Cognitive functions in Parkinson's disease: Relation to disease severity and hallucination

Objective: We wished to relate severity of Parkinson's disease (PD) with cognitive function in relation to cerebral blood flow (CBF). Methods: Eighty-one consecutive PD patients were enrolled in this study. We used Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third edition (WAIS-III) to evaluate cognitive functions, and three-dimensional stereotactic ROI template (3DSRT) and Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) 8 to evaluate single photon emission CT (SPECT) recordings of regional CBF. Results: The mean MMSE score of PD patients was 27.4 +/- 2.4. The scores of most patients were higher than 23/30. On the other hand, the mean Full-scale IQ of PD patients was 88.4 +/- 17.3 in WAIS-III, which was lower than that of normal controls. In particular, visuospatial function score of most patients was lower. There was significant correlation between cognitive scores and Hoehn & Yahr stage and hallucinatory episodes. PD Patients with stage III and IV showed significant deterioration in cognitive functions compared to stage II patients. Analysis of CBF revealed relative reductions in perfusion in the cerebral cortex relative to that in normal control. SPM 8 showed that cognitive functions in PD patients were positively correlated with rCBF in the thalamus and cingulate gyrus. Conclusions: This is the study to demonstrate the cognitive impairments in PD patients using WAIS-III. Visuospatial dysfunction might be caused by decrease in rCBF in the parietal and occipital lobes and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The severity of cognitive impairments in PD patients was correlated with disease severity and hallucinatory episodes

The neuroprotective and neurorescue effects of carbamylated erythropoietin Fc fusion protein (CEPO-Fc) in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Thus the development of therapeutic neuroprotection and neurorescue strategies to mitigate disease progression is important. In this study we evaluated the neuroprotective/rescue effects of erythropoietin Fc fusion protein (EPO-Fc) and carbamylated erythropoietin Fe fusion protein (CEPO-Fc) in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats received intraperitoneal injection of EPO-Fc, CEPO-Fc or PBS. Behavioral evaluations consisted of rota-rod, cylinder and amphetamine-induced rotation tests. In the neuroprotection experiment, the CEPO-Fc group demonstrated significant improvement compared with the EPO-Fc group on the amphetamine-induced rotation test throughout the four-week follow-up period. Histologically, significantly more tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons were recognized in the substantia nigra (SN) pars compacta in the CEPO-Fc group than in the PBS and EPO-Fc groups. In the neurorescue experiment, rats receiving CEPO-Fc showed significantly better behavioural scores than those receiving PBS. The histological data concerning striatum also showed that the CEPO-Fc group had significantly better preservation of TH-positive fibers compared to the PBS and EPO-Fc groups. Importantly, there were no increases in hematocrit or hemoglobin levels in the CEPO-Fc group in either the neuroprotection or the neurorescue experiments. In conclusion, the newly developed CEPO-Fc might confer neuroprotective and neurorescue benefits in a rat model of Parkinson's disease without the side effects associated with polycythemia. CEPO-Fc might be a therapeutic tool for patients with Parkinson's disease

母子生活支援施設の居住環境に関する研究 : 施設空間と支援体制の現状より(人間環境学)

Homes for single mothers should play the role of a "residence" until they are on their own. However, little attention has been paid to residential environments of the homes and not enough researches on the homes have been done from the viewpoint of their structures. This study aims to elucidate the realities of the residential environments of the homes and describe how the residents are actually supported. Questionnaires were sent out nationwide to 299 homes for single mothers to gather information. Ground plans of the homes were also collected. In addition, we visited homes that were considered to be advanced and interviewed the staff and the residents there. The results of our research are summarized as follows : (a) Sixty percent of the homes for single mothers don\u27t function fully as a residence. (b) Nearly half the homes don\u27t necessarily provide the residents with adequate support because the staff at these homes are off duty at night and on holidays. (c) The support of most homes doesn\u27t meet the needs of the households of mother and child. That is the reason why the rate of living units used by families of mother and child at each home is low

デンマークにおけるシニア向けコ・ハウジングに関する研究(B. 生活科学)

In recent years, new demands are being heard from the elderly and senior citizens for new housing alternatives in Northern Europe. Especially, the supply of Co-housing for senior, which is one of the new housing style, is being observed. The purpose of this paper is to examine "Senior Co-housing" in Denmark. We investigated two typical Co-housing through interviewing the residents. The results are summarized as follows; 1) Residents want to have more cooperative way of living. 2) Each resident is provided with not only an independent dwelling space but also some facilities for common activities. 3) The background of establishing these Senior Co-housings is active support by non-profit housing association or public housing association, which fulfilled resident\u27s demands. 4) Co-housing schemes can contribute to cutting the public cost of health care and home arrangements for elderly