chronic HCV infection and 1 H MRS to determine whether cerebral metabolite abnormalities are associated with impaired cognitive function.
This study was designed to assess the olfactory impact of the essential oils of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and rosemary (Rosmarlnus officinalis) on cognitive performance and mood in healthy volunteers. One hundred and forty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of three independent groups, and subsequently performed the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerized cognitive assessment battery in a cubicle containing either one of the two odors or no odor (control). Visual analogue mood questionnaires were completed prior to exposure to the odor, and subsequently after completion of the test battery. The participants were deceived as to the genuine aim of the study until the completion of testing to prevent expectancy effects from possibly influencing the data. The outcome variables from the nine tasks that constitute the CDR core battery feed into six factors that represent different aspects of cognitive functioning. Analysis of performance revealed that lavender produced a significant decrement in performance of working memory, and impaired reaction times for both memory and attention based tasks compared to controls. In contrast, rosemary produced a significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors, but also produced an impairment of speed of memory compared to controls. With regard to mood, comparisons of the change in ratings from baseline to post-test revealed that following the completion of the cognitive assessment battery, both the control and lavender groups were significantly less alert than the rosemary condition; however, the control group was significantly less content than both rosemary and lavender conditions. These findings indicate that the olfactory properties of these essential oils can produce objective effects on cognitive performance, as well as subjective effects on mood.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.