Objective:to do neuropsychological tests and apply functional questionnaire in screening of Alzheimer disease in rural area of north China. Method: subjects positive in screening with MMSE were applied a battery of neuropsychological tests including Fuld Object Memory test (FOM), a categorical test (Animal Naming Test), Digit Span Subtest from WAIS-R, and Block Design Subtest from WISC-III. Examination of apraxia and Pfeffer Functional Questionnaire were also applied.Result:There were significant differences of FOM in different groups, such as Alzheimer disease (AD) group, vascular dementia (VD) group, depression group, and VD+AD group. FOM had better sensitivity and specificity, while the sensitivities of RVR and apraxia were low, and the specificity of Digital Span and Block Design were not high enough.Conclusion:FOM may play an important role in diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between angiotensin I converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and Alzheimer disease (AD), as well as the effect of hypertension on the relationship.

METHODSThis case-control study, included 96 AD patients meeting the DSM-IV diagnosis, and 96 subjects as controls coming from the same area and in the same environmental condition. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified the DNA segments, and the PCR products were identified by 2% agarose gel and visualized by ethidium bromide staining.

RESULTSThere was significant difference between AD patients and controls in ACE genotypes and alleles distribution, as well as between AD patients with high blood pressure and controls with high blood pressure. But between normotensive AD patients and normotensive controls, there was no significant difference in ACE genotypes distribution (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONACE genotypes associated with the risk of AD, but II genotype as risk genetic factor only restricted in subjects with high blood pressure.

Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; enzymology ; genetics ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; genetics ; Male ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Sex Factors

Objective:To explore the value of FibroScan in liver grafts from brain-dead donors (DBD) prior to liver transplantation (LT).Methods:Liver grafts from 52 DBD were examined using ultrasound and FibroScan before LT. The causes of death were cerebral hemorrhage ( n=25), brain trauma ( n=21) and ischemic-hypoxic cerebropathy ( n=6). Blood samples were tested before LT and a biopsy was performed pre- or intra-operation for determining pathology. The diagnostic accuracy of FibroScan results was compared with that of pathological examinations. The latter is a gold standard for evaluating liver grafts. The eligible donors were grouped by stage of liver fibrosis (F0-F4) and steatosis (S0-S3) based upon Kleiner's scoring system of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Results:The value of liver stiffness (LS) significantly rose in group F1 as compared with group F0 (8.74±1.32) kPa and (5.93±1.64) kPa respectively ( P<0.01). The value of LS had a significantly positive correlation with liver graft fibrosis stage ( r=0.73, P<0.01). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.93 for F1 stage fibrosis ( P<0.01). Significant differences existed in controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) among groups S0, S1 and S2 (173.30±38.36), (230.29±23.27) and (250.00±57.01) dB/m respectively ( F=12.41, P<0.01). CAP was correlated with liver graft steatosis stage ( r=0.64, P<0.01). And AUROC for S1/S2 stage steatosis in liver grafts was 0.89 ( P=0.002) and 0.83 ( P=0.007) respectively. Conclusions:With a high diagnostic accuracy, FibroScan quantifies fibrosis and steatosis in liver grafts from DBD and provides further imaging evidence for assessing liver grafts.