Cavum Septum Pellucidum and Cavum Vergae With Late-Onset Catatonia

Associations between large cavum septum pellucidum and functional psychosis disorders, especially schizophrenia, have been reported. We report a case of late-onset catatonia associated with enlarged CSP and cavum vergae. A 66-year-old woman was presented with altered mental status and stereotypic movement. She was initially treated with aripiprazole and lorazepam. After 4 weeks, she was treated with electroconvulsive therapy. By 10 treatments, echolalia vanished, and catatonic behavior was alleviated. Developmental anomalies in the midline structure may increase susceptibility to psychosis, even in the elderly.ArticleJOURNAL OF ECT. 29(3):E45-E46 (2013)journal articl

Cavum Septum Pellucidum and Cavum Vergae With Late-Onset Catatonia

Associations between large cavum septum pellucidum and functional psychosis disorders, especially schizophrenia, have been reported. We report a case of late-onset catatonia associated with enlarged CSP and cavum vergae. A 66-year-old woman was presented with altered mental status and stereotypic movement. She was initially treated with aripiprazole and lorazepam. After 4 weeks, she was treated with electroconvulsive therapy. By 10 treatments, echolalia vanished, and catatonic behavior was alleviated. Developmental anomalies in the midline structure may increase susceptibility to psychosis, even in the elderly.ArticleJOURNAL OF ECT. 29(3):E45-E46 (2013)journal articl

Negative Correlation between Serum Cytokine Levels and Cognitive Abilities in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Evidence suggests that cytokines may be one of the major factors influencing cognitive development in those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To shed light on the neural and cognitive mechanisms of ASD, we investigated the association between peripheral cytokine levels and cognitive profiles in children with ASD. The serum levels of 10 cytokines (granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α) were examined in 14 children with ASD using the Human Ultrasensitive Cytokine Magnetic 10-Plex Panel for the Luminex platform. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) was administered to each subject, and the relationships between WISC scores and serum levels of the cytokines were examined. The full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) was significantly negatively correlated with the levels of IL-6 (Spearman’s rank, p < 0.0001, false discovery rate q < 0.01). The levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ showed significant negative correlations with the verbal comprehension index (p < 0.001, q < 0.01) and working memory index (p < 0.01, q < 0.05), respectively. No other cytokines were significantly correlated with full-scale IQ or with any of the subscale scores of the WISC. The present results suggest negative correlations of IL-6 and IFN-γ levels with cognitive development of children with ASD. Our preliminary findings add to the evidence that cytokines may play a role in the neural development in ASD.ArticleJOURNAL OF INTELLIGENCE. 5(2):19 (2017)journal articl

Comparison of alterations in cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation in late life depression ans Alzheimer's disease as assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy

BACKGROUND: Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) often present with apathy symptoms resembling the decreased motivation observed in depressed patients. Therefore, differentiating the initial phase of AD from late life depression may be difficult in some cases. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a functional neuroimaging modality that uses near-infrared light to measure changes in hemoglobin concentration on the cortical surface during activation tasks. The objective of this study was to investigate differences in brain activation associated with late life depression and with AD by means of NIRS. METHODS: NIRS was performed in 30 patients with depression, 28 patients with AD, and 33 healthy controls, all aged 60 years or older. During two tasks, a verbal fluency task and a visuospatial task, changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in the frontal and parietal cortices were investigated. RESULTS: In the visuospatial task, cortical activation was lower in the depressed group than in the AD group, and significant differences were observed in the parietal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: NIRS can detect differences in brain activation between patients with late life depression and those with AD. NIRS is a promising tool for the differential diagnosis of late life depression and AD.ArticleBEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS. 10:8 (2014)journal articl