Articles Tagged With: cognitive
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Cholinergic Basal Forebrain Involvement in Posture, Gait, and Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease
The features of gait difficulty, postural instability, and cognitive deficits in patients with Parkinson’s disease appear to be attributable to degeneration of cholinergic basal forebrain systems, including loss of fiber tract integrity and reduction of cortical projections.
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Is Brain Impairment Following COVID-19 Hospitalization Worse Than for Other Severe Illnesses?
The authors of this prospective cohort study with matched controls found that long-term brain health following severe COVID-19 hospitalization was impaired but was similar to hospitalization from other severe diseases.
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Brain Atrophy and Type 1 Diabetes
In a long-term longitudinal study of people with type 1 diabetes, excessive brain atrophy and cognitive dysfunction were noted compared to healthy controls. The investigators calculated that type 1 diabetes resulted in six years of accelerated brain aging and brain atrophy that was separate and distinct from Alzheimer’s disease.
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Magnetic Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer’s Disease
Transcranial magnetic stimulation, targeted at the precuneus in an effort to maintain a normal default mode network, shows some promise in slowing cognitive decline and maintaining normal electrophysiology in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
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Neurodegeneration Biomarkers in Patients with Subjective Cognitive Complaints
In individuals with subjective cognitive decline, multiple biomarkers of neurodegeneration were found to add predictive values beyond amyloid and tau biomarkers; however, the various neurodegeneration biomarkers were not equivalent and should not be used interchangeably.
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Cognitive Outcomes After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) may lead to adverse cognitive and neuropsychiatric outcomes. The pathways that lead to adverse cognitive outcomes remain to be scientifically elucidated. A prospective cohort study of 656 participants enrolled in the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI) study found that at one year, 13.5% of participants with mTBI had poor cognitive outcome compared to 4.5% of controls, highlighting the need for better understanding of the mechanisms leading to poor cognitive and functional outcomes after mTBIs and interventions to optimize cognitive recovery.
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Intensive Lowering of Blood Pressure Does Not Affect the Progression of Small Vessel Disease
Small vessel disease of the brain accounts for 20% to 25% of all ischemic strokes and is a common cause of vascular cognitive impairments. The major risk factor for small vessel disease is hypertension. Targeting a systolic blood pressure of 120 mmHg to 125 mmHg has been recommended, but this has not been confirmed as effective in preventing stroke or long-term cognitive impairment in these patients.
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Anticholinergic Use for Three Months or More Increases Dementia Risk
There is a significant increase in dementia risk associated with the use of anticholinergic medications for three months or longer.
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Cognitive Deficits in Patients Recovering from COVID-19
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients with cognitive complaints demonstrate reduced attention and executive dysfunction on formal cognitive testing consistent with the same frequency and pattern of cognitive changes associated with critical illness.
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Long COVID: The Daunting Aftermath of Even Mild Infections
One of the most mysterious and disturbing aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection is so-called “long COVID,” which presents as a panoply of symptoms that can linger for months after even mild acute cases.