The Effect of Park and Urban Environments on Coronary Artery Disease Patients: A Randomized Trial

© 2015 Regina Grazuleviciene et al. Aim. To test the hypothesis that walking in a park has a greater positive effect on coronary artery disease (CAD) patients' hemodynamic parameters than walking in an urban environment. Methods. Twenty stable CAD patients were randomized into two groups: 30-minute walk on 7 consecutive days in either a city park or busy urban street. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed to study short-term (30 min) and cumulative changes (following 7 consecutive days of exposure) in resting hemodynamic parameters in different environments. Results. There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline and peak exercise systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), exercise duration, or HR recovery in urban versus park exposure groups. Seven days of walking slightly improved all hemodynamic parameters in both groups. Compared to baseline, the city park group exhibited statistically significantly greater reductions in HR and DBP and increases in exercise duration and HR recovery. The SBP and DBP changes in the urban exposed group were lower than in the park exposed group. Conclusions. Walking in a park had a greater positive effect on CAD patients' cardiac function than walking in an urban environment, suggesting that rehabilitation through walking in green environments after coronary events should be encouraged

Perceptual Anchoring in Preschool Children: Not Adultlike, but There

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that human auditory perception follows a prolonged developmental trajectory, sometimes continuing well into adolescence. Whereas both sensory and cognitive accounts have been proposed, the development of the ability to base current perceptual decisions on prior information, an ability that strongly benefits adult perception, has not been directly explored. Here we ask whether the auditory frequency discrimination of preschool children also improves when given the opportunity to use previously presented standard stimuli as perceptual anchors, and whether the magnitude of this anchoring effect undergoes developmental changes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Frequency discrimination was tested using two adaptive same/different protocols. In one protocol (with-reference), a repeated 1-kHz standard tone was presented repeatedly across trials. In the other (no-reference), no such repetitions occurred. Verbal memory and early reading skills were also evaluated to determine if the pattern of correlations between frequency discrimination, memory and literacy is similar to that previously reported in older children and adults. Preschool children were significantly more sensitive in the with-reference than in the no-reference condition, but the magnitude of this anchoring effect was smaller than that observed in adults. The pattern of correlations among discrimination thresholds, memory and literacy replicated previous reports in older children. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The processes allowing the use of context to form perceptual anchors are already functional among preschool children, albeit to a lesser extent than in adults. Nevertheless, immature anchoring cannot fully account for the poorer frequency discrimination abilities of young children. That anchoring is present among the majority of typically developing preschool children suggests that the anchoring deficits observed among individuals with dyslexia represent a true deficit rather than a developmental delay

Age-related delay in information accrual for faces: Evidence from a parametric, single-trial EEG approach

Background: In this study, we quantified age-related changes in the time-course of face processing by means of an innovative single-trial ERP approach. Unlike analyses used in previous studies, our approach does not rely on peak measurements and can provide a more sensitive measure of processing delays. Young and old adults (mean ages 22 and 70 years) performed a non-speeded discrimination task between two faces. The phase spectrum of these faces was manipulated parametrically to create pictures that ranged between pure noise (0% phase information) and the undistorted signal (100% phase information), with five intermediate steps. Results: Behavioural 75% correct thresholds were on average lower, and maximum accuracy was higher, in younger than older observers. ERPs from each subject were entered into a single-trial general linear regression model to identify variations in neural activity statistically associated with changes in image structure. The earliest age-related ERP differences occurred in the time window of the N170. Older observers had a significantly stronger N170 in response to noise, but this age difference decreased with increasing phase information. Overall, manipulating image phase information had a greater effect on ERPs from younger observers, which was quantified using a hierarchical modelling approach. Importantly, visual activity was modulated by the same stimulus parameters in younger and older subjects. The fit of the model, indexed by R2, was computed at multiple post-stimulus time points. The time-course of the R2 function showed a significantly slower processing in older observers starting around 120 ms after stimulus onset. This age-related delay increased over time to reach a maximum around 190 ms, at which latency younger observers had around 50 ms time lead over older observers. Conclusion: Using a component-free ERP analysis that provides a precise timing of the visual system sensitivity to image structure, the current study demonstrates that older observers accumulate face information more slowly than younger subjects. Additionally, the N170 appears to be less face-sensitive in older observers

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and their impact on quality of life in multiple system atrophy

Background: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a sporadic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by severe dysautonomia and atypical Parkinsonism or cerebellar dysfunction. Disease-modifying treatment is not available and the mainstream of care is supportive. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are frequent in MSA and their successful management can improve patients’ quality of life (QOL). This study aimed to define a comprehensive neuropsychiatric profile in MSA patients in relation to QOL. Methods: In 48 MSA patients and 40 controls neuropsychiatric symptoms were assessed using Neuropsychiatric Inventory. MSA patients completed Beck Depression Inventory and QOL questionnaire (SF12), including Mental and Physical subscales. Results: Eighty-seven percent of MSA patients had neuropsychiatric symptoms as compared with 10.4% of controls. Depression (56%), apathy (48%), anxiety (27%), and agitation (27%) predominated. The Physical SF-12 scores were lower in the patients as compared with the controls. Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores did not correlate with QOL measures. Depression, as reflected by the BDI, correlated with the mental component score of the SF-12 in MSA patients. Conclusions: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are very frequent in patients with MSA and are dominated by depression and apathy. They appear independent from physical disability and loosely map onto the known brain pathology of MSA. Only depression, as reflected by the BDI, negatively affected mental QOL. The discrepancy between the BDI and NPI-depression scores likely stems from the different approaches to symptoms by these questionnaires

Coronary Artery Calcium Progression Is Associated With Coronary Plaque Volume Progression Results From a Quantitative Semiautomated Coronary Artery Plaque Analysis

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine whether coronary artery calcium (CAC) progression was associated with coronary plaque progression on coronary computed tomographic angiography.BACKGROUND CAC progression and coronary plaque characteristics are associated with incident coronary heart disease. However, natural history of coronary atherosclerosis has not been well described to date, and the understanding of the association between CAC progression and coronary plaque subtypes such as noncalcified plaque progression remains unclear.METHODS Consecutive patients who were referred to our clinic for evaluation and had serial coronary computed tomography angiography scans performed were included in the study. Coronary artery plaque (total, fibrous, fibrous-fatty, low-attenuation, densely calcified) volumes were calculated using semiautomated plaque analysis software.RESULTS A total of 211 patients (61.3 +/- 12.7 years of age, 75.4% men) were included in the analysis. The mean interval between baseline and follow-up scans was 3.3 +/- 1.7 years. CAC progression was associated with a significant linear increase in all types of coronary plaque and no plaque progression was observed in subjects without CAC progression. In multivariate analysis, annualized and normalized total plaque (beta = 0.38; p < 0.001), noncalcified plaque (beta = 0.35; p = 0.001), fibrous plaque (beta = 0.56; p < 0.001), and calcified plaque (beta = 0.63; p = 0.001) volume progression, but not fibrous-fatty (beta = 0.03; p = 0.28) or low-attenuation plaque (beta = 0.11; p = 0.1) progression, were independently associated with CAC progression. Plaque progression did not differ between the sexes. A significantly increased total and calcified plaque progression was observed in statin users.CONCLUSIONS In a clinical practice setting, progression of CAC was significantly associated with an increase in both calcified and noncalcified plaque volume, except fibrous-fatty and low-attenuation plaque. Serial CAC measurements may be helpful in determining the need for intensification of preventive treatment. (C) 2018 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Plaque progression assessed by a novel semi-automated quantitative plaque software on coronary computed tomography angiography between diabetes and non-diabetes patients: A propensity-score matching study

Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog