• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.248-262
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• 2021

This study examined the effect of the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet of the Korean multi-domain dementia prevention program on the cognitive functions of the elderly with dementia risk factors. We developed the program including nutrition, exercise, cognitive training, vascular disease prevention, and motivation. One- hundred and fifty-three participants aged 60~79 years with at least 1 dementia risk factor were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the facility-based intervention (FMI), home-based intervention (HMI), and the control group. The nutrition education program consisted of 10 classes over 24 weeks: the FMI received 7 group sessions and three 1:1 sessions, the HMI received 4 group sessions and three 1:1 sessions with 3 homework sessions. The Nutrition Quotient for Elderly (NQ-E) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) were used to evaluate nutritional status. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), and the Cognitive Complaint Interview (CCI) were used to evaluate cognitive functions. A total of 136 people completed the program with an 11.1% dropout rate. The NQ-E (P=0.009) and RBANS (P=0.001) scores significantly increased in the FMI (N=45) and HMI (N=49) groups compared to the control group (N=42) after the study. The changes in the score of MNA and CCI did not differ significantly between groups. In conclusion, the nutritional intervention which focused on the MIND diet as a part of a multi-domain intervention program had a positive effect on the improvement of healthy eating habits and cognitive function scores in the high-risk dementia group.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.123-131
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• 2017

Objectives: Executive dysfunction including working memory deficit has been suggested to be one of the major neuropsychological etiologies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the augmentative effects of Cogmed working memory training on the symptoms and neurocognitive functions in medicated children and adolescents with ADHD. Methods: Twenty-five children with ADHD, aged 7 to 19 years, taking ADHD medication participated in this study. The participants were trained for 5 weeks with a commercially available and computerized working memory program ($Cogmed^{(R)}$) without any changes to their medication. The Korean version of the ADHD Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impression Scale, and Comprehensive Attention Test were administered before training and 4 weeks and 7 months after training, respectively. Results: After completing the training, the clinical symptoms and function, rated by the parents and clinician, were improved. In addition, the level of commission errors was significantly reduced in the selective attention (visual/auditory) task, sustained attention to response task, and flanker task. The untrained visuospatial short-term memory and working memory were also improved. These effects were still observed 7 months after the training. Conclusion: Cogmed working memory training can be a promising training option for the additional improvement of the symptoms and deficits in working memory and response inhibition in medicated children with ADHD.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 1992

Spontaneous pain and painful overreaction to external stimuli resulting from lesion confined central nervous system (CNS) were named as thalamic syndrome. Thalamic lesion and decreased regional cortical perfusion thought to the pathogenesis of thalamic syndrome due to decreased function of thalamocortical tract. We performed $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ regional cerebral perfusion in 10 patients with clinical diagnosis of thalamic syndrome due to thalamic lesion or near the thalamic lesion at Yonsei University Hospital, from January 1989 to August 1991. In contrast to five patients with lesions near the thalamus who did not show secondarily decreased perfusion at cerebral cortex, four among the five patients with thalamic lesions revealed decreased cortical perfusion in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex on brain SPECT. These phenomena may suggest the loss of afferent activating stimuli from the thalamus led to decreased neuronal activity and the followitng hypoperfusion of cerebral cortex, and might be one of the indirect signs for suggesting presence of the thalamocortical tract. A causal relationship between cortical hypoperfusion and neuropsychological deficit is strongly suggested.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.442-452
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• 1993

Previous experimental and clinical investigations suggest a possible role of new nootropic drug, oxiracetam, in improving cognitive performances in patients affected by organic brain syndrome. In this study, the cognitive and behavioral effects of oxiracetam treatment in patients with clinical symptoms of organic brain syndrome were evaluated. Sixty-six patients were enrolled and assigned to either oxiracetam or placebo, according to a randomized, double-blind design between two patient-groups. Either oxiracetam or placebo was orally given bid for 8 weeks ; daily dose of oxiracetam was 1600mg. All the patients, enrolled in this study, were diagnosed as having mild to moderate cognitive dysfunction as defined by a baseline Mini Mental State ExaminationKorean version (MMSE-K) score between 14 and 25. The patients under-went, at baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after, routine laboratory study (CBC, SMA12, U/A, EKG) and the following neuropsychological tests ; MMSE-K, modified Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale(MKWIS), Nurses' Observation Scale for Geriatric patients(NOSGER). Fifteen patients of whom were dropped out or excluded from the analysis because of poor compliance or violation of the protocol. Fiftyone patients (aged 54~78 years, male 25, female 26) were analyzed (vascular dementia, 30 ; senile dementia of Alzheimer type, 9 ; mixed type, 5 ; other cause, 7). Statistical analysis of the data demonstrated that the two groups were comparable at baseline. At the end of each study period the oxiracetam group scored significantly better on the majority of the tests evaluating cognitive function, psychometricity and the improvement rating scale of subjective symptoms than placebo group, in which worsening trends or no changes were seen on the whole. No side effects were noted during oxiracetam treatment. The present study, showing positive clinical findings after oxiracetam therapy, confirmed that this drug can be useful pharmacological treatment in organic brain syndrome.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.246-252
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• 2011

Background : The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the Comprehensive Attention Test (CAT) by comparing the results of the continuous performance test (CPT) and the CAT in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method : A total of 110 children and adolescents with ADHD (mean age : 11.2${\pm}$2.9 years, 76 boys) and 36 children and adolescents without ADHD (mean age : 12.0${\pm}$2.7 years, 25 boys) completed the CAT. We compared the specificity and sensitivity of the CPT and CAT at two different cut-off points via the McNemar test. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) between the two groups were compared using Medcalc software. Results : The sensitivity and specificity of the CPT were .419 and .806, respectively. The sensitivity of the CAT was .827, which was significantly higher than that of the CPT (p<.001), and the specificity of CAT is .444, which was significantly lower than that of CPT (p<.001). The AUC of the CPT and CAT was .664 and .692, respectively, and there were no significant difference between the two groups on the paired comparison (p=.513). Conclusions : The results of this study suggest that the CAT has moderate specificity and high sensitivity. The CAT can be used as a useful tool to evaluate the neuropsychological function of children and adolescents with ADHD.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.63-75
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• 2010

Vascular dementia(VaD) is currently considered to be the second most common type of dementia. VaD is not a single diagnostic entity, but a heterogeneous syndrome which encompasses several clinicopathological forms of dementia resulting from cerebrovascular diseases. A common form of VaD is subcortical VaD which is characterized by lacunar infarcts and deep white matter changes, leading to a progressive decline in memory and cognitive function. The neuropsychological and cognitive profiles of subcortical VaD have been reported relatively homogeneous. At present, subcortical vascular dementia is regarded as the most important subtype of VaD with getting the attention of vascular dementia. The aims of this study are to discuss the concept of subcortical VaD and its importance focusing on diagnosis, prevention and treatment with a case report.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.450-461
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• 2022

A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical study was used to determine the cognitive functions related to working memory (WM) and antioxidant properties of fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ) on healthy volunteers. Eighty participants were divided into a placebo group (n = 40) and FLJ group (n = 40) that received FLJ (1.5 g/day) for 6 weeks. Memory-related blood indices (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF; angiotensin-converting enzyme; human growth hormone, HGH; insulin-like growth factor-1, IGF-1) and antioxidant function-related indices (catalase, CAT; malondialdehyde, MDA; 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine, 8-oxo-dG; thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) were determined before and after the trial. In addition, standardized cognitive tests were conducted using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Batteries. Furthermore, the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS)-IV, and the Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) were used to assess the pre and post intake changes on WM-related properties. According to the results, FLJ significantly increased the level of CAT, BDNF, HGH, and IGF-1. FLJ reduced the level of TBARS, MDA, and 8-oxo-dG in serum. Furthermore, FLJ improved physical activities related to cognitive functions such as K-WAIS-IV, MoCA-K, Paired Associates Learning, and Spatial Working Memory compared to the placebo group. Our results suggest that FLJ is a potential candidate to develop functional materials reflecting its capability to induce antioxidant mechanisms together with WM-related indices.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.44-53
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• 2024

Background and purpose: The anti-aging standard forest healing program (ASFHP), which uses forest therapy, was reported to be effective in improving psychological, physical, and cognitive functions. However, there are several challenges to directly visiting the forest. This study aimed to investigate the impact of multi-session ASFHP with forest visit on the mental and physical health of the older people with visits to forest facilities and compared them with those of the same program conducted indoors. Methods: Individuals aged over 70 years with concerns about cognitive decline were recruited at dementia relief centers and divided into control and experimental groups. A total of 33 people were administered ASFHP under the supervision of a forest therapy instructor. The control group stayed indoors, while the experimental group visited a forest healing center and repeated the program 20 weeks. Results: The multiple-session ASFHP positively affected cognitive impairment screening test (CIST) total scores (p=0.002), memory (p=0.014), Korean version of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status total scores (p<0.001), immediate recall (p=0.001), visuospatial/construction (p<0.001), language (p<0.001), forest healing standard questionnaire total scores (p=0.002), and cognitive function (p=0.019), regardless of location. The forest visits during the ASFHP showed positive effects on orientation (p=0.035), delayed recall (p=0.042), emotional stability (p=0.032), physical activity (p=0.005), and health (p=0.022). The CIST scores of the memory domain were the strongest indicator of the multiple-session ASFHP effects. Conclusions: The 20-week multi-session ASFHP with forest visit showed effects on cognitive improvement and physical and emotional stability compared to indoor education.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.30-41
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• 2022

Background and Purpose: In this study we aimed to find the association between neuropsychological performance and body mass index (BMI) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In addition, we investigated the effects of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype in the relationship between the BMI and cognition in MCI. Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 3,038 subjects with MCI aged 65-90 from the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea and a dementia cohort of the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. MCI patients were classified into three subgroups according to the Asian standard of BMI. We compared cognitive performances between groups by one-way analysis of variance. To investigate the effects of the APOE genotype, we used multivariate linear regression models after adjusting for possible confounders. Results: Even though normal BMI groups were younger, had more females, and had less comorbidities, the higher BMI groups had better cognitive functions. Among subjects with APOE ε4 carriers, there was a positive relationship between the BMI and the memory task alone. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that higher BMI in patients with MCI were associated with better cognitive performance. The effects of the APOE ε4 genotype in the associations between BMI and cognition were distinguishing. Therefore, according to physical status, APOE ε4 genotype-specific strategies in the assessments and treatments may be necessary in elderly patients with MCI.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.382-388
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• 2007

Background: The cognitive function is impaired in patients with hypoxemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there are conflicting results regarding the cognitive function in patients with non-hypoxemic COPD. COPD patients also have sleep disorders. This study examined the cognitive function in non-hypoxemic COPD patients, and nocturnal sleep was assessed in COPD patients with a cognitive dysfunction. Methods: Twenty-eight COPD patients (mean age, 70.7 years) with an oxygen saturation > 90%, and 33 healthy control subjects (mean age, 69.5 years) who had visited for a routine check-up were selected. The neurocognitive tests were performed using the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) Neuropsychological Battery. Results: The scores of the word list recall test (p=0.03) and the word list recognition test (p=0.006) in the COPD group were significantly lower than those in the control group. Nine patients showed a significantly impaired cognitive function. Seven of these underwent polysomnography, which revealed apnea-hypopnea indices ${\geq}$ five per hour in five patients. The median oxygen desaturation index and median limb movement index were 3.6/h and 38.6/h, respectively. Conclusion: These results suggest that the verbal memory function is impaired in non-hypoxemic COPD patients. Six out of seven COPD patients with an impaired cognitive function had sleep disorders of sleep apnea and/or periodic limb movements during sleep.