Cognition and neurosurgery

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and intensity of grasp reflexes and to examine changes in these reflexes after shunt surgery in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). METHODS: We enrolled 147 patients with probable iNPH. A standard procedure was used to determine the presence of grasp reflexes, and the intensity of these reflexes was assessed using a four-category classification. Clinical rating scales and their correlation with grasp reflexes were also evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that peripheral inflammation is associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). We examined peripheral immune profiles and their association with clinical characteristics in patients with DLB and compared these with values in patients with PD. METHODS: We analyzed peripheral blood from 93 participants (drug-naïve DLB, 31; drug-naïve PD, 31; controls, 31). Absolute leukocyte counts, absolute counts of leukocyte subpopulations, and peripheral blood inflammatory indices such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were examined...

BACKGROUND: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) have emerged as biomarkers for cerebral small vessel disease (SVD). We investigated their role in a hereditary SVD model, retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy and systemic manifestations (RVCL-S). METHODS: NfL and GFAP levels of 17 pre-symptomatic, 22 symptomatic RVCL-S mutation carriers and 69 controls were measured using a Simoa assay. We assessed the association of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of NfL and GFAP with RVCL-S symptomatology and neuropsychological functioning...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to delineate the clinical and socioeconomic variables associated with shunt revision in pediatric patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with concerns of ventricular shunt malfunction. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of pediatric ED consultations for shunt malfunction over a 1-year period was conducted, examining clinical symptoms, radiographic findings, and socioeconomic variables. Sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for each presenting symptom collected...

BACKGROUND: Hearing loss has been proposed as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, the relationship between hearing, neurodegeneration, and cognitive change, and the extent to which pathological processes such as Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease influence these relationships, is unclear. METHODS: Data from 287 adults born in the same week of 1946 who underwent baseline pure tone audiometry (mean age=70.6 years) and two time point cognitive assessment/multimodal brain imaging (mean interval 2...

BACKGROUND: Depression is reported as a risk factor, prodromal feature and late consequence of Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to evaluate the timing, neuroanatomy and prognostic implications of depression in PD. METHODS: We used data from 434 023 participants from UK Biobank with 14.1 years of follow-up. Multivariable regression models established associations of depression with incident PD and regional brain volumes. Cox proportional hazards models assessed prognostic associations of depression in PD with incident dementia and all-cause mortality...

BACKGROUND: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cognition are important indicators for the quality of survival in patients with high-grade glioma (HGG). However, data on long-term survivors and their caregivers are scarce. We aim to investigate the interaction between cognition and HRQoL in long-term survivors, their caregivers' evaluations, and the effect on caregiver strain and burden. METHODS: 21 long-term HGG (8 WHO grade III and 13 WHO grade IV) survivors (survival ≥ 5 years) and 15 caregivers were included...

Soccer is one of the most popular sports worldwide, played by over 270 million people and followed by many more. Several brain health benefits are promoted by practising soccer and physical exercise at large, which helps contrast the cognitive decline associated with ageing by enhancing neurogenesis processes. However, sport-related concussions have been increasingly recognised as a pressing public health concern, not only due to their acute impact but also, more importantly, due to mounting evidence indicating an elevated risk for the development of neurological sequelae following recurrent head traumas, especially chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)...

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord and brain atrophy are common in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) but harbor distinct patterns accounting for disability and cognitive impairment. METHODS: This study included 209 NMOSD and 304 RRMS patients and 436 healthy controls. Non-negative matrix factorization was used to parse differences in spinal cord and brain atrophy at subject level into distinct patterns based on structural MRI...

OBJECTIVE: Patients who experience postoperative pediatric cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS) during treatment for medulloblastoma have long-term deficits in neurocognitive functioning; however, the consequences on functional or adaptive outcomes are unknown. The purpose of the present study was to compare adaptive, behavioral, and emotional functioning between survivors with and those without a history of CMS. METHODS: The authors examined outcomes in 45 survivors (15 with CMS and 30 without CMS)...

Cognitive fatigue is a major symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), from the early stages of the disease. This study aims to detect if brain microstructure is altered early in the disease course and is associated with cognitive fatigue in people with MS (pwMS) compared to matched healthy controls (HC). Recently diagnosed pwMS (N = 18, age < 45 years old) with either a Relapsing-Remitting or a Clinically Isolated Syndrome course of the disease, and HC (N = 19) matched for sex, age and education were analyzed...

BACKGROUND: Essential tremor (ET) affects numerous adults, impacting quality of life (QOL) and often defying pharmacological treatment. Surgical interventions like deep brain stimulation (DBS) and lesional approaches, including radiofrequency, gamma-knife radiosurgery, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound, offer solutions but are not devoid of limitations. OBJECTIVES: This retrospective, single-center, single-blinded pilot study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of unilateral MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRIg-LITT) thalamotomy for medically intractable ET...

PURPOSE: Post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilation (PHVD) leads to developmental delays in premature infants, yet the optimal timing of neurosurgical interventions is unknown. Neuroimaging modalities have emerged to delineate injury and follow the progression of PHVD. Fronto-temporal horn ratio (FTHR) is used as a marker of ventricular dilation and can be a standardized tool to direct the timing of neurosurgical intervention. Our study determined a pre-operative FTHR measurement threshold to predict short- and long-term outcomes...

INTRODUCTION: While the determinants influencing self-perceived health-related quality of life (spHRQoL) in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) and severe physical impairment have been well investigated, their impact on pwMS with mild disability is poorly addressed. We aimed to investigate possible drivers of spHRQoL among Sardinian pwMS with an EDSS lower than 2.5. METHODS: A sample of 87 fully ambulatory (EDSS < 2.5) pwMS were included after screening for major cognitive impairment...

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of major and mild cognitive impairment (CI) in type-2 diabetes older patients is 15-25% and 30-60%, respectively, thus affecting quality of life and health outcomes. There is, therefore, the need of head-to-head studies aiming at identifying the optimal treatment for individuals with type-2 diabetes at increased risk of mild and major CI. This study focuses on the risk of developing mild and major CI in Danish patients treated with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues (GLP-1a) using administrative and healthcare registers...

INTRODUCTION: The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is a highly sensitive neuropsychological tool used for the assessment of information processing speed (IPS) in various neurological disorders. STATE OF THE ART: In this review, we have focused on the current knowledge regarding the use of SDMT selectively in the evaluation of progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) patients. A literature review was performed regarding the application of SDMT in PMS, with a focus on the primary progressive and secondary progressive subtypes...

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is frequent in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) impacting physical and cognitive functions. Lower aerobic capacity and regional thalamic volume may be involved in the pathophysiology of fatigue in pwMS. OBJECTIVES: To identify associations between thalamic nuclei volumes, aerobic capacity and fatigue and to investigate whether the influence of aerobic capacity on fatigue in pwMS is mediated by thalamic integrity. METHODS: Eighty-three pwMS underwent a clinical evaluation with assessment of fatigue (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale [MFIS]), including physical (pMFIS) and cognitive (cMFIS) components, and peak of oxygen uptake (VO2peak)...

The cortical part of the limbic system, the cingulate gyrus (CG), is a conspicuous structure present in the central aspect of the cerebral cortex. It is associated with various cognitive, emotional, and behavioral purposes and has a significant impact on the limbic system, which is responsible for emotions and memory processes. The aim of the study is to comprehensively document and evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy intervention in managing a rare case of glioma specifically located in the CG through a concise and impactful online presentation...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of circuits-based paired associative stimulation (PAS) in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). METHODS: We conducted a parallel-group, randomised, controlled clinical trial. Initially, a cohort of healthy subjects was recruited to establish the cortical-hippocampal circuits by tracking white matter fibre connections using diffusion tensor imaging. Subsequently, patients diagnosed with aMCI, matched for age and education, were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to undergo a 2-week intervention, either circuit-based PAS or sham PAS...

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic and neuroprotective effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) application on the traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced glutamate and calcium excitotoxicity and loss of motor and cognitive functions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty rats were equally divided in the sham, TBI, tDCS + TBI + tDCS, and TBI + tDCS groups. Mild TBI was induced by dropping a 450-g iron weight from a height of 1 m onto the skull of the rats. The tDCS + TBI + tDCS group was prophylactically administered 1 mA stimulation for 30 min for 7 days starting 5 days before inducing TBI...