We explored the relationship between acute ischaemic stroke (IS) early functional outcome and serum levels of homocysteine, vitamin B12, and D in a noninterventional prospective clinical study. We ...enrolled 50 patients with first-ever IS and performed laboratory tests and functional assessment at three time points: on admission and three and six months after stroke. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS), NIHSS scale, and Barthel index (BI) scores were assessed in all participants by trained examiner blinded to laboratory data. Patients did not receive treatment that might alter laboratory data. Admission NIHSS correlated with homocysteine levels (r=0.304, p<0.05), B12 level (r=-0.410, p<0.01), and vitamin D levels (r=-0.465, p<0.01). Functional outcome measures (BI and mRS) did not significantly correlate with homocysteine and vitamin D3 levels at 3 and 6 months. However, a positive correlation with vitamin B12 levels was detected for BI both at 3 and 6 months and mRS at 6 months. Higher serum vitamin B12 levels were associated with better functional outcome at follow-up.
Background/Aim. Aging entails a wide range of cognitive processes that are not independent of one another. It leads to changes in physical-motor characteristics and sometimes to disability. The aim ...of this study was to examine the association between multiple cognitive performances in elderly subjects and their physical-motor abilities. Method. The study included 98 elderly participants (60+) (16 males and 82 females). Cognitive abilities were assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)/Serbian version, and physical measures were assessed by the Senior Fitness Test with its five subtests, supplemented by the Walking Speed Test. Results. Several MoCA items demonstrated relatively low variability, i.e., they proved to be too easy for most of the participants. The participants exhibited the lowest performance on the memory relating to other domains, followed by executive functions, visuospatial skills, attention, concentration, and working memory domains, with the highest performance on temporal and spatial orientation relating to other domains. Executive functions and language correlated most significantly with physical strength. Agility and dynamic balance, lower- and upper-body strength, and aerobic endurance correlated moderately and positively. Conclusion. This study underlines the positive correlation between physical fitness and cognitive level in the elderly and emphasizes the importance of physical fitness for cognitive functions, especially those of executive type in elderly subjects. Clinicians should consider the association between cognitive function and physical-motor performances when dealing with functioning improvement in the elderly. The importance of designing the most efficient exercise pro-grams to achieve maximal somatic and cognitive effects is emphasized.
Early reflections are not always strong and sparse enough on the timeline to be easily identified when reviewing the impulse response diagram. This paper presents a method for the detection of early ...reflection in the room impulse response using multifractals. The proposed method uses the distribution of Hölder's exponent calculated for the acoustic impulse response for early reflection detection. The obtained results confirm the assumption that impulse response signals exhibit self-similarity, and that fractal theory can be used for the detection of early reflections.
Unprecedented floods in 2014 caused huge consequences on Serbian lignite opencast mines, such as halt of coal production and damages of the mining equipment. Three equipment revitalization options ...were urgently assessed to continue with coal production on opencast mine Tamnava-West Field. This paper compares the economic risks of the three investment options for lignite mine Tamnava-West Field mining equipment revitalization, based on this experience and probable risk of a repeated event. The results of the detailed quantitative risk analysis should verify the urgent decision and ranked with a multiple-criteria decision analysis.
Background/Aim. Both the cognitive and physical functioning changes occur within the normal aging, suggesting possible common biological processes. The aging process is often characterized by a ...reduction of adaptive responses, an increasing vulnerability and functional limitations. The aim of this study was to determine if there were correlations between particular cognitive abilities (verbal ability, spatial ability, processing speed, memory, verbal fluency, divergent thinking, memory, attention, executive functions, conceptualization, orientation, computation), depression symptoms and different dynamometric parameters of muscle contraction, during handgrip (HG) of both hands, in the elderly population. Methods. The sample consisted of 98 participants, 16 males and 82 females, aged from 65 to 85. Neuropsychological assessment included Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Frontal Function Test (Go/No-Go), Categorical and Phonemic fluency tests and Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF). Physical measures were assessed by Handgrip Dynamometry Tests (HG), and included: the maximum force (Fmax), maximal rate of force development (RFDmax), static endurance HG time realized at 50% of maximal HG force (tFmax50%) of dominant (Do) and non-dominant (NDo) hand. Results. Higher MoCA score was followed by higher values of muscle endurance of dominant hands. Higher values of F max of dominant hand were associated with higher values of Alternating Trail Making that is by visuoconstructive abilities (MoCA). The variable Categorical fluency was in a small, positive correlation with Fmax. No correlation of depressive symptoms with HG parameters was found except in the subgroup of female subjects. Conclusion. Better cognitive performance was associated with better HG muscle strength. Therefore, HG strength can be a useful tool in geriatric practice in monitoring not only physical, but also cognitive function status and de-cline. The link between lower cognitive functioning and lower values of HG variables, emphasize the need for in-creased awareness about it in clinical practice.
Cerebral small vessel disease is rarely described in association with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a hereditary connective tissue disorder with skin, eye and vascular manifestations. This ...autosomally inherited elastic tissue disease has been attributed to mutations in the ABCC6 gene located on chromosome 16p13.1. Different stroke mechanisms are suggested in PXE patients, arterial hypertension and accelerated atherosclerosis being the leading ones.
Case 1: A 49-year-old man with history of mild hypertension presented with recurrent transient ischemic attacks. At the age of 42, evaluation for progressive visual loss and skin changes led to diagnosis of PXE. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disclosed multiple lacunar infarctions and confluent periventricular white matter lesions (WML). Case 2: A 71-year-old woman with history of mild hypertension suffered right-sided stroke. Diagnosis of PXE was made at the age of 48 due to severe visual loss and skin changes. Brain MRI revealed multiple lacunar infarctions and subcortical ischemic leukoencephalopathy. Case 3: A 47-year-old woman with prominent skin changes and bilateral amblyopia developed right-sided weakness. Skin biopsy confirmed PXE. Several lacunar infarcts in deep white matter and pons were revealed on MRI.
We present three patients with clinical and histopathological features of PXE who presented with multiple lacunar strokes, two with extensive confluent WML. These cases illustrate that PXE is a rare but significant risk factor for small vessel disease and stroke in patients of all age groups. Occlusive small vessel disease and subsequent lacunar infarcts and WML represent important PXE manifestations.
Social cognition in schizophrenia Totić-Poznanović, Sanja; Pavlović, Dragan M; Djordjević, Jelena R ...
Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo,
11/2011, Letnik:
139, Številka:
11-12
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Patients with schizophrenia display alterations in social cognition, as well as in the realm of neurocognition. It is still unclear to what extent these two cognitive domains represent two separate ...dimensions or different expressions of a unified deficit. Tasks used to assess social cognition subcomponents cover basic social cognition, such as mentalisation, data collection and making conclusions, source monitoring and characteristics of life-styles. The variety of findings of various studies is probably related to the fact that most studies considered social cognition as one-dimensional construct represented, for example, by unique measurements of emotional recognition. Research results dealing with social cognition suggest that the impairment of social cognition is the characteristic feature of schizophrenia and have important implications for the development, course and outcome of this disorder.
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