Prevalence and Risk Factors of MRI Abnormality Which Was Suspected as Sinusitis in Japanese Middle-Aged and Elderly Community Dwellers.

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of MRI abnormalities which were suspected as sinusitis in community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly Japanese and to identify risk factors for the MRI abnormality. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the National Institute for Longevity Sciences, Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA) were used for the analysis. Among the 2330 subjects in the NILS-LSA, 1933 participants were categorized as having no MRI abnormality or MRI abnormality using the Lund-Mackay (LM) score.

Prevalence of Sinusitis Detected by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Subjects with Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: It has been reported that periodontitis is associated with Alzheimer's disease. However, the association between paranasal sinusitis and Alzheimer's disease has not been studied, although olfactory dysfunction frequently precedes the progress of dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: We studied 783 patients (283 men, 500 women; mean age 77.

Cerumen impaction shown by brain magnetic resonance imaging in patients with cognitive impairment.

Aim: Hearing loss is a risk factor for the progression of dementia. Cognitive improvement is occasionally found after removal of cerumen impaction. Because patients with dementia do not usually complain about cerumen impaction, detection methods are important.

[Decline of speech understanding in the hearing impaired elderly listeners who visited our hearing aid clinic].

The aim of this study was to investigate distinctive change in the hearing impaired elderly listeners, especially about speech recognition. Subjects were 525 patients (235 males, 290 females), from 60 to 98 years of age who had visited the Hearing Aid Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Hospital, between June 2001 and December 2012. Pure-tone air conduction threshold determination was administered to each subject.

Effect of cerumen impaction on hearing and cognitive functions in Japanese older adults with cognitive impairment.

Aim: To assess the effect of cerumen impaction and its removal on hearing ability and cognitive function in elderly patients with memory disorders in Japan.

Methods: Pure tone audiometry (PTA) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were administered to participants before and after cerumen removal. Participants who had cerumen impaction in the better-hearing ear comprised the case group; the control group consisted of participants who either did not have cerumen impaction or had it in the worse hearing ear.