| 1. |
- Albrecht, Franziska, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of a Highly Challenging Balance Training Program on Motor Function and Brain Structure in Parkinson's Disease
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Parkinson's Disease. - : IOS Press. - 1877-7171 .- 1877-718X. ; 11:4, s. 2057-2071
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor deficits and brain alterations having a detrimental impact on balance, gait, and cognition. Intensive physical exercise can induce changes in the neural system, potentially counteracting neurodegeneration in PD and improving clinical symptoms. Objective: This randomized controlled trial investigated effects of a highly challenging, cognitively demanding, balance and gait training (HiBalance) program in participants with PD on brain structure. Methods: 95 participants were assigned to either the HiBalance or an active control speech training program. The group-based interventions were performed in 1-hour sessions, twice per week over a 10-week period. Participants underwent balance, gait, cognitive function, and structural magnetic resonance imaging assessments before and after the interventions. Voxel-based morphometry was analyzed in 34 HiBalance and 31 active controls. Additionally, structural covariance networks were assessed. Results: There was no significant time by group interaction between the HiBalance and control training in balance, gait, or brain volume. Within-HiBalance-group analyses showed higher left putamen volumes post-training. In repeated measures correlation a positive linear, non-significant relationship between gait speed and putamen volume was revealed. In the HiBalance group we found community structure changes and stronger thalamic-cerebellar connectivity in structural covariance networks. Neither brain volume changes nor topology changes were found for the active controls after the training. Conclusion: Thus, subtle structural brain changes occur after balance and gait training. Future studies need to determine whether training modifications or other assessment methods lead to stronger effects.
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| 2. |
- Ekman, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of a Novel Psychological Intervention Tailored for Patients With Early Cognitive Impairment (PIPCI) : Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Individuals with early phase cognitive impairment are frequently affected by existential distress, social avoidance and associated health issues (including symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression). The demand for efficient psychological support is crucial from both an individual and a societal perspective. We have developed a novel psychological intervention (Psychological Intervention tailored for Patients with Cognitive Impairment, PIPCI) manual for providing a non-medical path to enhanced psychological health in the cognitively impaired population. The current article provides specific information on the randomized controlled trial (RCT)-design and methods. The main hypothesis is that participants receiving PIPCI will increase their psychological flexibility (the ability to notice and accept interfering thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without acting on them, when this serves action in line with personal values) compared to participants in the active control (cognitive training) group and the waiting list control group. The secondary hypotheses are that participants receiving PIPCI will improve psychological health (stress measures, quality of life, depression, and general health) compared to participants in the active control group and the waiting list control group.Materials and Methods: This three-arm RCT will recruit participants from the cognitive centers at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm and randomize approximately 120 individuals in the early phase of cognitive impairment to either an experimental group (psychological intervention once a week for 10 weeks), an active control group (cognitive training once a week for 10 weeks) or a waiting list control group. Intervention outcome will be evaluated with self-report questionnaires on physical and psychological aspects of health, cognitive assessment, biological markers (obtained from blood and saliva) and health care costs. Assessments will be performed at pre- (1 week before the interventions) and post-intervention (1 week after the interventions), as well as at a 6-month follow-up.Discussion: The development of a potentially feasible and effective psychological intervention tailored for early phase cognitive impairment (PIPCI) has the potential to advance the non-pharmacological intervention field. This is especially important given the extensive burden for many affected individuals and their families and the current lack of effective treatments. If the psychological intervention discussed here shows feasibility and efficacy, there is potential for far-reaching healthcare implications for patients with early cognitive impairment at risk of developing dementia.
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| 3. |
- Ekman, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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The MemClin project : a prospective multi memory clinics study targeting early stages of cognitive impairment
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : BMC. - 1471-2318. ; 20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There remains a lack of large-scale clinical studies of cognitive impairment that aim to increase diagnostic and prognostic accuracy as well as validate previous research findings. The MemClin project will amass large quantities of cross-disciplinary data allowing for the construction of robust models to improve diagnostic accuracy, expand our knowledge on differential diagnostics, strengthen longitudinal prognosis, and harmonise examination protocols across centres. The current article describes the Memory Clinic (MemClin) project's study-design, materials and methods, and patient characteristics. In addition, we present preliminary descriptive data from the ongoing data collection.Methods: Nine out of ten memory clinics in the greater Stockholm area, which largely use the same examination methods, are included. The data collection of patients with different stages of cognitive impairment and dementia is coordinated centrally allowing for efficient and secure large-scale database construction. The MemClin project rest directly on the memory clinics examinations with cognitive measures, health parameters, and biomarkers.Results: Currently, the MemClin project has informed consent from 1543 patients. Herein, we present preliminary data from 835 patients with confirmed cognitive diagnosis and neuropsychological test data available. Of those, 239 had dementia, 487 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 104 subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). In addition, we present descriptive data on visual ratings of brain atrophy and cerebrospinal fluid markers.Conclusions: Based on our current progress and preliminary data, the MemClin project has a high potential to provide a large-scale database of 1200-1500 new patients annually. This coordinated data collection will allow for the construction of improved diagnostic and prognostic models for neurodegenerative disorders and other cognitive conditions in their naturalistic setting.
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| 4. |
- Freidle, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring implicit sequence learning and dual task ability in mild to moderate Parkinson's disease: A feasibility study
- 2021
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated the feasibility aspects of two choice reaction time tasks designed to assess implicit sequence learning and dual task ability in individuals with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease in comparison to healthy individuals. Twelve individuals with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease and 12 healthy individuals, all . 60 years of age, were included. A serial reaction time task was used as a measure of implicit sequence learning and a similar task but with the addition of a simple counting task, was used as a measure of dual task ability. We have present thorough descriptive statistics of the data but we have refrained from any inferential statistics due to the small sample size. All participants understood the task instructions and the difficulty level of both tasks was deemed acceptable. There were indications of task fatigue that demand careful choices for how best to analyse the data from such tasks in future trials. Ceiling effects were present in several accuracy outcomes, but not in the reaction time outcomes. Overall, we found both tasks to be feasible to use in samples of individuals with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease and healthy older individuals.
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| 5. |
- Gyllenhammar, Måns, et al.
(författare)
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The Association Between Temporal Atrophy and Episodic Memory Is Moderated by Education in a Multi-Center Memory Clinic Sample
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 92:2, s. 605-614
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Cognitive reserve (CR) is hypothesized to partially explain the discrepancy between Alzheimer’s disease related brain pathology and cognitive performance. Educational attainment is often used as a proxy for CR.Objective: To examine the association of years of education and the relationship between atrophy in the medial temporal lobe and episodic memory, in a cross-sectional ecological multi-center memory clinic cohort.Methods: Included patients (n = 702) had undergone memory clinic examination and were diagnosed with subjective cognitive impairment (n = 99), mild cognitive impairment (n = 471), or dementia (n = 132). Total years of education were used as a moderating variable and neuropathology was operationalized as visual ratings of medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) on magnetic resonance imaging and computer tomography images. Weighted least squares regression and multiple regression were used to analyze moderation and the effect of education separately by diagnostic group. A composite score of two episodic memory tests constituted the dependent variable.Results: After controlling for age and gender the interaction term between MTA and years of education was significant indicating moderation. In particular, the regression model showed that at low levels of MTA, high education individuals had better episodic memory performance. However, at higher MTA levels, high education individuals had the lowest episodic memory performance. Education had a significant positive effect on episodic memory in SCI and MCI, but not dementia.Conclusion: These results extend the findings of education moderating the effect of MTA on cognition to a naturalistic memory clinic setting. Implications of the findings for theories on CR are discussed.
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| 6. |
- Hedberg, Linn, et al.
(författare)
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White matter abnormalities mediate the association between masticatory dysfunction and cognition among older adults
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1365-2842. ; 50:12, s. 1422-1431
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Masticatory parameters, such as reduced number of teeth and posterior contacts, have been shown to be associated with reduced cognitive status. The underlying mechanisms that affect these associations, are however, not well understood. Objectives: The study aims to investigate the association between masticatory dysfunction and cognition and explore the mediating effect of brain structure. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 45 older adults with subjective masticatory dysfunction (mean age 72.3 +/- 4.0 years) were included. Mini-Mental State Examination score <25, brain trauma, neurological disease, neurodegenerative disorders, depression or poor Swedish language skills were criteria for exclusion. Cognitive functions (executive function and episodic memory) and masticatory dysfunction defined by functional occluding status (FOS; the number of occluding units and number of remaining teeth) were analysed with partial correlation models. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 28 feasible participants. Multiple regression analyses were performed to evaluate the predictive value of brain structure and white matter hypointensities (WM-hypo) on cognitive functions. A mediation analysis was applied to assess significant predictor/s of the association between FOS and cognition. Results: Both episodic memory and executive functions were positively correlated with FOS. WM-hypo predicted cognitive status (executive function, p = .01). WM-hypo mediated 66.6% (p = 0.06) of the association between FOS and executive functions. Conclusion: Associations between FOS and cognitive functions are reported, where FOS, a potential modifiable risk factor, was related to both episodic memory and executive functions. The mediating effect of WM-hypo on the association between FOS and executive functions highlights the impact of the vascularisation of the brain on the link between mastication and cognition. The present study provides increased knowledge that bridges the gap between masticatory dysfunction and cognition.
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| 7. |
- Johansson, Hanna, et al.
(författare)
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Feasibility aspects of exploring exercise-induced neuroplasticity in Parkinson's disease : A pilot randomized controlled trial
- 2020
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Ingår i: Parkinson's Disease. - : Hindawi Limited. - 2090-8083 .- 2042-0080. ; 2020
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Recent studies indicate that exercise can induce neuroplastic changes in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD). Reports of feasibility outcomes from existing pilot trials however are, of date, insufficient to enable replication by others in larger definitive trials.Objective: To evaluate trial design for a definitive trial by exploring process and scientific feasibility.Methods: The trial design was a parallel-group RCT pilot with a 1 : 1 allocation ratio to either HiBalance or an active control group (HiCommunication). Both groups received one-hour sessions twice weekly, plus home exercises weekly, for 10 weeks. Participants with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease (PD) were recruited via advertisement. Assessment included physical performance, structural and functional MRI, blood sampling, neuropsychological assessment, and speech/voice assessment. Process and scientific feasibility were monitored throughout the study. Process feasibility involved recruitment, participant acceptability of assessments and interventions, assessment procedures (focus on imaging, blood sampling, and dual-task gait analysis), and blinding procedures. Scientific feasibility involved trends in outcome response and safety during group training and home exercises. Data are presented in median, minimum, and maximum values. Changes from pre- to postintervention are reported descriptively.Results: Thirteen participants were included (4 women, mean age 69.7 years), with a recruitment rate of 31%. Attendance rates and follow-up questionnaires indicated that both groups were acceptable to participate. Image quality was acceptable; however, diplopia and/or sleepiness were observed in several participants during MRI. With regard to dual-task gait performance, there appeared to be a ceiling effect of the cognitive tasks with seven participants scoring all correct answers at pretest. Blinding of group allocation was successful for one assessor but was broken for half of participants for the other.Conclusions: The overall trial design proved feasible to perform, but further strengthening ahead of the definitive RCT is recommended, specifically with respect to MRI setup, cognitive dual-tasks during gait, and blinding procedures. This trial is registered with NCT03213873.
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