• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2013

Objectives Non-major depression with fewer symptoms than required for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th edition diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) has consistently been found to be associated with functional impairment. In this study, we aim to estimate the cognitive impairment and the quality of life in elderly patients with subsyndromal depression (SSD) compared with non-depressive elderly (NDE). Methods The Korean version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was administered to 194 outpatients with depression and 108 normal controls. SSD is defined as having five or more current depressive symptoms with core depressive symptoms (depressive mood or loss of interest or pleasure) during more than half a day and more than seven days over two weeks. Depression was evaluated by the Korean form of Geriatric Depression Scale of a 15-item short version. Global cognition was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean version of CERAD assessment packet (MMSE-KC). Subjective cognitive impairment was assessed by the Subjective Memory Complaint Questionnaire. Quality of life was evaluated by the Korean Version of Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey. Results The mean score of the MMSE-KC in the SSD group was lower than that in the NDE group with adjustment for age, gender, and education [F = 4.270, p = 0.04, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)]. If we defined those having Z-score of MMSE-KC < -1.5 as a high risk group of cognitive impairment, the odds ratio for the high risk group of cognitive impairment was 1.86 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.04-3.34] in SSD and 7.57 (95% CI 3.50-16.40) in MDD compared to NDE. The scores of physical component summary (F = 9.274, p = 0.003, ANCOVA) and mental component summary (F = 53.166, p < 0.001, ANCOVA) in the SSD group were lower than those in the NDE group with adjustment for age, gender, and education. Conclusions The subjects with SSD, as well as those with MDD, showed impairment of global cognition and also experienced low quality of life in both physical and mental aspects, compared to the NDE group.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.119-130
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine, by conducting a 10 week hippotherapy, the effects on the physical, cognitive and psychological factors of children with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: As an intervention method, intervention was based on a program from the American Hippotherapy Association and was modified and enhanced. 16 children with intellectual disabilities was conducted horse riding intervention program and Intervention was conducted once a week for a total of 10 weeks with each session lasting 30 minutes. A doctor of rehabilitation medical treatment of D rehabilitation center, physical therapist and occupational therapist evaluated the upper limbs test, balance, gait function, Korea-mini mental state examination (MMSE) before and after hippotherapy intervention. Self-esteem scale and aggression scale was evaluated by Psychology Counseling of C psychological clinic before and after hippotherapy intervention. RESULTS: The results of this study reveal that first, there was a positive effect. Second, statistically significant differences were found in BBS, TUG, K-MMSE, 10m walking test, 6 min walking test, self-esteem scale and aggression scale (p<.05). However no statistically significant differences were found in upper limbs function and good balance analysis before and after intervention. CONCLUSION: The hippotherapy is effective way to improve the physical, cognitive and psychological factors of children with intellectual disability.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.144-151
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the effects of Shihogayonggolmoryo-tang on elderly delirium. Methods: A patient suffering from delirium was treated with Shihogayonggolmoryo-tang herbal therapy for 35 days. To evaluate the therapeutic effects, the Korean version of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) and the Korean Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (nu-DESC) were used twice a week. Results: After treatment, the patient's MMSE-K score increased from 0 to 12, and the nu-DESC results decreased 4 to 0. Conclusion: These scores suggest that therapy with Shihogayonggolmoryo-tang has a positive effect on elderly delirium.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.385-392
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• 2013

This case report presents a 34-year-old female patient. Her chief complaints are akinetic mutism and cognitive dysfunctions. We have diagnosed her with leukoencephalopathy. She was treated with Korean traditional herbal medicines (Joojackwhan) for 33 days continuously. The effects of treatment were measured by the Korean Mini - Mental State Examination and Modified Bathel Index. After treatment, her chief complaints have been improved. Furthermore, the K-MMSE, MBI scores increased. From this case, we deduced that the Korean traditional herbal medicines (Joojackwhan) could be effective for cognitive dysfunctions and akinetic mutism caused by leukoencephalopathy.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.502-508
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• 2022

Objective: Contralateral seventh cervical nerve transfer (contralateral C7 transfer) is a newly attempted method to restore upper extremity motor function in the patients with spastic arm paralysis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of contralateral C7 transfer on upper extremity motor function in the patients with spastic hemiplegia after stroke. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Methods: Thirty-four patients with spastic hemiplegia after stroke was investigated. All patients registered between January 2020 and February 2021. The subjects were assessed on upper extremity motor function, cognition, and spasticity before and after contralateral C7 transfer. The upper extremity motor function was measured using the Fugl-Meyer upper extremity scale and box & block test. The cognition and spasticity were assessed by Korean version mini mental state examination (K-MMSE) and modified Ashworth scale from baseline to 8 weeks after the surgery. Results: The Fugl-Meyer upper extremity scale and modified Ashworth scale were significantly improved after contralateral C7 transfer (p<0.05). However, box & block test and K-MMSE were no significant changes after the surgery (p>0.05). Conclusions: This study suggested that the contralateral C7 transfer was a feasible and practical approach to improve upper extremity motor function in the patients with spastic hemiplegia after stroke, but further study is required to identify the long-term effects after the contralateral C7 transfer.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.158-168
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• 2023

Background and Purpose: Facial emotion recognition deficits impact the daily life, particularly of Alzheimer's disease patients. We aimed to assess these deficits in the following three groups: subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and mild Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Additionally, we explored the associations between facial emotion recognition and cognitive performance. Methods: We used the Korean version of the Florida Facial Affect Battery (K-FAB) in 72 SCD, 76 MCI, and 76 mild AD subjects. The comparison was conducted using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with adjustments being made for age and sex. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was utilized to gauge the overall cognitive status, while the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB) was employed to evaluate the performance in the following five cognitive domains: attention, language, visuospatial abilities, memory, and frontal executive functions. Results: The ANCOVA results showed significant differences in K-FAB subtests 3, 4, and 5 (p=0.001, p=0.003, and p=0.004, respectively), especially for anger and fearful emotions. Recognition of 'anger' in the FAB subtest 5 declined from SCD to MCI to mild AD. Correlations were observed with age and education, and after controlling for these factors, MMSE and frontal executive function were associated with FAB tests, particularly in the FAB subtest 5 (r=0.507, p<0.001 and r=-0.288, p=0.026, respectively). Conclusions: Emotion recognition deficits worsened from SCD to MCI to mild AD, especially for negative emotions. Complex tasks, such as matching, selection, and naming, showed greater deficits, with a connection to cognitive impairment, especially frontal executive dysfunction.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.154-164
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to select a cognitive training game that can evaluate five cognitive domains and to study their validity with existing cognitive evaluation tools. Design: Methods: Delphi survey was conducted through the 2nd questionnaire for 30 experts to select games suitable for training 5 cognitive domains. Five cognitive training games and Mini Mental State Examination - Korea(MMSE-K), and cognitive impairment screening test(CIST) were conducted for 82 elderly in the community. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to find out the correlation of the three tests. The ROC curve was used to calculate the selection criteria for the game results for the screening evaluation of the presence or absence of mild cognitive impairment. Results: The coefficient of variation to evaluate the stability of the Delphi survey was less than 0.50 in most game items. The 'correct answers' and 'level' of the five final selected game items showed a statistically significant positive correlation with the CIST and MMSE-K scores. CIST score and 'time' of all game items except 'number making_time' showed a statistically significant negative correlation. Conclusions: The validity of the cognitive training program using smart devices was evaluated, and the criteria for classifying the cognitive domain and distinguishing the presence or absence of cognitive impairment were confirmed.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.373-381
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to extract important problem features for care of senile dementia patients. Selected cognitive ability test (Korean Mini-Mental State Examination: K-MMSE) and survey of basic & problem characteristics were conducted on 110 hospitalized senile dementia patients and 30 normal subjects. Problem features of senile dementia patients were extracted using factor analysis. The frequency difference of problem features due to the gender and dementia severities was verified using one-way ANOVA. Twenty problem features were extracted by the factor analysis. According to the gender, there are significant differences in the frequency of problem features in violent language & confabulation, collecting behavior, and repetitive behavior. According to the dementia severities, there are significant differences in the frequency of all problem features except abnormal sexual behavior and audio-visual disorder. The result of this study is expected to be used for the development of the senile dementia patients' life-care monitoring system.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.306-314
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• 2022

Background: Due to the rapid aging of the South Korean population, neurological diseases such as dementia are increasing. Many studies have reported that the incidence of dementia is associated with environmental factors along with age. Objectives: This study analyzed the association between cognitive function and ten heavy metals in the body: arsenic, aluminum, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, zinc, and lead. Methods: From 2018 to 2019, a total of 120 participants who suffered from cognitive impairment were recruited for this study. Blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed for heavy metal concentrations using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Demographic information was obtained through face-to-face questionnaires completed by a trained investigator. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Korean version of the Boston Name Waiting Test. The associations between cognitive function scores and heavy metal concentrations were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The average age of the 120 participants was 72.7 years, and 69.2% were female. The mean of the MMSE-K and K-BNT scores were 22.9 and 37.9, respectively. The geometric mean of aluminum (Al) was 8.42 ㎍/L. MMSE-K was associated with iron (Fe), but the significance was removed in the logistic regression based on 24 points. K-BNT was significantly associated with aluminum and the odds ratio for K-BNT above 38 decreased by 45% as the aluminum concentration increased. Conclusions: The association between aluminum and the K-BNT score indicated that aluminum is associated with language-related cognitive decline. Based on this result, further study will be conducted by considering co-exposure effects of heavy metals including aluminum.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.99-116
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Needle-Embedding Therapy on dementia patients. Methods : We recruited 3 dementia patients who have been experiencing memory disorder and orientation disorder. The patients had been evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination-K (MMSE-K), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). The patients were treated with herbal medication (Sunghyangjunggi-san) and acupuncture. After 15 days, the patients were added to Needle-Embedding Therapy. We measured MMSE-K, GDS and CDR for every 15 days. The effects of additional Needle-Embedding Therapy were compared with the effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine. Results : After Needle-Embedding Therapy was added, Patients' memory and orientation have been improved and the score of MMSE-K ascended. The grade of GDS and CDR were maintained or decreased. Conclusions : This study suggests that Needle-Embedding Therapy is significantly effective on Dementia patients.