OBJECTIVE: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common mental disorder in children. It is unclear how nutrition and dietary components relate to ADHD. Some studies suggest that children with ADHD have lower serum levels of vitamin D than healthy controls. In the current study, the effects of Vitamin D supplementation on ADHD were reviewed and analyzed using available literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A meta-analysis and systematic review were performed. Children less than 18 years old diagnosed with ADHD given Vitamin D supplementation or placebo were included. A search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases from inception to August 2024 using the MeSH keywords: "Vitamin D" AND (ADHD OR Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) AND (children OR pediatric OR adolescents) AND randomized controlled trial. Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) was used as an effect measure and pooled using random effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: The pooled SMS showed significantly lower ADHD scores (SMD=-0.59, 95%CI=-1.06 to -0.11, p=0.01), lower inattentive scores (SMD=-0.61, 95%CI=-1.00 to -0.23, p=0.002), and lower hyperactivity scores (SMD=-0.64, 95%CI=-1.08 to -0.20, p=0.004) in children given Vitamin D supplementation. The adverse events reported were minor only and did not vary significantly between intervention and control groups. CONCLUSION Vitamin D treatment as an adjuvant to methylphenidate alleviated ADHD symptoms without significant adverse effects, correlating with enhanced vitamin D levels. Given the robust evidence and well-structured randomized controlled trials, we strongly advocate for the integration of vitamin D supplementation with ADHD treatment.
Human ; Male,Female ; Adolescent: 13-18 yrs old ; Child Preschool: 2-5 yrs old ; Child: 6-12 yrs old ; Vitamin D ; meta-analysis ; systematic review

Objectives: To determine the burden of COVID-19 related mental health problems such as anxiety and/or depression among caregivers of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders in a government tertiary hospital. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the Out-patient Department of PCMC. Caregiver data sheet and HADS-P forms were given to eligible caregivers. Results: A total of 102 caregivers were included. The prevalence of significant risk for anxiety disorder among caregivers of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders is 34.31% (n=35), 1.96% (n=2) for depression and 3.92% (n=4) for both anxiety and depression. Using logistic regression, marital status of common law partner and female sex have significant association with depression and anxiety; the number of household members has a direct association to significant risk for both anxiety and depression. Conclusion Female sex and common law partnership as marital status are associated with 2-3 times of having significant risk for anxiety or depression. The number of household members is correlated with an increased significant risk of having both anxiety and depression. Screening caregivers using appropriate tests would identify caregivers at significant risk for anxiety and depression and further create intervention programs.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Caregiversl ; Neurodevelopmental Disorders ; COVID-19 ; Mental Health

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to correlate the white matter changes seen in cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) the severity of cognitive impairment in patients diagnose Alzheimer Disease by using the conventional Cranial MRI weighted and Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images.

METHODS: All patients diagnosed with Probable Alzheimer's disease at the Memory Assessment Center in a tertiary hospital in Manila from January 2007 to September 2008 were included in the study who underwent cranial MRI (T2 weighted and FLAIR images), with ages varying from 65-87 years old using the following tests: Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADASCOG), Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Boston Naming, Verbal Fluency, Word List Memory Task, Recall and Recognition, Trail making A and B and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). The Cranial MRI images were rated using the Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) rating scale for MRI. Analyses were done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 14.) Correlation between continuous data was done using the Pearson correlation test while the correlation between ranked data utilized the Spearman test.

RESULT: Four patients with no white matter changes had mild AD while another two had made an AD. Among those with focal lesions, two were categorized as mild AD, another two cases as moderate and one case with severe AD. Among those with the beginning confluence of lesions, three had mild AD, two had moderate AD and one had severe AD. No case had severe age-related white matter changes. We found no significant relationship between the clinical dementia ratings (severity of AD) and the presence or absence of white matter lesions in the cranial MRI (T2 weighted and FLAIR images). 

CONCLUSION: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) captures neurodegenerative brain changes that traditional MRI may miss. Further studies using structural and functional imaging methodologies should be promoted to show cognitive performance and its correlation. In particular, compensatory networks in patients were shown to linearly correlate to cognitive performance. Thus, varied approaches to understanding networks could be valuable tools in developing new approaches for early diagnosis of AD and in the future, aid us in the effectivity of treatment strategies.

Human ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Alzheimer Disease ; Cognitive Dysfunction ; Tertiary Care Centers ; White Matter ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Brain ; Memory ; Cognition ; Early Diagnosis ; Social Sciences ; Mental Status And Dementia Tests

OBJECTIVES

The paper aims to determine the effect of acute ischemic stroke on cognition using the MMSE and other neuropsychological tests.

METHODS

All patients admitted at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital Pay Division for acute ischemic stroke from July to August 2007 were included in the study. Eligible patients underwent Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a detailed neuropsychological testing to characterize cognitive functioning in 6 domains: attention, executive functioning, language, visuospatial ability, visuomotor speed and memory. Scores were presented as mean standard deviation and frequency of cognitive impairment was determined. Chi square and logistic regression was used to examine the association between stroke and the impaired cognitive domain.

RESULTS

There were twenty-five participants eligible in the study. The mean age of the participants was 58.0 ± 13.3, the mean educational level (in years) was 11.6 ± 3.4, the mean MMSE score was 26.4 ± 3.0 and the mean NIHSS score was 4.2 ± 1.8. With a cutoff score of 23 and below, 4 (16%) patients failed the MMSE. On neuropsychological testing, however, all patients failed in at least one area of cognitive domain being tested. Among these patients, 60% failed in the test for visuospatial and executive functions while 92% failed in the test for visuomotor speed.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of cognitive impairment after an acute ischemic stroke is 16% using the MMSE. Neuropsychological assessment revealed cognitive impairment in all these patients. The results suggest that the role of MMSE in detecting post stroke cognitive impairment in the acute setting maybe limited. More specific neuropsychological tests should be incorporated to detect subtle cognitive impairment especially instruments that test the areas of visuospatial, visuomotor speed and executive functions.

Human ; Cognitive Dysfunction