Confounders Are Always a Problem

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-490
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Brunskill
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Measles Vaccine ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
History Of

Readers who were intrigued by the surprisingly general beneficial effects of measles vaccine reported by Holt et al1 may be interested to know that a precedent exists for such a finding. A series of articles by Black, Fox, Elveback, and co-workers2-6 deserve greater attention. In three independent and classic studies, they documented that preschool children with a history of measles infection had lower cognitive test scores than measles-susceptible children. This effect occurred despite use of approximately six covariates for adjustment.

scholarly journals Effect of computer-assisted-learning and simulation clinics on dental students’ cognitive and performance skills: panoramic image errors related to patient’s head position

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 20200154
Author(s):  
Ann Wenzel ◽  
Louise Hauge Matzen ◽  
Rubens Spin-Neto ◽  
Lars Schropp
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Head Position ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Patient Exposure ◽  
Performance Skills ◽  
Positioning Errors ◽  
And Performance

Objectives: To assess dental students’ ability to recognize head positioning errors in panoramic (PAN) images after individual learning via computer-assisted-learning (CAL) and in a simulation clinic (SIM). Both cognitive skills and performance in patient examination were assessed. Methods and materials: 60 students (mean age 23.25 years) participated in lectures on the relation between PAN-image errors and patient’s head position. Immediately after they took a test, based on which they were randomized to three groups: control (CON) group, CAL group, and SIM group (both CAL and training in a simulation clinic with a phantom). 4–5 weeks after intervention/no intervention, all students individually examined a patient with PAN-exposure. A blinded rater, not knowing group allocation, supervised patient exposure and assessed student’s performance (correct/incorrect head position in three planes). 1–2 weeks after, the students scored positioning errors in 40 PAN-images. Differences in cognitive test scores between groups were evaluated by ANOVA and in patient examination by χ2 tests, and within-group differences by sign-tests. Results: No statistically significant difference in cognitive test scores was seen between the SIM and CAL group, while the CON group scored lower (p < 0.003). In all groups, several students positioned the patient incorrectly in the Frankfort horizontal plane. All students performed well in the sagittal plane. Students in SIM group positioned the patient more correctly in the coronal plane. Conclusions: Training with CAL increased students’ cognitive skills compared with a control group. Simulated patient exposure with a phantom increased to some extent their performance skills in examination of patients.

scholarly journals Ketogenic diet reduces alcohol withdrawal symptoms in humans and alcohol intake in rodents

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (15) ◽  
pp. eabf6780
Author(s):  
Corinde E. Wiers ◽  
Leandro F. Vendruscolo ◽  
Jan-Willem van der Veen ◽  
Peter Manza ◽  
Ehsan Shokri-Kojori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ketogenic Diet ◽  
Alcohol Withdrawal ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Alcohol Cues ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Receive

Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) show elevated brain metabolism of acetate at the expense of glucose. We hypothesized that a shift in energy substrates during withdrawal may contribute to withdrawal severity and neurotoxicity in AUD and that a ketogenic diet (KD) may mitigate these effects. We found that inpatients with AUD randomized to receive KD (n = 19) required fewer benzodiazepines during the first week of detoxification, in comparison to those receiving a standard American (SA) diet (n = 14). Over a 3-week treatment, KD compared to SA showed lower “wanting” and increased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) reactivity to alcohol cues and altered dACC bioenergetics (i.e., elevated ketones and glutamate and lower neuroinflammatory markers). In a rat model of alcohol dependence, a history of KD reduced alcohol consumption. We provide clinical and preclinical evidence for beneficial effects of KD on managing alcohol withdrawal and on reducing alcohol drinking.

scholarly journals Digital Technology Differentiates Graphomotor and Information Processing Speed Patterns of Behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy L. Andersen ◽  
Benjamin Sweigart ◽  
Nancy W. Glynn ◽  
Mary K. Wojczynski ◽  
Bharat Thyagarajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Apoe Genotype ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Digit Symbol Substitution Test ◽  
Information Processing Speed

Background: Coupling digital technology with traditional neuropsychological test performance allows collection of high-precision metrics that can clarify and/or define underlying constructs related to brain and cognition. Objective: To identify graphomotor and information processing trajectories using a digitally administered version of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Methods: A subset of Long Life Family Study participants (n = 1,594) completed the DSST. Total time to draw each symbol was divided into ‘writing’ and non-writing or ‘thinking’ time. Bayesian clustering grouped participants by change in median time over intervals of eight consecutively drawn symbols across the 90 s test. Clusters were characterized based on sociodemographic characteristics, health and physical function data, APOE genotype, and neuropsychological test scores. Results: Clustering revealed four ‘thinking’ time trajectories, with two clusters showing significant changes within the test. Participants in these clusters obtained lower episodic memory scores but were similar in other health and functional characteristics. Clustering of ‘writing’ time also revealed four performance trajectories where one cluster of participants showed progressively slower writing time. These participants had weaker grip strength, slower gait speed, and greater perceived physical fatigability, but no differences in cognitive test scores. Conclusion: Digital data identified previously unrecognized patterns of ‘writing’ and ‘thinking’ time that cannot be detected without digital technology. These patterns of performance were differentially associated with measures of cognitive and physical function and may constitute specific neurocognitive biomarkers signaling the presence of subtle to mild dysfunction. Such information could inform the selection and timing of in-depth neuropsychological assessments and help target interventions.

Development of standardized regression-based formulas to assess meaningful cognitive change in early Parkinson’s disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah L Combs ◽  
Kate A Wyman-Chick ◽  
Lauren O Erickson ◽  
Michele K York
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objective Longitudinal assessment of cognitive and emotional functioning in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is helpful in tracking progression of the disease, developing treatment plans, evaluating outcomes, and educating patients and families. Determining whether change over time is meaningful in neurodegenerative conditions, such as PD, can be difficult as repeat assessment of neuropsychological functioning is impacted by factors outside of cognitive change. Regression-based prediction formulas are one method by which clinicians and researchers can determine whether an observed change is meaningful. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate regression-based prediction models of cognitive and emotional test scores for participants with early-stage idiopathic PD and healthy controls (HC) enrolled in the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Methods Participants with de novo PD and HC were identified retrospectively from the PPMI archival database. Data from baseline testing and 12-month follow-up were utilized in this study. In total, 688 total participants were included in the present study (NPD = 508; NHC = 185). Subjects from both groups were randomly divided into development (70%) and validation (30%) subsets. Results Early-stage idiopathic PD patients and healthy controls were similar at baseline. Regression-based models were developed for all cognitive and self-report mood measures within both populations. Within the validation subset, the predicted and observed cognitive test scores did not significantly differ, except for semantic fluency. Conclusions The prediction models can serve as useful tools for researchers and clinicians to study clinically meaningful cognitive and mood change over time in PD.

scholarly journals Verbal threat learning does not spare loved ones

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Morato ◽  
Pedro Guerra ◽  
Florian Bublatzky
Keyword(s):  
Fear Learning ◽  
Pain Experience ◽  
Trauma Research ◽  
Learning History ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Electric Shocks ◽  
History Of ◽  
Threat Cues ◽  
Verbal Threat

AbstractSignificant others provide individuals with a sense of safety and security. However, the mechanisms that underlie attachment-induced safety are hardly understood. Recent research has shown beneficial effects when viewing pictures of the romantic partner, leading to reduced pain experience and defensive responding. Building upon this, we examined the inhibitory capacity of loved face pictures on fear learning in an instructed threat paradigm. Pictures of loved familiar or unknown individuals served as signals for either threat of electric shocks or safety, while a broad set of psychophysiological measures was recorded. We assumed that a long-term learning history of beneficial relations interferes with social threat learning. Nevertheless, results yielded a typical pattern of physiological defense activation towards threat cues, regardless of whether threat was signaled by an unknown or a loved face. These findings call into question the notion that pictures of loved individuals are shielded against becoming threat cues, with implications for attachment and trauma research.

Interactions between Cognition, Compression, and Listening Conditions: Effects on Speech-in-Noise Performance in a Two-Channel Hearing Aid

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (07) ◽  
pp. 604-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Lunner ◽  
Elisabet Sundewall-Thorén
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Test Procedure ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Fast Time ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Pure Tone Average

This study which included 23 experienced hearing aid users replicated several of the experiments reported in Gatehouse et al (2003, 2006) with new speech test material, language, and test procedure. The performance measure used was SNR required for 80% correct words in a sentence test. Consistent with Gatehouse et al, this study indicated that subjects showing a low score in a cognitive test (visual letter monitoring) performed better in the speech recognition test with slow time constants than with fast time constants, and performed better in unmodulated noise than in modulated noise, while subjects with high scores on the cognitive test showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, cognitive test scores were significantly correlated with the differential advantage of fast-acting versus slow-acting compression in conditions of modulated noise.The pure tone average threshold explained 30% of the variance in aided speech recognition in noise under relatively simple listening conditions, while cognitive test scores explained about 40% of the variance under more complex, fluctuating listening conditions, where the pure tone average explained less than 5% of the variance. This suggests that speech recognition under steady-state noise conditions may underestimate the role of cognition in real-life listening.

Screening for Cow Milk Allergy in Infants and Preschool Children

QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeinab Awad El-Sayed ◽  
Hanan Mohamed Abdel-Lateef ◽  
Rasha Hassan El-Owaidy ◽  
Shady Sarwat Shaker
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Challenge Test ◽  
Cow Milk ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Milk Allergy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Oral Challenge Test ◽  
Egyptian Children ◽  
Cow Milk Allergy ◽  
History Of

Abstract Background Cow milk allergy (CMA) is the third most common food allergy that triggers anaphylactic reactions. Lactose intolerence, infantile colic and gastroesophageal reflux are the most common conditions which overlap with CMA causing both over and underdiagnosis. There are no wide population based epidemiological studies for the prevalence of CMA among Egyptian children. We sought to evaluate the prevalence of CMA among infants and preschool children and to correlate the parental reporting of CMA to the available diagnostic tools. Methods We conducted a cross sectional study that included 800 Egyptian children aged 3 months -5 years, who were enrolled consecutively from the primary care units and outpatient clinics of Children’s Hospital, Ain Shams University. Detailed history taking and clinical examination were done and those with suggestive history of CMA were subjected to further evaluation including skin prick test (SPT) and oral challenge test (OCT). Results The study comprised 390 girls (48.8%) and 410 boys (51.2%). Their weight centiles ranged between 5th and 97th percentiles, with median (IQR)=25(5-50) percentiles and mean(SD)=36.1(31.9). CM was introduced at age of 1-12 months, mean (SD): 9 (6) months with median (IQR): 12 (9-12) months. Forty (5%) subjects had suggestive history of CMA, 32 of whom completed their evaluation. The diagnosis of cow milk allergy was confirmed in 8/40 children (20%), comprising 1 % of the whole study sample. CMA was probably excluded at the time of the study in 21 subjects (52.5%), while diagnosis remained undetermined in 11/40 cases (27.5%) (8 refused to undergo SPT & OCT while 3 were lost to follow up). Conclusion The prevalence of CMA in Egyptian infants and preschool children is estimated to be around 1 % with possible overestimation of cow milk allergy diagnosis according to parental reports.

Effects of correcting for prematurity on cognitive test scores in childhood

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Wilson-Ching ◽  
Leona Pascoe ◽  
Lex W Doyle ◽  
Peter J Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Cognitive Test

scholarly journals Soy-enriched bread, a pilot study to determine its beneficial effects in menopause

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Giustarini ◽  
Comasia Ricci ◽  
Ilaria Ceccarelli ◽  
Stefano Pieretti ◽  
Paolo Andre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Tests ◽  
The Body ◽  
Many Body ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Regular Consumption ◽  
Aging Women ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Quality Of Life Index ◽  
Antioxidant Parameters ◽  
History Of

Menopause is the last step in the reproductive history of a woman. The ovaries stop producing hormones and the body reacts by lowering its functions, including the neuronal one. Phytoestrogens are plant products with estrogen-like activity able to affect many body functions. The aim of the present experiment was to study the effects of 30 days of regular consumption of a soy-enriched bread containing a known amount of phytoestrogens (genistein and daidzein). Women at climacteric, within 5 years or more than 5 years of menopause, were asked to include in their diet 200 g/day of a bread containing 40 mg of phytoestrogens. The effect on common menopausal symptoms and neurophysiological, hormonal and antioxidant parameters were determined before and after 30 days through questionnaires and experimental tests. Phytoestrogens were measured in the urine. In all groups, there was a significant increase of phytoestrogens in the urine and a decrease of the classical symptoms of menopause as well as a significant improvement in attentional performance tests, the quality of life index and pain intensity. Phytoestrogens present in the soy-enriched bread, are an important supplement in aging women due to their ability to induce estrogen-like effects without the potential side effects of estrogens.

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