Reading abilities in preterm children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

It is well recognized that children born preterm have specific learning difficulties. The objective of this study is to carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis on preterm children's reading ability performance. Of the 486 studies identified, 53 met the inclusion criteria, resulting in 143 effect sizes. 33,500 children between 5 and 18 years were included of whom 13,765 were preterm infants and 19,735 were full-term infants. Among preterm-born children without neurodevelopmental disorders significant differences and larger effect sizes were found in the reading subcategories, letter-word knowledge, reading comprehension, and spelling, whereas no significant differences were found in phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming. Extremely preterm children showed larger effect size. The present meta-analysis, which includes a much larger number of studies, shows that preterm children have lower performance than full-term children in reading and spelling. This fact underlines the need to design, develop and implement neuroeducational programs that take into account the characteristics of preterm born students.

"Need to Know" or the Strong Urge to Find Names of Unique Entities in Acquired Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

The two forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), idiopathic and acquired, have been linked to abnormalities in the fronto-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry, involving the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and striatum. Accumulating evidence indicates that damage to other brain regions (ie, temporal lobes) is also implicated in the pathogenesis of both types of OCD. In addition, some discrete OCD symptoms have received less attention because of their presumed low occurrence and difficultly of categorization. Among these, one intriguing and potentially severe type of obsessive thinking is the so-called "need to know" (NtK), which is a strong urge to access certain information, particularly proper names. In some patients, this monosymptomatic presentation may constitute the major feature of OCD. Here we report the cases of two patients who developed NtK obsessions with tenacious time-consuming, answer-seeking compulsions as the only or more disabling symptomatology in association with malignant tumors involving the right temporal lobe and connected fronto-subcortical circuits.

[Accesibility and usability of computer-based cognitive stimulation: Telecognitio]. / Accesibilidad y usabilidad de las aplicaciones computarizadas de estimulación cognitiva: Telecognitio.

INTRODUCTION: Despite of the huge technological advance in the field of computer-based cognitive interventions, very few applications have been designed to be used by the elderly. The main objective of this study was to assess the adaptability of two psycho-stimulation applications used in geriatrics. A further aim was to design a table of the minimum requirements to be met through the use of these applications in a small sample of elders. In addition, Telecognitio-an application with some interesting functionalities-is presented. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a pilot test of two cognitive intervention tools, which were evaluated by a sample of elderly people through a specifically designed questionnaire. A descriptive study of the results was performed, as well as of the possible correspondence between the subjects' cognitive status and the results. RESULTS: The results of this study indicate that, in general, elderly people and especially those with cognitive impairment had difficulties in understanding the instructions for the various activities, as well as little time to answer the questions. In the case of a touch screen, errors occurred, both due to accuracy and pulse time, although this device is more intuitive than the conventional mouse. CONCLUSIONS: Computer-based cognitive stimulation and evaluation applications will become widely used among the elderly. Therefore, these applications should be adapted for universal accessibility and usability.

Prevalence of cognitive impairment: effects of level of education, age, sex and associated factors.

AIMS: To examine the prevalence of cognitive impairment in a Spanish elderly population and to analyse its association with some social and medical factors. METHODS: We randomly selected a representative sample (n = 600) of people over 65 from Narón Council (A Coruña). Socio-demographic and biomedical data were collected and cognitive status was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). RESULTS: We determined variations in the prevalence from 35.2%, when age or level of education distribution was not applied, to 22.2% when they were applied. Women showed a higher probability of cognitive impairment than men. Negative correlation was observed between the age of the subject and the MMSE score (Spearman correlation rho = -0.45, p < 0.001), with the possibility of developing cognitive impairment increasing each year. For our sample, cognitive impairment was associated with an increase of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. This association was found with the presence of dementia, heart failure, anaemia, stroke and auditory deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of the real prevalence rates, together with the establishment of adequate preventive and intervention measures, can be factors that may diminish the socio-sanitary impact of cognitive impairment.

Cognitive impairment as predictor of functional dependence in an elderly sample.

This retrospective study determines the role of cognitive decline as a predictor of functional dependence. In a representative 600 community-dwellers aged 65 or older, we examined using a logistic regression model, the association between cognitive status (taking into account age and educational level) and dependence on basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL and IADL, resp.), controlling for socio-demographic variables and health conditions. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were compared in participants with functional disability to perform basic and instrumental activities. Cognitive status influenced functional dependence on activities of daily living, basic (OR=4.1, 95%CI=2.7-6.1) and instrumental (OR=5.7, 95%CI=3.5-9.3), independently of gender, age, educational level and health conditions. Besides, cognitive impairment was associated with the dependence on certain basic (e.g., bathing, toileting) and instrumental (e.g., using the telephone, taking medications, and handling finances) activities. This was a gradual relationship, the highest cognitive decline implied the highest loss of ability at carrying out activities, with a larger impact on basic activities. These findings suggest that cognitive decline can be a predictor for functional dependence, independently of other variables, and turn into a very useful tool indicating the need for support.

Prevalence of functional disability in activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and associated factors, as predictors of morbidity and mortality.

The aim of this study is to establish the existing relationship among variables referred to the person, specifically age and gender, and the functional dependence in basic ADL and in IADL, as well as the possible relationship it has with the increase of morbidity and mortality in a random sample of 598 individuals older than 65 years. Of these individuals, 34.6% were categorized as dependent for at least one ADL, and 53.5% if we refer to IADL. Regarding the ADL, the risk of dependence increases (odds ratio=OR=1.089) per year of age, (OR=2.48) in women's case; while there is an IADL correlation between age and the score (r=-0.527; p<0.001). A relationship exists between dependence and the days of hospitalization (for ADL: r=-0.12, p=0.018 and IADL: r=-0.97, p=0.003), the number of visits to the doctor (ADL: r=-0.27, p<0.001; IADL: r=-0.25, p<0.001) or the presence of concomitant pathologies such as dementia (ADL: p<0.001; IADL: p<0.001). There is a significant association between age, gender and dependence, as well as between dependence and morbidity and mortality, so that dependence could be used as a predictor of both.

Accesibilidad y usabilidad de las aplicaciones computarizadas de estimulación cognitiva: Telecognitio® / Accesibility and usability of computer-based cognitive stimulation: Telecognitio®

IntroducciónEl objetivo principal de este trabajo es realizar una aproximación al grado de adaptación de dos aplicaciones de psicoestimulación utilizadas en nuestro medio. Así mismo, a través de la observación de los problemas de uso de estas dos aplicaciones uso en una pequeña muestra de personas mayores, se elabora una tabla de requisitos mínimos que a nuestro juicio deberían cumplir. Finalmente, se presenta Telecognitio®, una aplicación para la estimulación cognitiva de los mayores que incorpora ciertas funcionalidades de interés.Material y métodosSe evalúa el uso de dos herramientas de intervención cognitiva sobre una muestra de sujetos mayores a través de un cuestionario elaborado al efecto. Se realiza un análisis descriptivo de los resultados obtenidos y se sugieren posibles relaciones entre los resultados y el nivel cognitivo del sujeto.ResultadosObservamos que las personas mayores, especialmente si tienen deterioro cognitivo, presentan dificultades en la comprensión de los enunciados que transmiten las instrucciones para las diferentes actividades. Así mismo, el tiempo para responder a las cuestiones planteadas parece ser insuficiente. Cuando la pantalla es táctil se producen errores, tanto de precisión como de mantenimiento de la presión, aunque el uso de este dispositivo resulte más intuitivo que el ratón convencional.ConclusionesLas aplicaciones computarizadas de valoración y estimulación cognitiva van a constituirse en herramientas de uso generalizado entre la población de personas mayores, por lo que sería conveniente adaptarlas mejorando su accesibilidad y usabilidad(AU)

IntroductionDespite of the huge technological advance in the field of computer-based cognitive interventions, very few applications have been designed to be used by the elderly.IntroductionThe main objective of this study was to assess the adaptability of two psycho-stimulation applications used in geriatrics. A further aim was to design a table of the minimum requirements to be met through the use of these applications in a small sample of elders. In addition, Telecognitio®—an application with some interesting functionalities—is presented.Material and methodsWe performed a pilot test of two cognitive intervention tools, which were evaluated by a sample of elderly people through a specifically designed questionnaire. A descriptive study of the results was performed, as well as of the possible correspondence between the subjects’ cognitive status and the results.ResultsThe results of this study indicate that, in general, elderly people and especially those with cognitive impairment had difficulties in understanding the instructions for the various activities, as well as little time to answer the questions. In the case of a touch screen, errors occurred, both due to accuracy and pulse time, although this device is more intuitive than the conventional mouse.ConclusionsComputer-based cognitive stimulation and evaluation applications will become widely used among the elderly. Therefore, these applications should be adapted for universal accessibility and usability(AU)