Investigation of brain functional connectivity in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.

This study examines brain functional connectivity in both cognitively normal seniors and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to elucidate prospective markers of MCI. A homemade four-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) system was employed to measure hemodynamic responses in the subjects' prefrontal cortex during a resting state, an oddball task, a 1-back task, and a verbal fluency task. Brain functional connectivity was calculated as the Pearson correlation coefficients between fNIRS channels. The results show that during the verbal fluency task, while the healthy control (HC) group presents a significantly stronger inter-hemispheric connectivity compared to intra-hemispheric connectivity, there is no difference between the inter- and intra-hemispheric connectivity in the MCI group. In addition, a comparison between the MCI and HC connectivity reveals that the MCI group has a statistically higher right and inter-hemispheric connectivity during the resting state, but a significantly lower left and inter-hemispheric connectivity during the verbal fluency test. These findings demonstrate the potential of fNIRS to study brain functional connectivity in neurodegenerative diseases.

Complications associated with the pedicled nasoseptal flap for skull base reconstruction.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To analyze complications associated with nasoseptal flap elevation and reconstruction in endoscopic skull base surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Case series. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent nasoseptal flap procedure in our institution between 2008 and 2013. RESULTS: A total of 121 patients were identified with a mean follow-up time of 10.4 months. Complications associated with this procedure occurred in 33 patients (27%). The majority of complications were related to the septal donor site and included septal perforation, cartilage necrosis, and prolonged crusting. Other complications included intraoperative injury to the flap pedicle (n = 4) or recurrent/persistent cerebrospinal fluid leak occurring in the early postoperative period (n = 7). Long-term quality-of-life data assessed via Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 questionnaires did not reveal notable differences when compared to preoperative scores. CONCLUSION: The complication rate associated with nasoseptal flap elevation and inset is higher than previously described. The majority of complications became manifest beyond the immediate postoperative period and were associated with the septal donor site, including septal perforation, prolonged crusting, and cartilage necrosis. We hypothesize that donor site morbidity may be related to compromise of the contralateral septal vascular supply during the procedure. The range and frequency of complications of nasal septal flap surgery should be considered in counseling patients who may receive a nasoseptal flap for skull base reconstruction.

Development of the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K): clinical and neuropsychological assessment batteries.

A Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K) was created. The English-American version of CERAD clinical and neuropsychological assessment batteries was translated into Korean, and the psychometrical properties of the cognitive tests in the CERAD-K were established. In the translation, including back-translation, the basic structures of all measures in the original CERAD batteries were maintained. The CERAD-K was administered in a standardized manner to 106 dementia patients (aged 70.4 +/- 8.1 years), including 78 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and 186 controls (aged 68.4 +/- 4.6 years) who were recruited from 3 university hospitals and 2 elderly welfare centers. The cognitive tests in the CERAD-K successfully differentiated controls from the dementia patients and from the AD patients. They also showed substantial interrater reliability and 1-month test-retest reliability. The CERAD-K is an equally reliable and valid equivalent for the English version of the CERAD clinical and neuropsychological assessment batteries.