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Nerve transfer surgery for patients with nerve and spinal cord injuries can result in dramatic functional improvements. As a result, interdisciplinary complex nerve injury programs (CNIPs) have been established in many Canadian centers, providing electrodiagnostic and surgical consultations in a single encounter. We sought to determine which allied health care services are included in Canadian CNIPs, at the 3rd Annual Canadian Peripheral Nerve Symposium. Twenty CNIPs responded to a brief survey and reported access as follows: occupational therapy = 60%, physiotherapy = 40%, social work = 20%, and mental health = 10%. Access to allied health services is variable in CNIPs across Canada, possibly resulting in heterogeneity in patient care.
Long-term lithium-treatment has been associated with deficits in several cognitive domains in euthymic bipolar patients. At the same time, long-term lithium treatment is also associated with an increase in parathyroid levels, often without a concomitant increase in calcium levels. Such an isolated increase in parathyroid levels has been linked to depressive symptoms and cognitive deficits in otherwise healthy individuals.
Aims
To investigate whether increased parathyroid levels are associated with cognitive deficits in euthymic bipolar patients.
Methods
We plan to recruit 30 euthymic bipolar patients on lithium treatment for this study. Patients will take part in several neuropsychological tests, covering executive functioning, memory and attention. In parallel, blood levels of lithium, parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, creatinine, calcium and phosphate will be assessed, besides clinical chemistry and blood cell count. In addition, to account for potential confounders, a variety of clinical variables will be recorded, including established mood rating scales and demographic variables as well as further parameters relevant to the course of the illness.
Results
As the study is still ongoing results are not available yet at this moment.
Discussion
Results will be discussed in the context of previous studies examining the impact of lithium and parathyroid hormone on mood and cognition in healthy individuals and patients with bipolar disorder, respectively. Dependent on the outcome of this study, potential future studies, including intervention trials aiming at lowering increased PTH levels in bipolar patients on lithium will be outlined.
Previous studies have observed reduced vagal modulation in patients with acute schizophrenia and their first degree relatives, thus suggesting a genetic predisposition.
To investigate vagal modulation at brain stem level, we investigated the coupling between heart rate and breathing as a putative measure of central autonomic function in 19 patients, 19 of their relatives and 19 matched control subjects. The interaction of heart rate and breathing was investigated in all groups applying the non-linear parameter cross-ApEn, indicating the asynchrony between both time series.
The main finding of our study is a significantly increased cross-ApEn value, indicating reduced central vagal modulation both in relatives and patients suffering from schizophrenia.
Our results suggest that autonomic dysfunction in schizophrenia is present in first-degree relatives not only at the target organs as shown previously, but also affects the central vagal component.
The aim of this study was to examine the long-term efficacy and safety of a monotherapy with quetiapine or sodium valproate (VPA) in patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder.
This open-label trial was conducted at three German centers. A sample of 38 remitted or partly remitted bipolar patients with rapid cycling (quetiapine n = 22; VPA n = 16) were treated with quetiapine or VPA (flexible-dose design) up to 12 months. Analyses were based on the ITT-LOCF principle.
41 % of the patients with quetiapine and 50 % with VPA completed the trial. According to the Clinical Global Impression Scale responder rates tended to be higher for quetiapine than for VPA: i.e. 43 % vs. 25 % (depression), 48 % vs. 36 % (mania), and 43 % vs. 19 % (improvement in both mania and depression). There were no differences found between the treatment groups evaluating the HRSD, MADRS and YMRS. In contrast, Life Chart Method data showed that patients being treated with quetiapine had significantly less depressive days than patients on VPA whilst they did not differ in the number of days with manic symptoms. The incidence of adverse events, especially of orthostatic dysregulation and sedation was higher in the quetiapine group.
Quetiapine may be more effective than VPA regarding depressive symptoms and as effective as VPA in the treatment of manic symptoms in the long-term treatment of rapid cycling bipolar disorder. The side effect profile of quetiapine tends to be less favorable than the one of VPA.
To compare neuropsychological functions of individuals at risk (IR) for psychosis and patients with a first episode of psychosis (FE) with healthy control subjects (HC). And to determine cognitive factors which have the potential to discriminate IR with (IRtrans) and without (IRnon-trans) transition to psychosis.
Methods
N = 60 prodromal IR and N = 51 healthy control subjects were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Besides general intelligence the test battery covered two functional domains (executive and attentional functions) and working memory. Within a follow up period of at least 30 month N = 19 IR transited to psychosis and N = 30 IR still have been followed up.
For each patient group (FE and IR), cognitive profiles were constructed by means of z-values adjusted for demographic and medication influence. The HC mean performance level was used as baseline of each group profile. A further profile was constructed by differential values considering IRtrans versus IRnon-trans. Comparisons were carried out by MANOVA and post- hoc t-tests.
Results
In all functional domains FE and IR performed below HC except for specific sustained attention measures. There were no significant differences between FE and IR.
Executive functions and working memory measures were more compromised in IRtrans as compared to IRnon-trans.
Conclusions
Neuropsychological deficiencies precede psychotic breakdown. This indicates that neuropsychological assessments of affected domains may support early detection of psychosis.
Conservation of animal genetic resources requires regular monitoring and interventions to maintain population size and manage genetic variability. This study uses genealogical information to evaluate the impact of conservation measures in Europe, using (i) data from the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) and (ii) a posteriori assessment of the impact of various conservation measures on the genetic variability of 17 at-risk breeds with a wide range of interventions. Analysis of data from DAD-IS showed that 68% of national breed populations reported to receive financial support showed increasing demographic trends, v. 51% for those that did not. The majority of the 17 at-risk breeds have increased their numbers of registered animals over the last 20 years, but the changes in genetic variability per breed have not always matched the trend in population size. These differences in trends observed in the different metrics might be explained by the tensions between interventions to maintain genetic variability, and development initiatives which lead to intensification of selection.
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The objective of this project is to determine whether HRV, collected peri-operatively, is predictive of cognitive decline among older adults who undergo elective surgery/anesthesia. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This project is a part of the ongoing INTUIT/PRIME study, which is collecting pre- and post-operative cognitive testing, fMRI imaging, CSF samples, and EEG recordings from 200 older adults (age ≥ 60) undergoing elective non-cardiac/non-neurologic surgery scheduled to last > 2 hours at Duke University Medical Center and Duke Regional Hospital. This project utilizes data from the first 60 INTUIT participants who contributed continuous heart rate data before and during surgery. Participants undergo cognitive testing prior to surgery (baseline) and at 6 weeks after surgery. Our primary dependent variable is the change in the composite score from baseline to 6-weeks. Delirium is assessed in the hospital with the twice daily 3D-CAM tool, so we will report the proportion of individuals with 6-week cognitive decline who exhibited delirium in the days following surgery. Participants’ echocardiogram (ECG) recordings are extracted pre- and intraoperatively from B650/B850 patient monitors with VSCapture software. HRV is defined as the variability between successive R-spikes or inter-beat-intervals on ECG. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We anticipate that lower intraoperative HRV is associated with worse cognitive decline at 6 weeks after surgery. As secondary objectives, we will determine whether pre-operative HRV or change in HRV (from pre-operative to intra-operative measures) are predictive of cognitive decline after surgery. We expect that in-hospital delirium will be detected in a higher proportion of those with 6-week cognitive decline, compared to those with stable or improved cognition at 6 weeks. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: HRV may address the present need for pre- and intra-operative cognitive risk stratification in the elderly. Physiological indices like HRV have the potential to dramatically change our understanding of CI in older adults undergoing surgery, as they offer an accessible, cost-effective, and non-invasive means whereby clinicians, particularly those unfamiliar with the nuances of geriatric and CI/dementia-related care, can monitor patients and refer those at high-risk of CI after surgery for early intervention.
Epistemic justifications for democracy have been offered in terms of two different forms of information aggregation and decision-making. The Condorcet Jury Theorem is appealed to as a justification in terms of votes, and the Hong–Page ‘diversity trumps ability’ result is appealed to as a justification in terms of deliberation in the form of collaborative search. Both results, however, are models of full and direct participation across a population. In this paper, we contrast how these results hold up within the familiar structure of a representative hierarchy. We first consider extant analytic work that shows that representation inevitably weakens the voting results of the Condorcet Jury Theorem. We then go on to show that collaborative search, as modeled by Hong and Page, holds its own within hierarchical representation. In a variation on the dynamics of group search, representation even shows a slight edge over direct participation. This contrast illustrates how models of information aggregation vary when put into a representative structure. While some of the epistemic merits of democracy are lost when voting is done hierarchically, modeling results show that representation can preserve and even slightly amplify the epistemic virtues of collaborative search.
We present very detailed images of the photosphere of an AGB star obtained with the PIONIER instrument, installed at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The images show a well defined stellar disc populated by a few convective patterns. Thanks to the high precision of the observations we are able to derive the contrast and granulation horizontal scale of the convective pattern for the first time in a direct way. Such quantities are then compared with scaling relations between granule size, effective temperature, and surface gravity that are predicted by simulations of stellar surface convection.
Little is known about potential harmful effects as a consequence of self-guided internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT), such as symptom deterioration rates. Thus, safety concerns remain and hamper the implementation of self-guided iCBT into clinical practice. We aimed to conduct an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of clinically significant deterioration (symptom worsening) in adults with depressive symptoms who received self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions. Several socio-demographic, clinical and study-level variables were tested as potential moderators of deterioration.
Methods
Randomised controlled trials that reported results of self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions in adults with symptoms of depression were selected. Mixed effects models with participants nested within studies were used to examine possible clinically significant deterioration rates.
Results
Thirteen out of 16 eligible trials were included in the present IPD meta-analysis. Of the 3805 participants analysed, 7.2% showed clinically significant deterioration (5.8% and 9.1% of participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively). Participants in self-guided iCBT were less likely to deteriorate (OR 0.62, p < 0.001) compared with control conditions. None of the examined participant- and study-level moderators were significantly associated with deterioration rates.
Conclusions
Self-guided iCBT has a lower rate of negative outcomes on symptoms than control conditions and could be a first step treatment approach for adult depression as well as an alternative to watchful waiting in general practice.
Almost nothing is known about the potential negative effects of Internet-based psychological treatments for depression. This study aims at investigating deterioration and its moderators within randomized trials on Internet-based guided self-help for adult depression, using an individual patient data meta-analyses (IPDMA) approach.
Method
Studies were identified through systematic searches (PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library). Deterioration in participants was defined as a significant symptom increase according to the reliable change index (i.e. 7.68 points in the CES-D; 7.63 points in the BDI). Two-step IPDMA procedures, with a random-effects model were used to pool data.
Results
A total of 18 studies (21 comparisons, 2079 participants) contributed data to the analysis. The risk for a reliable deterioration from baseline to post-treatment was significantly lower in the intervention v. control conditions (3.36 v. 7.60; relative risk 0.47, 95% confidence interval 0.29–0.75). Education moderated effects on deterioration, with patients with low education displaying a higher risk for deterioration than patients with higher education. Deterioration rates for patients with low education did not differ statistically significantly between intervention and control groups. The benefit–risk ratio for patients with low education indicated that 9.38 patients achieve a treatment response for each patient experiencing a symptom deterioration.
Conclusions
Internet-based guided self-help is associated with a mean reduced risk for a symptom deterioration compared to controls. Treatment and symptom progress of patients with low education should be closely monitored, as some patients might face an increased risk for symptom deterioration. Future studies should examine predictors of deterioration in patients with low education.