Exploration of Rapid Automatized Naming and Standard Visual Tests in Prodromal Alzheimer Disease Detection.

Background: Visual tests in Alzheimer disease (AD) have been examined over the last several decades to identify a sensitive and noninvasive marker of the disease. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) tasks have shown promise for detecting prodromal AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The purpose of this investigation was to determine the capacity for new rapid image and number naming tests and other measures of visual pathway structure and function to distinguish individuals with MCI due to AD from those with normal aging and cognition.

Sleep-deprived residents and rapid picture naming performance using the Mobile Universal Lexicon Evaluation System (MULES) test.

Objective: The Mobile Universal Lexicon Evaluation System (MULES) is a rapid picture naming task that captures extensive brain networks involving neurocognitive, afferent/efferent visual, and language pathways. Many of the factors captured by MULES may be abnormal in sleep-deprived residents. This study investigates the effect of sleep deprivation in post-call residents on MULES performance.

Role for OCT in detecting hemi-macular ganglion cell layer thinning in patients with multiple sclerosis and related demyelinating diseases.

Objective: Investigations have found associations of homonymous thinning of the macular ganglion cell/ inner-plexiform layer (GCIPL) with demyelinating lesions in the post-chiasmal visual pathway among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Retinal thinning may also occur through retrograde trans-synaptic degeneration, a process by which lesions in post-geniculate visual pathway structures lead to thinning of the GCIPL across thalamic synapses. The purpose of our study was to determine the frequency of homonymous hemimacular thinning that occurs in association with post-chiasmal visual pathway demyelinating lesions in patients with MS and other demyelinating diseases.

Correlation of Visual Quality of Life With Clinical and Visual Status in Friedreich Ataxia.

Background: The primary objective was to determine the association of patient-reported vision-specific quality of life to disease status and visual function in patients with Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA).

Methods: Patients with FRDA were assessed with the 25-Item National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) along with measures of disease status (ataxia stage) and visual function (low- and high-contrast letter acuity scores). The relations of NEI-VFQ-25 scores to those for disease status and visual function were examined.

Optical coherence tomography of the retina in schizophrenia: Inter-device agreement and relations with perceptual function.

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies have demonstrated differences between people with schizophrenia and controls. Many questions remain including the agreement between scanners. The current study seeks to determine inter-device agreement of OCT data in schizophrenia compared to controls and to explore the relations between OCT and visual function measures.

The Association Between Smoking and Gut Microbiome in Bangladesh.

Introduction: Epidemiological studies that investigate alterations in the gut microbial composition associated with smoking are lacking. This study examined the composition of the gut microbiome in smokers compared with nonsmokers.

Aims And Methods: Stool samples were collected in a cross-sectional study of 249 participants selected from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh.

MULES on the sidelines: A vision-based assessment tool for sports-related concussion.

Objective: The Mobile Universal Lexicon Evaluation System (MULES) is a test of rapid picture naming under investigation. Measures of rapid automatic naming (RAN) have been used for over 50 years to capture aspects of vision and cognition. MULES was designed as a series of 54 grouped color photographs (fruits, random objects, animals) that integrates saccades, color perception and contextual object identification.

Optimal intereye difference thresholds by optical coherence tomography in multiple sclerosis: An international study.

Objective: To determine the optimal thresholds for intereye differences in retinal nerve fiber and ganglion cell + inner plexiform layer thicknesses for identifying unilateral optic nerve lesions in multiple sclerosis. Current international diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis do not include the optic nerve as a lesion site despite frequent involvement. Optical coherence tomography detects retinal thinning associated with optic nerve lesions.