Occup Ther Health Care
December 2024
This study investigated differences in independent living skills and executive functioning skills between autistic and neurotypical young adults in addition to how executive functioning skills contribute to independent living skills in autistic young adults. Participants completed the as a measure of independent living skills and the version to measure executive functioning abilities. The was also used as a novel measure of performance-based executive functioning skills.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is increased awareness of the long-term cognitive sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Therefore, researchers and clinicians have developed and tested cognitive training protocols to address these challenges. The current review summarized literature that examined existing cognitive rehabilitation/training programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe investigation of the usability of solid insoluble β-cyclodextrin polymers (βCDP) in micro-sized, controlled drug delivery systems has only recently attracted interest. Our aim was to form complexes with poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with two types of βCDP for drug delivery applications. Solid insoluble cyclodextrin polymer of irregular shape (βCDPIS) and cyclodextrin microbeads (βCDPB) were used in the experiments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Research has led to substantial improvement in health and quality of life. It is pertinent for doctors to participate in research to keep up with the advances of modern medicine and forms one of the seven pillars of clinical governance defined by the General Medical Council. However, clinicians face multiple barriers to participating in research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Recruitment of patients to participate in randomized control trials (RCT) is a challenging task, especially for trauma trials in which the identification and recruitment are time-limited. Multiple strategies have been tried to improve the participation of doctors and the recruitment of patients. The aim was to study the effect of a trainee principal investigator (TPI) on the efficacy of recruitment for a multicenter hip fracture RCT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a condition that affects the autonomic nervous system and can cause both orthostatic and non-orthostatic physical and cognitive symptoms. The goal of this study is to gain meaningful understanding of the cognitive impact of POTS on daily function and to record the strategies participants use to overcome the challenges to help direct occupational therapy treatment. Results show daily function is greatly and negatively impacted by cognitive symptoms resulting from POTS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSymptoms associated with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) hinder overall functionality. This study examined factors that impacted daily life and contributed to overall daily functionality in adults with POTS ( = 958, ages 18-60). Descriptive and multiple linear regression analyses indicated that participants with fewer challenges in ADLs, IADLs, work, school, leisure, and socializing had overall better functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dual-task gait performance declines as humans age, leading to increased fall risk among older adults. It is unclear whether different secondary cognitive tasks mediate age-related decline in dual-task gait. This study aimed to examine how type and difficulty level of the secondary cognitive tasks differentially affect dual-task gait in older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition of orthostatic intolerance which often leads to significant functional deficits. This study explores narrative responses from a large cohort (n = 958) of individuals with POTS in describing daily life challenges and the use of strategies to manage these difficulties. Data was coded and emergent themes provided insight into daily life experiences including successful interventions and a wealth of gaps in treatment that remain unaddressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Our objective was to perform initial psychometric analysis of the Multiple Errands Test Home Version (MET-Home), which was designed to assess the influence of poststroke executive dysfunction on in-home task performance.
Method: We examined the reliability and validity of the MET-Home in adults with stroke (n = 23) and individually matched control participants (n = 23). All participants completed a series of assessments during a single in-home visit.
Self-generated strategy use has substantial potential for improving community living outcomes in adults with impaired executive function after stroke. However, little is known about how self-generated strategies support task performance in people with post-stroke executive function impairments living in the community. We explored strategy use among home-dwelling persons with stroke and neurologically-healthy control participants during the Multiple Errands Test-Home Version (MET-Home), a context-specific assessment with evidence of ecological validity designed to examine how post-stroke executive dysfunction manifests during task performance in the home environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Platelet concentrates are commonly used to promote periodontal soft- and hard-tissue regeneration. Recently, their antimicrobial efficacy is also explored. Various platelet concentrates have evolved which differ in the centrifugation protocols.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdults with stroke frequently experience executive dysfunction. Despite the range of assessments that examine the effects of executive dysfunction on daily tasks, there remains a paucity of literature that examines the influence of the environment on performance in the community. The MET-Home is an ecologically valid assessment for examining post-stroke executive dysfunction in the home environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTopoisomerase II activity is crucial to maintain genome stability through the removal of catenanes in the DNA formed during DNA replication and scaffolding the mitotic chromosome. Perturbed Topo II activity causes defects in chromosome segregation due to persistent catenations and aberrant DNA condensation during mitosis. Recently, novel top2 alleles in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed a checkpoint control which responds to perturbed Topo II activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Diabetes is a major noncommunicable disease, which is increasing, and approximately 415 million people are affected around the globe. Since diabetes is a lifelong disease, patients require better understanding and knowledge of the condition to become self-reliant in making diabetes-related decisions.
Aims: This systematic review was performed to assess the effectiveness of diabetes self-management programs in people with type 2 diabetes.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a chronic health condition. The prevalence of TBI, combined with limited advances in protocols to mitigate persistent TBI-related impairments in higher order cognition, present a significant challenge. In this randomised study (n = 60), we compared the benefits of Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART, n = 31), a strategy-based programme shown to improve cognitive control, versus an active learning programme called Brain Health Workshop (BHW, n = 29) in individuals with TBI with persistent mild functional deficits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOften, standard aphasia batteries do not fully characterize higher-order cognitive-linguistic sequelae associated with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Limited understanding and detection of complex linguistic deficits have thwarted efforts to comprehensively remediate higher-order language deficits that persist even in chronic stages of recovery post-TBI. This chapter reviews key precursor metrics that have motivated efforts to elucidate higher-order language proficiencies after a TBI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Exp Neuropsychol
November 2015
Gist reasoning (abstracting meaning from complex information) was compared between adults with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI, n = 30) at least one year post injury and healthy adults (n = 40). The study also examined the contribution of executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and switching) and memory (immediate recall and memory for facts) to gist reasoning. The correspondence between gist reasoning and daily function was also examined in the TBI group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the potent growth inhibitory effects of aqueous wheatgrass extract (AWE) alone and in combination with cisplatin on human breast and cervical cancer cells.
Materials And Methods: The cytotoxic potential of AWE alone and in combination with cisplatin was evaluated on human breast and cervical cancer cells (MCF-7 and HeLa) by cell viability assay. Further, the mode of cell death induced by AWE was determined by nuclear morphological examination and cell cycle analysis.
The present study was designed to gain insight into the antiproliferative activity of ethanolic neem leaves extract (ENLE) alone or in combination with cisplatin by cell viability assay on human breast (MCF-7) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cells. Nuclear morphological examination and cell cycle analysis were performed to determine the mode of cell death. Further, to identify its molecular targets, the expression of genes involved in apoptosis, cell cycle progression, and drug metabolism was analyzed by RT-PCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBy necessity, the ancient activity of type II topoisomerases co-evolved with the double-helical structure of DNA, at least in organisms with circular genomes. In humans, the strand passage reaction of DNA topoisomerase II (Topo II) is the target of several major classes of cancer drugs which both poison Topo II and activate cell cycle checkpoint controls. It is important to know the cellular effects of molecules that target Topo II, but the mechanisms of checkpoint activation that respond to Topo II dysfunction are not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe the case of HIV-1 infected patient presenting to hospital with a severe cutaneous adverse drug reaction shortly after commencing dapsone therapy as Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia prophylaxis. To the best of our knowledge, acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis has not been reported as a reaction to dapsone in the setting of HIV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Individuals who sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often continue to experience significant impairment of cognitive functions mediated by the prefrontal cortex well into chronic stages of recovery. Traditional brain training programs that focus on improving specific skills fall short of addressing integrative functions that draw upon multiple higher-order processes critical for social and vocational integration. In the current study, we compare the effects of two short-term, intensive, group-based cognitive rehabilitation programs for individuals with chronic TBI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough there is increasing evidence for microglial activation after an ischaemic stroke in the infarct core and the peri-infarct region, the "evolution" of the process in stroke patients is poorly known. Using PET and [((11))C]vinpocetine, we measured the regional changes of TSPO in the brain of nine ischaemic stroke patients up to 14weeks after the insult. Already a week after stroke there was an increased radioligand uptake, indicating the up-regulation of TSPO and the presence of activated microglia, in both the ischaemic core and the peri-infarct zone.
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