Frailty Is Associated With Increased Care Dependence in Patients Following Major Vascular Surgery.

Objective: To assess if frailty scoring can predict increased frailty and care dependence requiring a change in living situation in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) following major vascular surgery.

Design: A single center, retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Fiona Stanley Hospital, a tertiary center located in Perth, Western Australia.

Pericapsular nerve group block for hip fracture is feasible, safe and effective in the emergency department: A prospective observational comparative cohort study.

Objectives: The pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block was first described for analgesia of hip fracture in 2018. We hypothesised that the PENG block is safe and effective for patients with hip fracture when provided by emergency physicians and trainees in the ED.

Methods: This was an observational study of routine care.

Prevalence and factors associated with advanced care directives in a motor neuron disease multidisciplinary clinic in Australia.

Objectives: Motor neuron disease (MND) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to functional decline and death. Multidisciplinary MND clinics provide an integrated approach to management and facilitate discussion on advanced care directives (ACDs). The study objectives are to analyse (1) the prevalence of ACD in our MND clinic, (2) the relationship between ACD and patient demographics and (3) the relationship between ACD decision-making and variables such as NIV, PEG, hospital admissions and location of death.

Association between insulin and post-caesarean resuscitation rates in infants of women with GDM: A retrospective study.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and caesarean deliveries independently increase the risk of postoperative complications. There are limited data on the influence of insulin use on the outcomes of neonates who were delivered via caesarean section. We sought to investigate the impact of insulin use in women with GDM on resuscitation rates of infants post caesarean delivery.

Development and validation of a risk score (CHANGE) for cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke.

Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) warrants early detection and management. We sought to develop a risk score for screening patients at bedside for risk of delayed PSCI. Ischemic stroke survivors with PSCI and no cognitive impairments (NCI) 3-6 months post-stroke were studied to identify candidate variables predictive of PSCI.

Associations of hippocampal subfields in the progression of cognitive decline related to Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Hippocampal atrophy has been associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, literature on how hippocampal atrophy affects the pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in PD has been limited. Previous studies assessed the hippocampus as an entire entity instead of their individual subregions.

Neural correlates of anxiety symptoms in mild Parkinson's disease: A prospective longitudinal voxel-based morphometry study.

Background: Anxiety is prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and may affect patients' quality of life. Yet, little is known about the neural basis of anxiety in PD, and none have used a longitudinal design.

Methods: 73 patients with mild PD were recruited and followed up for 18months.

Depression and anxiety are co-morbid but dissociable in mild Parkinson's disease: A prospective longitudinal study of patterns and predictors.

Background: Depression and anxiety are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and contribute significantly to a reduced quality of life in PD patients. Though they often co-exist, it is unclear whether depression and anxiety result from a shared pathological process. We studied the longitudinal course and determinants of depression and anxiety in PD in order to understand which factors contribute to the development of these symptoms.

Baseline predictors of worsening apathy in Parkinson's disease: A prospective longitudinal study.

Introduction: Apathy is one of the most common behavioural disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD) and contributes significantly to a reduced quality of life in PD patients.

Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal study of 89 mild PD patients over 18 months, measuring apathy symptoms at 6-monthly intervals using the Starkstein Apathy Scale, as well as measures of motor and non-motor symptoms, cognitive function, and functional disability at baseline. Mixed-effects models were used to characterise the individual trajectories of apathy symptom severity, and linear regression with stepwise elimination procedure was used to select significant baseline predictors.

Cognitive Impairment after Mild Stroke: Development and Validation of the SIGNAL2 Risk Score.

Background: Post stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), an important complication of strokes, has numerous risk factors. A scale adequately classifying risk of cognitive impairment 3-6 months after mild stroke will be useful for clinicians.

Objective: To develop a risk score based on clinical and neuroimaging variables that will be useful in identifying mild ischemic stroke patients at high risk for PSCI.

Influence of depression in mild Parkinson's disease on longitudinal motor and cognitive function.

Background: Studies have suggested a relationship between non-motor symptoms with motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We studied the influence of depression on longitudinal motor and cognitive function among mild PD patients.

Methods: A 1.

Functional relevance of a six mesenchymal gene signature in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) reversal by the triple angiokinase inhibitor, nintedanib (BIBF1120).

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a crucial mechanism in carcinoma progression, describes the process whereby epithelial cells lose their apico-basal polarity and junctional complexes and acquire a mesenchymal-like morphology. Several markers are considered to be authentic indicators of an epithelial or mesenchymal status; however, there is currently no comprehensive or systematic method with which to determine their functional relevance. Previously, we identified a 33-gene EMT signature comprising 25 epithelial and 6 mesenchymal genes that best describe this concept of the EMT spectrum.

Voluntary cognitive screening: characteristics of participants in an Asian setting.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia are reaching epidemic proportions in Asia. Lack of awareness and late presentation are major obstacles to early diagnosis and timely intervention. Cognitive screening may be an effective method for early detection of dementia in Asia.

Longitudinal brain volumetric changes and their predictive effects on cognition among cognitively asymptomatic patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Existing literature on brain volumetric alterations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have mainly focused on gray matter (GM) and are largely cross-sectional. Little is known about white matter (WM) volumetric features and their impact on cognitive symptoms in PD. Therefore, the present study aims to examine both GM and WM volumes of cognitively asymptomatic PD patients with a longitudinal design.

Hippocampal volume and white matter disease in the prediction of dementia in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Longitudinal neuroimaging studies could provide insights into pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in PD. We examined the role of hippocampal atrophy and cerebral white matter disease as risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and dementia in PD.

Methods: Prospective longitudinal study of patients with mild PD in a tertiary neurology center.

Role of cognitive enhancer therapy in Alzheimer's disease with concomitant cerebral white matter disease: findings from a long-term naturalistic study.

Background: Evidence is lacking for cognitive enhancer therapy in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and concomitant cerebrovascular disease (mixed AD) as such patients would have been excluded from clinical trials. Earlier studies of mixed AD have focused on large vessel cerebrovascular disease. The influence of small vessel cerebrovascular disease (svCVD) in the form of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) on treatment outcomes in mixed AD has not been addressed.

Opt-out of voluntary HIV testing: a Singapore hospital's experience.

Introduction: Since 2008, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) has expanded HIV testing by increasing anonymous HIV test sites, as well as issuing a directive to hospitals to offer routine voluntary opt out inpatient HIV testing. We reviewed this program implemented at the end of 2008 at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), the second largest acute care general hospital in Singapore.

Methods And Findings: From January 2009 to December 2010, all inpatients aged greater or equal than 21 years were screened for HIV unless they declined or were not eligible for screening.