Psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory for community-dwelling older adults.

Background: This study developed a Japanese version of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI-J) and its short form (GAI-J-SF) to evaluate anxiety in older adults in Japan and assess these measures' psychometric properties with a cross-sectional design.

Methods: Participants (N = 400; mean age: 75 years) were community-dwelling older adults who answered a set of self-report questionnaires. They were recruited from a community centre for older persons in the Kanto region of Japan.

Pre-stroke cognitive impairment in acute ischemic stroke patients predicts poor functional outcome after mechanical thrombectomy.

Objective: Several studies have investigated the predictors of functional outcome in patients with ischemic stroke after mechanical thrombectomy (MT). However, it is not clear whether pre-stroke cognitive (PSC) impairment is associated with the functional outcome of patients treated with MT.

Methods: We enrolled 113 patients treated with MT from December 2016 to November 2018.

Diagnostic utility and characteristics of CT-based attenuation correction in brain perfusion SPECT/CT in predicting the exacerbation of Alzheimer changes from mild cognitive impairment utilizing voxel-based statistical analysis in comparison with Chang's method.

Objective: We examined the diagnostic value of brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using voxel-based statistical analysis with CT-based attenuation correction (CT-AC) by comparing it to that with Chang's AC in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and attempted to locate brain areas that are good indicators predicting the progression of MCI.

Methods: Twenty-six individuals matched for age, educational background and initial Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of more than 24 underwent SPECT with N-isopropyl-4-[I]iodoamphetamine and were assigned to 2 groups: the stable MCI (S-MCI) group comprising 11 subjects who maintained their MMSE score (mean 27.0) during at least a 1-year follow-up period (mean 37.

Acceptability and feasibility of a Japanese version of STrAtegies for RelaTives (START-J): A manualized coping strategy program for family caregivers of relatives living with dementia.

The rising older population in Japan is associated with a rise in cases of dementia. Support for the increased number of family caregivers of people living with dementia is crucial, as caring may negatively affect a family caregiver's health. This study seeks to evaluate the feasibility and applicability of a recently developed Japanese version of START (STrAtegies for RelaTives).

Early Cognitive Impairment after Minor Stroke: Associated Factors and Functional Outcome.

Objectives: Evaluation of cognitive status is not performed routinely in the acute stroke setting. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of early cognitive impairment in patients with minor ischemic stroke, analyze the factors associated with early cognitive impairment, and assess functional outcomes.

Methods: In this prospective study, 112 consecutive patients with acute minor ischemic stroke were enrolled.

Early Cognitive Assessment Following Acute Stroke: Feasibility and Comparison between Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Objectives: Cognitive assessment is not performed routinely in the acute stroke setting. We investigated factors associated with cognitive impairment and the differences between the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores in patients with acute stroke.

Methods: In this prospective study, 881 consecutive patients (median age, 73 years) with acute stroke were enrolled.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Improving Mood in an Older Adult with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Case Report.

This study investigated the feasibility of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for improving mood and quality of life in an older woman with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), depression, and anxiety. The program comprised eight 30-minute weekly sessions; interventions included behavioral activation, relaxation, and cognitive reconstruction, in which the patient's caregiver also participated. The patient's condition was assessed before and immediately after the intervention.

Feasibility of applying the psychosocial intervention STrAtegies for RelaTives to family caregivers of patients with dementia: a case report.

As the number of people with dementia in Japan continues to rise, family caregivers are experiencing an increasing care burden. Previous research has shown that this care burden can affect family caregivers' physical and mental health. Therefore, providing support for caregivers of family members with dementia has become an urgent issue in the country.

Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio is associated with white matter lesions severity in first-ever stroke patients.

Background: The presence of white matter lesions (WML) is an indicator of small vessel disease; however, the underlying pathological mechanisms are still unclear. We aimed to investigate the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) with WML severity in first-ever stroke patients.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 284 consecutive patients (177 male; median age 72years) admitted to our stroke center between May 2010 and January 2012.

Homonymous Hemianopsia Associated with Probable Alzheimer's Disease.

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that has cerebral atrophy in the parietal, occipital, or occipitotemporal cortices and is characterized by visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairments. The most cases are pathologically compatible with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We describe a case of PCA in which a combination of imaging methods, in conjunction with symptoms and neurological and neuropsychological examinations, led to its being diagnosed and to AD being identified as its probable cause.

Early identification of cognitive impairment and dementia: Results from four years of the community consultation center.

The community consultation center was established as the core facility for a project entitled "Community Support Network for Citizens with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Dementia." This study reports on our center's activity and user outcomes. Users consulted with medical staff regarding their memory problems and were self-screened using a touch-panel computer assisted screening tool (TPST).

The potentially protective effect of donepezil in Alzheimer's disease.

Background/aims: Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we used a voxel-based specific regional analysis system for AD (VSRAD) to analyze the hippocampal volume and to assess the pharmacologic effects of donepezil as a disease modifier.

Methods: A total of 185 AD patients underwent MRI, 120 (43 men and 77 women, 77.

Roles of consultation organizations in the early detection of dementia: from the practices of the Community Consultation Center for Citizens with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia, Nippon Medical School.

Background: As society ages, early detection of dementia is becoming increasingly important. Many hospitals have opened memory-loss clinics, and various new approaches for early examination and appropriate diagnosis are being tried. However, these memory-loss clinics are ultimately part of the hospital establishment, implying that, in addition to the burdens of time and effort to undergo examinations and consultations, patients might have a certain psychological resistance.

Acceleration of regeneration of mucosa in small intestine damaged by ionizing radiation using anabolic steroids.

Damage to intestine is a serious problem after accidental radiation exposure. To examine substances to ameliorate damage by postirradiation administration, we focused on the regeneration process after irradiation of the intestine. Using experimental systems, the effects of clinically used sex hormones on regeneration were compared.

Circadian transitions in radiation dose-dependent augmentation of mRNA levels for DNA damage-induced genes elicited by accurate real-time RT-PCR quantification.

Molecular mechanisms of intracellular response after DNA-damage by exposure to ionizing radiation have been studied. In the case of cells isolated from living body of human and experimental animals, alteration of the responsiveness by physiological oscillation such as circadian rhythm must be considered. To examine the circadian variation in the response of p53-responsible genes p21, mdm2, bax, and puma, we established a method to quantitate their mRNA levels with high reproducibility and accuracy based on real-time RT-PCR and compared the levels of responsiveness in mouse hemocytes after diurnal irradiation to that after nocturnal irradiation.

Alteration of radioprotective effects of heat-killed Lactobacillus casei in X-irradiated C3H/He mouse related to blood level of proinflammatory cytokines by corticoids.

It is well known that a pre-administration of proinflammatory cytokines alters hematopoietic progenitor cells to promote an increase resistance against radiation and increases the survival rate in mice irradiated with lethal doses of radiation. Inflammation stimulators, such as some bacterial constituents, are also reported to have similar radioprotective action. We found that pre-administration of heat-killed Lactobacillus casei (HLC) to mice increases the level of interleukin (IL)-1 beta in circulation as well as the survival rate following lethal dose of radiation.

An easy Z-score imaging system for discrimination between very early Alzheimer's disease and controls using brain perfusion SPECT in a multicentre study.

Background And Aim: In Alzheimer's disease (AD), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus has been reported to decrease even at a very early stage. We performed a multicentre SPECT study to evaluate the discrimination ability of an easy Z-score imaging system (eZIS) by detecting an rCBF decrease in this area with a common normal database between very early AD patients at the stage of mild cognitive impairment and age-matched healthy volunteers.

Methods: Brain perfusion SPECT images of 40 Alzheimer's disease patients and 40 healthy volunteers were acquired from four gamma camera systems in different institutions.