Background. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common forms of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), and has a high incidence rate across the world. Following TBI, many patients experience...Show moreBackground. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common forms of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), and has a high incidence rate across the world. Following TBI, many patients experience cognitive complaints, as well as physical complaints about their health. Their general wellbeing can also be an issue. Fortunately, for most patients these complaints typically improve over time. This study investigates patients’ memory, concentration, energy, as well as general wellbeing, over time. Methods. Patients received questionnaires about their health and wellbeing every three months following hospital release, with the main goal to track their health and wellbeing after TBI. That data was used for this research. Energy, concentration, and memory were all measured by one question in the questionnaire. General wellbeing was measured by taking the average ratings of all questions on the questionnaire. Analyses were done with three and six questionnaires over time, using repeated measures ANOVAs. Descriptive statistics were used from the first questionnaire. Results. This study found that while patients rated all these measures on average positively, they still did not feel the same as before the injury, and most experienced hindrances in daily life. When looking at the ANOVAs with three questionnaires, there was a significant improvement on concentration, energy, as well as general wellbeing over time. For all of these, most improvement took place between the first and the second questionnaires. Memory did not change significantly over time. None of the ANOVAs with six questionnaires had any significant changes over time. Conclusion. This study shows that patients may suffer from long-lasting effects of TBI. It questions whether more should be done for these patients following hospital release, to alleviate symptoms. This study has limitations concerning selection bias and drop out.Show less
This paper explores the trajectory of amyloid accumulation onset in the brain relative to cognitive decline to potentially improve secondary prevention efforts of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This was...Show moreThis paper explores the trajectory of amyloid accumulation onset in the brain relative to cognitive decline to potentially improve secondary prevention efforts of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This was accomplished by attempting a replication of the study "Spatiotemporal distribution of β-amyloid in Alzheimer's disease is the result of heterogeneous carrying capacities" (Whittington et al., 2018) using data obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. Results showed that Whittington’s model of the temporal evolution of the in vivo PET β-amyloid signal over time (i.e. using the four parameters: the tracer nonspecific binding (NS), the exponential uninhibited growth rate (r), the time of half-maximal β -amyloid concentration (T50) and the carrying capacity (K)), and the derived “estimated time since disease onset” could be used to model β-amyloid accumulation trajectory. Additionally, by studying the relationship between the trajectory of amyloid accumulation and cognitive decline, the results showed that amyloid accumulation in the brain does precede cognitive decline and can be modeled to predict cognitive deterioration. Thus, it was concluded that “estimated time since disease onset” does serve as a possible effective predictive diagnostic tool of cognitive impairments and AD pathology. Additionally, this study emphasizes the need for future research on the mechanisms by which amyloid accumulation influences cognitive impairments.Show less
Beta blocker administration is one of the most common treatment methods for the vascular tumours infantile haemangiomas (IHs). Previous research has attributed possible side-effects to beta...Show moreBeta blocker administration is one of the most common treatment methods for the vascular tumours infantile haemangiomas (IHs). Previous research has attributed possible side-effects to beta blockers, which include sleep disturbances and memory decline. Furthermore, research has found a link between sleep disturbances and memory decline. Thus, the present study aimed to test for possible long-term side-effects of beta blockers atenolol and propranolol. The study focused on children between ages 7-11 with IHs who were treated with beta blockers within their first year of life. The relationship between sleep disturbances and working memory among these children was analyzed. Furthermore, the differences between the study sample and population norms were analyzed regarding sleep disturbances and working memory performance. Lastly, differences between atenolol and propranolol on these measures were explored. The main findings showed a significant correlation between a high likelihood of sleep disturbances and a low working memory performance. In addition, the beta blocker sample showed a higher likelihood of sleep disturbances when compared to population norms. However, no lower working memory performance was detected in this comparison. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between propranolol and atenolol on neither sleep disturbances nor working memory performance. The main conclusion of this study points towards the possible negative relationship of beta blocker treatment with long-term sleep disturbances, which have a negative correlation with working memory performance. Possible directions for future research are discussed.Show less
