Do baseline WAIS-III subtests predict treatment outcomes for depressed inpatients receiving fluoxetine?

This study aimed to determine whether baseline WAIS-III subtests could be associated with treatment outcomes for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) receiving a 6-week fluoxetine treatment. A total of 131 acutely ill MDD inpatients were enrolled to receive 20 mg of fluoxetine daily for 6 weeks. Eight WAIS-III subtests were administered at baseline.

Higher levels of thyroxine may predict a favorable response to donepezil treatment in patients with Alzheimer disease: a prospective, case-control study.

Background: Cholinergic hypothesis has been advanced as an etiology of Alzheimer disease (AD) on the basis of the presynaptic deficit found in the diseased brains, and cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are the treatment of choice for these patients. However, only about half of treatment efficacy was found. Because increasing evidence supports an extensive interrelationship between thyroid hormones (THs), cortisol level and the cholinergic system, the aim of the present study was to evaluate thyroid function and cortisol level in patients with mild to moderate AD before and after ChEIs treatment, and to identify possible variations in response.

Parallel improvement of cognitive functions and P300 latency following donepezil treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a case-control study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of donepezil, one of the cholinesterase inhibitors, on P300 measurements in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and investigate the relationship between the subfactors of cognitive performance and P300 components.

Methods: One hundred outpatients with AD were evaluated for cognitive function (cognitive ability screening instrument) and event-related potentials before and after 22 to 23 weeks of treatment with donepezil (5 mg/day). Twenty age-matched normal control subjects were recruited.

Impairment of perceptual and motor abilities at the end of a night shift is greater in nurses working fast rotating shifts.

Objective: A three-shift work schedule with fast rotation is common among healthcare workers in Taiwan. This study compared cognitive performance at the time of maximum fatigue (3-4am on the last night shift of the rotation) between nurses working two, three, and four consecutive night shifts.

Methods: Sixty-two nurses [mean age 26.

Correlation of attention deficit, rapid eye movement latency and slow wave sleep in schizophrenia patients.

Aim: Schizophrenia patients present both reduced slow wave sleep (SWS) and shortened rapid eye movement latency (REML) in polysomnographic (PSG) profiles, which have been linked to dopaminergic and muscarinic impairment, respectively. Two main selective attentional systems involve different anatomical structures. The first system is the parietal cortical areas and thalamic areas, which are linked to cholinergic neurotransmission.