Perceptual visual dependence for spatial orientation in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia are reported to have vestibular dysfunction and to weigh vestibular input to a lesser extent compared to healthy controls. Such deficits may increase visual dependence (VD) for spatial orientation at a perceptual level in these patients. The aim of this study is to compare VD levels between healthy control and patients with schizophrenia and to explore associations between VD and clinical measures in these patients.

Perceptual lateralization on the Rod-and-Frame Test in young and older adults.

Introduction: There is an overall left visual field/right hemisphere advantage in young adults for masked, tachistoscopically presented images on the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT). This study explored potential age-related lateralization differences in processing of visual context on the RFT.

Methods: The 35 young and 33 older adults aligned a rod surrounded either by no frame, a vertical, or leftward/rightward tilted frame to their perceived vertical.

Do students effectively learn physiology through distance online instruction? Medical students' perceptions and academic performance.

This an account of student feedback on the distance online tools adopted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for teaching cardiovascular (CVS) physiology to Year 2 medical students within a problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum. Students' achievement upon assessment of CVS physiology theory content was also evaluated. Most students were ready for online learning in terms of appropriate equipment and internet connectivity.

Young and Older Adults Differ in Integration of Sensory Cues for Vertical Perception.

Introduction: The subjective visual vertical (SVV) measures the perception of a person's spatial orientation relative to gravity. Weighted central integration of vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive inputs is essential for SVV perception. Without any visual references and minimal proprioceptive contribution, the static SVV reflects balance of the otolith organs.

High-normal blood glucose levels may be associated with decreased spatial perception in young healthy adults.

The negative effects of high normal glucose on cognitive function were previously reported in euglycemic individuals of middle age and the elderly population. This study aimed at examining the effect of baseline blood glucose levels on spatial ability, specifically verticality perception on the computerized rod and frame test (CRFT) in young healthy adults. 63 healthy male medical students (age range from 18-23 years), of whom 30 were non-fasting outside the month of Ramadan and 33 fasting during Ramadan of the year 2016, were recruited in order to create varying degrees of glycemia during which verticality perception was carried out.

Circulating endothelium-enriched microRNA-126 as a potential biomarker for coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown as promising biomarkers for various diseases. We investigated the predictive potential of circulating endothelium-enriched miR-126 in type 2 diabetes patients (T2D) without chronic complications and T2D patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD). The expression levels of circulating miR-126, determined by quantitative real time PCR, were decrease in peripheral blood of T2D patients and T2D with CAD compared with healthy controls.

Postural visual dependence in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients without peripheral neuropathy during a postural challenging task.

Unlabelled: Increasing evidence indicates that diabetes may negatively affect vestibular function, and postural control more so under postural challenging conditions. Healthy and diabetic subjects were compared on visual control of posture during a postural challenging task.

Methods: Forty-eight asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes free of peripheral neuropathy and 29 age-matched normal subjects were compared on postural stability on a high-density foam block with computerized posturography.

Augmented asymmetrical visual field dependence in asymptomatic diabetics: evidence of subclinical asymmetrical bilateral vestibular dysfunction.

Background: Diabetes negatively affects the vestibular system in many ways, with vestibular dysfunction (VD), a co-morbidity with a high prevalence in diabetics.

Procedures: The ability to perceive subjective visual vertical (SVV), as a sign of vestibular dysfunction, and visual field dependence was measured using a computerized rod and frame test (CRAF). Alignment errors recorded from 47 asymptomatic Type II diabetics (no vertigo or falls, without peripheral neuropathy or retinopathy) were compared to 29 healthy age matched (46-69years) controls.

Preliminary blood pressure screening in a representative sample of extremely obese Kuwaiti adolescents.

A relationship between blood pressure (BP) and obesity has been found in young adults, but no data are available for adolescents in Kuwait. 257 adolescent (11-19 years) participants were categorized into two groups according to their BMI; 48 nonobese (21 males: 43.7% and 27 females: 56.

A preliminary study on the Trail-making Test in Arabic-English bilingual young adults.

The Trail-Making Test (TMT) is used in different neuropsychological test batteries. It consists of two parts: TMT-Part A, which tests visual scanning and psychomotor speed, and TMT-Part B, which assesses more complex cognitive processes. TMT normative data have been established in many non-Arab countries either using the original English version or a version developed with the native language.