Effects of cognitive-physical dual-task training on prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent function remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of dual-task training on executive function and activity in the PFC of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Thirty-six older adults with MCI randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) performing cognitive-physical dual-task training requiring for simultaneous cognitive tasks and physical exercise (n = 18) or the control group (CG) receiving sing-cognitive training using the computerized cognitive training program focusing on executive function (n = 18) for 16 sessions lasting 40 minutes a session. For the primary outcomes, the Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B) was used, and for the secondary outcome, activity in the PFC using functional near infrared spectroscopy and the Korean version of instrumental activities of daily living (K-IADL) were evaluated at pre-and post-intervention. After the intervention, the EG achieved a significantly higher improvement in the TMT-B and decreased activity in the PFC during TMT-B testing than the CG. However, there were no significant differences in the K-IADL in both groups. These findings indicate that dual-task training is more effective in improving executive process and decreasing activity in the PFC during cognitive testing than single-cognitive training with limitations of its transfer effect to daily life.

A number of noninvasive technics have been advocated as reflecting left ventricular performance. These methods include systolic time intervals, echocardiography and imaging of the left ventricular chamber with radionuclides during systole and diastole. Radionuclide evaluation of left ventricular function by means of the gamma camera and gating currently appears to be the most reliable noninvasive method for approximating angiographic evaluation of left ventricular performance. Utilizing the radionuclide angiography, we measured the left ventricular function in 19 normal healthy control, 60 patients with coronary artery diseases 7 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, 5 patients with hypertension. 1) Left ventricular ejection fraction decreased in 12 patients with anterior myocardial infarction (39.9+/-11.6%), 17 patients with inferior myocardial infarction (49.9+/-8.4%) and 7 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (19.0+/-5.8%), and there was a statistically significant difference compared with 19 normal control group (63.5+/-8.2%)(p<0.005). However there were no statistically significant difference between normal control group, patients with hypertension (58.8+/-7.6%) and patients with angina pectoris (60.1+/-6.5%). 2) Left ventricular ejection fraction decreased in both anterior and inferior myocardial infarction, and there was a statisically significant difference between both groups (p<0.01). All 13 patients with acute myocardial infarction had abnormal LVEF (40.5+/-9.1%) whcih was significantly lower than that of 16 patients with old myolardial infarction (50.1+/-10.5%)(p<0.01).
Angina Pectoris ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diastole ; Echocardiography ; Gamma Cameras ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction ; Radioisotopes ; Radionuclide Angiography* ; Stroke Volume ; Systole ; Ventricular Function, Left*

To date, it is unclear whether cognitive intervention on episodic memory (EM) is effective in improving all or a subset of EM components in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, this study investigated effects of EM training on the elderly aged over 65 with AD. For this study, 13 AD patients and 16 healthy older adults were recruited. The pre- and post-test for components of EM was a memory task designed to test memory for object identity (“what”), spatial location (“where”), and temporal order (“when”). Training in the AD group consisted of 16 sessions of practice remembering temporal sequences of different objects being hidden in various locations. At pre-test, accuracy on the “where” and “when” conditions were impaired in the AD patients compared with the healthy elderly (p < 0.01). At post-test, accuracy on the “where” condition was significantly improved (p < 0.05) whereas, there were no significant improvements on the “what” and “when” conditions (p > 0.05). Interestingly, there were no significant improvements in standard neuropsychological measures. These findings suggest that AD, in its early stages, selectively impaired spatial and temporal memory rather than object memory. Additionally, it was observed that EM training in AD had different effects depending on the components of EM.

To date, it is unclear whether cognitive intervention on episodic memory (EM) is effective in improving all or a subset of EM components in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, this study investigated effects of EM training on the elderly aged over 65 with AD. For this study, 13 AD patients and 16 healthy older adults were recruited. The pre- and post-test for components of EM was a memory task designed to test memory for object identity (“what”), spatial location (“where”), and temporal order (“when”). Training in the AD group consisted of 16 sessions of practice remembering temporal sequences of different objects being hidden in various locations. At pre-test, accuracy on the “where” and “when” conditions were impaired in the AD patients compared with the healthy elderly (p < 0.01). At post-test, accuracy on the “where” condition was significantly improved (p < 0.05) whereas, there were no significant improvements on the “what” and “when” conditions (p > 0.05). Interestingly, there were no significant improvements in standard neuropsychological measures. These findings suggest that AD, in its early stages, selectively impaired spatial and temporal memory rather than object memory. Additionally, it was observed that EM training in AD had different effects depending on the components of EM.

Objective: To date, early detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has mainly depended on paper-based neuropsychological assessments. Recently, biomarkers for MCI detection have gained a lot of attention because of the low sensitivity of neuropsychological assessments. This study proposed the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-derived data with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to identify MCI. Methods: Eighty-two subjects with MCI and 148 healthy controls (HC) performed the 2-back task, and their oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were recorded during the task. The CNN model based on fNIRS-derived spatial features with HbO2 slope within time windows was trained to classify MCI. Thereafter, the 5-fold cross-validation approach was used to evaluate the performance of the CNN model. Results: Significant differences in averaged HbO2 values between MCI and HC groups were found, and the CNN model could better discriminate MCI with over 89.57% accuracy than the Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (89.57%). Specifically, the CNN model based on HbO2 slope within the time window of 20–60 seconds from the left PFC (96.09%) achieved the highest accuracy. Conclusion These findings suggest that the fNIRS-derived spatial features with CNNs could be a promising way for early detection of MCI as a surrogate for a conventional screening tool and demonstrate the superiority of the fNIRS-derived spatial features with CNNs to the MoCA.

Objective: To date, the feasibility of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) as a complement to traditional treatments for patients with depression remains unclear. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of breathing-relaxation training plus ASMR on mood and depressive symptoms in patients with mild depression. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design with a non-equivalent control group was used. Forty patients with mild depression were assigned to the experimental group that received breathing-relaxation training plus ASMR or the wait-list control group for a total of 8 training sessions. To assess mood and depressive symptoms, the Korean version of the Profile of Mood State-Brief and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were performed. Results: There was no significant difference in baseline demographic characteristics between both groups. After the 8 training sessions, the experimental group achieved a significantly greater improvement in mood and depressive symptoms with more ASMR experiences compared to the control group. Conclusion These findings illustrated the feasibility of ASMR as a complementary tool and breathing-relaxation training plus ASMR might be clinically beneficial to alleviate negative mood and depressive symptoms in patients with mild depression.

Background: Most previous studies have evaluated flexion strength to assess recovery after arthroscopic rotator cuff (RC) repair.However, limited data are available regarding peak torque at the initial angle (iPT) because most studies have measured flexion strength for peak torque (PT), particularly in small- and medium-sized supraspinatus tears. The purpose of this study was to compare conventional PT and iPT to evaluate supraspinatus muscle strength after arthroscopic RC repair in patients with small- and medium-sized supraspinatus tears. Methods: Isokinetic muscle performance testing was performed in 42 patients with small tears and in 47 patients with medium-sized tears. PT and iPT were evaluated before and 1 year after surgery and were recorded at an angular velocity of 60°/sec and 180°/sec with an isokinetic test. Results: PT and iPT were significantly lower in the involved-side shoulders than in the uninvolved-side shoulders (PT: small tear, p < 0.001; medium tear, p < 0.001; iPT: small tear, p < 0.001; medium tear, p < 0.001) in both groups, preoperatively. However, postoperatively, in the involved-side shoulders, PTs were not different in both small- and medium-sized tears (all p > 0.05), but iPTs were significantly lower in the involved-side shoulders (small tear, p < 0.001; medium tear, p < 0.001). iPT was significantly lower in the involved side shoulders in the medium-sized tear group than in the small-sized tear group before and after surgery (p < 0.05). In the smalland medium-sized tear groups, tear size was significantly correlated with preoperative iPT in the involved-side shoulders (small tear: r = –0.304, p = 0.046; medium tear: r = –0.323, p= 0.027). However, pain visual analog scale was significantly correlated with preoperative (small tear: r = –0.455,p = 0.002; medium tear: r = –0.286, p = 0.044) and postoperative (small tear: r = –0.430, p = 0.005; medium tear: r = –0.354, p = 0.021) iPT in the involved-side shoulders. Furthermore, fatty infiltration grade of the supraspinatus muscle and global fatty degeneration index were not associated with preoperative and postoperative PT and iPT in each group (all p > 0.05). Conclusions iPT is as important as conventional PT in isokinetic testing to assess supraspinatus muscle strength before and after RC repair.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: beta-catenin has an essential role in intercellular adhesion and signal transduction. The Adenomatous poliposis coli (APC) protein interacts with beta-catenin in a multi-protein complex to regulate the level of expression of beta-catenin. Mutations in beta-catenin or APC gene can lead to the accumulation of beta-catenin in the cytosol and the nucleus. This study was designed to investigate the expression of APC and beta-catenin in laryngeal cancer. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Immunohistochemical methods were used to determine the beta-catenin and APC protein expression in 15 laryngeal cancers. Results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS: beta-catenin expression to the plasma membrane was reduced or absent in 11 of 15 cases (73%) of the laryngeal cancers. Cytoplasmic expression of the beta-catenin was seen in 6 out of 15 cases (40%). APC immunoactivity was negative in 5 of 15 (33%) of the laryngeal cancers. One of the six cytoplasmic expressions of the beta-catenin was negative for APC immunoactivity, and one of the five negative for APC immunoactivity was cytoplasmic expression of the beta-catenin. CONCLUSION: There was no correlation between beta-catenin and APC protein in the analysis. This finding suggests that cytoplasmic expression of the beta-catenin resulted not from the APC mutation but from the beta-catenin mutation and abnormal Wnt signal. Only the expression of the beta-catenin in cytoplasm was associated with lymph node metastasis.
beta Catenin* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cell Membrane ; Cytoplasm ; Cytosol ; Genes, APC ; Laryngeal Neoplasms* ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Signal Transduction

More than half of the cryptococcal infections occur in acquired immune deficiency (AIDS) patients, and more than half of the non-AIDS patients with cryptococcosis are immunocompromised. Most immunocompromised patients have meningoencephalitis at the time of diagnosis. Without the appropriate therapy, this from of the infection is invariably fatal. Death can occur any time from 2 weeks to several years after the onset of symptoms. Pulmonary crytococcosis in immunocompromised patients is usually asymptomatic, but coughing, chest pain, fever, or hemoptysis may occur in immunocompetent patients. Pulmonary cryptococcosis symptoms in immunocompetent patients tend to improve without treatment. Here, we describe the various pulmonary manifestations of cryptococcal pneumoniae in three immunocmpetent patients.
Chest Pain ; Cough ; Cryptococcosis ; Diagnosis ; Fever ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Meningoencephalitis ; Pneumonia*

A possible drug interaction between phenytoin and dexamethasone was evaluated by comparing serum phenytoin concentrations in 34 patients receiving both drugs with those if a control group 19 patients receiving phenytoin only. Serum phenytoin concentrations obtained 24 hours after a loading dose of 15mg per kilogram body weight administrated intravenously were examined. The serum concentrations of phenytoin were checked by homogenous enzyme immunoassay(EMIT) method. The total amounts of dexamethasone administered during the 24 hours period ranged from 10 to 40mg. The average serum phenytoin concentration was 12.08+/-2.78 microgram/ml in patients receiving both drugs, as compared to 8.58+/-2.72 microgram/ml in patients receiving phenytoin only(p<0.005). Our results suggest that serum phenytoin concentrations in patients receiving both drugs were higher than in patients receiving phenytoin only.
Body Weight ; Dexamethasone ; Drug Interactions ; Humans ; Phenytoin