Testing the cognitive effects of tadalafil. Neuropsychological secondary outcomes from the PASTIS trial.

Unlabelled: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is a major cause of cognitive impairment in older people. As secondary endpoints in a phase-2 randomised clinical trial, we tested the effects of single administration of a widely-used PDE5 inhibitor, tadalafil, on cognitive performance in older people with SVD. In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial, participants received tadalafil (20 mg) and placebo on two visits ≥ 7 days apart (randomised to order of treatment).

The PASTIS trial: Testing tadalafil for possible use in vascular cognitive impairment.

Introduction: There are few randomized clinical trials in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). This trial tested the hypothesis that the PDE5 inhibitor tadalafil, a widely used vasodilator, increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) in older people with symptomatic small vessel disease, the main cause of VCI.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial, participants received tadalafil (20 mg) and placebo on two visits ≥7 days apart (randomized to order of treatment).

Test-retest reliability of arterial spin labelling for cerebral blood flow in older adults with small vessel disease.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is common in older people and is associated with lacunar stroke, white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and vascular cognitive impairment. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is reduced in SVD, particularly within white matter.Here we quantified test-retest reliability in CBF measurements using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) in older adults with clinical and radiological evidence of SVD (N=54, mean (SD): 66.

A preliminary evaluation of ankle orthoses in the management of children with cerebral palsy.

The effectiveness of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) on walking pattern was studied in 12 children with cerebral palsy between the ages of 3 and 7 years. Over a 2-year period two trials of fortnightly periods without AFOs were carried out. The range of ankle dorsiflexion, video analysis looking specifically at footfall, and rank scoring of the mediolateral shear force obtained using an oscilloscope printout from a Kistler force platform were compared with measurements obtained during periods when the child was wearing AFOs.

Foraging rules for nectar: food choices by painted ladies.

Butterflies selected one of two contrasting locations for 10 visits without feeding followed by 16 visits with feeding. For each visit a location provided either 35% sucrose for 20 s versus 70% sucrose for 30 s or 35% sucrose for 20 s versus 70% sucrose for 20 s. These pairings tested between choices based on rates of net energy gain, net gains per visit, and/or net gains per meal.