PURPOSE: This study was conducted to develop a comprehensive cognitive rehabilitation program that can be easily applied to brain injured patients by family members or nurses in community or hospital settings. METHODS: A Systemic literature review design was used. Thirty-three related studies were reviewed. RESULT: Based on the results of the literature review, the training tasks for attention were designated to enhancing 4 hierarchical areas, i.e., focused, selective, alternating, and divided attention. On the other hand, the memory rehabilitation tasks mainly consisted of mnemonic skills, such as the association method which helps patients memorize given information by linking together common attributes, the visual imagery method, and self-instruction method. The problem solving rehabilitation program included a task of games or plays which stimulated the patients' curiosity and interest. The training tasks for problem solving were to encourage the process of deriving reasonable solutions for a problematic situation resembling real problems that the patients were faced with in their everyday life. CONCLUSION: It is expected that the cognitive rehabilitation program developed from this study could help patients having difficulty in their every day life, due to a reduced cognitive ability resulting from brain injury, to effectively adapt to every day life.
Problem Solving ; Memory ; Humans ; *Cognitive Therapy ; Cognition Disorders/etiology/*rehabilitation ; Brain Injuries/complications/nursing/*rehabilitation

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the psychological state of children with epilepsy and analyze its influencing factors.

METHODSThe Mental Health Scale for Child and Adolescent was used to survey 113 children with epilepsy and 114 normal children to evaluate and compare their psychological state. Questionnaires were used to investigate the general status of all subjects and the disease condition and treatment of children with epilepsy. The possible influencing factors for the psychological state of children with epilepsy were analyzed.

RESULTSThe mental health status of children with epilepsy was poorer than that of normal children in cognition, thinking, emotion, will-behavior, and personality traits (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that family education, family relations, seizure frequency, seizure duration, EEG epileptiform discharges in the last six months, and number of types of antiepileptic drugs were correlated with the psychological state of children with epilepsy.

CONCLUSIONSThere is a wider range of psychological health problems in children with epilepsy than in normal children. Poor family living environment, poor seizure control, and use of many antiepileptic drugs are the risk factors affecting the psychological state of children with epilepsy. Improving family living environment, controlling seizures, and monotherapy help to improve the psychological state of children with epilepsy.

Adolescent ; Child ; Epilepsy ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Memory Disorders ; etiology

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disabling neuroinflammatory disease. Psychiatric manifestations have a high prevalence in MS patients and may worsen the illness progression and the patients’ quality of life (QoL). Depression is a highly prevalent condition in MS patients, associated with poorer adherence to treatment, decreased functional status and QoL, and increased suicide risk. Diagnosis and treatment of this disorder is challenging because of symptom overlap. Other prevalent psychiatric comorbidities are anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, substance misuse and personality disorders. As the illness progresses, personality changes can happen, as well as affect abnormalities. Cognitive changes occur frequently in MS patients, and affect features like processing speed, attention, learning, memory, visual spatial capabilities, and some language deficits. Disease-modifying treatments may reduce cognitive impairment because of their container action on the brain’s lesion burden. Other QoL determinants such as fatigue, pain, sexual dysfunction, exercise, resilience and social support should be taken into account, in order to promote the individuals’ well-being. Further studies are needed in order to elucidate the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy and more neuroimaging studies are required to clarify the relationship between structural changes and psychiatric comorbidities.
Anxiety Disorders ; Bipolar Disorder ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders ; Comorbidity ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Learning ; Memory ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Neuroimaging ; Personality Disorders ; Prevalence ; Psychotic Disorders ; Quality of Life ; Suicide

The consultation of personnel in relation to sleep disorders in Korea increased by 1.6 times between 2008 and 2012, and the related days of clinical practice increased by nearly 12 times during the same period. Among the sleep disorders, the most common diagnosis is insomnia, which is most commonly treated with medication. Medication is not only easy to access, but also effective immediately. However, the beneficial effect of hypnotic medication on sleep disorder for an extended period of time may be trivial. Tolerance is another barrier to treating chronic insomnia. In addition, such adverse effects as psychomotor slowing, memory loss, forgetfulness, and decreased sense of balance can heighten the risk of motor vehicle accidents and falling-related injuries. Recently, there have been reports about the association between the chronic use of sleeping pills and cancer mortality and dementia incidence. However, there are still many limitations to understanding whether it is the chronic use of hypnotics, or coexisting mental and physical illness, which increases the risk. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to pay special attention to the abovementioned risks when using hypnotics and to consider alternative treatment options like cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
Cognitive Therapy ; Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy* ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Incidence ; Korea ; Memory Disorders ; Mortality ; Motor Vehicles ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* ; Sleep Wake Disorders

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect on chronic insomnia disorder (CID) and influences on episodic memory and sleep structure between acupuncture and estazolam tablets. METHODS: A total of 140 CID patients were randomized into a meridian-point group (46 cases, 1 case dropped off), a non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group (47 cases, 2 cases dropped off) and a medication group (47 cases, 2 cases dropped off). In the meridian-point group, Baihui (GV 20), Shenmen (HT 7), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Zhaohai (KI 6) and Shenmai (BL 62) were selected and the routine acupuncture was applied. In the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group, the needling technique was same as the meridian-point group. Acupuncture was given once daily for 4 weeks in the above two groups. In the medication group, estazolam tablets were administered orally, taken 1 to 2 mg per night, consecutively for 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the changes in the following indexes were observed in each group, i.e. the score of insomnia severity index (ISI), the score of auditory verbal memory test (AVMT) and the relevant indexes of sleep structure [total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep efficiency (SE) and the percentage of non rapid eye movement phase 1, 2 and 3 (N1, N2 and N3) and rapid eye movement time (REM) in TST]. RESULTS: After treatment, ISI scores were reduced in the meridian-point group and the medication group (<0.01), the score in the meridian-point group was lower than the medication group and the non-meridian-and-non- acupoint group respectively (<0.01) and that in the medication group was lower than the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group (<0.01). After treatment, the score of each of immediate recall, short-term delayed recall, long-term delayed recall and delayed recognition of AVMT was increased in the meridian-point group and the medication group respectively (<0.01, <0.05) and the score of each item of AVMT in the meridian-point group was higher than the medication group and the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group respectively (<0.01, <0.05). The scores of immediate memory and delayed recognition in the medication group were higher than the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group respectively (<0.01). After treatment, SOL, WASO and N1% were all reduced (<0.01) and TST, SE, N3% and REM% were all increased (<0.01, <0.05) in the meridian-point group and the medication group, N2% in the meridian-point group was reduced (<0.01). After treatment, N1% and N2% in the meridian-point group were lower than the medication group (<0.01) and N3% and REM% were higher than the medication group (<0.01). After treatment, TST, SE and N3% in the meridian-point group and the medication group were all higher than the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group respectively (<0.01, <0.05) and SOL, WASO and N1% were lower than the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group respectively (<0.01). REM% in the meridian-point group was also higher than the non-meridion-and-non-acupoint group (<0.01), and N2% in the meridian-point group was also lower than the non-meridian-and-non-acupoint group (<0.01). CONCLUSION Compared with estazolam, acupuncture much better improves sleep quality and episodic memory in patients with chronic insomnia disorder, which is possibly related to the regulation of sleep structure of patients in treatment with acupuncture.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Estazolam ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Memory, Episodic ; Sleep ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

Progress of studies concerning the protective effect of ginsenoside on central nerve system (CNS) in animals and its mechanism published in recent decade were reviewed in this paper. It showed that ginsenosides could improve the learning capacity and memory in normal, aged animals, as well as in model animals with impaired memory. The mechanism of the protective effect on CNS involves the effects on calcium channel blockade, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid, antiperoxidation, estrogen-like action, nitric oxide and its synthase, also the inhibition on cerebral nerve cell apoptosis and amelioration on mitochondrial dysfunction, etc.
Aging ; drug effects ; Animals ; Avoidance Learning ; drug effects ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Memory ; drug effects ; Memory Disorders ; drug therapy ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism

Bilateral thalamic gliomas (BTGs) are rare brain tumors. In general, the prognosis is poor because of the involvement of bilateral thalami and limitations of surgical excision. Consequently, patients with symptoms of personality changes and memory impairment must be differentiated from others. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential for the diagnosis of BTGs and reveals a hypo-intense lesion on T1-weighted images and a hyper-intense lesion on T2 images. We report a case of a 17-year-old female patient suffering from progressive cognitive dysfunction and personality changes and subsequent rehabilitation treatment. Brain MRI showed an enlarged bilateral thalamus, with hyperintensity on T2-weighted images and iso-intensity on T1-weighted images. A biopsy was performed, and the pathology revealed a high-grade glioma. The patient was referred for radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She also underwent rehabilitation treatment for 5 weeks and showed improvement in standing balance, endurance, and speech fluency. The patient's Modified Barthel Index scores also improved. Cancer rehabilitation is important in brain tumor patients because they have a higher incidence of neurological sequelae than others. Rehabilitation of patients with a malignant brain tumor is also important for improving health-related quality of life by maintaining the general condition and preventing complications during and after cancer treatment.
Adolescent ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Glioma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Memory ; Memory Disorders ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Pathology ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy ; Rehabilitation ; Thalamus

AIM: To study the chemical constituents and their anti-amnesic effect from the hooks of Uncaria rhynchophylla. METHODS: The isolation of compounds was performed by chromatographic techniques and their structures were identified on the basis of spectral analysis. Their ameliorating effects on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in vivo using a Morris water-maze task and passive avoidance task system were evaluated. RESULTS: Activity-guided fractionation of the total extracts resulted in the isolation of four constituents, trans-anethole (1), p-anisaldehyde (2), estragole (3), and 3-oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (4), which were found for the first time from this plant. CONCLUSION Compound 1 exhibited a better memory enhancing effect than tacrine, a positive agent, at the same dose in the passive avoidance test and a similar property in the water-maze test, and its action may be mediated, in part, by the acetylcholine enhancing cholinergic nervous system.
Animals ; Humans ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Memory Disorders ; drug therapy ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Scopolamine ; adverse effects ; Uncaria ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo research the mechanism of dopamine (DA) controlled memory in mice.

METHODSMice received i.p. injection of scopolamine (0.3 mg/kg, SCOP 0.3, and 3.0mg/kg, SCOP 3.0, respectively, n = 10) and saline (NS, n = 10) for 60 days in experiment 1. Memory of mice was detected by dark avoidance behavior in the 53" d and the 60"' d. Animals were sacrificed after the memory test; brain tissues were processed for Fos-ir and TH-ir by immunohistochemistry. Mice were divided into four groups according results of expri-ment 1, they received i.p. injection of apomorphine (0.1 mg/kg, APO 0.1, 0.5 mg/kg, APO 0.5, and 2.0 mg/kg, APO2.0 respectively, n = 10).

RESULTSMemory was inhibited in mice injected scopolamine 3.0 mg/kg. Latency was significantly less than in NS group, only 1/ 4 that of NS group (P > 0.05). The number of mistake of SCOP 3.0 group increased about four times than that of NS group (P > 0.05). But there was no difference of latency and number of mistake between SCOP 0.3 and NS group in expriment 1. Scopolamine-induced memory deficit was associated with decreased cellular activation, indicated by Fos immunoreactive (ir) staining, in NAcc CA1 and CA3 (P < 0.05), and also associated with decreases in the number of cells labeled for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH-ir), the rate limiting enzyme for dopamine conversion (P < 0.01) and the number of cells co-labeled for TH-ir/Fos-ir (P <0.01) in the ventral tegmental area(VTA), apomorphine lessened scopolamine-induced memory deficit in experiment 2. The number of cells co-labeled for TH-ir/Fos-ir (P <, 0.05) was increased in VTA after apomorphine treatment.

CONCLUSIONApomorphine lessened scopolamine-induced memory deficit in mice by increasing DA activities in VTA.

Animals ; Apomorphine ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dopamine Agonists ; pharmacology ; Male ; Memory Disorders ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Mice ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; toxicity

The loss of neuronal cells in the central nervous system may occur in many neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer's disease is a common senile disease in people over 65 years, and it causes impairment characterized by the decline of mental function, including memory loss and cognitive impairment, and affects the quality of life of patients. However, the current therapeutic strategies against AD are only to relieve symptoms, but not to cure it. Because there are only a few therapeutic strategies against Alzheimer's disease, we need to understand the pathogenesis of this disease. Cell therapy may be a powerful tool for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This review will discuss the characteristics of Alzheimer's disease and various available therapeutic strategies.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Central Nervous System ; Humans ; Memory Disorders ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons ; Quality of Life ; Stem Cells* ; Transplantation