Citations
To develop the Korean version of the Cognitive Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (K-CASP) and to evaluate the test reliability and validity of the K-CASP in stroke patients.
The original CASP was translated into Korean, back-translated into English, then reviewed and compared with the original version. Thirty-three stroke patients were assessed independently by two examiners using the K-CASP twice, with a one-day interval, for a total of four test results. To evaluate the reliability of the K-CASP, intra-class correlation coefficients were used. Pearson correlations were calculated and simple regression analyses performed with the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) and the aphasia quotient (AQ) to assess the validity.
The mean score was 24.42±9.47 (total score 36) for the K-CASP and 21.50±7.01 (total score 30) for the K-MMSE. The inter-rater correlation coefficients of the K-CASP were 0.992 on the first day and 0.995 on the second day. The intra-rater correlation coefficients of the K-CASP were 0.997 for examiner 1 and 0.996 for examiner 2. In the Pearson correlation analysis, the K-CASP score significantly correlated with the K-MMSE score (r=0.825, p<0.001). The coefficients of determination (r2) of the AQ were 0.586 for the K-MMSE and 0.513 for the K-CASP in the simple regression analysis.
The K-CASP is a reliable and valid instrument for cognitive dysfunction screening in post-stroke patients. It is more applicable than other cognitive assessment tools in stroke patients with aphasia.
Citations
To investigate cognition, social adaptive functioning, behavior, and emotional development in the preschool period and to determine the effects of the age of onset of walking on those developmental areas in children who were born preterm without major neurodevelopmental impairments (NDI) early in life.
Fifty-eight children who were born preterm without major NDI early in life participated in this study. The Korean versions of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence or the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, the social maturity scale, the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Conners' abbreviated parent/teacher rating scale, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and a speech developmental test were administered. The participants were divided into two groups: early walkers (group A) and late walkers (group B).
The full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) and performance IQ were significantly lower in group B than in group A, while the verbal IQ did not differ significantly between the groups. The children in group B had greater risks of cognitive deficits than did the children in group A, especially in performance skills. The social quotient (SQ) was significantly lower in group B than in group A (p<0.05). The rates of mild or significant deficits based on SQ and the CBCL did not differ significantly between the groups. Four children in group A and one child in group B had attention/hyperactivity problems. One child in group A had autistic behavior. Only one child in group B showed a significant speech developmental delay.
Problems in cognition, social adaptive functioning, and emotional and behavioral development can occur in children without major NDI early in life. Late walkers had significantly lower scores in cognition and social adaptive functioning than did early walkers.
Citations
To confirm functional improvement in brain tumor patients after 4-week conventional rehabilitation therapy, to compare the cognitive impairment of brain tumor patients with subacute stroke patients using computerized neuropsychological testing, and to determine the effects on functional outcomes of daily activity.
From April 2008 to December 2012, 55 patients (29 brain tumor patients and 26 subacute stroke patients) were enrolled. All patients were assessed with a computerized neuropsychological test at baseline. Motricity Index, Korean version of Mini Mental Status Examination, and Korean version of Modified Barthel Index scores were assessed at the beginning and end of 4-week rehabilitation. Conventional rehabilitation therapy was applied to both groups for 4 weeks.
Functional outcomes of all patients in both groups significantly improved after 4-week rehabilitation therapy. In brain tumor patients, the initial Motricity Index, cognitive dysfunction, and visual continuous performance test correction numbers were strong predictors of initial daily activity function (R2=0.778, p<0.01). The final Motricity Index and word-black test were strong predictors of final daily activity function (R2=0.630, p<0.01). In patients with subacute stroke, the initial Motricity index was an independent predictor of initial daily activity function (R2=0.245, p=0.007). The initial daily activity function and color of color word test were strong predictors of final daily activity function (R2=0.745, p<0.01).
Conventional rehabilitation therapy induced functional improvement in brain tumor patients. Objective evaluation of cognitive function and comprehensive rehabilitation including focused cognitive training should be performed in brain tumor patients for improving their daily activity function.
Citations
To evaluate characteristics of cognitive impairments according to the location of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) using a computerized neuropsychological test (CNT).
A total of 211 patients were transferred to our rehabilitation department after becoming neurologically stable following aneurysmal SAH. Twenty four of the 211 patients met the inclusion criteria and participated in a screening test using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE). Twenty patients with a MMSE score <26 were followed prospectively with a CNT and Beck depression inventory (BDI). Eleven patients had anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms and the other 9 had middle cerebral, internal carotid or posterior communicating artery aneurysms.
There were no differences in age, education, Hunt and Hess grade, or Fisher grade between the patients with ACoA aneurysmal SAH compared to patients with other aneurysmal SAH. In patients with ACoA aneurysmal SAH, scores of BDI (p=0.020), verbal learning test were lower than those of other aneurysmal SAH patients. In contrast, patients with non-ACoA aneurysmal SAH took significantly more time in auditory (p=0.025) and visual continuous performance tests (p=0.028). The cognitive deficit following aneurysmal SAH could be characterized by its location using CNT.
Using CNT in aneurysmal SAH patients could be a useful tool for evaluating the characteristics of cognitive impairment and planning rehabilitation programs according to each characteristic.
Citations
Objective: This research aimed to define the usefulness of the computerized neuropsychological test (CNT) for evaluation of cognitive deficit in the patients with brain injury.
Method: Twenty five subjects with brain injury (16 males, 9 females) were enrolled. Their mean age was 39.2 years. All patient were assessed their cognitive function using CNT. The CNT consisted of digit span, verbal learning test, visual span test, visual learning test, auditory continuous performance test, auditory controlled continuous performance test, visual continuous performance test, visual controlled continuous performance test, word-color test, hypothesis formation test and trail making test. Scores of each subtest on CNT analysed according to the brain lesion and involved hemisphere of the patients.
Results: In patients with left hemisphere lesion, scores in digit span and verbal-learning test were lower than that of right side lesion (p<0.05). In contrast, patients with right hemisphere lesion showed significantly lower scores in visual span and visual-learning test (p<0.05). The patients with frontal lobe lesion marked lower scores in verbal-learning and word-color test than the patients without frontal lesion (p<0.01). Whereas the patients with parietal lobe lesion showed significantly lower scores in visual learning test (p<0.05) than the patients without parietal lesion.
Conclusion: The cognitive deficit following the brain lesion could be characterized using CNT. CNT is considered to be used as a useful tool in the patients with brain injury for the assessment of their cognitive function.
The experimental evidences suggest that the roles of basal ganglia are cognition and emotion through the corticostriatothalamocortical relationship. The patients with lesions in the caudate nucleus have high incidences of cognitive and behavioral abnormalities accompanied with the motor paralysis. In these patients, the accurate assessment of neuropsychologic dysfunctions and the prompt application of cognitive rehabilitation programs are important for the functional restoration.
We evaluated the patients with stroke of basal ganglia for the clinical and neuropsychological characteristics in relation to the involved substructures of basal ganglia. Fourteen patients were evaluated for the clinical neurologic examinations, functional assessment by functional independence measure(FIM), speech assessment, and various neuropsychological tests for the assessment of attention and memory functions. The results were analysed according to their lesion sites. Of the nine patients with stroke at the right basal ganglia, five patients had neglect of the contralateral hemispace and one had dysarthria. On the other hand, of the five patients with stroke at the left basal ganglia, none had hemispatial neglect and three had aphasia or dysarthria. Of the six patients with caudate lesions, three had aphasia or dysarthria, whereas of the eight patients without caudate lesion, one had dysarthria. The scores of Wechsler memory test were significantly lower in the patients with caudate lesions(p<0.05). Among the FIM subscales, the scores of communication and social cognition were significantly lower in the patients with caudate lesions(p<0.05). The Motor Score was significantly lower in the patients with putamen lesions(p<0.05). Among the FIM subscales, the scores of self care and locomotion were significantly lower in the patients with putamen lesions(p<0.05).