No abstract

Purpose:In general, aging factor or neurological disease degrades a function of working memory, leading poor word fluency. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of word fluency in healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Nineteen healthy older adults, sixteen mild AD and twelve moderate AD subjects performed semantic and phonemic word fluency tasks. A series of cognitive-linguistic assessments were also administered to index working memory capacity, confrontation naming, attention, processing speed, and executive function as correlates of word fluency performance. Results: Findings indicated that the performances of word fluency differed significantly among three groups. In particular, all groups had better performances in semantic word fluency task. Mild and moderate AD groups had significant differences in performances of semantic and phonemic word fluency. Word fluency were also significantly correlated with most cognitive-linguistic abilities in all groups. Executive function and working memory capacity were found to be the best predictors of word fluency. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the performances of word fluency differed according to neurological aspects and severity of AD. In addition, the primary role of executive function and working memory capacity suggests the clinical usefulness of word fluency tasks in healthy aging and AD.

This study was performed to investigate the antioxidative effects such as the inhibition of malondialdehyde (MDA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugation reaction, inhibition of Fe 2+-induced lipid peroxidation and the scavenging effect on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical, as well as antimutagenic capacities as Ames test in ethanol extracts of Agaricus bisporus. Agaricus bisporus ethanol extracts inhibited Fe 2+-induced lipid peroxidation and scavenged DPPH radical. The IC50 of Agaricus bisporus ethanol extracts were 78.63 mg/assay for inhibition of MDA with BSA conjugation reaction, 4.06 mg/ assay for inhibition of Fe 2+-induced lipid peroxidation and 1.08 mg/assay for scavenging effect on DPPH radical. So, among the methods used in this study, the most effective antioxidative capacity in ethanol extracts of Agaricus bisporus was the scavenging effect on DPPH radical. The indirect and direct antimutagenic effects of ethanol extracts of Agaricus bisporus were examined by Ames test using Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 and TA100. The inhibitory effects on direct mutagenicity mediated by sodium azide in Salmonella Typhimurium TA100 and 2-nitrofluorene in Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 were 100%. The inhibition rates on indirect mutagenicity mediated by 2-anthramine were 86.09% in the Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 and 81.93% in the Salmonella Typhimurium TA100. The ethanol extracts of Agaricus bisporus showed considerable antioxidative activity and strong antimutagenic capacity.

Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness (KID) syndrome is a rare ectodermal dysplasia characterized by vascularizing keratitis, profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and progressive erythrokeratoderma. It is a clinical triad that indicates a failure in development and differentiation of multiple stratifying epithelia. KID syndrome has been associated with mutations in the gene encoding connexin 26, a gap junction protein. The aim of this case review was to investigate auditory performances after cochlear implantation and emphasize the importance of auditory rehabilitation. The results of this case suggested that auditory performances and communication skills of a child with KID syndrome have improved through the cochlear implantation and aural rehabilitation. In particular listening tests of Listening Progress Profile (Lip Profile) and Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS), the scores have improved from 52% to 97% and 20% to 80%, respectively. The results of this study suggested that auditory rehabilitation and cochlear implantation in children with (KID) syndrome can be effective and important.KEY WORDS：Aural rehabilitation•Cochlear implantation•Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness (KID) syndrome.

The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of coherence and efficiency in the discourse production of cognitively healthy middle-old and old-old groups in elderly. Methods: Eleven middle-old (age: 79.00 ± 2.76) and 6 old-old subjects (age: 89.67 ± 3.78) performed three types of discourse tasks. The coherence score and the propositional density were used to compare the degree of topic maintenance and efficiency between two groups. The differences between the groups were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test. A correlation among the two scores, demographic information, language test results, and the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) were also examined. Results: There was a significant difference in propositional density between the two groups. The coherence score correlated with age, K-MMSE, and a confrontation naming test. Conclusion: The results of the present study is significant in that it is the first study to compare the performance of discourse production in the old-old elderly with those of the middle-old elderly. In addition, theme maintenance of normal elderly over 75 years of age is associated with their confrontation naming abilities and overall cognitive abilities.