This study is to examine whether health food containing α-lipoic acid, Ginkgo biloba extract, and L-carnitine can improve cognitive function of human subjects complaining amnesia. A before-after study was done on 31 adult subjects comprising of 14 males and 17 females with an average age of 57.3±5.8 years who had symptoms of memory impairment. The Japanese version of ‘Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of the Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)’ was utilized to evaluate cognitive functions of these subjects before and after the supplementation for 12 weeks. As a result, the placebo group showed no improvement of cognitive functions. In contrast, in the supplementation group, immediate memory (story), language (picture naming and semantic fluency), attention (digit span), and short-term memory (list, story and figure recall) were significantly improved. In conclusion, the present health food is useful for improving cognitive functions such as memory and attention.

We report a 10-year-old boy with supratentorial cortical ependymoma that rapidly grew in the course of 3 years. He suffered generalized seizures when he was 5 years old; MRI showed a small cortical lesion in the right postcentral gyrus. MRI performed 2 years later revealed no changes. For the next 3 years he was free of seizures. However, at the age of 10 he again suffered generalized seizures and MRI disclosed a large parietal tumor. It was resected totally and he remains free of neurological deficits. The histopathological diagnosis was ependymoma. Pediatric supratentorial cortical ependymomas are extremely rare. We recommend including cortical ependymoma as a differential diagnosis in pediatric patients with cortical mass lesions presenting with seizures and careful follow-up even in the absence of symptoms because these tumors may progress.
Child ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Ependymoma* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Rabeprazole ; Seizures