scholarly journals Schizophrenia in males of cognitive performance: discriminative and diagnostic values

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 743-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Analuiza Camozzato ◽  
Márcia L F Chaves

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the discriminative and diagnostic values of neuropsychological tests for identifying schizophrenia patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with 36 male schizophrenia outpatients and 72 healthy matched volunteers was carried out. Participants underwent the following neuropsychological tests: Wisconsin Card Sorting test, Verbal Fluency, Stroop test, Mini Mental State Examination, and Spatial Recognition Span. Sensitivity and specificity estimated the diagnostic value of tests with cutoffs obtained using Receiver Operating Characteristic curves. The latent class model (diagnosis of schizophrenia) was used as gold standard. RESULTS: Although patients presented lower scores in most tests, the highest canonical function for the discriminant analysis was 0.57 (Verbal Fluency M). The best sensitivity and specificity were obtained in the Verbal Fluency M test (75 and 65, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The neuropsychological tests showed moderate diagnostic value for the identification of schizophrenia patients. These findings suggested that the cognitive impairment measured by these tests might not be homogeneous among schizophrenia patients.

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila de Assis Faria ◽  
Heloisa Veiga Dias Alves ◽  
Helenice Charchat-Fichman

There are numerous neuropsychological tests for assessing executive functions in aging, which vary according to the different domains assessed. OBJECTIVE: To present a systematic review of the most frequently used instruments for assessing executive functions in older adults with different educational levels in clinical and experimental research. METHODS: We searched for articles published in the last five years, using the PubMed database with the following terms: "neuropsychological tests", "executive functions", and "mild cognitive impairment". There was no language restriction. RESULTS: 25 articles fulfilled all the inclusion criteria. The seven neuropsychological tests most frequently used to evaluate executive functions in aging were: [1] Trail Making Test (TMT) Form B; [2] Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) - F, A and S; [3] VFT Animals category; [4] Clock Drawing Test (CDT); [5] Digits Forward and Backward subtests (WAIS-R or WAIS-III); [6] Stroop Test; and [7] Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and its variants. The domains of executive functions most frequently assessed were: mental flexibility, verbal fluency, planning, working memory, and inhibitory control. CONCLUSION: The study identified the tests and domains of executive functions most frequently used in the last five years by research groups worldwide to evaluate older adults. These results can direct future research and help build evaluation protocols for assessing executive functions, taking into account the different educational levels and socio-demographic profiles of older adults in Brazil.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2779
Author(s):  
Sang-Hwa Lee ◽  
Yeonkyeong Lee ◽  
Minji Song ◽  
Jae Jun Lee ◽  
Jong-Hee Sohn

Neuroimaging and neuropsychological investigations have indicated that migraineurs exhibit frontal lobe-related cognitive impairment. We investigated whether orbitofrontal and dorsolateral functioning differed between individuals with episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM), focusing on orbitofrontal dysfunction because it is implicated in migraine chronification and medication overuse headache (MOH) in migraineurs. This cross-sectional study recruited women with CM with/without MOH (CM + MOH, CM − MOH), EM, and control participants who were matched in terms of age and education. We conducted neuropsychological assessments of frontal lobe function via the Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). We enrolled 36 CM (19 CM + MOH, 17 CM–MOH), 30 EM, and 30 control participants. The CM patients performed significantly (p < 0.01) worse on the TMT A and B than the EM patients and the control participants. The WCST also revealed significant differences, with poorer performance in the CM patients versus the EM patients and the control participants. However, the net scores on the IGT did not significantly differ among the three groups. Our findings suggest that the CM patients exhibited frontal lobe dysfunction, and, particularly, dorsolateral dysfunction. However, we found no differences in frontal lobe function according to the presence or absence of MOH.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (11) ◽  
pp. 2445-2452 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Roca ◽  
F. Manes ◽  
A. Chade ◽  
E. Gleichgerrcht ◽  
O. Gershanik ◽  
...  

BackgroundWe recently demonstrated that decline in fluid intelligence is a substantial contributor to frontal deficits. For some classical ‘executive’ tasks, such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Verbal Fluency, frontal deficits were entirely explained by fluid intelligence. However, on a second set of frontal tasks, deficits remained even after statistically controlling for this factor. These tasks included tests of theory of mind and multitasking. As frontal dysfunction is the most frequent cognitive deficit observed in early Parkinson's disease (PD), the present study aimed to determine the role of fluid intelligence in such deficits.MethodWe assessed patients with PD (n=32) and control subjects (n=22) with the aforementioned frontal tests and with a test of fluid intelligence. Group performance was compared and fluid intelligence was introduced as a covariate to determine its role in frontal deficits shown by PD patients.ResultsIn line with our previous results, scores on the WCST and Verbal Fluency were closely linked to fluid intelligence. Significant patient–control differences were eliminated or at least substantially reduced once fluid intelligence was introduced as a covariate. However, for tasks of theory of mind and multitasking, deficits remained even after fluid intelligence was statistically controlled.ConclusionsThe present results suggest that clinical assessment of neuropsychological deficits in PD should include tests of fluid intelligence, together with one or more specific tasks that allow for the assessment of residual frontal deficits associated with theory of mind and multitasking.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1254-1259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adèle Coriati ◽  
Belinda Elisha ◽  
Sandrine Virassamynaik ◽  
Maude Phaneuf ◽  
Sophie Ziai ◽  
...  

Adult patients with cystic fibrosis (APCF) are at high risk of developing impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and CF-related diabetes (CFRD) and thus an annual screening with a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is recommended. This population would greatly benefit from a simplified and harmless alternative to the standard OGTT. Thus, we aimed to compare the diagnostic values of HbA1c and glycemias at interval time points during the 2-h OGTT for IGT and CFRD detection in APCF. To do so, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 194 APCF with normal fasting plasma glucose values (≤7.0 mmol·L−1) who underwent a 2-h OGTT. Receivers operating characteristic area under the curves (ROC-AUC) were analyzed to assess the diagnostic value of HbA1c and intermediate OGTT glycemias using 2-h OGTT glycemia as reference. For both IGT and CFRD diagnoses, ROC-AUC values obtained from glycemia at 90 min were significantly higher than HbA1c and remaining intermediate glycemias (p < 0.001). The best 90-min OGTT cut-off values for these diagnoses were >9.3 mmol·L−1 (IGT) and ≥11.5 mmol·L−1 (CFRD). A 90-min OGTT glycemia might be a simplified alternative to 2-h OGTT glycemia for earlier glucose tolerance abnormalities diagnosis in APCF. This finding should be confirmed in other APCF cohorts and its predictive value should be established prospectively.


2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1087-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Hagh-Shenas ◽  
S. Toobai ◽  
A. Makaremi

Attentional deficits are a prominent aspect of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. The present study was designed to investigate attention deficit in a group of patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia. According to the segmental set theory suggested by Hogarty and Flesher, three aspects of attention problems, selective, sustained, and shift in attention, were studied. The 30 patients hospitalized on three psychiatric wards at Shiraz and Isfahan and 30 normal healthy subjects matched for age, sex, and years of education were administered a computerized Continuous Performance Test, Stroop Color-word Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting test. Analysis showed patients performed more poorly than control subjects on measured aspects of attention. The acute/chronic classification did not predict differences in attention scores between subtypes of schizophrenia, while the positive/negative classification did. Paranoid, undifferentiated, and residual groups by subtypes of schizophrenia showed similar performance on the Continuous Performance Test, but were significantly different on errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting test and on reaction time to Stroop stimuli in the incongruent color-word condition. Patients with paranoid diagnosis performed better than other subtypes on these tasks. Present results suggest that the Continuous Performance Test is valuable for differentiating of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, while scores on Stroop and Wisconsin card sorting may have better diagnostic value for differentiating subtypes of the disorder.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano B. Lopes ◽  
Telma M. Alves ◽  
Ana Paula R. Stynen ◽  
Pedro M.P.C. Mota ◽  
Rômulo C. Leite ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the interference of tuberculin test on the gamma-interferon (INFg) assay, to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the INFg assay in Brazilian conditions, and to simulate multiple testing using the comparative tuberculin test and the INFg assay. Three hundred-fifty cattle from two TB-free and two TB-infected herds were submitted to the comparative tuberculin test and the INFg assay. The comparative tuberculin test was performed using avian and bovine PPD. The INFg assay was performed by the BovigamTM kit (CSL Veterinary, Australia), according to the manufacturer's specifications. Sensitivity and specificity of the INFg assay were assessed by a Bayesian latent class model. These diagnostic parameters were also estimate for multiple testing. The results of INFg assay on D0 and D3 after the comparative tuberculin test were compared by the McNemar's test and kappa statistics. Results of mean optical density from INFg assay on both days were similar. Sensitivity and specificity of the INFg assay showed results varying (95% confidence intervals) from 72 to 100% and 74 to 100% respectively. Sensitivity of parallel testing was over 97.5%, while specificity of serial testing was over 99.7%. The INFg assay proved to be a very useful diagnostic method.


Author(s):  
Gina Noor Djalilah ◽  
Reny Widayanti ◽  
Bagus Setyoboedi ◽  
Sjamsul Arief

ABSTRACT Cholestasis jaundice results from diminished bile flow and/or excretion, and caused by a number of disorders such as biliary atresia (BA). Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is widely accepted as one of the modalities for biliary system imaging; however, liver biopsy still generally used for BA diagnosis, especially in developing countries. This aim study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of biliary atresia from MRCP compared to the result of a liver biopsy. A cross-sectional for diagnostic study documented of hospitalized patients from June 2014 to June 2015. All patients had MRCP and liver biopsy examination. The collection of data including age, gender, clinical manifestation and the result of MRCP and liver biopsy with ROC to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity was done. Liver biopsy revealed of biliary atresia was made based on proliferation, degeneration, and fibrosis of bile ducts. ROC to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity was done. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value of MRCP in diagnosing BA were calculated. There were 16 patients enrolled in this study with a median age of diagnosis was 6 months old (range 3-11). There were nine female patients out of the 16 patient. The median age of jaundice onset was 5 days (range 2-14 days). All patients had hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Histopathology from liver biopsy revealed biliary atresia in 12 patients. From the ROC curve, the sensitivity of MRCP was 87.5% and specificity 62.5% with PPV 70% and NPV 80%. Five patients underwent a Kasai procedure and revealed biliary atresia. MRCP is sensitive but not specific for diagnosing BA, and MRCP has moderate sensitivity and specificity for BA diagnosis.Keyword: biliary atresia, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, liver biopsy, diagnostic test.Correspondence: [email protected] ABSTRAKIkterus dikarenakan kolestasis terjadi akibat berkurangnya aliran empedu dan/ atau ekskresi, dan dapat disebabkan oleh sejumlah gangguan seperti atresia biliaris (BA). Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) secara luas diterima sebagai salah satu modalitas untuk pencitraan sistem empedu, namun biopsi hati masih secara umum digunakan untuk diagnosis BA, terutama di negara berkembang. Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi nilai diagnostik atresia biliaris dari MRCP ke hasil biopsi hati. Sebuah cross sectional untuk studi diagnostik didokumentasikan pasien rawat inap dari Juni 2014 hingga Juni 2015. Semua pasien menjalani MRCP dan pemeriksaan biopsi hati. Data usia, jenis kelamin, manifestasi klinis dan hasil MRCP dan biopsi hati dengan ROC untuk mengevaluasi sensitivitas dan spesifisitas dilakukan. Biopsi hati mengungkapkan atresia biliar dibuat berdasarkan proliferasi, degenerasi dan fibrosis saluran empedu. ROC untuk mengevaluasi sensitivitas dan spesifisitas yang dilakukan. Dilakukan perhitungan sensitivitas, spesifisitas, nilai prediktif negatif, nilai prediksi positif MRCP dalam mendiagnosis BA. Terdapat 16 pasien yang terdaftar dalam penelitian ini dengan median usia diagnosis adalah 6 (kisaran 3-11) bulan. Terdapat 9 perempuan dari 16 pasien tersebut. Usia rata-rata onset penyakit kuning adalah 5 (kisaran 2-14) hari. Semua pasien mengalami hepatomegali dan splenomegali. Histopatologi dari biopsi hati mengungkapkan atresia bilier pada 12 dari 16 pasien. Dari kurva ROC, sensitivitas MRCP adalah 87,5% dan spesifisitas 62,5% dengan PPV 70% dan NPV 80%. Lima pasien menjalani prosedur Kasai dan mengungkapkan atresia bilier. MRCP sensitif namun tidak spesifik untuk mendiagnosis BA dan MRCP memiliki sensitivitas dan spesifisitas sedang untuk diagnosis BA.Kata kunci: biliary atresia, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, liver biopsy, diagnostic test.Korespondensi: [email protected]


1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 537-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Cockburn

AbstractEfficient solution of the Tower of London (T of L) test (Shallice, 1982) has been hypothesized to depend on frontal lobe mediation. Performance on the test by 20 patients with severe, diffuse, traumatic head injury was compared with that of control subjects, matched on age and years of education, and, within the patient group, according to broad location of damage (frontal or nonfrontal). Scores were also compared with those obtained on two commonly used tests of frontal lobe function, Verbal Fluency, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting test (WCST). Results indicated that whereas the Verbal Fluency test and WCST discriminated well between patients and control subjects, the T of L test did not, nor did it discriminate well between patients with and without documented frontal lobe damage. However, there were large individual differences in planning and solution times across all subjects. Interpretation of results was complicated by interaction of other variables such as premorbid IQ and duration of posttraumatic amnesia. It is suggested that closer attention to the relation between planning and total times separately for correct and incorrect solutions might be informative. A need for systematic study of the relationship between test performance and everyday behavior is also identified. (JINS, 1995, 7, 537–544.)


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